Paradise Lost: Kill the Memory

Chapter 11

Knock knock

Marisa was woken up by the sound of knocking. She opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. After a few moments, she remembered where she was. This was the apartment of a griffoness named Gaelle. Last night after arriving, Gaelle had her son Garrick sleep in her room with her to free up the guest bedroom for Hikan and Arela, Shell having managed to talk her way into sleeping in the guest bedroom as well. The black-winged angel had also been brought into the guest bedroom, though she had been put into a sleeping bag on the floor. Alexandria had been given the sofa to rest on, and was still out cold, Shanghai having been placed on her lap. Starlight had claimed the smaller loveseat in the living area, her short frame fitting on the piece of furniture just fine. Unfortunately, that left Marisa with the armchair to sleep in, and her rest had been a little dodgy throughout the night.

Knock knock

“Hello?” a young girl's muffled voice came from the hall after the knock. “Is anyone home?”

Marisa looked to Starlight, who was still fast asleep on the love-seat. “Ugh…” Marisa grumbled to herself as she got out of the armchair. “Guess I gotta answer the door…”

When Marisa opened the door, what she saw was something she didn't expect. Standing in the hallway was what - at first glance - looked like a young human girl who was about a head shorter than Marisa. She had shoulder-length green hair and green eyes, her hair tied into a short ponytail on the left side of her head with a yellow ribbon. She was wearing a simple blue dress with white trim and short, white sleeves, a yellow ascot around her neck, and nothing on her feet. Though she looked human at first glance, it barely even took a moment for Marisa to realize that she wasn't. The large, transparent, oval-shaped wings - each with a golden strip along the top edge - on the girl's back proved that wasn't the case. Marisa recognized her as a Fairy instead.

“Um…” the Fairy started. “Have you seen my friend Cirno?”

“…Eh?” Marisa responded, her eyes widening a little in surprise.

“If you haven't, that's okay,” the Fairy said. “I'll just ask someone else.”

“Ah, no,” Marisa said, shaking the surprise off. “Cirno's watchin' over my place while I'm all the way out here.”

The Fairy perked up when she heard that. “Where's your place then?” she asked.

“Well, ah…” Marisa hesitated, rubbing the back of her head. “My place is really far from here. More than a day's travel I'd say.”

“Oh…” the Fairy answered, her wings drooping a little.

“Ah, but…” Marisa said quickly, not wanting to make the Fairy sad. “Cirno's a strong gal you know. She can take care of herself. I'll be stickin' with some other people for a while but, if it makes you feel any better, you could join us. Then, when I'm ready to head home, I could take you with me and then you'd be able to meet up with Cirno. How's that sound?”

“I guess that would work,” the Fairy said. “But I'm still worried about her. She's always doing dangerous things when I'm not around…”

“Yeah, a real troublemaker that one…” Marisa mumbled. “Anyway, c'mon in.” The Fairy nodded and entered, Marisa closing the door behind her. “So, what's your name?” she asked the Fairy.

“My name is Daiyousei,” the Fairy answered.

The door closing was enough to jolt Starlight awake. She blinked the sleep from her eyes before lifting a hand to rub at them. After a moment, her eyes widened. “Marisa, did you invite someone else in here…!?” The mare asked in a hissed whisper.

“Woah, calm down there,” Marisa said, raising her hands up in front of herself.“Daiyousei's a friend of Cirno's. It's fine.”

“We are in somebody else's home-” Starlight made to answer before the sound of a door creaking drew her gaze to where Gaelle was stepping out of her bedroom with a scarlet nightgown on.

The griffoness gave a loud yawn before her gaze dropped and she looked blearily around the room. Her eyes went from tired to confused to tired again. She lifted her finger and pointed towards Daiyousei. “She… was she with you guys last night?” she questioned, looking between Marisa and Starlight.

“U-Umm…” Starlight answered, averting her eyes and rubbing the back of her head.

“Nope,” Marisa answered honestly. “She came to the door this mornin'.”

“I'm worried about Cirno,” Daiyousei said. “Marisa said that Cirno's at her place. She invited me to join her and you guys so that she can take me to Cirno when she goes home.”

Starlight and Gaelle looked to Daiyousei, then towards Marisa, then towards each other, then back to Marisa. “And how long do you think it's going to be before you go home?” Starlight asked.

“I dunno,” Marisa answered with a shrug. “If I knew that, I'da asked Daiyousei to come back after that much time'd passed. Since I dunno, then bringin' her with me ensures she'll be around when I'm ready to leave.”

Gaelle blinked for a moment before giving a sigh. “Riiight…” she murmured before coming to sit next to Starlight as the mare made room for her. “So, not to sound pushy, but what are your guys' plan? If things keep up like this, it's going to be an even fuller house in here than it already is.”

“I guess we'll just have to work things out if it comes to that,” Marisa said.

“Hikan would probably have a plan…” Starlight muttered, looking to the floor. “He always seems to…” The sound of the guest room's door opening alerted them all to Arela's wakening form, her hair slightly ruffled and frayed and her clothes a little messy.

She walked over to a window, opened the blinds, and made a gesture that gave them all pause, as it seemed like she was yawning and stretching, but that proved wrong when she said, “Praise Lithg and his light,” then actually yawned and sat down on a nearby chair.

Starlight blinked at the angel. “What was that?” She asked, looking between Arela and the window. Arela looked to her as she plucked an errant feather from her wing.

“That? That's just the standard ritual all Angels do every morning. It's a custom of ours, although High Angels like me tend to bring out a special candle as well, but I lost mine ages ago,” Arela explained, before grunting a little as she pulled another feather out. “Could you be a dear and help me with my preening, Starlight? I'd ask my Devoted, but he's out cold.”

“Um, sure…” Starlight answered before getting up and walking over to Arela. “What exactly do I need to do?” Arela motioned to her large, golden wings.

“Just carefully pluck and straighten my feathers out. That's all there is to it,” Arela explained.

Starlight hesitated a moment before she shook her hands. “Alright, if you say so,” she said before getting started. After a few moments, the actions seemed to actually relax the unicorn. “How is Hikan…?” Arela grunted, guiding the unicorn to the feathers that needed to be plucked and straightened.

“Exhausted, but good enough,” Arela told her.

“Yeah, it makes sense that he's exhausted,” Marisa said, looking to Alexandria on the sofa. “Before he nearly killed her, Alex was beatin' him up pretty good, I'll be honest.”

“Huh?” Daiyousei said. “That girl on the couch is hurt?”

“Uh, yeah,” Marisa answered. “Pretty bad too.”

“That's not good…” Daiyousei said, approaching the sofa. “Let me try and do something about it.” She then put her hands on Alexandria.

Recovery [Healing Power]

Suddenly, a green glow went from Daiyousei's hands and spread across Alexandria's body before fading away, Daiyousei then taking her hands off Alexandria. After a few moments, Alexandria blinked her eyes open.

“W-Where…?” she started slowly.

Starlight looked in surprise before blinking and looking at Daiyousei. “Did you actually heal her?” She asked. “Like, completely heal her?”

“Um, it looks like it…” Daiyousei answered.

“Woah…” the unicorn breathed. “Even master unicorns struggle with healing spells that advanced…”

“Spell…?” Daiyousei repeated. “I didn't use any magic… I just healed her, that's it.”

Alexandria then sat up and looked around. “Where am-” she began to say before her gaze fell on Marisa. “…Marisa? What are you doing here?” She then looked around again. “And where is 'here'?”

“I'm sure you've met Gaelle already, right?” Marisa asked, receiving a nod from Alexandria. “Well, this is her apartment. We brought you here to rest up after Hikan introduced your head to a brick wall at high speeds.”

“…Oh yeah…” Alexandria said quietly, dropping her gaze as she remembered last night. “…I'm really sorry about that… I honestly have no idea what came over me…”

“Nah, it's fine,” Marisa said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You're back to your usual self now, so don't worry 'bout it. Anyway, I'm here 'cause I started to have a bad feelin', so I came to check things out. I found you actin' all weird, so I'm stickin' around to get to the bottom of it.”

“…Alright,” Alexandria said before turning to Daiyousei, an expression of curiosity and confusion on her face. “And who's the Fairy?”

