In which we see the return of Badass Anya... and the rise of Badass Damian.

... Oh, and "sports".

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Damian sighed, leaned against the back of the bench, and watched his breath billow into the air. His fingers ached from pulling out the chilled pyramid of benches just in time, and he rested by watching the field slowly fill up with students, competitors, teachers, parents, and even casual observers.

He zipped up his jacket even further as he watched them set up the obstacles for the tournament. Damian loathed the winter tournament purely because it was cold, but he couldn't deny the competitive effect it had on students and parents alike. Even he felt swept up with it all - although, being an Imperial Scholar, Damian was expected to help set up tournaments, clean up after them, and compete in them, and he looked forward to the end of the day when he could rest, but for the time being, he took advantage of every rest opportunity that he could. At least he didn't have to compete in the Obstacle Course, since Anya had already agreed to represent Cecile House.

The course was arranged as a loop, with various obstacles set up at intermittent intervals, starting and finishing at the benches where all the crowds would be the most concentrated. In the meantime, competitors would have to leap over hurdles, then complete a challenge, then cross the river into the forest (losing visibility from the crowd) to weave through tire drills and take a series of rope swings, before crossing back over the river, and racing the last leg to get to a set of three climbing walls, before finally crossing the finish line.

Honestly, he wondered how much the committee had blown the budget by (because why), and who approved this fiasco of hazards. The crowd wouldn't be able to even see part of the competition, save for the commentator that would be seated in the observation tower, watching everything from a safe distance to be able to relay back to the crowds. Anya wouldn't even be able to hear them cheering for her for most of it.

Distantly, he knew that he should be with Anya, helping to motivate her for the tournament and to cheer her on, but truthfully, Damian had no idea how to talk to Anya any more. Since his talk with Dr Forger five days ago (again, not sure if he could call him that anymore), he felt unbelievably awkward around her, as if his body had gone back in time to when his crush on her was unrequited. It was horrible, and uncomfortable, and Damian mostly dealt with it by avoiding Anya altogether, which made him feel even worse.

It wasn't Anya's fault that she knew so many things, and didn't tell him. He knew that, but at the same time, Damian couldn't help but feel put out. He couldn't imagine being in her position, and yet, Damian wondered what he would do if he was. Would he have told her, if their roles were reversed? Would he have been able to look at her the same?

A part of him was terrified of the possibility that she just didn't trust him at all, but Damian knew that wasn't the case. She had trusted him before with her other secrets, right? But since she disclosed her first secret to him, they kept growing in magnitude and weight, and it was harder for her to say them to him at all, to the point that he ended up finding out everything from everyone else but her - and yet Damian was the one feeling like the worst boyfriend in the world. All because he didn't know what to say to her.

Dr Forger told him about his father, and it was beyond anything he could have imagined. Damian had prepared himself for the possibility that Donovan Desmond was in some kind of legal trouble, most likely some kind of corruption, like embezzlement, or bribery, or something else befitting of a high-profile politician - but human experimentation for military projects was a hundred steps too far. How was he supposed to cope with the idea that his father had coordinated something so horrible?

And to make matters worse, Anya was a direct victim of the project - and she knew that it was Damian's father behind it - so why didn't she hate him? Why did she still insist on standing by him even through all that? Why did she go to him for comfort at all, when she could have saved herself the emotional heartache? Deep inside, Damian knew that there was no way that Anya could still love him after all that, but it was too painful to think about - so he did what he did best, and distracted himself by focusing on other tasks.

He suitably distracted himself with their biology exam (now come and gone), he needed to assist with the inter-house tournament, and he was also on the committee for the Imperial Ball (not that he wanted to be - but it would have looked bad if he didn't volunteer). He had several excuses ready and waiting in case anyone noticed that he didn't know how to talk to Anya anymore, even though she probably already knew how he felt. He knew it was wrong, but he wasn't ready to talk to her about it. He was too afraid of what he might hear.

