Home on the Range, Part 9

"Me?" Linda said in bafflement. The large arachnid turned in her stool to face the floating emerald orb that had come looking for her.

Having just finished giving the village animals their midday meal, Linda and her friends had popped into the Witch's Brewery for a break and a chat, with most of their conversation revolving around the budding romance amongst the youngest members of their community. They were all good people, salt of the earth regardless of their species, but if there was definitive fault that they all shared, it was that they all hungered for only the juiciest of gossip, and recent events had provided them with a savory meal that they were all enjoying. Bets were being taken on how many times Kyoko would accidentally drown during their not-a-date-but-it's-actually-a-date-come-on-let's-be-real-here.

Linda especially had cause to be proud. Her plan to give them that final nudge had worked to perfection, and she was feeling more than a little smug about that. But above all, she was just happy for those crazy kids. They deserved their happiness, the poor things.

So do you. Shame it didn't work out.

With practiced ease, Linda had quickly shaken off that line of thought. No sense in clouding her good mood.

However, things had taken a turn for the odd when Bitchslap, the ranch's calliope elder, had entered the tavern, looking for Linda. As sociable as she was, Bitchslap wasn't a regular sight in the Witch's Brewery, as her calliope constitution meant that one time she had tried alcohol had ended up being an overall negative experience for everyone involved. As it turned out, a species known for deriving nourishment from something so simple as water vapor would not react well to even a few drops of whiskey, and had ended up being so violently ill that even the smell of alcohol made her queasy. Which is why having her drift into the tavern was such a surprise, much less because she was looking for Linda specifically.

"Correct!" Bitchslap responded. "We recently received a call from someone who claims to know someone that you know, and we require your presence over at the Big House to help verify their identity!"

"Who the hell do you know outside the ranch?" asked Linda's jott friend Kore.

"No one!" Linda said in bewilderment. "I ain't got no idea what this is about!"

Then Roberta, the bartender, leaned over the counter. "Weren't there someone from Pendle's Quarry that you had a big fallin' out with when you left?" she asked. "Someone you mentioned feelin' all sorts of rotten for leavin' behind?"

Linda snorted. "What? No. I mean, yes, but there's no way that it could..."

Her voice trailed off. Her friends all exchanged glances.

Moments later, Linda burst through the tavern's swinging doors with such force that they slammed into the connecting walls and took off running, her powerful legs driving her forward with manic speed as Bitchslap zipped along behind her, struggling to keep up.

It can't be, it can't be, Linda thought over and over again. But what if it was? Who else could it be?

Given that the reliability of modern amenities tended to be spotty at best, most of the ranch's development was centered at the Big House, which was sort of the control center of their operations. Their phones actually worked...most of the time. However, finding a working phone elsewhere on the ranch was a little difficult.

That sat just fine with Linda. She still had some vague vestigial memories of what life had been like for girls her age, and to be quite frank, spending her day staring at a tiny screen sounded like such a waste. With no phones to distract everyone, they had time to actually go outside and do things!

However, when her sole regret decided to come calling, she had to admit that having a portable phone that she could carry on her person would really have come in handy right about then.

Linda tore through the assembly area to burst into the Big House, her momentum just about taking the door off of its hinges. "Where?" she bellowed. "Where is she?

Her sudden entrance had startled those there, and they were all staring silently at the tall witch. From the look of it, the human elders were already there, both the Colemans and Alexandria McCormac seated in the white sofas around the coffee table, upon which sat an elegant rotary phone, the fancy sort with an ornate base with the phone itself resting on the top. The phone had been removed from the hook and was sitting on the tabletop, while next to it a screen floated in the air, courtesy of one of the Puella Magi, who had no doubt enchanted it into existence so all three of them could not only be on the call but also see the person on the other line.

"Well, there she is," Alexandria drawled. She gestured toward the screen. "You are wanted."

"Out of my way!" Linda hurried over to sofa, nearly running over Tai in the process. "Hello, Lucy? Are you there?"

Her chest seized up when she saw the orange-haired face on the screen. It was indeed her onetime partner and (formerly) only friend Lucy, the decapitated witch. In contrast to the bright-eyed and sharp-tongued girl that Linda had known, Lucy looked as if she had been through hell. Her eyes were sunken pits, her skin sallow, and she looked as if she had spent all the time that she should have been sleeping with crying instead.

"Lucy!"

Lucy shivered when she saw Linda's face. "L-Linda?"

"I'm here, Lucy! Where are you? Are you all right?"

"I'm...I'm okay. I'm, uh, I think I'm on my way, and-"

"What happened to you? Who did this to you? Did you really get sent to the-" Linda felt sick at the thought of using that ugly word, but in this case it was appropriate. Lowering her voice, she said, "-to the Hag Hole?"

Even without the little nod Lucy gave in response, the slight flinch and hollowness in her eyes that preceded it told Linda everything that she needed to know.

Linda felt sick to her stomach. Though she knew very little about the Hag Hole, the few whispers she had manage to glean had told her all that she had needed to know about that horrid place.

Though Linda had always known that there was a good chance that Lucy herself might end up there, there was a stark difference between dreading that possibility and being faced by the reality. Despite her size and intimidating appearance, Linda did not have a violent nature. But in that moment, she wished that she was as powerful and vengeful as those in Pendle's Quarry believed all witches to be.

"I, uh..." Lucy licked her lips. "Linda. Listen. You was right. 'Bout everythin'. A-An' I'm...Fuck, I was such a-"

"No, no, no, no!" Linda stopped her cold. "Don't say that! Don't even think it! It weren't your fault at all! It was all those Pendle's Quarry..." Words failed Linda in that moment. There were a plethora of derogatory adjectives and nouns that she could use to describe those bigots, but all seemed to fall short of conveying how she truly felt. "...well, them!" She hunched in closer. "What about you? Are you okay? How'd you get out?"

"I...I'm okay. And I, uh, got rescued. By-"

"By yours truly"

Suddenly the face of a girl that Linda did not recognize at all shoved her face into the camera. This one had greyish skin, pale green hair, really weird yellow and red eyes, and strange patterns all over her face that reminded Linda of some kind of futuristic machine. What was this? A robot?

"Um..." Linda said.

"Yeah, that was us, you're very welcome," the robot girl said.

"Hey!" protested someone on the other side of the call but far out of the view of the camera.

The robot girl scowled. "Okay, fine. It was some of your girl's other friends that sprung her. But then they got their asses hunted down by a genuine lynch mob, and we saved them from that. So, I'll be takin' those thank you's, if you don't fuckin' mind."

Then a scarlet-encased hand came up to push that girl out of the way, and yet another robot girl appeared on-screen, this one with short, yellow hair and half of her face covered by a mask of red metal. "What my crude associate means to say is that we have four young ladies here in desperate need of help, and they were all insistent that it could be found with you."

"Of course they can!" Linda said. "Okay, just-"

Then Tai said in a low voice, "Linda, step back."

Linda gawked at her. "What? Why?"

"Let me handle this. Step back."

Mystified, Linda obeyed, moving away from the monitor. Tai moved in to replace her. "All right, we hear you," she told the girl in the face mask. "But a situation like this warrants a bit of discussion. Would you be so kind as to hold on just a little bit while we sort some things out?"

"If you must. Just know we do have other places to be."

"Roger that. You'll be hearin' from us soon enough. Wonderland Ranch out."

Tai disconnected the call.

"What are you doin'?" Linda demanded. "That's Lucy! She's come back! We can't jus' leave her out there!"

Sighing, Missy laid a hand on her shoulder. "And we won't! But somethin' smells awful foul 'bout all this."

"What? No! Lucy wouldn't do anythin' like that!"

"Uh, didn't you say she refused to run away with you and called you a bunch of mean names?" Bitchslap pointed out.

"She was upset; she didn't mean nothin' by it! Besides, we all know how those Pendies get into your head!"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "So she would do somethin' like that?"

"I, er, uh..." Linda stammered. Damn it.

Shaking her head, Missy walked around Linda to stand in the midst of everyone. "This whole mess stinks on ice," she said. "Somethin's up."