“Um, I'm Daiyousei,” Daiyousei responded. “It's nice to meet you.”

After a few moments, Alexandria gave a light smile back. “It's nice to meet you too, Daiyousei,” Alexandria said. “My name is Alexandria Kijin.”

“If it weren't for Dai here healin' you,” Marisa started. “You'd still be out cold recoverin'.”

“Healing me…?” Alexandria repeated, putting a hand on her chin as her brow furrowed. “Is that… Her ability…?”

“Apparently so,” Arela said, then wincing as Starlight accidentally plucked the wrong feather. “Careful, Starlight. I don't want to have my wings ruined.”

“Sorry,” Starlight apologized before a thought came to her. “Wait… could you heal someone that's been knocked out from exhaustion?”

“Um, someone that's tired…?” Daiyousei asked, receiving a nod from Starlight. “I don't know… I don't think I've ever tried…”

“Could you?” The unicorn asked, a bit of a hopeful tone in her voice.

“I guess so…” Daiyousei said. “Is there someone like that here? Where are they?”

Starlight nodded her head. “He's through that door there,” she said, giving a little nod towards the guest room.

“Here, let me show you,” Gaelle said, getting up from the loveseat before walking towards the guest room.

As Daiyousei followed Gaelle towards the guest room, Alexandria got up from the sofa, Shanghai having woken up as well. “I'll go too,” she said. “I… want to apologize to Hikan anyway…” With that, she followed Gaelle and Daiyousei into the guest room. The griffoness led them into the room and stepped to the side and out of the way to reveal Shell and Hikan still in the bed.

Shell was curled up near the edge while Hikan seemed to take up a lot more space, his breath a little more labored than the Changeling's. Daiyousei's gaze immediately went to Hikan as she watched his ragged breathing.

“That doesn't look very good…” she said, referring to his breathing. “I'll try my best to help him.” She then approached Hikan and put her hands on him, just like she did with Alexandria. Alexandria watched with interest.

Recovery [Healing Power]

The same green glow flowed from Daiyousei's hands and spread throughout Hikan's body before fading. Daiyousei then stepped back from Hikan. Slowly, the man's face scrunched up and his eyes blinked open. He groaned as he sat up in the bed. “What… what day is it…?” He asked, looking up at them.

“Um, it's the morning after our fight…” Alexandria said slowly to Hikan, looking down at the floor. “I'm… really sorry about yesterday… I have no idea what came over me… I shouldn't have said the things I said or done the things I did… I'm just… so sorry…”

Hikan blinked at her for a moment before he sighed. “I forgive you, Alex,” he said. “Whatever happened last night, I don't blame you for… but… I am sorry for my actions. I shouldn't have let Hikan influence my actions so far as to hurt you like that.”

“Sounds like you both have regret for last night,” Shell suddenly muttered, rolling over and opening her eyes.

“Oh! Uh…” Alexandria said. “Did we wake you…?”

The Changeling shrugged before giving a yawn. “Not really,” she answered. “I woke up when Lady Arela got out of bed.”

“Ah, alright then…” Alexandria said.

“So, how are you feeling?” Daiyousei asked Hikan. “Did I help you feel better?”

“Actually,” the hunter answered, stretching his arm over his head. “Yeah, I actually feel like a hundred and ten percent for once in a long time.”

“That's good,” Daiyousei said with a smile, relief in her voice. “I don't like seeing people hurt…”

“Certainly noted,” Hikan said, giving a little smile before he looked to Alexandria. “Are the others up yet?”

“Except for Garrick,” Alexandria said before noticing the Fallen Angel in the sleeping bag. “…And her, yeah. Everyone's awake.”

Hikan nodded his head before looking to the sleeping angel, noting the many scrapes and scratches on her cheek. His face formed a sad frown. “...I don't even want to think about what they did to her in that damn pit,” he muttered quietly.

Daiyousei finally took notice of the Fallen Angel. “There's another one?” she said. “Well, if she's hurt, then it's wrong for me not to help.” She then went over and put her hands on the angel's arm, which was outside the sleeping bag, before using the same ability as twice before. This time when the green glow faded, everyone watched as the scrapes on her face closed up and vanished completely right in front of their eyes. Then, she groaned and her heterochromatic eyes fluttered open.

As soon as they did, they widened, and she jumped out of the sleeping bag, a flash of purple and white light coming over her as two sais appeared in her hands, only to quickly disappear. Noticing this, she backed herself to a corner of the room.

“St-Stay away!” she cried, shielding herself with her large, black wings.

Daiyousei's eyes widened. “I was only helping you…” she said, confusion in her voice.

“We don't want to hurt you,” Alexandria said gently. “Please, we're trying to help you.”

The angel lowered her wings a bit, looking nervously between them all. “Y-Y-You're not gonna rape me until I'm u-u-unconsious…?”

“No, we're not,” Alexandria answered, her brows furrowing. “We took you away from the people that were doing that to you. We're going to treat you like a respectable angel.” The angel looked between them all again, then slowly lowered her wings completely.

“O-Okay… B-But who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Alexandria Kijin,” Alexandria said, introducing herself.

“I'm Daiyousei, a Greater Fairy,” Daiyousei said.

“I am Shell, a Changeling,” the insectoid introduced, getting up from her side of the bed and giving a little wave.

“Hikan Kanshi,” the hunter greeted, standing to his feet and taking off his coat. “And you are mostly naked.” He held his coat out to her at that. She graciously took it and covered herself with it, looking between them all before clearing her throat.

“I-I'm Ayis Filya VII,” the angel, now known as Ayis, said, trying to sound confident but failing.

“Nice to meetcha Ayis,” Marisa suddenly said, stepping into the doorway with her usual grin. She noted that Ayis and Daiyousei were the same height. “The name's Marisa Kirisame, and I'm just an ordinary human magician. There're a couple other folks out here for you to meet. Why don'cha come say hi?” The angel flinched, but managed to regain her confident composure.

“S-Sure, I guess,” she said, following the woman out the door.

“Marisa's gonna be a handful, I can already tell…” Alexandria muttered, shaking her head, though the small smile on her face betrayed her words.

“Tell me about it,” the hunter muttered as he got up and walked after them. “Does that girl have no sense of tact?” Shell followed him wordlessly into the living room.

“We should go out there too,” Daiyousei said. “Everyone else is out there, and being with lots of friends is always better.”

Alexandria smiled at that. “You're right Daiyousei,” Alexandria said. “It is nice to have a lot of friends.” She then turned to Gaelle as her and Daiyousei started to leave the room. “C'mon, no point in staying in here alone.”

“Ain't that the truth,” Gaelle replied, pushing her shoulder off the wall to follow the Yokai.

As they all walked into the main room, Arela looked to see Ayis, who looked back and promptly scowled.

“Who's the high and mighty bitch?” Ayis asked. Arela frowned.

“For your information, I helped save your hide,” Arela shot back.

“It's true,” Alexandria said with a frown. “Her and I had to work very hard to get you out of there. The two of us ended up fighting a tank alone.” Ayis blinked, and her scowl faltered, until she sighed, crossing her arms.

“Fine… Guess I should say thank you, then, even if one of you is a filn,” Ayis acquiesced. Alexandria raised an eyebrow at Ayis' attitude. She had a sneaking suspicion about something, but decided now wasn't the time to look into it.

“Now that you guys are done with the verbal catfight,” Hikan said, stepping forward. “We need to make a plan. Primarily a place to house all of us and,” he looked down and poked his finger through a burned out hole in his shirt. “Some of us need new clothes.”

Alexandria looked to her own slightly torn dress. “I'm kind of fond of my clothes,” she said. “If possible, I'd rather just get them stitched up. They're not really that damaged anyway.”

“New clothes sound wonderful. I don't like showing off my goods to everyone around me,” Ayis agreed.

“I think we could all use some, yes,” Arela winced again as Starlight plucked the wrong feather. “Please pay attention.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Starlight said with a grimace. Then, all of a sudden, Ayis looked sick, and rushed to the bathroom, then the sound of vomiting came from within.