"Hey Bossman! Who said you were allowed to sit down?" A familiar voice called out to him, and Damian laughed as he stood from his spot on the bench.

Emile and Ewen wandered over, both clad in their puffy winter jackets, and even though most people hadn't yet made it to the field, Damian couldn't help but be grateful to the both of them for coming to keep him company straight after he had finished his duties. They no doubt had homework of their own to complete, but since his phone call to his father, they both did as much as they could to stick by him.

He was forever grateful to them for that, too. He probably gave them both a scare when they found him curled up into a ball of anxiety on the floor.

And, well… they didn't ask anything more, and he wasn't about to tell them any time soon. Damian couldn't cope with the idea that his best friends, his brothers, would never be able to look at him the same again.

Damian waited for them to get closer before he sat back down, and pulled the neck of his jacket further over his chin. "You guys are here early. The Tournament doesn't start for another twenty minutes."

Emile and Ewen gave each other a look - which Damian did not know how to decipher - and then slid next to him on the benches.

"Just wanted to get seats with a good view," said Ewen casually, and then shivered as his hands touched the metal back of the bench. "Jeez, these couldn't come with seat warmers or something…"

"Yeah!" Emile added with some enthusiasm, over the sound of Ewen's grumblings. "Bazooka Bill and Forger are going to kick ass at this! I can't wait!"

Despite everything, Damian allowed himself a small smile. He had no doubt that Anya would be amazing, and he had to agree with Emile. The event was definitely something to look forward to.

And then he noticed the pause, and the slight bit of tension in the air.

"Speaking of Anya…" said Ewen, and Damian suppressed a sigh.

"What is it this time?"

"Well, that's what we wanted to ask you," Emile twiddled his thumbs as he spoke, not making eye contact with the other two.

Damian couldn't hide the confusion on his face. "What do you mean?"

Emile and Ewen exchanged another look, and Damian tried to keep his face neutral, even though the sweat built in his palms.

"Nothing's wrong," Ewen began. "Er, well, you know, we're just wondering-"

"If maybe there was something that-"

"You know we're here, and uh-"

"For crying out loud," Damian scoffed. "What do you want? Spit it out."

And for once, both Emile and Ewen were at a sudden loss for words.

"Well the thing is, er-"

"Did something happen at her house?" said Emile, looking directly at Damian. "You've both been acting weird, and, er…"

"It's hard to watch, honestly," Ewen sighed, grateful that Emile was the one who had the most courage out of the both of them.

Damian blinked at them both, completely speechless. Was it really that obvious? Either he had perceptive friends, or Damian wasn't as subtle as he thought.

"Everything's fine," said Damian mechanically, but his voice grated ever so slightly as the words left his mouth, and Damian cleared his throat to even it out. "It's fine."

Because how on earth was he supposed to say 'I found out that Anya's mother is an assassin, her uncle is in the secret service, her father is a Westalian spy, who is investigating my father for funding and coordinating experiments on children - oh, and her dog can see the future'?

How in the world could he ever explain the depth of his inner conflict and turmoil in trying to wrap his head around the fact that his father played a significant role in the experiments on Anya as a child - and that Anya knew about it? She knew his father was on the shadow board of the project that tortured her and probably ripped her away from her family, if she ever had one. How on earth could he ever begin to explain any of this to someone else, nevermind trying to understand it for himself?

After some time, Damian realised that he had gone quiet, and Ewen and Emile hadn't replied, instead they stared at him for several minutes as he went through all the thoughts in his head.

"Everything's fine," he said again, cringing at the awkwardness of repeating himself, but he didn't have time to defend himself after that because a haughty voice called out to them from the side.

"Did Desmond finally tell you why he's ignoring Anya?"

Damian flushed instantly as he felt like he was caught red-handed somehow. He hadn't even realised how close Becky had come, and soon she slid herself gracefully into the space on Damian's other side.

