Allan Finch would rarely if ever question the mayor, it wasn't his place… But he did need to confirm this. "All of them, sir?"

Mayor Wilkins chuckled as he calmly reviewed the day's paperwork. "Well, a few side projects will continue… After all, not all of my various endeavors are to fuel my eventual Ascension! Some tasks are just gathering interesting people and items and some such for study. Or due to others not appreciating the value such things may hold."

Allan reviewed the list once more. "Sir, this will drastically restructure the majority of ongoing operations."

The Mayor nodded happily. "Indeed it will!"

…The man paused, seeing Allan's confusion, and sighed with a smile. "Ah, perhaps in my overwhelming glee and eagerness I failed to convey the recent changes to my long term strategies?"

Allan didn't even twitch. "I couldn't say, sir."

Still, Mayor Wilkins hummed. "No, I'm now certain I failed to explain myself properly." He set aside the forms scheduling the next few meetings and stood, leading his deputy to another room where they could both sit more comfortably.

Not that Allan would, he had standards. Still, the effort was appreciated.

The man above men sat with good cheer and carefully opened the box he had retrieved. "Tell me, Mr. Finch: What do you see here?"

Confused, he still didn't hesitate. "Oatmeal cookies, sir."

A raised eyebrow. "Really? Well, to each his own." And the Mayor carefully lifted one of the very delicious snacks… And it was clearly now made of glowing green crystals. It had always been so, even when it had been an Oatmeal cookie.

What… How? "I don't understand, sir."

Mayor Wilkins chuckled. "The new product from our wonderful town's bakery! Ms. Doe called them 'Essence Cookies', and they have a delightful little property of becoming whatever form of cookie-like dessert most desired and beloved by the holder."

And now the cookie was pulsing red flesh like an infant's heart. No, a black ooze with eyes and… Wait, a cookie shaped banana!?

His boss grinned as he held the shifting snack. "In the hands of someone with a powerful mind, like say… A fairly well accomplished sorcerer, for instance? Well, let's just say it provides intriguing new options and avenues of pursuit when it comes to my long term goals."

The Mayor happily bit into something that squealed and was still cookie shaped. "Mmm, just wonderful. But back on topic, Mr. Finch, this marvelous opportunity allows me to realign many of my less enjoyable but necessary actions into more palpable options entirely. Oh, I'd still make the hard decisions if required, immortality and the endless powers of an Old One don't come easy you know!"

Allan nodded. "As you say, sir."

The leader (And ruler) of Sunnydale smiled with satisfaction as he examined the still shifting delacy in his grip. "In many ways, this unexpected boon has been nothing but a demon sent blessing! Ritual components of exceptional quality at my grasp, impossible materials casually gathered by shopping for morning baked goods, and so many, MANY bridges I no longer have to burn. Favors that I've gathered for centuries I now get to keep, bound servants that can remain useful instead of being consumed to complete goals…"

He chuckled. "And on top of all that? Most of my less public actions of a questionable nature can now be replaced with more politically correct opportunities instead! I can dispense with many of my damage mitigation activities, and there would be little to no 'illicit deeds' to even be uncovered in the first place… The budget will look wonderful this quarter, now that I don't have to have so many silenced or handled or disposed of every month!"

Allan blinked. "Sir?"

Mayor Wilkins used raw will to force the cookie to float in the air. "Mr. Finch, these little delights conform to the desires of the one consuming them. And when it comes to minds and willpower, I have a significant advantage compared to most… In the end, you can make a cookie out of anything if you Believe hard enough."

And the cookie began to glow with a blue light as the Mayor winced. "A bit draining, but it works with enough dedicated effort. Simple enough for a man of my talents… After all, politics requires a keen mind and the ability to adapt to change!"

He examined the shimmering snack closer. "Yes… In fact, I believe the ritual itself will be even MORE effective using these instead of sacrificing Souls tainted by the Hellmouth itself. A Soul Essence cookie would lack the raw energy being gathered by the local residents, but for sacrifices like this? Well, purity untouched by the mortal Realm has a quality all of its own!"