Hikan looked after her with concern. He looked to Arela and Alexandria. “…She said she had been raped…” he said, pointing a finger to the bathroom before going quiet again. “…Add that to the list, she needs a doctor to check on her.”

Alexandria looked towards the bathroom in concern for a moment before heading in. She found Ayis bent over the toilet, her hair hanging down. “Here,” Alexandria said, lifting Ayis' hair back and out of the way. “Wouldn't want to get your hair all dirty.”

“Th-” she was cut off as she threw up again.

“You're welcome,” Alexandria said. “Take your time.” After a short while, her vomiting stopped, and Ayis was panting a little. “You okay now?” Alexandria asked her.

“Y-Yeah, thanks…” she stood up, going over to the sink to wash her mouth. She seemed shaken by a realization as she did so.

“Yeah, you said you were raped,” Alexandria said, understanding what Ayis realized. “We were thinking of having a doctor take a look at you to be sure.” Ayis was quiet for a bit.

“I… I don't know if I could handle being a mom. I'm still a teenager, how can I possibly handle a kid?” Ayis said, voice and body shaking. Alexandria was caught a little by surprise. Ayis was completely different from the tough punk she'd been in the living room.

“…Well…” Alexandria started a little hesitantly. “What if I offered to help you raise the child?” Ayis stopped at that. She slowly turned to Alexandria.

“You'd do that? For someone you don't even know?” Ayis asked, looking into the girl's eyes. Alexandria nodded.

“Yeah,” she answered. “Being nice to others is just the right thing to do, whether you've known them for years or if you've just met them.” Ayis blinked at her, then smiled, the first time she had since waking up.

“Thank you,” she said as Alexandria was wrapped in a quick wing hug. Alexandria noted that the wings were warmer than the angel's arms… She also experienced an oddly pleasant sensation she didn't recognize for a couple moments before the angel let go and coughed into her fist, a small blush on her cheeks. “A-Anyway, let's get back to the others.”

Alexandria paused for a few moments before a smile spread across her face. “Yeah,” she said. “We'll want to break the news to them, you know?” she added with a wink as she left the bathroom. Ayis blushed a little more before following after the Yokai.

“-nd a place on Halter Street,” Gaelle had just finished saying when the sound of the pair's footsteps drew her and everyone else's attention.

“Everything okay in there?” Hikan asked, worry in his voice.

“Yeah, everything's fine,” Alexandria responded, the smile still on her face. “We're pretty confident that Ayis is pregnant, since she's been showing a couple of the signs already. We'll have the doctor confirm that, but…” She glanced at Ayis quickly, who was continuing to blush a little as Alexandria explained everything. “Ayis says she's too young to raise a child on her own.” Alexandria paused for a moment as she turned to face everyone else in the room again. “So I offered to help her raise it,” she finished. There were a few moments of silence as everyone let that sink in.

After a moment, Gaelle got up from her resting position on the arm of the loveseat and walked towards the two, a strange look in her eyes. She stopped in front of the angel, looking down at her with that still foreign look in her eyes… just before the griffon wrapped the dark angel in a hug, tears building in her eyes. “H-Hey,” Ayis stuttered as her brows furrowed and the blush on her cheeks grew, somewhat flustered as she squirmed a little. “I-It's not that big of a deal…”

“Yes,” Gaelle said, letting go before backing up. “Yes, it is.”

Hikan smiled at the little scene before his face screwed up and he looked towards the ground. “Let's get one thing straight,” he suddenly said, looking up. “From here on out… not a single one of us is alone. Not now. Not ever.”

“Mm-hm,” Daiyousei hummed, nodding her head. “I like being with other people more than being alone…”

“Sounds good to me,” Marisa said. “Havin' allies that've got my back definitely eases my mind, that's for sure.”

“And I really don't want to have to fight my friends again,” Alexandria added. “If I start acting strange like I did before, then feel free to knock me out without hesitation.” Marisa grinned at this.

“Alright,” she said. “If you start actin' up again, I'll just give you a good smack in the head with my broom and knock some sense back into you.”

“W-Well you'll need a good Elemental Channeler if you want to survive, and I'm the best around!” Ayis said confidently, hands on her hips.

“Ah, so you're one of those. I'm a Tactical Fighter myself,” Arela commented.

Alexandria had fallen silent after Ayis had spoken, her brows furrowed and her hand on her chin as she looked down at the floor, deep in thought. “Actually, that gives me an idea,” she then said, looking up. “Maybe we could assign everyone roles, or 'classes' if you will. Doing that could help keep us organized during operations.”

Hikan nodded at that. “That's how we ran Night Raid,” he said. “Each of us had a specific role to play so when it came to enact a plan, we all knew where to be and what our jobs were. I didn't bother with us because there were only five of us.” A little rumble sounded out as Cataclysm pulled himself from under the loveseat. “…Okay, six of us.”

“Um, what about me?” Shanghai piped up from Alexandria's shoulder.

“Okay, there were seven of us,” Hikan said, before wavering his hand. “Give or take. But the point is, right now, we actually have a team of capable individuals that can actually get something done.”

“Alright so, what roles will we need filled?” Alexandria asked Hikan. “Before everyone can choose roles, we'll need to know what they are.”

“Well, if I had it my way,” the assassin started. “We'd have a team of eleven. Seems big, but when it comes to a job, specialists are what's needed. The roles should be scout, soldier, element manipulator, demolitions, tank, trap-artist, healer, sniper, spy, mage, and, of course, a public face.”

Alexandria looked at Gaelle. “If it's okay, I want to nominate Gaelle as the public face,” she said. “She seems like the best fit for it.”

Gaelle looked up in surprise. “Wait, what?” she questioned. “Why me?”

“Well…” Alexandria started. “Just look at everyone in the room. Most of us will stick out like a sore thumb. The only potential candidates would be Starlight and Shell. Shell doesn't do well with strangers, and I don't think Starlight would be the best choice here. You seem like you're good with people, so it just seemed like a perfect fit in my mind.”

Gaelle was quiet for a long moment before she sighed. “You guys would have a hard time getting anywhere in this city,” she said. “And you wouldn't be able to find a place to stay either, unless you went to the sleazy part of town… and you've all seen what that's like…” Alexandria shivered slightly, remembering what happened in that part of the city last night.

“Yeah,” she responded with a slow nod. “That would not be very pleasant…”

“I agree. The only question is, will you join us, Gaelle? We can assure you safety, along with your adorable tylin, but the choice is still yours,” Arela pointed out.

Gaelle looked at each of them before giving a smile. “You know, I always kept myself guarded,” she said. “I lived like that for ten years… never letting anyone in. …I think that it'd be a nice change to have you guys around.” Arela smiled at this.

“Damn straight!” Ayis concurred. “I'll take the elemental manipulator spot.”

“I'll take the tank role. My armor gives me quite a boost to defense, after all,” Arela pointed out.

“I could take the role of scout,” Alexandria offered. “I'm quick, and out of everyone present, I'm probably by far the best at dodging.”

“I can definitely attest to that,” Marisa said. “Alex might be outta practice recently, but in her prime, she was practically impossible to hit. I'll take demolitions. That sounds like somethin' I'll enjoy.”

“I'll be healer,” Daiyousei spoke up. “That's what I do best.”

“If Arela's going the way of the tank, I guess I should be the mage,” Starlight said.

Shell started to raise her hand. “…Yes, Shell?” Hikan questioned, looking towards her.

“Um, the role of spy sounds an awful lot like an infiltrator,” she said. “I think I'd be more than able to take the position.”

Hikan nodded before looking to the others. “I've always played the role of soldier, so I'll take that position,” he said.

Alexandria had been staring at Shanghai silently since claiming the role of scout. “…I'm stumped,” she suddenly said after several more moments, turning to look at Hikan.

“What's up?” The hunter asked.

“I've been trying to think of what role to give Shanghai,” Alexandria answered before shaking her head. “…I can't do it.”

“I'm not sure there is one,” Starlight said quietly. “She's small enough to infiltrate, could set numerous traps, and even take a huge hit, but… that doesn't really put her in any one category. More like all of them…”

“And even in regards to the roles she can't fill right now,” Alexandria started. “She has the potential to inherit abilities that would allow her to fill them in the future. She's like a little bit of everything.”