"What - have you been - have you all been talking about me behind my back?"

Ewen and Emile flushed too, and had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, boss," Ewen mumbled.

"Unbelievable," Damian fumed and threw his hands in the air, and then turned to the heiress on his right. "We are fine, Blackbell, not that it is any of your business!"

He had wanted to annoy her, or to get her to back off, but Becky only drew up her posture - elongating her winter coat that was surely more fashionable than practical - and flicked her hair back.

"It's my business when Anya's feeling down and you know it," she answered, her voice dripping with assumed superiority. "So stop ignoring her, idiot, before you push her away."

"I am not ignoring her," Damian growled, already resenting the frustration that started to bubble up in him. Blackbell had always been arrogant and nosey, but she always knew exactly how to get under his skin in the fastest time possible.

"Whatever your little fight was about, you need to get over yourself and make up with her."

"We didn't fight about anything-" Damian said reflexively, because it wasn't a fight, it was a confusing mess - and then he paused as he tried to remember everything that had happened in the last week. In real terms, he had slightly raised his voice at Anya when they talked about his parents, but that was it. Did that count as a fight? "Nothing important anyway."

"All the more reason to stop ignoring her!"

"Back off, Blackbell," Damian hissed, and then he internally kicked himself for reacting to her. How was it that Blackbell always knew how to push his buttons and get a rise out of him? It was infuriating. "I'm not ignoring her. I've been busy."

Thankfully, Becky noticed his rising temper, and made the correct decision to withdraw her aggression.

"You're not supposed to be fighting," Becky pouted as she said it, but her voice had lost its sneering tone. "You both finally got together. You should be happy. It's not right otherwise."

She didn't sound sad, but Damian had been on the receiving end of Becky's jibes enough times to notice when she had dropped the fight, but this time it left him speechless. Was Becky really feeling down on his behalf? More than likely she was just sad for Anya, but Damian took some solace in the fact that Becky had never acted this way around him at all.

Still, Damian sensed her undeniable curiosity, but he knew there was nothing that he could do to soothe her ruffled feathers and make her drop the fight completely. He couldn't disclose anything without risking any of Anya's secrets, or that of her family's - and for the first time, he had an idea of how Anya must have been feeling this whole time.

"It's not my secret to tell," he mumbled bitterly, remembering her words to him on the ferris wheel, and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. He didn't even care if she heard him, he just wanted her to drop the subject.

"Anya'd better win," said Ewen, artfully changing the subject on Damian's behalf. "I made a bet with Louis that she would beat Bazooka."

"You bet against Bill?" said Becky, aghast. "He's obviously going to win! Have you seen his muscles lately?!"

"No, but I bet you have," said Ewen with a smirk.

It had the desired effect. Becky turned completely beetroot from the neck up.

"That is none of your - how dare you!"

"Tut tut," said Emile, shaking his head. "You even bet against Anya! And you call yourself her best friend."

Damian covered his growing smile with his hand, hoping that Becky hadn't seen him laughing at her expense, and sent Ewen and Emile a silent prayer of thanks.

But before Becky could prepare another retort, a static crackle permeated the air, followed by an announcing voice through a speakerphone:

"Ladies and gentleman, please take your seats, and let's welcome the athletes for the final event of the Inter-House Winter Warrior Tournament!"

Somehow during the course of their conversation, the seats had completely filled with people, and the buzzing chatter had reached its peak, creating an atmosphere of excitement that even Damian, with all his turmoil, couldn't help but be swept up by.

"Representing Cline Hall is Lucy Garret, a final year student-"

"Oh, look!" said Becky excitedly and pointed to the start line. "There they are!"

Damian followed the line of her finger to see where she was pointing, suddenly feeling his heart beating loudly in his chest.