As the glow sparkled in the meeting room, Allan couldn't restrict his eyes from widening. "Amazing, sir!"

The Mayor hummed, quite satisfied with himself. "A bit of practice and hard work on my part will be required, but overall the altered schedule will be significantly less complicated and stressful than my previous plans despite the additional power enhancement and mental stability reinforcements. Without these Souls being touched by any physical form, a lot of corruption and taint and twisted karma will no longer be an issue, which will also drastically speed up preparations…"

Allan nodded, now fully understanding the situation. "I'll begin drawing down our forces and reallocating the resources currently deployed on the marked taskings immediately."

The near immortal Sorcerer gave a nod as the levitated baked goods began shifting materials again. "Good man…" Then he sighed. "But delightful moments and brief snacks aside…" He devoured the metallic fragments of cookie with neat motions. "I must get back to keeping the paperwork in order."

As Allen left the room, he could hear the Mayor chuckling as he talked to himself… "I may even be able to reduce Slayer contingency plans entirely… Why would she even bother to stop my 'dastardly and evil plan' of eating cookies at a high school during graduation?"

~~~Pocket System~~~

Jessica leaned against the wall as her brother showed her the massive number of information screens summarizing his work. "ALL of them are evil?"

Her brother hummed. "Most of them, yeah. Side effect of Belief being a big deal here, I think. A LOT of people assume banks are greedy and evil and that Lawyers are greedy and evil and soulless and that politicians are greedy and evil and soulless and corrupt and…"

No, that makes sense. "Well, that's not good. We can't just get rid of ALL of them."

John blinked. "I mean, we COULD, but uh… Yeah, the economy would collapse. Actually, strangely enough, the fact that ALL the leaders are corrupt is somehow reassuring to the people… Since they all expect a certain quotient of 'evil' from anyone in charge, the most openly messed up leaders are also the most honest and hard working options to pick from."

She paused, considering that… "Because EVERYONE is evil and corrupt here, anyone who isn't INSTANTLY obvious in that way may be significantly WORSE then expected when off the clock?"

The boy nodded. "Yep! Thankfully this is one of those cases where 'Everything is SO bad it loops back around to good', because the leaders are fighting each other and their own campaigns and supporters so much that almost nothing evil actually gets done. It is in some sort of very odd balance, in a way."

Jessica frowned. "That… That can't be accidental."

John pulled up some data. "Statistically no, there are probably people in the background keeping it all in deadlock and in a holding pattern somehow."

Well, as long as what they set up would stay stable when they moved on from this messed up place. "What's to stop some of these banks lying to you about the new accounts then?"

He pulled up more screens. "Oh, some are, but to convince their competitors that they are more powerful and wealthy and blah blah blah, they ACT like they haven't stolen stuff and treat the money as if it is there even as the ones they are trading with are ALSO stealing our money but pretending they have not and…"

John sighed. "Basically, EVERYONE stole ALL the money I invested into this mess, but since they are stealing from each other too and lying about their various fees and procedures and all that? It effectively means that the new accounts, which are always empty, will also always have the money we theoretically SHOULD have available when we need it. Or, when the Slayer needs it, in this case."

Jessica just… Couldn't process that. "You mean they have been so evil and corrupt that they are accidently doing their job properly?"

He shrugged. "Actually, due to internal squabbling, I think we are accidentally earning more interest on the money we don't have than we should be. I'm not sure this new financial web network thing I've set up can EVER be dismantled, not without a lot of people all suddenly going public and telling nothing but the truth for a few weeks."

What a headache. "Could that happen?"

John shook his head. "No. Most of them have sold their Souls and made pacts and deals with all sorts of powers and entities… They CAN'T go honest like that long enough for it to matter. Not enough to affect the end result of all the new paperwork."

They sat in silence for a while, both watching the live feeds of uncountable funds being stolen and redirected and short bundled and resold and under valued and over spent and double dealed and under tabled and secretly traded and openly slandered and on and on…

It was sort of beautiful in it's own, corruption engulfing way.

Eventually John broke the near silence. "Thanks for talking to the girls, sis."