“Hey, here's an idea,” Marisa jumped in. “If she can do a little bit of everythin', why don't we make her a support? Then, dependin' on the mission, she could be assigned to help one of us.”

“That sounds like how the hive would choose what class a Changeling would become,” Shell muttered before looking up. “It was effective.”

“That sounds great to me,” Arela agreed.

“Eh, sure. Couldn't hurt to have the little squirt help out,” Ayis agreed. “And since I'm staying with Alex here so she can help me raise my kid, I might as well tag along on the missions you guys have. Sounds fun.”

Hikan grinned. “Well, then,” he said. “It's settled. Now, we just need a home base…and a preferably endless supply of clothing…”

“I know where we can find a top-notch builder,” Ayis offered.

“You know a builder here in Canterlot?” Starlight asked. Ayis nodded.

“He's one of the few people the Great Being allowed to come here, and he was here long before me. He helped plan the Garrison in downtown. I was taken in by him when I first came here,” Ayis explained. “I… Well, I kinda need to see him again anyways, because he doesn't know that I made it back from the Circle. I was taken from him a few months ago.”

Hikan nodded at that. “It's always good to have friends in overlooked places,” he said. “But I'd still like you to go see a doctor, just to make sure you're okay after everything.” Ayis nodded.

“I'd like to as well, if only to see the kid's gender,” Ayis concurred.

“I know someone,” Gaelle spoke up. “He helped me out after… well, you know.”

“I'll come too,” Alexandria offered. “If I'm going to help raise the child, I'll want to know if it's a boy or a girl too.”

“Okay,” Hikan said. “That sounds like a plan. As it stands, we probably shouldn't all be in one place in case the Circle shows up. I'm pretty sure we got everyone in the warehouse, but just to be safe, we should go in groups. I'd like to take another group to get us some less… morbid attire.”

“I can stay and watch the apartment if you'd like,” Marisa offered.

“I think I'll stay and keep Marisa company,” Daiyousei added.

“And we'll go and see a doctor,” Ayis said.

“We'll join you guys to get Ayis a proper outfit once we're done at the doctor's,” Alexandria said. “She can't just go around in Hikan's coat forever.”

“Yeah. It's not exactly easy on the nipples,” Ayis admitted. Arela groaned.

“Can't you have some decency?” she asked, hand on her head.

“Oh shut up,” Ayis shot back.

“Anyway…” Alexandria started, looking at Ayis and Arela pointedly. “That'll be the plan. We'll meet up with you guys once we're done with the doctor.”

“Sounds good,” Hikan said, looking to each of them. “Anything we need to do before we head out?”

“I just need to get dressed and get Garrick up,” Gaelle answered before looking towards Marisa and Daiyousai. “No offense to either of you, but I think it's best if he sticks close to me after last night.”

“Nah, no offense taken,” Marisa said, putting one hand up in front of herself and shaking her head. “If I were in your shoes, I'd be hesitant to let my kid outta my sight too.”

Gaelle nodded her head before turning back towards the master bedroom. “We'll be right out,” she said before walking off into her room.

“While she's doing that,” Hikan said, looking at the group. “Anything else we need to talk about before we get on our way?”

“Not really. But before we go, I need a good preening, too. Bastards kept using them for…” Ayis shivered. “...Wingjobs, so they aren't in good condition. Alex, mind helping me out?” Ayis sat down on the couch, displaying her large black wings that were matted together by some white substance and the feathers out of place.

“Alright, I'll try,” Alexandria said, stepping behind Ayis. “Any tips on what needs to be plucked and what just needs to be straightened?”

“Well, a rag will be needed as well. A wet one, so that we can get this filthy seed off of my wings. Just pluck the ones that look weaker and less healthy, and straighten the ones that are bent,” Ayis told Alexandria.

“Okay, thanks,” Alexandria said with a nod before glancing at Shanghai. “Shanghai, could you please get a wet rag while I start this?”

“Sure,” Shanghai answered before heading to the kitchen area. While Alexandria started plucking the damaged and weak feathers and straightened the bent ones, Shanghai looked through the kitchen drawers until she found a dish cloth. She then placed it in the sink and turned the tap on to wet it. Once that was done, she shut off the tap and picked up the soaking wet cloth. It then looked like she gave it a big bear hug as she tried to wring it out, though she wasn't very successful.

Arela giggled, and, her preening done, stood up and walked over to Shanghai, helping her with the rag. “Thank you,” Shanghai said to Arela after Arela had wrung it for her, bringing the wet dish cloth to Alexandria. Alexandria was just finishing up the majority of Ayis' preening by the time Shanghai came back, having gotten the hang of it rather quickly. Shanghai held the dish cloth out to Alexandria. “Here you go,” Shanghai said.

“Thanks Shanghai,” Alexandria said to her as she took the rag. “Now, let's get all this gunk out of here,” she muttered to herself as she carefully began to clean Ayis' feathers. Ayis stayed still as she looked over her shoulder, watching Alexandria clean her wings, and she couldn't help but blush at the way Alexandria's brow furrowed a lot as she focused intently on cleaning Ayis' wings without hurting her. She just found it to be so adorable. Shanghai noticed the staring, but remained silent, not wanting to break Alexandria's focus.

Hikan watched the group interact with a little smile on his face before a tap on his arm drew his attention to Starlight. “What's up?” He asked, noting the worried look on her face.

“Could… Could I talk to you for a second?” She asked, looking a bit worried.

Hikan's face shifted to match hers. “Star, what's wrong?” He questioned, turning his body to face her.

She hesitated for a moment before taking a breath. “From all the talk you did… it sounded like you wanted to go after the Circle,” she said, looking up at him.

The assassin was quiet for a moment before he answered. “Yes.”

Starlight's eyes widened. “Hikan, even I know the Circle has roots so deep in Canterlot that if you go after them, you turn the capital of Equestria against you!” She said, a panic forming in her voice. “And even if we do beat them, it could topple everything!’

Hikan looked at her and shrugged. “Not the first time I've done it,” he said nonchalantly. “And the group that did it wasn't nearly as talented as our group here.” Starlight looked ready to argue until Alexandria spoke up, sounding slightly irritated.

“Do you mind putting that on hold until later?” she asked, not looking up from Ayis' wings. “I can't concentrate properly with you two arguing a couple feet away.”

Starlight turned to look at her. “You're not the least bit afraid of what might happen? To any of us? To you, to Shanghai, to the city? This is like starting a war by ourselves! Getting back a kid or an angel is bad enough from the ponies that run this city. Now… we want to go to war with them on their own turf?”

“Seriously, I can't focus at all right now,” Alexandria said. “I'll think about it later, I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment.”

Starlight stared at the Yokai for several moments before she opened her mouth to retort only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She froze and looked back at Hikan. “Starlight, just trust me on this one,” he said softly. “With the help of less equipped people with no real superpowers or magic, we took down an entire government. That would be like me walking in here with, say, ten Applejacks and wiping the floor with Nightmare Moon. So… I'll say it again. We've got this, Starlight….”

The mare stared up at him for a long time before sighing. “I hope you're right…” she muttered, just before Gaelle and Garrick walked out of the master bedroom.

“Sounds like you guys were having fun out here,” the griffoness said with a teasing smile.

“Mmmm…” Alexandria hummed as she looked over Ayis' wings one more time. “That should about do it. How do you feel? Better?”

“Huh? O-O-Oh, uh, yes, very much so,” Ayis stuttered, looking anywhere but at Alexandria.

Alexandria grinned at that, beginning to figure something out about Ayis. “Glad to hear that,” she said. “Now then, I think we're ready to head out to the doctor.”

“R-Right,” Ayis said, standing up.

“Alright, since you're the one who knows the doctor,” Alexandria started, turning to Gaelle. “How about you lead the way?”

Gaelle looked between the two, a small smile growing on her face before she walked towards the door. “Right this way,” she said, opening the door.

“We should get going, too,” Hikan said, straightening up. “Especially if we all want to meet up on time.”

“Hang on,” Marisa spoke up just before Alexandria stepped out the door. “One last thing before you leave. Got a spare key you could leave with me? Y'know, in case I get bored and decide to leave.”