Anya jogged lightly on the spot, in between moving her body into a series of stretching positions, and all while proudly swinging her pink ponytail like a pendulum. She wore the Eden College outdoor sports uniform: long red jogging trousers with the white stripe down the side, while Damian was relieved to note that she had prepared for the cold by covering up her school polo t-shirt with the Eden College sports jacket.

Compared to the six student athletes lined up on her left, Anya was a bright spot of colour, and while every other student had their faces drawn in a tense and serious expression, Anya's easy confidence easily drew the eye. On her right was the man of the hour, Bill Watkins, who had already readied himself into the starting position.

Damian gulped. How could she look so calm and ready? She was like a firework, waiting for the signal to release her true potential, and Damian couldn't deny that he was excited to see it, too. He had only seen that side of her a handful of times, but every time, she was dynamite - and though he felt honoured to have witnessed it, he also couldn't help but want her to shine her light for everyone else, too. He wanted everyone to know just how amazing she was.

(Within reason… obviously.)

Almost as if she could feel his eyes on her, Anya lifted her hand to shade her eyes as she scanned the horizon, and waved enthusiastically at the group when she spotted them.

"And from Cecile Hall we have final year student Anya Forger-"

"WOOO!" Becky screamed in his ear. "GO ANYA! WOOO!"

Damian winced and rubbed his ear. "They haven't even started yet!"

"So? We need to make sure that she knows we're cheering for her!"

"Oh yeah? You're not going to cheer for Watkins?" said Damian, just as the commentator finally announced Bill Watkins as representing Wald Hall.

Becky pointedly ignored him, but perked up once again when the competitors crouched down low to the ground, ready to launch.

"C'MON FORGER!" Ewen yelled in his other ear, and Damian grimaced once again.

Honestly. Becky was in good company if her aim was to make sure that Damian would go deaf by the end of the day.

The starting pistol sounded, and the competitors started running, and while everyone cheered and screamed around him, Damian held his breath. It was just like that day when chased after the fox, and she ran out of school grounds, putting herself in danger in the process - but Damian couldn't deny that Anya looked incredible as she went. Like a bullet through the air.

Soon, the students reached the first obstacle, and Damian remembered just in to time to pay attention to the commentary:

"- making a nice appearance at the initial hurdles we have Hamilton Hall's very own Jenny McDade! Her background in high jump competitions makes her a tough opponent for any -"

Damian couldn't see Anya over the top of some boy's head as they cheered loudly for McDade - no doubt they were others from her Hall, but he could definitely spot Bill Watkins struggling to leap high enough to clear the hurdles.

"What's happening to Watkins?"

"He's too heavy to jump that high," sighed Becky, and then raised her fist with a menacing glare."But he'll get 'em in the next round!"

"I dont think I've ever seen you so in the competitive spirit, Blackbell," said Damian dryly, but the edges of his lips curled into a smile.

Becky didn't reply, but only threw back a smirk of her own, prompting Damian to return his eyes to the field.

"Unfortunately McDade's athleticism can only take her so far, because the next challenge is a test of strength, throwing a twenty-two pound hammer across a hundred metres - and WATKINS CLEARS IT IN NO TIME AT ALL! What a stunning example of the hammer throw, and now we have Watkins taking Wald Hall into the lead-"

"See? Told you," Becky said smugly.

"- closely followed by Edward Leonhart from Rose Hall, who's gearing up to - I DON'T BELIEVE IT! ANYA FORGER IS THE SECOND TO CLEAR THE HAMMER THROW-"

"What?" Damian and Becky exclaimed at the same time, and tried to peer to get a good look.

"Did you see it?" said Damian.

"I didn't!" Becky gasped. "We missed it!"

"YES!" Ewen pumped the air with his fist. "She's gonna take the lead in no time at all!"

"I can't believe this!" Emile screamed. "She THREW a HAMMER!"

"Are they supposed to be part of the course?" Damian yelled, trying to be heard over the sound of raucous cheering.