"It does feel like some kind of Quarry set-up," Tai agreed. "The story, mentioning the Hag Hole, bringin' in someone one of us knows. Smells like bait."

"But what if it's real?" Bitchslap wanted to know. "This could be our only shot at findin' the Hag Hole!"

"Exactly!" Linda gestured toward the calliope with three limbs. "We gotta take this chance!"

"No, we really don't," Tai said flatly.

Aghast, Linda turned to her and all but begged, "Mrs. Coleman, please! If Lucy's really in trouble, we can't jus' leave her out there! We gotta do something'!"

"And we will," Tai told her. "But we ain't walkin' into this with our eyes closed. We gotta be smart." She turned to Bitchslap. "Bitchy, get Silty up here. And round up anyone else you can. We may be lookin' at some real trouble."

...

"What the fresh hell?" Oktavia exclaimed as she and Mami arrived to find their respective soul mates about to engage in mortal combat. Kyoko had thrown up a shield-shield around…something and was rushing forward, brandishing her spear.

Leaping at her was Charlotte, who had all ten wires out, ready to whip them forward.

Mami truly had no idea what was going on. She knew that having Charlotte try to reason with Kyoko when the latter was in such an emotionally vulnerable state would probably turn out badly, but she hadn't imagined this, much less so quickly.

But whatever had happened, it needed to stop, and stop now.

A flick of her hand, and a ribbon shot out from her sleeve to seize Charlotte's ankle, yanking her back. She yelped as she was hauled out of midair, but still managed to swipe her hand forward. Five wires wrapped around the spear of the charging Kyoko.

It didn't help. Sure, Kyoko found herself pulled along with Charlotte, but that didn't faze her one bit. Instead, she flowed with the sudden change in momentum, leaping up to thrust the bottoms of her boots right at Charlotte's face.

"All right, stop!" Oktavia howled. A gesture, and a train wheel sped by, knocking Kyoko's spear out of her hands and tossing her up into the air. She twisted around, landing in a crouch, another spear appearing in her hands.

As for Charlotte, she landed hard on her back, but took things in a roll, flipping back over her shoulders to come up to her feet, ready to meet Kyoko.

"I said STOP!" Oktavia flew her wheel right in-between the two combatants and dumped herself to the ground, placing herself between her girlfriend and her mentor. Pushing herself up on her palms, she looked frantically from one to the other. "What is wrong with you two?" she cried. "Have you completely lost your minds?"

"Just about," Kyoko said, not taking her eyes from Charlotte. She didn't charge, at least.

Charlotte, however, tensed up, and Mami knew her well enough to know that she was preparing to leap right over Oktavia.

Enough.

Mami gave her another yank, pulling her legs out from under her. As Charlotte tumbled, Mami then summoned up a musket, aimed it at the sky, and fired.

"That. Is. Enough!" she said as she walked forward. "I truly cannot believe either one of you. Fighting like this. I agree with Oktavia. What is wrong with you?"

Kyoko didn't answer. She took a single step back, spear still held at the ready, eyes frantically flitting from Mami to Oktavia to Charlotte, as if preparing to fight all of them at once.

Mami was aghast. Kyoko was truly in attack mode, and it was directed at them! What had happened to make her like this?

And…what exactly was that shrieking thing in that dome of shields?

She looked to Charlotte, eye begging her wife to make some sense of this insanity. Charlotte pulled herself to her feet and cried, "She's got a valk! That's what she's been hiding from us! She has a fucking valk!"

Kyoko's face contorted in despair.

"A what?" Oktavia said in bewilderment.

Mami stared. None of the words coming out of Charlotte's mouth made any sense. She understood them all individually, but when put together like that it only further confused the situation. Kyoko had a what?

"Are you guys hearing me?" Charlotte demanded. "She has a valk! The same monsters that maimed and almost butchered us! The same thing that took my shoulder!" She took a deep breath. "She's. Been. Hiding. A. Valk!"

Oktavia wrinkled her nose. "Wait, you mean you mean those dinosaur things you guys had to fight back in the dockengaut world?"

"YES!"

Mami and Oktavia both stared at Charlotte. Then their eyes slowly moved toward Kyoko, who was still standing guard in front of the shield-encased creature.

Though Mami's own encounter with the monster that had maimed her future wife had not traumatized her nearly to the same extent as it had Charlotte, it had still been an extremely harrowing experience. She and Charlotte had only just confessed their feelings for one another. They had still been in that early honeymoon period of their relationship, when the joy of having one another had been so intoxicating and every touch had made them giddy. Around that time, they had taken a trip to an isolated beach with friends, ready to enjoy a day of good fun and pleasant company.

And then they had been attacked. A couple of valks had escaped from an exotic animal collector and made their shelter near that same beach. They had attacked Mami, Charlotte, and their friends, with Mami nearly getting torn apart before the others had saved her. Charlotte, however, had not been so lucky, and Mami had to watch as her newly discovered love of her life had her shoulder bitten right off.

Though Charlotte had been all right in the end, the horror of that moment still lingered, and having to leave Charlotte behind in the same world that the monsters who had savaged her had awakened that dormant fear.

Valks meant something to the Tomoes. They had been the first indication that the tranquil paradise that served as their afterlife was not without its dangers, or monsters. Mami remembered all too well the fear and anguish that came from seeing her beloved in so much pain, of having to witness her being maimed right before her eyes, so soon after the two of them had decided to be happy together. A valk had done that. Not a dockengaut, not a Void Walker, a valk.

And Kyoko had been keeping one near them for months and had not told them.

Mami loved Kyoko, and would do just about anything for her. But Kyoko wasn't her wife. Kyoko wasn't her soulmate.

And Kyoko had crossed a line.

Mami slowly breathed in and out. "Kyoko," she said, slowly turning toward her once estranged protege. She kept her voice calm, but the cold anger seethed beneath every word. "I'd...I'd like for you to explain, please."

Kyoko met her eyes, and evidently recognized something in them. Rather than offer some kind of explanation, something that would make all of this insanity make some kind of sense, she merely went grim and again readied her spear.

"Kyoko," Mami said as she strode onto the path to stand across from Kyoko. "Do not do this. It will not go well for you."

"Nothing ever does," Kyoko responded.

Oktavia went pale. "Um, hey, I'm kind of...I'm still in the middle here! I'm still in-"

And then another shot rang out over their heads, only this one had not come from Mami.

Sheriff Silitho-Oreskei-Idellic had to admit: this was not what she had expected her hunt to lead her toward.

In her and her associates' search for the strange creature killing their animals, they seemed to have come upon some kind of personal dispute between the newest members of their community. That was a surprise. They had seemed pretty tight-knit. Clearly something catastrophic had happened.

She swept over the scene with all four eyes. Her two main eyes remained focused on the epicenter of the violence, while her two stalk eyes kept track of the perimeter. The dispute seemed to be mainly between two of the individuals, with the other two looking like they were trying to break things up.

Holding a large stabbing weapon with both hands, feet planted in a defensive position, and looking downright feral was the new animal caretaker Kyoko Sakura. That she would be at the center of this was probably the least surprising part of it all, as from what Silty's research into the newcomers' background had revealed, all of their problems were centered around her, even if most of it was due to happenstance rather than anything she had actually done. But even beyond that, it was clear that there were things that Kyoko was simply not telling anyone about, not even her friends. Her insistence on having a job that put her away from any form of supervision had raised Silty's suspicions, and while she had eventually accepted the responsibilities she had been offered, Silty had still been convinced that something was up. It seemed that she had been correct.

She also wasn't surprised by the supposed opposite participant. Though Silty didn't spend much time with the newcomers, she did like Coco Smith's new bookkeeper Charlotte Tomoe the best. The human witch's blunt and honest nature was refreshing, and Silty appreciated someone so willing to get to the point. However, she also had something of a temper, so if Kyoko Sakura's secret had just been revealed, then it stood to reason that Charlotte would be the one to confront her about it, though Silty would rather that she put those wires away.