“Oh, yeah,” Gaelle said before kneeling down and pulling a bit of the carpet in the hallway next to the door frame up, and slipped out a small silver key. “Here, but remember to put it back when you're done. It's the one the landlord uses on his… surprise inspections.”

“Gotcha,” Marisa said, taking the key. “Anyways, you guys have fun now!”

“Yeah, I'll see you later Marisa,” Alexandria said over her shoulder with a wave.

“And please stay safe,” Daiyousei added.

Hikan's eyes suddenly widened and he rushed to the door. “Alex, wait!” He said urgently, one of his wisps forming over his hand.

“Huh?” Alexandria asked, stopping short. “Why? What's wrong?”

He stopped and a click sounded out from the will-o'-wisp before a small black device fell into his hand. He lifted it up to show off a small earpiece. “We should probably keep in touch just in case,” he said, offering it to her.

“Ah,” Alexandria said simply. “That probably would be a good idea.” She then took the earpiece and put it on. “Alright then, we'll meet back with you once we're done.” With that and a wave, Alexandria, Ayis, Gaelle and Garrick left to see the doctor.

Hikan turned and another click sounded out before he tossed an earpiece towards Daiyousei. “And can't forget the two of you,” he said, a final click dropping a third earpiece into his hand before his wisp disappeared.

Daiyousei clumsily caught the earpiece Hikan had tossed to her. “U-Um… What does it do…?” she asked.

“It lets you talk to anyone else who's wearin' one,” Marisa said. “So, Hikan and Alex. Here, you put it on your ear, like this.” Marisa then took the earpiece and fit it onto Daiyousei's ear.

“Um, so I should be able to talk to Alex now, right…?” she wondered out loud, touching the unfamiliar piece of technology in her ear.

“Yup, I can hear you loud and clear Daiyousei,” Alexandria's voice responded through the earpiece. “If you get into any trouble, just shout, and Hikan and I will come to help you out.”

“Okay, thank you,” Daiyousei said, sighing a little. “I don't have to worry as much with these. I wish me and Cirno could have a pair all the time… It would really save me a lot of worry…”

Hikan looked at her for a moment before letting out a breath. “I'm sure she'll be fine,” he said comfortingly. “After what I've seen from her, she can take care of herself.”

“She always says she'll be fine because she's the strongest,” Daiyousei responded. “But she doesn't really have any sense of safety at all. She's always doing such dangerous things…”

“But she's nice enough. Eccentric, but nice,” Arela commented.

“Mmm…” Daiyousei hummed hesitantly. “I just wish she wouldn't worry me so much though…”

Hikan frowned a little before lowering his gaze. “...We should get going if we want to stay on schedule,” he pointed out, gaze still on the floor.

“Yeah, bein' late to a meetin' ain't fun,” Marisa agreed. “Don't worry, the two of us'll be fine. You guys get goin'.”

Hikan nodded and made his way out. “Stay safe, you two,” he said. “Keep in touch.” He made his way down the hall, Starlight and Shell following along. Arela looked back at the others, smiled and waved, then followed Hikan, Starlight and Shell out the door.

The walk down to Main street was mostly uneventful, though more than a few strange looks were thrown towards the group. Hikan let out a sigh. “That… took way longer than it should have,” he muttered as they walked along.

“Maybe we should have had Gaelle draw us a map,” Shell pointed out, her disguise in place.

“It certainly would have been helpful,” Arela concurred, holding Hikan's hand.

Starlight chuckled. “For all his careful planning, Hikan usually forgets the smallest details,” she said jokingly.

“Hey, at least I got us here,” the hunter said in retaliation. “Now… we just have to find a place to get some new attire… preferably something that isn't going to get torn up so easily.”

Arela then noticed a familiar building in the distance. She pointed to it. “Isn't that that Carousel Boutique from Ponyville?” she queried. “If so, I'm sure we'll find some really good clothes there.”

Hikan blinked before looking toward the store front… only to then slam his hand into his face. “Right… Rarity has three shops in Equestria…” he muttered into his hand before sliding it down his face. “But I forget who runs this one…”

“Well, at least we'll know the quality will be good, right?” Arela pointed out.

“That is very true,” Starlight said. “Rarity wouldn't let just anyone run her shop, and she would definitely make sure they understand the quality of her shop.”

“That was the vibe I got from her,” Arela concurred, snuggling more into Hikan, before she gained an idea. She muttered a word too low for any of them to hear, and then Starlight heard a voice in her mind. 'Why don't you grab his other arm~?'

Starlight blinked a moment before looking towards the angel. A little grin lit up her face before she grabbed onto Hikan's other arm, staggering him a little. “Wha!? What's gotten into you Starlight?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Ohhh, nothing,” she said, giving a giggle and sharing a secretive wink with Arela before starting to tug on him. “C'mon, we need to stay on schedule!” Hikan started to stagger as he was dragged along.

Arela giggled as she followed, still holding onto Hikan’s other arm. 'Good job, Starlight. You're on the right track. Expect more opportunities~.'

They reached the doors in no time and upon entering found themselves in a shop that looked much like the store in Ponyville, if not a bit bigger on the inside. “Welcome to Canterlot Boutique, home to the best couture in Canterlot!” A blue unicorn with a ginger mane said. She had a dark gray top with short black sleeves and a short black skirt with large triangular cutouts on the edge. Each point of the skirt had gold buttons on it, and she had a gold belt around her waist. “How can I help yo-...” She started as she turned, only to trail off when she saw them. Arela waved, smiling.

“Hello!” she said cheerily.

“Um…” the unicorn murmured before she shook her head and looked up with a slightly wavered smile. “Hello. I'm Sassy Saddles. How can I help you all?”

“Well,” Hikan said, glancing down at the hole in his shirt. “We need new clothing. Ours keep getting… mistreated.”

“I can see that…” Sassy said, looking the man's outfit up and down, pausing for a moment over his well-toned abdomen before shaking her head. “B-but I should be able to make something that will fit all of you with no problem.”

“Oh, wonderful! I could use a good few sets of clothes,” Arela said, looking up to Hikan. “Some very specific ones, too~.”

Hikan looked at her for a moment before he blushed a little and looked back towards Sassy.

“Thank you,” he said. “Also, is there any way to make these outfits a bit more… durable?”

Sassy blinked at that before closing her eyes and waving her hand dismissively. “I don't want to know,” she muttered to herself before looking up again. “I can almost guarantee that our clothing will never wear down. That's our promise. And if you do somehow manage to damage anything, we do offer free patch jobs as part of the guarantee.”

“Wonderful!” Arela said with a wide smile. She looked to Starlight. 'Why don't you secretly grab a few specific clothes for later, too~?'

Starlight blinked as she heard the voice, only to glance at Arela with a little smile and tap Hikan's arm with her index finger to signal back. “Well, who would like to go first?” Sassy asked, stepping forward and clasping her hands together.

“Why don't you go, my love?” Arela suggested.

“Alright,” Hikan said, giving a little smile. “But first… you two have to let go of me.”

“Alright then,” Arela said, letting go. Starlight let go as well, backing up a bit as Hikan stepped forward.

“Right this way, sir,” Sassy said, leading him towards the back of the shop where a curtained off area sat. The mare opened the curtains to let the man walk in before following and closing the curtain behind them.

“So…” Arela said, turning to Starlight. “…Any ideas on what kind of specific clothes we should get? I'm… honestly not used to this stuff. I'm kinda just doing what I've seen other girls do.”

“Honestly, I don't really know, either,” Starlight answered, looking towards the angel. “I've never actually been with anyone before…”

“He likes lace,” Shell suddenly spoke up, a finger to her chin as she looked to the ceiling, drawing a wide-eyed look from Starlight that was both surprised and confused. “And a very basic long sleeve shirt with most of the buttons undone and nothing underneath but panties…” Arela blushed at this.

“H-How-?” she began.

“Huh?” Shell questioned, looking back down. “What do you mean?”

“How do you know that?” Arela queried.

Shell looked at her for a long moment before her eyes widened. “O-Oh, u-um...,” she started, pressing her fingers together. “W-When Hikan pulled me out of the brute we, um… w-we…”

“You saw into his mind…” Arela put together, eyes a little wide as well.