"It's the challenge! They're allowed three tries before they can move on!" Emile screamed back. "Everyone knew that Bill could do it, but anyone else is-"

"-basically no one actually expected anyone else to be able to throw it!" Ewen finished for Emile. "Forger's strength must be insane!"

Damian tuned back into the commentary, realising that he could barely see the athletes weaving through the trees on the other side of the river. He had somehow missed the next two obstacles - the tire drills and rope swings - while trying to catch up with Emile and Ewen on the challenge, and suddenly Anya and the others were back at the river crossing.

"Oh now, folks, this is where it gets interesting!" the commentator grabbed Damian's attention once again. "We're about to cross the river - and there's a series of instruments that the students can choose from, each with their own assigned points ranking system where-"

"What kind of tournament is this?" Damian sputtered, but nobody heard him over the roars of the crowd and the commentary broadcasted through the speakers.

"-each student must choose their weapon wisely if they want to cross the river safely! First up we have Russell from Specter Hall, who managed to overtake Watkins' through the rope swings, and he has chosen - THE POLE VAULT! What an elegant choice!"

"I wonder who the commentator's favourite teacher is," Becky grumbled to herself, but only Damian was able to hear her.

"-and he has only just managed to clear the river crossing, by a hair's breadth! Now next up we have Watkins, choosing to WADE THROUGH THE RIVER LIKE A MADMAN!"

"He's too heavy for the current to push him over," said Becky smugly.

Damian sucked in a frigid breath through his teeth. "That has got to be freezing!"

"And unbelievably Cecile Hall's Anya Forger has managed to catch up-"

"YEAH! GO ANYA!" Ewen and Emile cheered at once.

"And she hasn't picked an item yet - is she going to run through the river like Watkins, or is she - this is unbelievable! Anya Forger has just LEAPT over the river in one go, without the help of any kind of equipment - is she even human? - and now she has overtaken Watkins!"

Damian didn't even realise he was cheering, until he joined Becky, Ewen and Emile jumping up and down with excitement. Cheers and screams erupted around Damian, at a volume which he had never been exposed to before, but rather than cover up his ears, he wanted to soak up every second of Anya's inevitable victory.

"C'MON FORGER!" Ewen screamed. "WIN ME THAT MONEY!"

"We now have Russell in the lead, but Forger is slowly gaining on his advantage, while Watkins' is surely only an obstacle away from regaining his previous place in the procession-!"

Finally, the students sprinted into view, and Damian could see the incredible speed that she was using to catch up to Watkins and Russell, all three fast approaching the first climbing wall. Eight thick ropes hung from over the edge of the wall, all bound by metal rings to the ground below.

Russell reached the wall first, and leapt onto the rope looking desperately around him to see how far behind Watkins was - but that was his fatal mistake. Russell's hesitation was just the opportunity that Watkins needed, and he soon reached the same height as Russell, despite his sports kit no doubt being soaked by the freezing cold water, and the boys raced to climb the wall one tightened fist after another.

Until -

Damian couldn't breathe as he saw Anya speed up towards the wall.

"She's going to slam face first into it!" Ewen clutched at his hair. "NOOO! My winnings!"

"Shut up you fool!" Emile slapped Ewen on the shoulder. "LOOK!"

Damian couldn't tear his eyes away, because as the boys neared the final quarter of climbing distance, Anya's feet left the ground -

And she leapt -

And she soared.

Damian's memory flashed to when he witnessed Yor Forger scale a wall of apartments with the ease and grace of a panther leaping through the trees.

There was a whole second of total silence as the entire crowd watched Anya clear the wall entirely like it was just another pesky hurdle from the start of the race, leaping over it like a stallion, and when she landed over it on the sand on the other side, she kept running without even the slightest stumble.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?! DID YOU FUCKING SEE THAT!"

"How the fuck did she -"

"I'M GONNA BE RICH!"