Standing to the side with one ribbon around her wife's leg and the other holding a musket was Coco Smith's apprentice, Mami Tomoe. Of the four, she was the one who had arrived with the most immediate baggage, looking to be nearly dead on her feet and requiring the most help. Fortunately, she had made great strides in her personal recovery, which really spoke to the amazing recuperative benefits of having a loving community and being able to regularly hit things with a heavy hammer. She looked to be equally confused and frustrated by everything that was transpiring, and thus was probably not the one Silty needed to talk to.

And in the center of it all was that aquatic girl, Oktavia von Seckendorff. Though Silty honestly hadn't interacted with her much beyond that time when her "interrogation" had somehow become a counseling and relationship advice session, she was still fond of her, and had been happy to see that she and Kyoko had finally made things official the previous night. Young love was always something to be celebrated, especially when it triumphs in the face of as many obstacles as theirs had. However, it was clear that things had devolved terribly, and poor Oktavia was utterly distraught.

Silty wasn't the overly romantic sort, but she did find herself hoping that whatever had caused this current calamity was just a conflict between Kyoko and Charlotte and Oktavia was just trying to break it up. It would be shame if their relationship had fallen to pieces just when everything seemed to be working out.

Once she was certain that she had everyone's attention, Silty handed the rifle off to Deputy Lissoro and slowly strolled around the scene of the fight. Sometimes she wished that she had a proper andalite shredder instead of the human projectile weaponry that was so common in these parts, but she had to admit, the loud bang that they made was very useful if she needed a situation startled out of violence, though Coco Smith would no doubt lecture her for wasting ammo.

"Well now, what do we have here?" she said, her bladed tail swishing. A twitch of the blade, and her deputies moved in to form a perimeter. "Here we are, out to do a little animal wrangling, and instead we come across what we thought were four honest and trustworthy young ladies acting like animals themselves." She stood a stance to face them, arms crossed. "Now, what seems to be the issue here?"

It had taken her some time, but Silty had come to be a fair judge of human facial expressions. Kyoko Sakura seemed to be both stricken and panicked, further cementing Silty's suspicion that she was the cause of all this. It also meant that she was unlikely to get much out of her that wasn't heavily peppered with half-truths and defenses.

Fortunately, Charlotte Tomoe was all too happy to explain things. "She's been hiding a valk from us!" the human witch exclaimed. "I…" Then her eyes went wide. "Oh, fuck. Is that what's been attacking the livestock? We've been getting reports about it for days!"

Come to think of it, the animal attacks had started up soon after these four arrived, so Silty wasn't surprised to find that they were somehow involved. However, she was still missing a great many details.

"Shut up, Charlotte," Kyoko whispered, her voice a dry croak. Well, that certainly all but confirmed her guilt. "Just shut up."

"No! You think you can just slime your way out of this like some kind of-"

Silty cracked her tail against the ground, silencing them both. "That's enough," she thought-spoke. "This situation is tense enough without the squabbling." Hmmm, a valk? That name rang a bell, albeit a very faint one. They were still in a primarily human territory, but Silty didn't know of any Earthling animals that had that name.

She turned one stalk eye over to Deputy Lissoro who was the most learned of other species' cultures. "Deputy Lissoro, do you know what a valk is?"

Deputy Lissoro scratched her snout. "Erm, think so," she said. "Ain't that from the dockengaut planet?"

Silty went stiff, and a wave of uneasy murmurs rose up from the others. Oh, this was not good.

"The…dockengaut planet, you say?" she responded, keeping her thoughts as calm as possible. She forced her body to relax. "I presume that means that they're dangerous?"

"Very. Reptilian predator. Armored. Venomous. Very smart."

"Hmmm. And could one cause the slaughter we've been investigating?"

"Easily."

"Interesting." Silty turned her main eyes toward Kyoko Sakura, who looked to be on the verge of panic. Then she looked over to the armored dome that Ms. Sakura was defending. The creature contained within was likewise frantic, if its screeching was any indication.

Andalite thought-speak was quite versatile. One could "talk" in a manner that was heard by all, or specific messages could be sent privately to certain individuals without others knowing.

"Stand down and stand back," she told her deputies. "Don't spook her, but be ready if something attacks." She took another second to consider the situation before adding, "And if this does prove to be an animal, try to incapacitate rather than kill."

Her deputies all exchanged uneasy glances but complied, lowering their weapons and stepping back.

Then, turning her primary focus back to Kyoko Sakura, she told her, "Ms. Sakura? Would you be so kind as to explain?"

In answer, Kyoko Sakura thrust the point of her spear right up under Silty's chin.

"Kyoko, no!" Mami Tomoe cried. The response from Silty's entourage was likewise immediate, with all of them drawing or summoning their weapons and training them onto the agitated human girl.

Silty went still, the sharp point digging into the soft underside of her jaw. Kyoko Sakura's teeth were bared, and her whole body was trembling, but she didn't push it forward.

"Don't you dare touch him," she seethed through gritted teeth.

Silty considered swiping the spear from Kyoko Sakura's hands with a swift whip of her tail, but decided against it. She would have another one in her grasp immediately anyway, and it was clear that escalating this situation would do no one good. "I have no intention of hurting anyone or anything until I know what's going on," Silty responded. She lifted a hand toward the pole of the human girl's weapon. In response, Kyoko tensed up and pushed it up further, scraping it across Silty's skin.

Silty again paused. Then she said, "This will not help whatever it is that you're defending. I would like to resolve this without violence, but I need your cooperation." A beat, and then she added, "Furthermore, harming me will only escalate matters against you. So please, remove your weapon."

Kyoko Sakura's shaking got worse, and for a brief moment it seemed that she was considering taking her chances with skewering the andalite sheriff.

But then she let out a slow, trembling breath and eased up on the pressure against Silty's chin. The andalite sheriff laid a hand against the pole of the spear and gently pushed it down and away.

"That's better," Silty said. "Now, perhaps you can explain exactly what it is you're doing with this creature and why you brought it into our community?"

Over on the sidelines, Charlotte Tomoe growled, "Yeah, Kyoko. What are you doing with a valk?"

"That's enough," Silty admonished her. "I'll ask you not to exasperate the situation."

Charlotte Tomoe's eyes flared with indignation, and it seemed as if she were about to argue, but her wife placed her hand on Charlotte Tomoe's arm and shook her head. Charlotte Tomoe growled but complied, remaining silent.

Taking a step back, Kyoko cast a glance over her shoulder at her makeshift cage and the thing thrashing inside of it. "He...I got him from the dockengaut planet. W-We killed his family, but he hatched right when we found their nest and stowed away in my pack. But he's not dangerous! He's incredibly smart and would never hurt anyone unless-" She abruptly cut herself off.

Silty tilted her head. "Unless what, Kyoko?"

Kyoko swallowed. "Unless he had a good reason! Like, if someone attacked him. Or me. But he's not some savage killer! He's my friend!"

"Hmmm." Silty resumed her slow trot around the scene. "Kyoko, over the last few weeks, we've had multiple instances of our animals being killed. Sheep slaughtered, goats ripped apart, dogs mauled. In every case, the animal in question was obviously dispatched with great violence, and nearly every bit of them eaten afterward. Even the bones were found to be cracked apart."

"The bone marrow," Charlotte said, her voice dull. "Valks like bone marrow."

Silty glanced briefly at her with one eye. "That doesn't seem to be the work of a harmless pet."

"I...I didn't know," Kyoko admitted. "I haven't seen him since I got here."

"But you did know that he was out there, and that he would coming looking for you."

"It's not his fault! He's just an animal, and-"

"I'm not talking about him," Silty corrected. "I'm talking about you. You brought a powerful predator to our community, one that you knew would not want to be separated from you. And you said nothing."

Kyoko couldn't even meet her eyes. Her own were cast downward, focusing on the dirt between her feet. "I'll...I'll go."

Silty tilted her head to one side.

"I'll leave. Just...let me take Jerky. Don't hurt him, and I'll get out of your, um, tail. You'll never have to see me again, okay?"