She nodded. "They haven't been pushing?"

Her brother shrugged. "There's still a bit of teasing, but only Grace and Temptation have continued to show actual interest now… Everyone has thankfully stopped being so aggressive about it all, and it feels more like hanging out with really attractive friends instead of being hunted by Milfs on the prowl."

Oh? "Which one's are Grace and Temptation?"

John glanced around to double check that both of them were still alone in the control room. "The shortest angel is Grace, and the tallest demoness is Temptation… They've also been shifting away from their initial forms as they get more comfortable having identities separate from the Legends that helped Craft them."

She glanced to make sure he didn't look stressed or uncomfortable. "Interesting names?"

Her brother blushed. "Ah, well… Like I said, Iron Golems aren't actually revived ghosts of past defenders, they are more just really advanced magical statues of them, at least initially. Most of the girls don't care about that, and George just spends all his time flexing, but those two girls wanted to have something that belonged just to them and uh…"

She grinned slightly at his awkward shuffling. "So you named them?"

John coughed. "I only named Grace, Temptation is just a little bit sassy and thought her name would compliment her 'sister'. Then she started gesturing about how twins would be so hot and how the 'Gap Moe' would compliment them both and then…"

He caught his sister's amusement and huffed. "Anyway, both Grace and Temptation have kept the others from going too far. None of them want to make Grace cry and Temptation has this big hammer she hides somewhere that can even knock George back a few steps, so I'm under way less stress now."

Jessica chuckled. "Good… And always feel free to come to me if it ever gets too much, or if you need something changed or… Just anything, alright?"

His smile was small but warm. "Thanks sis."

Good. "Anytime."

More silence for a while, the magical screens showing financial magic floating above.

John glanced at her. "Are you SURE you don't need to be there for this 'grand opening'?"

Jessica didn't wince. "I'm sure they are handling it just fine."

Seeing his lack of confidence in her assessment, she sighed. "Maybe we should check in again. Bring up the video feeds?"

So he did.

Chaos.

Pure Chaos.

It was like a carnival wrapped up in circuses while an army of families and out of town visitors exploded into action throughout the Park. The market was selling all sorts of stuff at rates FAR exceeding their capacity, not noticing the issues because [[Home]] kept silently Crafting 'just a couple more' items left in stock along the way.

MANY supplies and materials were being Crafted by the Pocket System on the sly right now, and even then it was nearly having issues keeping up in some areas!

The many clubs and several theaters were stuffed with teenagers, a small army of adults were wandering the multitude of hiking trails, all the swimming locations would be overcrowded if the area to spread out wasn't so obscenely ridiculous…

And MOST of the endless crowds were young, hopped up on sugar/raw magic/Essence food, all now ready to party and insistent on doing so RIGHT NOW!

…This was at least PARTIALLY due to many of their parents being drawn away by the temptation of the massive Underpark, and the salacious options within.

John blinked as he altered the video stream to show the steady stream of people being lifted and carried out by security. "Huh, guess even a Bill knows not to move when a ton of magical iron grabs you by the throat and kicks you out."

He pulled up another feed to his bodyguards outside, this one bidirectional. "Hey girls and George… What are the statistics for fatal actions against Hostiles so far?"

Temptation bounced on her heels (Gulp!) then quickly reported as she swayed her hips.

John refocused. "So few? Wow, that's… That's great!" Especially considering the number of creatures and demons wandering around the Upperpark right now without bothering to disguise their inhuman forms.

Jessica on the other hand was staring at the absolute madness going on outside… And casually placed her hand on John's head. "Close the feeds, please."

Her brother blinked. "Huh? Alright."

Then the loud riotous noise from the video feeds vanished and the silent, peaceful stream of financial murder and betrayal filled the control room.

After a bit, John carefully spoke up. "I'm pretty sure it will calm down a bit after a few days… Or weeks at the most?"

Jessica didn't move her hand from his head, just stared at the numbers. The quiet, calm, simplistic numbers that represented life and death and death and murder on a digital scale in a mostly fictional financial world.

More silence ensued.

Glorious, glorious silence.

"Going to keep hiding here?"

"Oh yeah. Bring up the stock market screens again. The green and red colors are soothing."