"Holy shit-"

"ANYAAAAAAAA!" Becky screamed louder than them all. "YOU'RE AMAZING!"

"AND WE HAVE FORGER IN THE LEAD! Now that's what I call a leap of faith, she's closing in on the second wall and Watkins has only just touched down, Russell on his heels-"

Damian could barely hear the commentator over the sound of everybody in the field losing their collective shit, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Anya as she cleared the second wall with similar ease, and then she was on the final stretch to winning.

Only one more wall to go.

It was twice as tall as the other two, and instead of climbers using ropes, it had holds made to look like rocks, closer to a traditional climbing wall. It was the last obstacle in Anya's way - and then she was going to win.

Damian blinked, and suddenly his vision wavered in front of him, like looking through a wall of water, and while Damian could feel the sturdy metal beneath his boots, the cold air on his skin, he could also feel the ghost of the climbing holds that had moulded themselves into his palm.

His body felt strangely separate to him, like he was being pulled towards her somehow, and then the rock solidified in his hands, and the wall blurred in front of him, and the pain thundered in his head accompanied by a thousand overlapping voices -

No - that wasn't right, Damian wanted to shake his head, but his sight blurred once again, and pink strands of hair trickled into his vision.

He was -

Something dripped out of his nose, and his hands shook on the holds -

Damian blinked, and suddenly he was back in his own body, and his senses swarmed back into him at the same time that he realised what had just happened: Anya was trying to warn him about something. Something bad.

He needed to think. He needed to focus, but it was so hard to focus over the sound of everyone chanting Anya's name.

Forger! Forger! Forger! For-

"She's slowing down," said Becky worriedly, and with horror, Damian realised that she was right. He couldn't see her face from where he stood, but she pulled herself up with stiff determination, each movement slower than the last.

Damian paled, and the dread pooled in his stomach, because while everyone was looking at her and cheering at her, every observer unintentionally directed their thoughts at her, and it was taking its toll.

It didn't make sense to Damian. Wasn't Anya supposed to be stronger? More powerful?

But the pain in her head was so strong, and -

I can't… move…

The realisation slammed into him.

"And what's this? Forger appears to have frozen on the climbing obstacle - a fear of heights, perhaps? - and Watkins and Russell have almost overtaken her on the final stretch-"

"She's gonna fall," Damian gasped, and immediately started to try to push his way past Becky.

"Hey! Stop shoving-"

Damian couldn't stop the panic rising in him. "She's gonna fall!"

Damian knew time was running out, but there were too many people around him, too many seats, he was too high up, he wasn't going to make it near her -

Adrenaline pulsed through him like electricity, energising every single one of his muscles - because while Damian might have temporarily forgotten, the hours and days and weeks of training made sure that his body did not forget:

Anya was not Yor Forger's only student.

He moved without thinking, his body's energy concentrated in his lower legs, and he stepped onto the back on the bench in front of him -

And he pushed -

And he jumped.

On instinct, Damian twisted his body to angle himself in midair, aiming for a clear landing space. It was like his body remembered how to do it for him, and just before he landed directly on the stairs that cut through the middle of all the seats, he concentrated on the feeling of electricity in his legs, ready to take the next leap.

Damian's foot had barely left the ground a second time when he saw it in slow motion: Anya's head tilted back, eyes half-closed, and he saw her fingers slipping from the hold -

A blood-curdling scream ripped through the air, piercing through the hundreds of voices already shouting her name.

He landed on the grass, but watching her fall had momentarily distracted him, he had not prepared himself for the next launch, and Damian rolled onto the ground, but he quickly used the momentum of the roll to propel himself back into running towards her.

- and suddenly her body was suspended in midair.

He couldn't stop running, even though he knew he was already too late.

Anya fell from the wall.

"She's gonna fall!" Damian gasped, and Becky stopped mid-cheer. What was he talking about? Anya would never fall like that. He was just being dramatic and overprotective.