"WHAT?!" Oktavia suddenly exclaimed. The young witch had remained mostly silent while Silty had interrogated her lover, but this proclamation had clearly shocked her out of silence. "You're just going to leave? Just take your dinosaur and run out on us? On me? Are you serious?"

Kyoko went utterly pale, the vapors draining from her face. "B-But I can't stay!" she protested. "I already fucked that up! If I stay, I'll just keep-"

"NO!" Oktavia shrieked back. "No, you don't get to run away from this! I don't care if you've been hiding a pet dinosaur, you do not get to just split and leave me all alone! We'll work through whatever issues you've got, and-"

"The valk isn't going anywhere," Charlotte Tomoe stated.

There was a chill to her word and a deadness in her eyes. The way she was looking at Kyoko wasn't even angry anymore. Rather, she was staring at her companion as if Kyoko were nothing more than a squeaky hinge to be oiled or a rough bit of wood to be sanded out. Just an inconvenient problem to be fixed.

Kyoko went stiff. "What?" she rasped.

"You knew," Charlotte said. "You knew how dangerous those things are. You knew you were putting all of us in jeopardy by keeping it close. You knew that we risked getting banished from here by not telling anyone about it. And you knew how I feel about those things." Her hands bunched into tight fists, the knuckles cracking with audible pops. "You crossed a line, Kyoko. You crossed a major line. You're not going to just run away from this. For once in your life, you're going to take responsibility for your actions. And that starts with me finishing the job you should have completed back at the dockengaut homeworld."

Still strapped into her seat at the back of the YFU, Elsa Maria watched their "rescuers" with laser-like focus.

Lucy had returned and was back in her seat. Her brief exchange with her friend had shaken her, though whether that be because of her complicated feelings toward the other girl or how abruptly things had been cut off wasn't clear. Probably a bit of both, if they were to be honest. But it was that second part that had Elsa Maria's attention.

Despite their claims, Elsa Maria did not trust these so-called bounty hunters one bit. According to them, their act of altruism was one of equal exchange. They were on the search for some acquisitions that might have taken up residence at this ranch, and Lucy and the others were fleeing to said ranch. If the bounty hunters gave them a lift, then that would open negotiations that could lead to the surrender of their quarry. It was as simple as that.

Except that Elsa Maria did not believe one bit that they were planning on simply letting the four of them go once contact was made with the ranch. And she had a very bad premonition concerning who their quarry actually was.

Raising her voice, she called out, "Excuse me! May I ask a question?"

The bounty hunters all turned to glare at her. "Dunno," said Rebecca. "You gonna do that freaky thing you do with the arms if we say no?"

Dorio held up a hand, silencing her irritable partner. "What's on your mind?"

"You three are bounty-hunters, correct?" Elsa Maria said. "And your motivations for coming to our assistance are, in part, in hopes that doing so will get your closer to your quarry?"

Kiwi's eyes narrowed over her mask. "And what about it?"

"If you don't mind me asking, who exactly are you pursuing?"

Seated across from her, Lucy's face scrunched up in puzzlement. "Wait, didn't you say you're looking for..." Then her eyes went wide. "Oh. Oh, no."

Kiwi perked up. "Hold on. You're in the business, too? Is that what this is all about?" She gestured over toward Lucy, Carmen, and Josie. "Did you get hired to bust them out?"

Elsa Maria sighed. "A bit of the opposite, actually."

"Opposite?" Josie snorted. "Yeah. If you call threatenin' us the opposite-"

"But you are looking for someone," Kiwi pressed.

Holding her gaze, Elsa Maria slowly nodded.

"Huh." Kiwi exchanged a brief glance with her companions. "All right, Captain Ahab. Come up here. Let's have a chat."

Elsa Maria wordlessly unstrapped herself from her seat and headed toward the front of the ship. As she did, she could feel the eyes of her own companions following her, all of them no doubt wondering what she was playing at, and how much danger she was about to put them in.

They were right to be afraid.

The world seemed to shiver around Elsa Maria. Her perception of time slowed, and darkness tinged the edges of her vision. She became acutely aware of all that was around her, from the humming of the engines to the sound of her heavy boots against the metal floor. Carmen was praying, whispering supplications under her breath. Good. Someone ought to.

But hers were not the only whispers that Elsa Maria heard. From the shadows came muted voices that only she could hear, telling her to be careful, to not trust these bounty hunters, that their motivations were entirely self-serving and that they would turn on her and the others in a second.

And Elsa Maria listened.

Darkness had a rather unfairly negative reputation, she felt. Yes, it made for an apt metaphor for how evil proliferated in the absence of God's light, but darkness itself was not evil. It was as much a part of God's creation as light itself. In fact, as light needed a source and darkness didn't, it could be argued that darkness was more in line with the ineffable design. As such, it did not surprise her that her Lord and Savior would speak to her from the darkness, guiding and instructing her as she sought to carry out His Will.

His Voice had not steered her wrong yet. If the shadows told her to not trust these strange, metallic strangers, then she was going to listen.

The cockpit had four seats, three of them occupied by the ship's owners. Keeping her eyes on all of them, Elsa Maria sat down in the one seat still open, across from Kiwi.

"All right," Kiwi said, picking up a small, white puck. "Let's compare notes, shall we?"

...

There are times in which your world seems to collapse in on itself. When the rug is pulled out from under you, when everything falls to pieces and you can do but stand and watch as all that you have built and worked for is torn asunder and broken to pieces.

Kyoko had been there several times. One minutes things would be one way, and the next it all would be gone. It seemed that no matter what she did, how many times she got up after being knocked down, the universe would not allow her to find anything resembling peace. Even in death, after finally finding some measure of peace, stability, happiness, and even love, it was all about to be taken away from her.

And it was all her fault.

"Yeah, you kinda fucked this up. Bad move, Kyoko."

Kyoko blinked her eyes, and it was all gone. Charlotte, Saya-(fuck)-the fish, Mami, Silty, Jerky, the deputies, even the dirt road and the surrounding field. They were all gone.

Instead, she was standing in a high-class hotel room, with a great big bed and an open window, beyond which was the city at night. She recognized it immediately. It was the same hotel room that she had brought Sayaka's body to after she had become...after she had become a witch.

And lounging in the window frame and looking out at the night sky was herself.

It was her in her last few weeks of life. No poncho, no hat, just a natty green jacket over a black tank top, a part of shorts, and big boots. Though Kyoko had kept that ensemble for most of her trek through her death, this Kyoko didn't bear the weight or the worries that Kyoko had picked up since she had died. There was a casual ease to her posture, a disregard of the cares of the world. She was munching on a stick of chocolate-coated pocky while she regarded Kyoko with contemptuous eyes.

"Man, what the fuck did I devolve into?" Old Kyoko remarked. "I mean, just look at you! Shaking. Stammering. Begging. Kind of pathetic, don'cha thing?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Kyoko shot back. "Charlotte's gonna kill Jerky!"

"Wow, yeah, you should really get on that."

"How?"

Suddenly Kyoko was reeling from a swift blow to her cheek. She nearly fell to her knees, only to find herself seized by the collar and yanked into a seething face identical to her own.

"How?" Old Kyoko snarled back. "Pull yourself the fuck together! You're supposed to be better than me, always going on and on about how glad you're not like me anymore, but I sure as hell wouldn't have gotten myself trapped like this! What, did your shiny brand new conscience also strip out the rest of your guts?" She gave Kyoko a rough shake. "Stop sniveling, get up, and fight!"

And then, as Kyoko was screamed at by the embodiment of herself at her absolute worst point, it hit her.

She couldn't win. Maybe she could beat Charlotte in a straight one-on-one fight, but that wasn't what faced her. They were all against her, and they were all against Jerky. And if she didn't act soon, Jerky would be taken away from her.

She had let him down once before. She would not do so again. But she couldn't fight. No matter what the malcontent she had once been thought.

But there was one thing she could do, something that she had not done for a very long time, something that she had thought that she could no longer do. Pain had ripped it away from her. Loss had taken it from her.