Shell hesitated a moment before she nodded her head. “I-I think that's why I like m-my name…” she said softly. “And… and why my colours changed….”

“I see…” Arela said slowly.

“I-I'm sorry,” Shell said, looking even more nervous now, maybe even fearful. “You're… you're not mad are you…?” Arela shook her head.

“From what you described, you couldn't really help it,” Arela said with a smile, before grinning. “On another note, we now know what Hikan likes~.”

Shell let out a breath before looking up with a smile. “Thank you, Lady Arela,” she said, her nerves seeming to evaporate.

“Of course, Shell,” Arela said with a smile. Shell smiled before the curtains drew back and Sassy stepped out with a proud grin. Hikan followed her out, wearing something almost completely different. His boots came up higher on his shins, but retained the dark tan coloration of the originals, his cargo pants being swapped out for a baggier pair with black straps that ran from his belt down into his boots. He wore a vest that was black down the middle with dull green. A pair of dark brown belts held the vest tight against his waist, his knives, tristaff, and pouch hanging off of them. A black chest piece buckled to his upper chest, going from his sternum up to his collarbone while a pair of brown, loose wristed, fingerless gloves rested on his hands, buckled around his wrists, black sleeves lacing up to his biceps. Finally, a tan collared cloak fell around his shoulders, the collar and sides lined with long gray fur.

“What do you guys think?” Hikan asked, giving a little grin. Arela grinned.

“You look dashing, my love,” she said, walking over and giving him a peck on the cheek.

“I have to say,” Starlight said, walking around him. “It is quite the upgrade.”

“I have to agree with Lady Arela,” Shell said, giving a little smile.

Hikan grinned a bit wider before looking at Sassy Saddles. “Guess you hit this one right on the money,” he said.

The unicorn smiled a little wider. “Well, Miss Rarity does value quality and customer satisfaction over everything else,” she said before looking at the others. “Who's next?”

“Why don't you go next, Starlight?” Arela said, winking at her.

Before Starlight could answer though, Hikan heard a crackling in his ear as the earpiece he was wearing started to receive a signal from one of the other two. He put up a hand as he hovered his other one near his ear in case he needed to respond. “Um, hello?” Daiyousei's voice came over the earpiece.

Hikan pressed on his earpiece. “You've got Hikan,” he said into the device. “What's up, Dai?”

“You've got Alexandria too,” Alexandria's voice added a moment later.

“Um, I thought I would just tell you that me and Marisa are leaving the apartment,” Daiyousei answered. “Marisa locked the door and put the key back where Gaelle got it from.”

“Okay, Dai,” Hikan said, looking towards the others. “Just make sure you guys get home before dark and if anything happens, let us know.”

“And tell Marisa to try and stay out of trouble,” Alexandria added.

“Um, alright,” Daiyousei said before the earpiece fell silent again.

Hikan dropped his hand from his ear before Starlight spoke up. “Is something wrong?” She asked, the hunter shaking his head in response.

“No, not unless Daiyousei and Marisa running off together is wrong,” he said giving a shrug. “But you should probably get to work getting some clothes, Star.”

“Oh, right,” the purple unicorn said with a nervous chuckle before looking at Sassy. “Lead the way.”

Sassy smiled and nodded her head, leading Starlight to the curtained area before they both disappeared. Arela kept holding onto Hikan, nuzzling him a little. Hikan chuckled and wrapped an arm and a wing around Arela… before something gently tapped on her behind. She yelped and jumped a little at the foreign feeling, looking down to see what it was. A black, scaly tail swished through the air before shooting back under Hikan's cloak, the orange under scales flashing as the man gave an innocent whistle.

Arela gave an adorable pout and punched him lightly in the arm. “That was rude,” she said unconvincingly.

“Owww,” Hikan whined jokingly before chuckling. “Sorry, just been waiting for a chance at that. Figured stretching my new tail would be as good a time as any.” Arela went silent as she nuzzled back into his arm.

“So… You like lacy underwear?” she asked, teasing him back.

Hikan looked at her with a face of surprise. “How did you…” he started before his eyes widened and he looked towards Shell. He put a hand to his chest and gave a false look of betrayal. “Et tu, Shell?” He questioned.

“Umm…” Shell murmured before she chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. Arela giggled.

Hikan chuckled as well. “But in answer to your question,” he said, turning back to Arela… before giving a smirk and leaned down so he was eye level with her. “I guess you're just going to have to find out…” She felt a pleasurable shiver crawl up her spine at that.

The hunter's smirk turned to a grin as he chuckled and straightened back up. “So, what are you thinking about our newest additions?” He asked.

“Well, much as I may dislike having a Fallen Angel in our group, I've learned to be more accepting. She seems useful, either way,” Arela replied.

Hikan nodded. “I'm glad to hear that,” he said, before pulling her into a hug and giving her a quick kiss on the crown of her head. “I'm proud of you.” Arela smiled, nuzzling into Hikan more.

Hikan rubbed her arm a bit as they waited. After a few more minutes, the curtains opened up and Starlight walked out wearing completely new clothing. She wore a three layered white skirt with frilled teal trim. Her top was the same color, showing off her midriff while scarf-like articles started on the back of her shoulders, wrapped under her arms and over her breasts, crossing at her collarbone before trailing off behind her. The layered cloak added over it was also new, being a dark blue, almost black, with the solid trim being the same teal color. A clasp kept it in place around her neck and shoulders. Atop her head was a wizard's hat, teal trim on it as well as a gold insignia.

“What do you guys think?” She asked, giving a spin and a mischievous grin.

“You look good, Starlight,” Arela complimented.

“Very witch-like,” Hikan joked, receiving a dirty look from the mare in return.

“That would be 'mage-like' to you,” she said, her horn lighting up alongside her finger before she flicked the air. A thump sounded out and Hikan suddenly grabbed his forehead with his free hand.

“Wha- owww!” Hikan exclaimed, actually in a small bit of pain this time. “That's not cool.”

“That was a bit insensitive, love,” Arela concurred.

“Noted,” he replied, still rubbing his forehead before lowering his hand and looking between Shell and Arela. “Anyway, you two are the only ones left.”

“I'll go next, then,” Arela said, moving towards the curtains. Sassy followed behind her with a little grin on her face. Once behind the curtains, the drapes drew shut.

Hikan turned to look towards Starlight. “Not to be a nitpicker,” he began. “But where's Cataclysm? I haven't seen him since we left Gaelle's place.”

“Oh!” Starlight said before giving a smile. “That's because he's picked up a new trick! Show him, Cat.” She lifted up her cloak and it seemed to shift a bit. Hikan raised his eyebrow at this.

“Star, what're you-” A sudden weight slammed into his chest and sent him backwards onto the ground. The man's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he reared his arm back and Dorkifu's claws formed.

“Hikan, stop!” A turquoise aura suddenly lit up over his arm and stopped him dead. The man looked up at Starlight, his eyes wide. “It's just Cataclysm.”

The man looked towards his chest in time to see the light shimmer and the Nil Dragon become visible on his chest… and he was more than a little bigger than before. “...How…?”

“As far as I can tell,” Starlight replied. “Cataclysm is starting to adapt to the elements of light and darkness.”

“Darkness?” Shell questioned. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

Starlight gave a grin. “Cat, show 'em.” Cataclysm's red eyes shone for a moment before the demon was engulfed in dark, shifting mists, nothing visible except his eyes which seemed to glow. The cloud of shadow jumped off Hikan, no pressure coming to him as it launched towards Shell and passed around her harmlessly. The shadows drifted away from them and went to Starlight's shoulders before solidifying into the Nil Dragon once more. The little beast gave a yawn before settling back down on her shoulders.

Then, Arela came out wearing a frilly victorian style, short golden dress with lacey white frills and a small tail in the back of it, covering her posterior a little further. She had high heels on and was playing with her hands in nervousness, blushing.

“D-D-Do I look good?” she asked timidly.

Hikan gave a smile. “Absolutely great,” he answered. “It's very nice,” Starlight said, looking the dress up and down with a light smile. “It suits you!”