Becky knew that Anya was desperate to become an Imperial Scholar - although she couldn't say why, but Becky could only guess that she wanted to make her own parents proud, like everyone else, but that morning, Becky had never seen Anya so determined to get her last Stella Star.

"It's my last chance before the Ball," Anya had said with her hairband in her teeth, just before she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "I have to win."

So there was no way that Anya was going to fall.

But then Damian jumped from the back of the bench, startling all of them with the shockwave of air that whipped around them as he left them behind, practically soaring above the crowd, and Becky's mouth fell open in open disbelief.

"Did you see that?!" She and Ewen shouted simultaneously, unable to cover their shock and awe when he landed on the stairs thirty feet away (with impressive precision), and launched himself once again in the direction of the field.

Becky couldn't believe it. How could Damian be -

And then she saw Anya's hold slipping from the wall, and a scream tore through her throat like nothing ever had before.

When Bill passed Anya on the wall, he noted her white face, her shaking hands - and the drops of blood falling rapidly from her nose.

He didn't fully register what he had seen until he had landed on the other side of the wall, but he only ran a few paces before a shrill scream sliced the air like a knife, overpowering every other voice surrounding the field, even though they all chanted the same name.

And he didn't know how he knew that it was Becky's scream, but the certainty flashed through him like an electric pulse, activating every one of his senses and muscles simultaneously, awakening a force that was ancient and primal and ultimate.

It took him a fraction of a second to put it together: Anya was on the other side of the wall, and there was only one thing that could have made Becky scream like that.

In his head, Bill calculated the fastest way for him to get to Anya, and he only reached one solution.

Bill had no time to prepare himself or centre his stance, and in the instant he had crossed his arms in front of his face, he simultaneously pushed against the ground with all of the force in his body, and he barrelled through the wall. There was no precision or thought behind it, but up against his brute force, the dense wood shattered on impact, and its splintered remains burst through the air in an explosive blast.

Debris saturated the sky like rain, and in the middle of it all, he saw Anya's body falling through the air.

Damian heard the explosion before he saw it, and suddenly Bill had appeared in his line of sight with Anya in his arms, and wood shards raining over both of them. Damian briefly used his hands to shield his face from the splinters that nicked his skin, but he didn't stop running, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from Anya.

Her eyes must have closed fully during her fall, but her expression was hauntingly vacant, and somehow there was so much blood that Damian couldn't fully discern exactly where it all came from. Her body was limp in Bill's arms, too limp, and Damian had the sudden and terrifying sense that was what Anya would look like if she had really died.

But she hadn't died, because Bill appeared out of nowhere and plucked her from thin air, and Damian would never be able to repay him for that.

"Shitshitshitshitthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou-" Damian wheezed as he slowed his footsteps, the words rushed out of him in hyperventilating breaths, each 'thank you' a prayer to a different god. With each gulp of air, Damian was sure that he would burst from the gratitude rushing through him.

"Anya, can you hear me? Anya - " Instinctively, he moved the strands of pink hair away from her clammy forehead and out of her eyes. "Say something, please."

Anya groaned, and Damian could have collapsed from sheer relief. Anya was alive. She was safe.

"Here, you hold her," said Bill gently, and transferred her over to him.

Damian took her eagerly, not even caring that the blood pouring from Anya's nose was going to stain his winter-proof coat. All that mattered was making sure that she was okay, and getting her to a safe place.

"Oh my god, is she alive? Anya - " Becky wheezed as she ran to them, and then her eyes widened as she spotted the blood all over her. "Medics!" Becky called loudly and authoritatively. "We need medics!"

"It's worse than the fire alarm," Bill noted quietly, and Damian had to agree.

There was so much blood. It streamed over her lips and chin, and ran down her neck, staining the top part of her uniform, and now that she was in Damian's arms, it no doubt was making its way through the layers of his jacket, too.

And with her head leaning against his chest, Damian made one more horrible observation.