However, perhaps that was the key. If loss had robbed her of some of her power, perhaps trying to prevent another loss could bring it back.

"No," Kyoko told herself.

Old Kyoko scowled. "Eh?"

Then Kyoko's arms came up, breaking Old Kyoko's grip and seizing her collar in turn. "I said no. I'm not going to fight." A shove, and Old Kyoko was sent stumbling back. "You are!"

Then Kyoko took stock of her surroundings. The space all around them was suddenly filled, crowded with more versions of herself, all from various times in her life, all of whom had in their own way died in order for her to be where she was now. They all stood there, watching and waiting.

Kyoko nodded once. "You all are."

...

"YAAAAAHHHH!"

Silty reared back in surprise as Kyoko Sakura suddenly attacked. The human girl leapt at her, spear jabbing right at the andalite's throat.

Yanking her head out of the way just in time, Silty twisted her body around and whipped out with her tail. Kyoko blocked the blade with the pole of her spear, but it was enough to drive her back several steps, giving Silty enough time to assess the situation around her.

All around her, everyone was under attack by Kyoko Sakura. At the same time.

Each one of her deputies had found herself having to defend herself by an enraged spear-wielding human girl. They hastily retreated, trying to bring their own weapons to bear against their assailants, but the Kyoko Sakura(s) would not relent.

As for Charlotte Tomoe, she had stumbled back as yet another Kyoko Sakura came lunging down at her, spear first. Yelping, she rolled to the side to avoid being impaled, only to nearly have her head taken off by a high kick.

Mami Tomoe might have leapt to her wife's defense, but another Kyoko Sakura was after her as well. Before a musket could be drawn, her Kyoko was coming at her

The only person there not currently being attacked by one of Kyoko Sakura's doppelgangers was Oktavia von Seckendorff, though being spared did not relieve her agitation, apparently. She was still sitting in the middle of the road, frantically jerking her head this way and that as she tried to keep track of all the Kyoko Sakuras currently attacking everyone else.

"What...What is this?" she said. "What's going on? What the heck is going on here?"

Silty would have loved to respond, but she didn't have the explanation herself, and she was still very busy keeping herself from being impaled.

As Silty ducked another thrust, her advanced andalite mind suddenly seized upon a memory, one from the day that Kyoko Sakura and her friends had first arrived, in which Kyoko had told them that though it no longer worked for her, she had once had the ability to create-

"Stop fighting!" Silty called to everyone. "They're not real! Ignore them and-"

Suddenly Kyoko Sakura's foot came swinging around to crack against her cheek. Silty was knocked down into the dust.

Never mind, this one was real! Silty struggled to right herself, but her equine body was not as suited for that purpose as well as a human's was. She looked up, and saw the heels of two boots heading straight for her face.

...

"This person," Dorio said, tapping the puck that she had placed between herself and Elsa Maria. "You know her?"

Elsa Maria's body went tense when the image of a sallow-faced girl with wild, purple hair appeared. The hairstyle was different, but there was no mistaking who that was.

"We've...met," Elsa Maria responded. "We're not friends."

"Under what circumstances?"

Elsa Maria pursed her lips. She did not respond.

Sighing, Dorio hunched forward, her big hands clasped over her knees. "Look, I'm getting that there's someone you want to protect, something you think we're after. But clamming up like this isn't going to help anyone. If there's some kind of issue here, we can work it out." She then gestured toward the floating image of Annabelle Lee. "So, again. What's your relationship with this individual?"

Elsa Maria considered lying, but it was clear that that would be pointless. "She and her associates destroyed my home, beat me unconscious, and turned me over to their masters. I was imprisoned for several months because of them."

Kiwi leaned in. "And they did that...because?"

"Because I was helping someone that they were unrighteously pursuing. Their prey came to my home seeking sanctuary, and I gave it."

Dorio raised an eyebrow. "And...who were they pursuing these individuals on behalf of?"

"Oblivion." No point in hiding it. They already knew; Elsa could tell that much.

The trio of bounty-hunters all exchanged a brief glance. Then Dorio said, "Her associates. Was this one of them?"

Annabelle Lee's image was replaced with that of the bewildering Nikki Moffat. "Yes."

"And these?"

Next up was Arzt Kochen and Nie Blühen Herze. Elsa Maria remembered those two especially well. "Yes. All four of them."

Kiwi's brow creased. "Four? Not six?"

"What?" Elsa Maria said in confusion. "No. Just those four."

Dorio leaned in. "So you didn't see this woman with them."

The picture changed to that of a blonde Asian girl.

Elsa Maria shook her head. "No. I don't know who that is."

"And her?"

The next face she was greeted with was also Asian, one with short pink hair and blue eyes. Her skin was alabaster white, indicating either a witch or someone from a place with peculiar makeup trends.

"Not her either," Elsa said. Sometimes she wished that her magical knowledge of other people's names extended to pictures.

"Hmmm." Dorio settled back, her chair creaking under her large frame. "A few months ago, there was, ah, something of a ruckus up in Cloudbreak. You know what that is, right?"

"I've heard of it," Elsa Maria said guardedly.

"Details are sketchy, but there was a kidnapping attempt, one that appeared to have gone south almost immediately. Regardless, the perpetrators still managed to escape with their quarry." The air above the puck shimmered, and then all six portraits appeared in two lines. "All six of these individuals were involved."

Elsa Maria frowned. "Wouldn't that constitute a Compact violation?"

"There was some talk about that, but by all accounts, they were acting as free agents," Kiwi said. "Guess they got fired and were trying to get back into Oblivion's good graces."

Elsa Maria blinked once.

It was like the record of her mind had skipped a beat. Static filled her head, the world around her falling out of focus.

The dark of the cell. The hardness of the stone. No food, no water, no air. So long. Beyond hunger. Beyond thirst. Suffocation no longer matters. What is, is.

Wait. Something opening. Light! Painful, blinding light! Too much! Too much! Too much!

Air. Rasping her throat. Hurts to breathe. Hurts...

Someone here! Someone at the door! Someone...

No. Doesn't make sense. No. No!

What are you? What are you? What are-

Another blink, and Elsa Maria was back, with all three of the bounty-hunters staring at her.

"Uh, what's up?" Rebecca asked. "You just went all blank on us."

Shaken by her reverie, Elsa Maria slowly breathed out. "I...That doesn't make any...Why would she..."

Uncrossing her legs, Kiwi leaned forward. "What, are you on speaking terms with Oblivion or something?"

"I don't know."

Rebecca blinked. "Wait, you don't know? How the fuck do you not know?"

"I don't know!" Elsa Maria snapped in frustration. "It was very...strange. She...She said that she was Oblivion, but her name wasn't...she wasn't who..." Her head was starting to swirl, the whispers of the shadows growing louder, more insistent. "I don't know."

"Who?" Dorio demanded.

"Oblivion," Elsa Maria said. "She...She sent me. I think."

Rebecca's jaw dropped. "Holy fucksticks on an ass-melting day! You were sent by Oblivion?"

"No! I mean, yes. I mean..." Shaking, Elsa Maria dug her fingertips into her face as she hunched over. "I don't know!"

This pronouncement was greeted by silence. Kiwi and Dorio both glanced uneasily at one another, clearly unsure of what to make of this sudden turn. As for Rebecca, she nervously glanced around.

"Uh, anyone feeling like maybe this job's getting weirder than it's worth?" she said. "I mean, run down some stupid kidnappers, no problem. But this-"

Elsa Maria's pupils suddenly constricted, and she straightened up with a sharp gasp. "Wait!" You haven't told me who they kidnapped!"

Dorio shrugged. "Well, I'm guessing they were the same pair that you helped. These two ring any bells?"

She tapped the puck, and Elsa Maria's heart fell when she saw the next two faces.

It was as she had feared. Oktavia von Seckendorff, previously Sayaka Miki, and Kyoko Sakura. Annabelle Lee and her cohorts had gotten them.

But if they had, then why were they banished? And why had Oblivion-

You're going to find Big Sis Kyo for me! She's out there with her mermaid friend!