“It's very beautiful, Lady Arela,” Shell replied, reaching her hand behind her back to grab her other arm. Arela smiled wide, blush receding.

“Thanks,” she said, walking up to Hikan and giving him a kiss.

He smiled and put an arm around his Devoted before looking towards Shell. “You're up next,” he said with a smile.

“O-Oh,” the disguised Changeling murmured, bring her fingernails to her lips. “Um, okay.” She walks forward and Sassy gives her a comforting smile as she begins to lead her back.

“No need to be nervous,” the blue unicorn said as they passed through the curtains. “There's nothing to it.” With that, the curtains closed once more.

Arela wrapped her arms around one of Hikan's, smiling as she nuzzled him. The assassin smiled down at her, reaching across his body and rubbing her shoulder. Arela hummed in content, then glanced back at Starlight and shot her a knowing wink, telling her to join in. Starlight gave a little smile before walking over and wrapping her arms around the man's other arm. Hikan started a bit, looking to the unicorn in surprise… before giving a mischievous smirk.

Black and orange wings unfurled from under Hikan's cloak before wrapping around the angel and mare, pulling them in closer. Arela simply giggled at Starlight's blushing face as she returned the wing hug. Hikan chuckled, too, pulling his wings a little tighter before simply residing himself to silence as they waited.

After a few more moments, the curtains opened and Shell walked out once more, wearing her own new clothing. She wore a bluish-purple blouse lined in black that hugged her body well. The piece hung down in the front to form two points over the front of her thighs, two more coattail-like decorations that changed to scarlet near the end falling down behind her. A pair of black short shorts kept her modest while a light purple cloth hung down the front between the shorts and blouse, a longer section mirroring it on the rear. A pair of thigh high, cuffed boots completed her look.

The disguised changeling said nothing, only pressing her forefingers together as the others looked her over. Arela smiled and walked over, giving the changeling a quick hug.

“You look beautiful, tylin,” Arela said warmly.

Shell gave a little eep before a little blush lit up her face. Starlight looked at them for a second before giving a little giggle, lifting her knuckle to her lips. Hikan just smiled before looking towards Sassy Saddles. “Thanks for all the help, Ms. Saddles,” he said, the mare in question throwing him a smile.

“It's no problem,” she answered with a little wave. “It's why we're here after all.”

Hikan grinned in return and nodded. “I think that about does it for us,” he said before looking to the ladies with a glint in his eye. “Unless you girls want to do some… special shopping while I step outside…”

Arela blushed at being found out, stammering away like a broken record. Starlight blushed as well as Shell blinked in confusion until that slowly shifted to embarrassment, her face lighting up even more than the others. Hikan gave a laugh before reaching into his pouch and pulling out several precious gems and gold coins and holding them out to Sassy, the mare staring with wide eyes as the payment was placed in her hand. “I'm going to go outside to wave down Alex and the others when they come by,” he said, turning and starting to walk towards the doors. “You guys… go nuts.” With that and a cheeky grin, he slipped out of the doors.

He stepped out of the way of the doors and leaned on the storefront wall. Arela looked to Starlight, blushing still.

“Well, I guess we uh… Should get this rolling, right?” Arela said, breaking the silence.

Starlight remained silent as her face continued to glow, the mare simply nodding and walking further into the store. Sassy simply stood back and watched them, occasionally glancing at Shell as the mare had practically frozen in place.

Outside, it took several minutes before Alexandria, Ayis, Gaelle and Garrick came into view further down the street. “Hey, guys,” Hikan greeted as they got close, pushing himself off the wall. “How'd it go?”

“No STDs, thank Triyte,” Ayis answered.

“Even though it's too early to tell the gender, the baby's healthy,” Alexandria added. “And apparently half unicorn.”

Hikan blinked at Alexandria's final addition but shook it off and grinned. “Well, that's the best news I think I've ever gotten,” he said, looking between them before nodding his head to the door. “The others are inside doing some… extracurricular shopping. Go on in and get yourself something that's actually comfortable. I'll take care of the expenses when everyone's done.”

“Alright, cool,” Ayis said, heading inside. Alexandria simply followed. Starlight wasn't anywhere to be seen, but some rustling in the back gave away her position. Meanwhile, Sassy still stood off to the side, her worried look falling over Shell every now and again as the mare was still frozen in place. “Helloooo?” Ayis called out to Sassy as she entered. “Could I maybe get some service?”

Sassy jumped a bit and turned to face the two. “Oh, sorry,” she said, walking forward a bit. “Just… she's been standing there like that for a while now. Anyway, how can I help you?”

“Well, as you can plainly see,” Ayis started, gesturing to herself. “I need an entire outfit, underwear and everything. I had a bad run-in with some unsavory types. Anyway, think you could hook me up with some clothes?”

“Of course,” the blue unicorn answered, giving a bit of a smile. “If you'd follow me I can get you something just right for you.”

“That'd be great,” Ayis said with a nod, following Sassy behind the curtain at the back of the shop. After the two had disappeared, Alexandria looked to Shell, who was still frozen. She approached the motionless Changeling.

“Hey Shell, you okay?” she asked, giving her a nudge. The Changeling eep'd loudly and jumped, almost hitting the ceiling above her before she landed on her hindquarters.

“Oww…” the disguised mare muttered, sitting on the ground before she looked up. “What happened?”

“…I don't know, I only got here maybe a minute ago,” Alexandria answered, giving Shell a look and raising an eyebrow. “But it looked to me like you were frozen up. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

Shell blinked before a much smaller blush lit her features. “Oh, u-um,” she stuttered for a moment. “Y-yes, I'm fine…”

“If you say so…” Alexandria responded slowly before turning back towards the curtain, waiting for Ayis. After several moments, the curtains opened up and Sassy walked out with Ayis not far behind.

The Fallen Angel now sported a black vest with a navy blue hood, her dual tone long sleeve undershirt having black, silver studded belts wrapped and buckled loosely to her navy blue sleeves in a zigzag pattern and the black collar that came up to her chin. A short, three layered skirt was held to her waist by a black belt with a large silver buckle, the layers on her frilled skirt alternating between black and navy. Black fingerless gloves covered her hands while black stockings with violet longways stripes covered her legs up to her thighs, two more black and silver buckled bands wrapped around each thigh to keep them up. Black, heavy-looking combat boots finished off the punk goth look.

“Wow,” Alexandria commented, her eyebrows raised. “You actually look pretty threatening like that.” Ayis grinned.

“Heh, I always do. Gotta give our enemies something to be scared of, ya know?” Ayis replied, doing a little pose.

The rustling in the back of the shop came to a stop and Starlight came out of the back, something in her hands. Upon noticing the others, she quickly hid whatever garment she had behind her back. “O-Oh, hey girls…” the unicorn greeted with a nervous chuckle. “Uh… when did you guys get here?” Arela came out as well, but hadn't noticed the others as she looked at her set of lacy golden underwear.

“We arrived just a few minutes ago,” Alexandria said before looking to Arela. “…And what would those be for, huh Arela?”

“Huh?” Arela looked to see the others there, and blushed a bright, cherry red, quickly stowing the underwear behind her. “N-N-N-N-Nothing! Nothing at all!”

“Riiiiiiiight…” Alexandria said, clearly unconvinced. “Anyway… If we're all done here, we should probably go find Marisa again, make sure she isn't causing too much trouble.” Suddenly, at that moment, a loud scratching and fumbling came over Hikan and Alexandria's earpieces. After a few moments of that, Marisa's voice replaced the noise.

“I need a big open area that we can meet in, like, now,” she said quickly.

“What about our base-?” Ayis began to say. Alexandria put a hand up to interrupt Ayis.

“Nevermind that,” she sighed in exasperation. “It sounds like Marisa's gone and found herself some trouble already…”

The bell over the door banged as Hikan rushed in, hand already coming out of his pouch. “For whatever they picked up,” he said briskly, his 'dark' tone back in full force as he handed Sassy more gold and gems before looking to the others. “Give whatever you bought to Gaelle and let's go.” He didn’t wait for an answer from anyone, simply turned on his heel and left the store in a hurry, the door barely having time to swing shut before he swung it open again and pressed a hand to his earpiece. “We're on our way, Marisa, just hold on.”