"Watkins, her ears-" Damian couldn't reach them, but he hoped that Bill at least would be able to.

Bill reached out and very gently held Anya'd head in his palm, almost like he was afraid of breaking her, and with his other hand, used his thumb to nudge the obtrusion out of place.

Becky and Damian watched with distant horror as Bill removed a small white earbud from her ear - or at least, it had been white.

A thin stream of blood leaked out of her ear, and Damian panicked.

"Check the other side," he pleaded, and while his voice shook, Damian held very still while Bill removed the piece from Anya's other ear, handling her as gently as a doll, and all three watched with quiet horror as the shifting movement prompted more blood to ooze out of her ear, and drip down her earlobe onto the grass below them.

Damian's mouth went completely dry, and pure fear trickled down his spine like ice, freezing him to the ground.

"No, no, no, no-" He gasped desperately, and every breath sliced his chest open.

This couldn't be happening. It just wasn't possible. The earbuds were supposed to protect Anya, but she was worse than he had ever seen her, which only meant one thing:

They didn't work.

Damian didn't know it when he confronted Dr Forger, but he was right about the soundwave. Anya's powers had grown beyond its limits, and now she could never use it to shield herself from the onslaught of thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her completely. If she didn't learn how to control her powers properly, she would always be vulnerable.

Footsteps thumped through the ground as several medics wearing padded red boiler suits made their way to the scene.

"Please allow us to take Miss Forger, we'll examine her safely off the pitch," said the first medic, while two others prepared a stretcher behind him, but Damian automatically recoiled, and clutched Anya closer to his chest.

"No," Damian growled with such ferocious authority that the medics stopped in their tracks, their faces white with shock.

What he wanted to say was 'no you cannot take her away from me' or 'don't you dare touch her', but even Damian knew how that sounded, so he did the next best thing. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose, and started walking in the direction of the main building.

"She needs rest," Damian found himself saying, though it hurt to even speak. "And a quiet space. She needs to be in the infirmary."

Becky hesitated, and then jogged the few steps to catch up to him as he walked. "Is this something to do with her medical condition?"

"Er," said Damian. He had completely forgotten what Anya's excuse was when Becky came to visit her in the hospital. "Yeah. Something like that."

With his attention focused on holding Anya, and walking with purpose to the infirmary, Damian missed the dark look that crossed Becky's face, and how she pinched her lips together in thought.

But he stopped in his tracks when a melodic voice rang through his mind.

I'm sorry Papa… I failed… the mission…

Both Becky and Bill's heads whipped up at the same time that Damian's stomach dropped.

"Anya? Did you say something?" said Becky, but even Damian could hear the strained uncertainty in her voice, but he couldn't afford to panic.

"I need to get her out of here," Damian said in a low voice, and his jaw tensed from worry. He didn't have time for this. "Bill, you should finish the race."

Bill shook his head decidedly. "I'm coming with you."

"We both are," said Becky meaningfully, with all the authority of an heiress in her own right.

Damian didn't have the energy to fight them, or the time. He needed to get Anya to safety now, before any more of her thoughts leaked out, or before she got any worse, otherwise the consequences were something that he just couldn't bear to think about.

Perhaps the commentary continued broadcasting, or perhaps the other students finished the race, but Damian honestly couldn't care less about any of it. He barely even noticed that all eyes were on him as he marched Anya out of the field and towards the main building, followed closely by Becky and Bill, all three of their faces drawn tight with solemn resolve.

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I wrote this to the soundtrack of Demon Slayer (Sword Village Arc), and it was awesome.

The Hammer Throw challenge is inspired by the athletics of Scottish Highland Games. Everything else was just me thinking of ways to make it semi-militaristic and rich-school ridiculous. I had fun 😅 For those on Twitter, I did draw a diagram of the course.

Next chapter: Conversations will be had. Promise. 💖See you Saturday!