Elsa Maria's eyelid twitched. She jerked her head back and forth.

"Something wrong?" Kiwi asked.

"I...I do not know."

Dorio's eyes narrowed. "It's them, isn't it? It's them that you're searching for."

See? Now you know. They search for your friends, too. But not out of kindness. Oh no, not kind at all.

"And these two are also being sought by you?" Elsa Maria ventured.

"In a sense," Kiwi said. "They're victims, though. Not criminals."

"Eh, as far as we know," Rebecca said with a shrug. "You ask me, they were all in on it."

Contradiction. If kidnapped, then why did Oblivion send you?

Frowning, Elsa Maria tilted her head as she peered at the face of Oktavia von Seckendorff, to whom she owed so much. "But if these renegades did take them, why haven't they been handed over to Oblivion yet?"

"No clue," Kiwi said. "But you're the one who's apparently on speaking terms with her. So you'd probably know more."

A mistruth. They aren't telling you everything.

"I wish I did," Elsa Maria said. "Though something has just occurred to me. You know who sent me, but who sent you? Who commissioned the bounty?"

That got a reaction. All three of the bounty hunters shifted their weight. Not by much, but just enough that it was clear to Elsa Maria that just a little less relaxed than before, a little more on guard, and their focus on her had definitely sharpened.

"They wish to remain anonymous," Dorio said. Her tone was casual, but Elsa Maria could sense the tension in her voice.

A mistruth. The Alliance would not wish for this to be anonymous.

Oblivion? Perhaps she sends them, like she sends us.

A lie, a lie, a lie, a lie! They lie to us!

No. Caution. We must be cautious.

Elsa Maria slowly exhaled. Then she said, "Well, in that case, I presume that you will not mind if Oktavia von Seckendorff and Kyoko Sakura remain with me once your bounty has been claimed? Oblivion may have been the one to turn me loose, but I have no desire to do her bidding, and I definitely do not wish for those two to fall in her hands."

Rebecca's lip curled. "Yeah, no deal. We have a job to do."

Elsa Maria smiled back at her. "So. There is a bounty on them as well."

Dorio opened her mouth to say something, perhaps to clarify what her partner really meant, perhaps to clear up some kind of misunderstanding, but it did not matter. Elsa Maria had learned much in her travels. She had learned more about the afterlife and its workings than she ever could have from her isolated lighthouse.

Elsa Maria did not really consider herself the pessimistic sort. Even here, in this unnatural afterlife that existed apart from Heaven and Hell, God's will still held true. He was in control of all things, and He still had a plan. Elsa Maria believed this wholeheartedly. All things would eventually work for the good of all His children.

But that was more of a Big Picture sort of thing. Here, down on the ground, she had learned to not take chances, to not trust the altruism of others.

Dorio was still speaking, but it no longer mattered. The only voice that Elsa Maria cared to hear was that of the shadows, and they were quite insistent on what she needed to do.

The world again shrank down all around her, and darkness once again clouded her vision. But that was all right. Darkness was about to cloud everyone's vision.

...

Yes, getting kicked in the face hurt, but Silty had been hit with worse.

Getting knocked off her hooves, however, was a much greater problem.

Physically speaking, andalites had a great many advantages over humans. They were far faster, their eyes allowed them a greater field of vision, and their tails were natural weapons that humans simply could not compete with without magical enhancements. However, it could not be denied that humans did have the edge when it came to agility, as well as the ability to right one's self after being knocked to the ground.

Silty fell heavily onto her side, her legs kicking hard. Her face was smarting hard from the kick, and the disorientation made it difficult to keep track of her opponent. She lashed out with her tail, hoping to at the very least drive the frantic human back.

No such luck. Kyoko dropped down and again drove both boots into Silty's face, harder and more direct this time. The andalite's world exploded into stars before going dark.

When she came to, she was still lying on her side in the middle of the road. Everything was swimming around her, and her face hurt. What had happened? What hit her.

Right. Right, it had been Kyoko Sakura. Lifting a hand, she gingerly touching her throbbing face and winced. That girl was really turning out to be a problem.

"Silty?" she heard Deputy Walters say. "Boss, are you okay?"

Breathing heavily, Silty looked around. Kyoko Sakura was gone, all five of her. So was the valk.

Her nostrils fluttered in a long exhale. Well. That complicated things.

"Kyoko?" Oktavia called as she looked around. "Kyoko! Where'd you go?"

Rubbing her aching head, Silty shifted her legs under her body and pushed herself back up. "I'm fine," she grumbled. "Report."

Deputy Walters spat. "Well, her little decoy trick took us all off guard. Except you. That was actually her fightin' you."

"So I gathered. I take she's gone?"

"Split as soon as you went down, along with her pet."

Of course. "Lissoro, which way did they go?"

Her vekoo deputy lifted her snout and took a sniff. "Hmmm. I'd say...over thataway," she said, gesturing out into the field of open grass.

"Y'know, I thought we was jus' gonna be huntin' coyotes," Deputy Walters complained. "This is gettin' way above my pay grade."

"Oh, I dunno," Deputy Lissoro said, her eyes glittering. "A valk is way more excitin' than coyotes."

Charlotte Tomoe snorted. "Yeah, right until they rip your shoulder out, leaving you bedridden for three days!"

Silty turned toward her. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"I am speaking from experience! Very painful experience!"

Well, that explained the anger. "All right, regardless of what it is, this is has gone on long enough. Girls? Saddle up before she-"

And then the sky turned green.

Silty froze, and then turned all four eyes skyward. A ribbon of yellow light pulsed out across the sky from Liddelton, followed by the deep sound of a gong being struck.

And then the sky softened back to blue.

"What the fuck was that?" Charlotte Tomoe demanded.

Silty sighed. Of all the times. "That was Elder Bitchslap."

"What? The calliope? Huh?"

Silty was already turning around. "That was a signal for me specifically, only used in instances when there is trouble that requires my immediate attention."

"What?" Oktavia von Seckendorff gaped. "B-But this is all kinds of immediate! You can't just leave!"

"They would not have summoned me in this manner were it not urgent. I'm sorry, but this must take precedence."

"Are you serious? So, what, you're just gonna let Kyoko run off, just like that?"

"No." Silty then turned her stalk eyes toward her two deputies. "Lissoro. Walters. Find and subdue Kyoko Sakura. Try not to use violence if possible, but she is not to leave the ranch. Put her in a cell for the time being. We'll deal with her after the situation at Liddelton has been resolved."

Deputy Walters frowned. "Uh, what about the valk?"

"Capture it if possible. Do not risk yourself, but I would prefer if the creature were unharmed. I recommend putting it to sleep."

"Um," Deputy Walters blinked. "By that, do you mean-"

Silty sighed. "Yes, I mean literally to sleep. Knock it out and put it in a pen!" Humans and their bizarre terminologies that they used to describe death.

"Personally, I'd go with the figurative meaning," Charlotte Tomoe muttered.

"What about us?" Mami Tomoe asked.

"You three head back to your homes and stay there until you are called for. Neither this situation nor the one I'm presumably being summoned for will be helped by your direct involvement."

"Oh, heck no!" Oktavia von Seckendorff exclaimed. "I can't just stay out of the way and do nothing!"

By all the bloody tails of Crangar, this was already making Silty late. "You can and you will!" Silty mentally commanded. She kicked off into a gallop, heading back to Liddelton as quickly as her hooves could take her. "That is not a request! If you want what's best for Kyoko Sakura, then you will stay out of it!"

...

Mami stared after Sheriff Silty as she galloped away, off to go handle some new crisis. Part of her was aware that she ought to get moving, either to go after Kyoko or to obey the sheriff's command to get out of the way, but for some reason she could do neither.

Then Deputy Walters shot them a glare. "You heard the sheriff," she said. "Get!" With that, she plunged into the grass, with Deputy Lissoro taking to the sky above her.

Why was this happening? This was supposed to be a good day. Kyoko and Oktavia were going to have their first date. She and Charlotte were going to spend some quality time together. Nothing bad was supposed to happen. Why had everything gone so wrong? Why-

Then Charlotte took her by the arm. "Come on," she said. "We should get back-"

"Get back to finding Kyoko before she goes away forever!" Oktavia shouted. "My God, Charlotte! I know you're mad, but what the hell is wrong with you?"

"The deputies are handling it!" Charlotte protested. "We'll just get in the way!"

"Oh, sure! Yeah, they'll totally be able to handle it!" Oktavia rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm going after her. Go on back if you're too scared to help your friend."

Charlotte was aghast. "Tavi, it's not like that! She was hiding a valk! I don't know if I can just forgive-"

Then a baseball-sized train wheel smacked her in the head.

"Ow!"

"I'm not asking you to forgive," Oktavia seethed. "I'm asking you to fucking help!"

With that, Oktavia slammed both of her palms into the dusty road. Dozens of glowing lines shot out from her through the ground, stopping when a circle appeared to encompass them all, forming a wheel and spokes. The train wheel lifted off of the ground, bearing the mermaid with it.

Though her face had gone pale, Oktavia was resolute in the path she had chosen. She hovered up over their heads and turned herself in the direction that the deputies had gone. And then she shot off.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Charlotte gawked as she stared after her. "This is not happening! No way is this happening!"

Mami's hands had started to tremble. She inhaled deeply and forced them to stop.

"Come on," she said, taking Charlotte by the hand. "Let's go after them."

"But...Mami, I don't-"

"Charlotte," Mami said softly. "There's a time and place for everything. And this is neither the time nor place for you to get caught up with your issues with Kyoko. All we can do now is try to help those that we care about."

"I-" Then Charlotte grimaced. "Fuck. Fine. Let's go. That thing better not bite me, though!"

Mami gave her hand a squeeze. "It won't. Oh, um, please don't kill it, though?"

"I won't attack it if it doesn't attack me first," Charlotte growled. "No promises beyond that."

Good enough. Hand-in-hand, they ran through the grass, hoping to catch up before something else went wrong.

...

Deputy Susan Palatsky was in what some might refer to as a tizzy.

The Liddelton jail rarely had much in the way of inmates. Occasionally a local might get drunk and kick up a fuss, needing for her to cool her heels for a few hours, and occasionally someone from the outside might be caught behaving in an unquestionably unneighborly fashion, but those were rarely kept around long. Honestly, the exiled Void Walkers were the longest anyone's been kept in a long time, going on nearly a month now, which ought to be exciting, but after having to put up with those four, Susan had hoped to cut them loose after about a day.

However, her job was her job, and if the elders wanted those four kept under lock and key at all times, then dagnabbit, Susan was going to ensure that they stayed locked up!

Which was why Susan was having such a fit. For Annabelle Lee and Ticky Nikki to just up and disappear on her watch, when she was responsible for everyone in the jail, was a total catastrophe! She knew she ought to have been paying more attention, but come on! How were they going to get out?

Well, apparently they had found a way! And not only that, they had just strolled right out in broad daylight, without any sort of elaborate plan or outside help!

"This is stupid, this makes no gosh-darned sense," she muttered to herself as she paced back and forth between the two empty cells. Both had their doors open, which confounded all reality. Those doors had been locked, and she had the keys! And she certainly had not let them out! They had both been there in the morning when she had come by with breakfast, as unpleasant in their disposition as ever. But when lunchtime had rolled around, they had simply vanished! The doors to their cells were wide open, as was the back door!

Then a field of orange flickered over one of the closed cells. It stuttered briefly and winked out, before another did the same in front of a different cell. Whatever it was that had set those two loose, it had also played merry havoc with the energy fields that were in place to keep the prisoners from simply smashing their way out, causing the whole thing to short out. A whole new set of enchantments was going to be needed to set things right again. Oh, Silty was going to be pissed!

Susan stopped pacing and took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm her nerves. She needed to get in contact with Sheriff Silty. She and a couple other deputies were currently out in the grazing fields, trying to hunt down that creature that had been preying on the flocks. If she acted now, there might be time to wrangle up the two runaways before they got away.

But if she did, then she might as well hand in resignation! Silty would not take kindly to her letting two high-profile inmates simply walk out while on her watch! What was she going to do?

"You know, I really do think you're getting close to uncovering their hiding spot!" mocked an irritatingly nasal voice from one of the cells. "I bet if you stare into those extremely empty cells one more time, they'll pop right into view!"

"Shut your mouth!" Susan snapped. "Why didn't you say nothin' when they left?"

That was another mystery. In leaving, Annabelle Lee and Ticky Nikki had left their two identical accomplices behind. Arzt Kochen and Nie Blühen Herze remained locked safely away in their cells, as if nothing had happened. According to them, Annabelle Lee had simply floated out of her cell, retrieved her little sister from hers without aid of a key, and left without so much as saying a word. She had ignored both of The Twins' questions and demands, abandoning them to their fate.

"Why would we?" Nie sneered. "I see no reason why we should be doing your job for you, you mindless bumpkin."

"She left you behind to rot! Don't you at least want revenge?"

From her own cell, Arzt let out a derisive laugh. "Sweetie-cakes, I don't know how much you know about our history, but the revenge business hasn't exactly worked out well for us. Besides, you didn't see her. There was clearly something wrong with her, something that we wanted no part of."

Susan paused. Then she hurried over to Arzt's cell. "Wrong? Like what?"

Arzt was standing in the middle of the plain room, hands clasped behind her back, staring out from between the bars at the frantic deputy. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said with a smirk.

Susan angrily slammed her palm against the bars. "Tell me!"

"No."

Furious, Susan was about to turn to march away, but then Arzt said, "Though I'll tell you one thing: that horse of a sheriff is not going to be happy once she's found out that you've been sleeping on the job. Two prisoners just up and walk-"

"Float," Nie corrected. "Only Nikki was walking."

"Of course, my dear. Float and walk away." Arzt tittered. She strolled over to the bars and curled the fingers of one hand around them. "Oh, she will have your head."

"Shut up!" Susan stomped over to her cell. "If anyone's head is gonna roll, it'll be yours!"

"And why is that?" Arzt said, bringing her mocking face in closer to the gap between two bars. "We're prisoners. No responsibilities, no expectations. Afraid all of that falls on your incompetent shoulders."

"Tough talk comin' from someone behind bars!" Susan snapped as she pressed her own face up against the bars of Arzt's cell so that they were nearly nose-to-nose. "But trust me, the Sheriff is gonna be way more-"

Then she paused. Wait. Did something just bite her? Like a mosquito? Or...five mosquitoes?

She looked down. There, extending out from the bars of Arzt's cell, were the needles of the prisoner's syringe-hand. And all five had plunged into Susan's belly.

But how? The energy field ought to-

Oh. The energy field that was currently fizzing in and out. And just so happened to be out. That energy field.

"Oops!" Arzt said. "Clumsy me! Well, it looks as if we won't be around to take the blame for this pratfall. Sorry, Darling, but I'm afraid any consequences are going to be born by you and you alone!"

Susan might have retorted, but she found that she had somehow forgotten how to speak. Or stand, for that matter. Actually, she was forgetting how to do a lot of things, including exist.

The last thing she felt before everything went black was the fingers of Arzt's human hand curling around the ring of keys on the deputy's belt.

...

Body shaking, breath barely able to come in as anything greater than a tiny gasp, and starting to lose her years'-long battle against her tears, Kyoko fled through the fields of Wonderland Ranch, Jerky alongside her. Behind her, the others had no doubt banished the illusions she had used to take them off guard so that she and Jerky could make their mistake, and would be hunting them down soon.

Kyoko couldn't let them catch her. They would undoubtedly kill Jerky, and she couldn't let him down again.

Up ahead was a wooden building with several ceramic pipes running in and out of its walls. Smoke rose up from a couple of smokestacks, and barrels were stacked along its walls. It was one of the canneries that, well, canned the various good that the ranch produced before they were shipped out to the different other communities that the ranch did business with. The two made for the building, finally collapsing in the shade by the wall. Normally a run like that wouldn't even have winded Kyoko, but with everything that had happened, she could barely even catch her breath.

As for Jerky, he was still fresh, but clearly upset. He chittered and growled at her, demanding some kind of explanation for what was no doubt a very bewildering day.

Kneeling down in front of the agitated creature, Kyoko reached in to scratch him behind the crest. "Jerky, we got to get out of here, you understand? The others…they won't see you the way I do. They'll kill you. I got to get you out of here."

The acid green lights of Jerky's eyes flared up, and he hissed.

"No, I'm go-" The words caught in Kyoko's throat. She shook her head, took in as deep a breath as she could manage, and spoke slower. "I'm going with you this time. I can't stay. I fucked up." She moved the hand she was scratching his neck with lower, though remaining careful to stay away from any stray spittle that might drip from his jaws. "I should've tried harder to find you. I'm not going to leave you alone again."

Once again demonstrating a scary amount of understanding, Jerky seemed to be somewhat mollified by her words. His growling calmed to a low rumble, and he tilted his head to one side, giving her better access.

Kyoko let out a bitter laugh. "Man, I should've known this would happen, huh? I was an idiot, thinking me and the fish could be something, and we'd never have to think about the Sayaka thing. Maybe she'd come around. Maybe we could just, I don't know, be happy never talking about it, and I'd just keep finding a way to bring her all the way back." She sighed. "But it don't work that way. I was just hurting her too."

Jerky harrumphed.

"I know. Story of my life, right? Even when I try to be the good guy, I just end up being worse." A dozen different faces passed through her mind, some living, most dead. "But it just ain't fair! No matter what I did, someone would lose! I promised Sayaka that I'd bring her back! I promised her, Jerky! Am I just supposed to say, 'Whoops! Sorry, guess you gotta stay asleep forever!'?" She shook her head. "But if I keep trying, then that's just going to hurt-"

Oktavia.

"-the fish, and I can't do that! I can't make her want to go back! Like, what if I bring Sayaka back, okay? What if I find the secret magic trick to do it, but it turns out that I gotta erase the fish to do so? All that time we spent together, everything that she is!" Kyoko held out both hands, palms facing each other, and puffed them apart. "Poof! All gone! That'd just be like killing her, wouldn't it?"

Even with his surprising amount of understanding, Jerky was starting to look a little lost.

"Oh, you're confused? I don't even know if they're really the same person anymore! Like, I was sure that they were, but then I talked to both and now I don't know what to think!"

Jerky harrumphed.

Sighing, Kyoko reached down to give him another scratch. "Well, I guess it's for the best. Just need some space, you know? Let everyone cool off. A-And when the time is right, maybe we can...can start talking to them again, and, um-"

Her throat tightened, cutting off her lies.

Damn it.

Then Kyoko paused.

Wait.

Tick-tock.

What was that? That sound?

Tick-tock.

Was that a clock? Some old mechanical clock?

Tick-tock.

But why would a clock be out here? And why would be ticking so loud, like Captain Hook's crocodile nemesis?

Tick-tock.

A sharp shiver trickled its way down her spine. A cold wind blew over the field, in defiance of the balminess of the day, sending a wave of dry rustling through the grass.

High, piping giggles echoed through the air from somewhere far off. Kyoko was immediately on guard. She knew that laugh.

The giggles came again, closer this time. Ticky Nikki. That was Ticky Nikki's laugh.

Then it was like the whole world had blinked. For a brief second all the light dimmed, though she was standing outside and it was in the middle of the day. When it brightened again, Ticky Nikki was standing right there, atop a nearby barrel, one of her knives clenched in her hand.

Kyoko spun to face her, spear brandished and at the ready. Ticky Nikki tilted her head to one side and giggled once last time.

Tick-tock.

Then the world blinked again. When the lights came on, Ticky Nikki was gone.

But the whole world had gone insane.

The sky above was now a syrupy purple, swimming with the textures of watercolors. The cannery swaying and heaving, as if viewed through swirling water, while the pipes, vents, and walls began to bleed black scum. The grass had turned grey and was shaking violently, all shivering together with a loud rustling, like the patter of thousands of tiny, hard legs against stone.

Kyoko knew exactly what she was looking at. Time used to be that she would see scenes like this all the time.

But how? Wasn't it impossible, now?

Etherdale.

Mephisto.

Of course it's not impossible.

"Jerky," she said as she slowly rose to her feet. "You seeing this?"

Jerky clearly did. He straightened up as well, every muscle tensed and on high alert. Growling in agitation, he looked this way and that, trying to find the source of the threat.

He needn't have bothered. Kyoko had already spotted her.

There, out in the shivering field, was a clearing. And placed in the middle of that clearing was a table, and seated at that table was a figure that Kyoko knew all too well, an emaciated girl wearing a brown leather jacket with wild hair of a deep amethyst blowing wildly behind her, as if she were facing a powerful headwind.

Oh no.

Were all of Kyoko's sins coming home to roost? What was next, the specter of her father rising up from Hell to drag her down with him?

Annabelle Lee then turned her head to stare right into Kyoko's eyes. And as Kyoko locked gazes with those glowing violet hell-lights, she found herself genuinely afraid of her for the first time since she had first met the broken renegade who had become her most persistent problem.

"Kyoko," Annabelle Lee, and for once her voice was without contempt, malice, or scorn. Rather, she was greeting Kyoko as one would greet their best friend. Though there was a chilling echo to it, as if heard at the end of a long and narrow tunnel.

Before Kyoko could respond, something slammed into the back of her knees, knocking her back. Her ass hit a seat that had not been there a moment again, and suddenly she was swept forward, born along on a speeding chair that charge forward with all the momentum of a runaway train, and all Kyoko could do was hold on for dear life.

Chair and girl alike rushed through the field, grass slapping at her legs, as the unnerving apparition of Annabelle Lee rushed up to meet her.

Right when the chair was mere centimeters from driving Kyoko into the table, it came to an abrupt stop, nearly throwing her off of it. Fortunately, the grip Kyoko had on its sides prevented her from being fully flung forward, but the jerk was still strong enough to bang her lower chest into the table's side. Kyoko gasped in pain.

"Hello, Kyoko," Annabelle Lee greeted her. "I know we still have a few days before your next scheduled visit, but I couldn't wait."

As Kyoko forced herself to straighten up, she saw that there was a grid of white-and-black squares on the table, and on that grid were several round playing pieces, some of them red, others black. It was their checkers game, exactly as Kyoko had left it.

"We never finished our game, Kyoko," Annabelle Lee said. She swept her hand over the board, indicating the pieces that they had left. "And I believe you wanted to know what it was that makes me tick, right?"

Shaking her head, Kyoko said, "Look, this really isn't-"

Suddenly one of her pieces moved without her having touched it. Kyoko shut up.

Ignoring Kyoko's protest, Annabelle Lee started talking, her violet eyes staring unblinking across the table. "You know, Freehaven is kind of, oh, let's call it an anomaly. Nice place, people there so kind and understanding and there to help. Hell, if Oblivion hadn't taken interest in you, then you and Oktavia would have had a nice and easy death ahead of you. But as I'm sure you've noticed, most of the afterlife isn't nice at all. And if you end up in one of those not-nice places after your death, well, then you're kind of fucked." On the board, one of Annabelle Lee's pieces also jumped to the next space of its own accord. "You wanted to know why I'm the way I am? What makes me tick? Why I'm still going after you in defiance of all sense? Well then, let me tell you a story…"

...

This was supposed to be a filler arc! Five installments, tops! It was supposed to check westerns off the list and let Mami hit hot metal with a hammer! That was it! What happened?

Not that I'm necessarily complaining, mind you, but seriously! What happened?

Also, this chapter and the previous one were supposed to be one chapter, but again, I am trying to keep things in the thirty pages range. And after that, this chapter and the next were also supposed to be one single chapter, but I had to snip it again. So, um, yeah. This arc is still has a little more left in it.

Until next time, everyone.