Ayis was still holding Hikan's coat and handed it off to Starlight, who was the nearest to her. “Finally, some action,” she said, quickly leaving the shop as Marisa's voice came over the earpiece again.

“That's great and all Hikan, but I still need an open area to head towards,” she said. “Preferably right now.” Alexandria frowned and followed Ayis and Hikan out of the shop.

Hikan tsk'd and summoned a will-o'-wisp to his hand as he ran, the orb giving a faint glow that showed him a map of the city and three orange dots, two of which were extremely close to one another. His other hand waved over the map for a few seconds before zooming in on what looked like an abandoned construction zone. “Marisa, to the southeast of your position is a construction zone. Head there and we'll meet you.”

“Gotcha,” Marisa answered. “And when you get here, be ready for a tough and unpleasant battle. Trust me, this ain't gonna be fun.”

Hikan fell silent and looked back at his group. “...We'll be ready,” he said into the communicator. “For right now, don't worry about us, just keep yourself safe.”

“Yup, one step ahead'a ya,” Marisa answered before the earpiece went silent.

“Where to?” Arela queried, eyes hardening.

“There's a construction site a few blocks to our northwest,” Hikan answered, his wings unfurling as he ran. “Marisa's in trouble and we have to hurry.” With that, he jumped into the air and took off towards the construction.

“Marisa sounded unsettled,” Alexandria added. “Nothing has ever unsettled her before. Whatever it is, it must be nasty. Be prepared for the worst.” After giving that warning, Alexandria also took to the air, following Hikan. Arela did the same, along with Ayis.

“Hope it's big. I like killing big guys. Lots of places to stab 'em,” Ayis said eagerly.

Shell flew after Ayis, giving a little shudder. “Let's just hope they're not very powerful…” she murmured.

“Agreed,” Arela concurred.

“If they weren't very powerful,” Alexandria commented. “Then Marisa wouldn't be worried. She's more than capable of taking on some really powerful opponents on her own, so something that forces her to ask for help must be incredibly powerful.”

“Sweet~” Ayis said with a cocky grin.

Hikan just frowned at this, a whirring sound filling the air as Dorkifu's clawed gauntlets formed. “We need to hurry,” he said before adding on an extra burst of speed. Alexandria raised an eyebrow before silently accelerating in order to keep up. Arela and Ayis did the same, speeding up and following after the others.

Within a few minutes, Hikan and the others flew into view of the construction site. They saw Daiyousei standing in front of Marisa, facing a strange woman that none of them had seen before.

The woman's hair and eyes were a similar green to Daiyousei's, her hair almost down to her thighs. She was wearing a long, dark blue robe that had a white band along the skirt hem and long, white sleeves as well as a long cape of the same dark blue colour. She had a dark blue, conical cap on her head which had a large, yellow sun design on it off to one side, the design partially cut off by the bottom of the hat. In her hands, she was holding what could be described as a scepter with a large, silver crescent shape attached to the end. It could also be noted that the woman seemed to be floating above the ground, and the group couldn't see her legs.

After a few moments, the woman then took her scepter and swung it towards Daiyousei. A beam was fired from between the points of the crescent and, to the group's horror, pierced straight through Daiyousei's abdomen. After a couple moments, Daiyousei then exploded into millions of tiny, white particles of light which dispersed into the air and vanished.

A roar of rage ripped through the air alongside the sudden sound of boosters as Hikan rushed the green haired woman, claws reared back. The woman's head whipped towards the sound and she then dodged to the side. “Oh my,” the woman said, turning to Marisa. “Are these the kind of people my apprentice is associating with?”

“I ain't your apprentice anymore Mima!” Marisa shouted back to the woman as Alexandria landed behind Marisa. “I haven't been for a very long time. I've taken my own path in life.”

“I guess so,” Mima responded with a smirk. “No apprentice of mine would ever ask for help.”

Another growl rent the air as metallic ringing filled it, Hikan's claws flashing towards Mima's smirking face.

“Impatient whelp,” Mima snarled, pointing her scepter at Hikan, a very forceful blast of magical energy erupting right in front of him a moment later. “Learn your damned place!”

“LEARN YOURS, BITCH!” A voice suddenly yelled from behind Mima before a beam of turquoise magic exploded into her back.

“URNK-!” Mima grunted as the force of the attack pushed her forward. “I already know my place!” she growled as she turned quickly to face Starlight, raising her scepter over her head. “And it's far above mortals like you!” She then brought the scepter down, the ground under Starlight's feet exploding violently.

Arela rushed forwards, halberd poised to slice Mima's head clean off. When the woman dodged the attack, Arela smirked, and the woman screamed in pain as she felt two sais enter her back.

“Take this, bitch!” Ayis growled as Arela made to charge once more, this time determined to slice off Mima's head.

“Get off me!” Mima shouted, blindsiding Ayis with her scepter, knocking her away before pointing the scepter at her and swinging it to point at Arela, tossing the one angel into the other, the two sais still sticking out of her back the whole time.

Green light filled the air before bolts of condensed eldritch flames slammed into Mima's back, using the sais as conductive rods for the magic. Mima winced as she waved her scepter, the sais ejecting from her back. “Pest!” she yelled, lunging at Shell and bringing the scepter down on her head.

A loud crack sounded out before the Changeling could react, her eyes rolling up before she slumped to the ground. “Hmph,” Mima said, pointing her scepter at the unconscious Changeling, tossing her to the side like a ragdoll.

“Stop it, now!” Marisa shouted, stepping forward. But before she could do anything, white light began to coalesce between them. After several moments, there was a small flash, which faded to reveal Daiyousei, perfectly unharmed.

“Oooooow… That really hurt…” Daiyousei whined, clutching her stomach, her eyes squeezed shut and her brows furrowed. Hikan groaned as he got to his hands and knees.

“Dai…? How…?” He questioned as he got up to his feet.

“She's a Fairy,” Alexandria answered. “Fairies don't die permanently. Instead, if they die, they reincarnate after a minute or so.”

“It still really hurts though…” Daiyousei added, taking her hands off her abdomen and opening her eyes to look at Mima angrily. “I'll teach you for messing with a Greater Fairy! Take this!” She then threw her hands up, a flurry of bright green kunai-shaped objects spurting out towards Mima.

“A Greater Fairy is no different from a normal Fairy in my eyes: neither is anywhere near a match for me,” Mima retorted simply, swishing her scepter in front of her, all the kunai getting swept aside.

“Unfortunately, she's right Dai,” Marisa said, stepping in front of Daiyousei. “Let me handle this.” Daiyousei nodded and stepped back.

“Finally. Let's see if you've managed to surpass your mentor,” Mima started with a grin. “…Or if you're nothing but a weakling still.”

“I ain't no pushover!” Marisa shouted, immediately firing several small beams at Mima. Mima threaded between the beams.

“We'll see about that,” she said. She then retaliated with several orbs of condensed magic, which homed in on Marisa. Marisa hopped on her broomstick and took to the air, the orbs following her. As she fled from the orbs, she fired some quick blasts of magic back at Mima.

“Take this!” she shouted. Mima took her scepter and caught the magic missiles in the crescent before flinging them back at Marisa.

“Sorry, they're yours,” Mima stated tauntingly. Marisa dodged her own magic missiles, Mima's orbs dissipating a moment later.

“Urgh, I'll just have to get serious,” Marisa said, pulling out the strange device from under her hat. The device began to charge up as she pointed it at Mima.

Mima simply laughed loudly at this. “Do you take me for a fool?” she asked. “There's no way I'll let you get that attack off!” She then pointed her scepter at Marisa, who promptly got blown out of the sky by a blast of magic.

“Gah!” Marisa screamed as she was knocked off her broomstick, her device falling from her hand to the ground.

A blur of motion and the sound of flapping wings met Marisa, catching her midair. “Need a hand?” Hikan questioned, hovering in place.

“Thanks…” Marisa said, her broomstick clattering to the ground next to the device. “I didn't expect her to interrupt my Spark like that.”

“Hmph, it seems you are just a weakling still,” Mima taunted. Alexandria's eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed.

“Fine,” she said. “My turn.” She turned to Shanghai. “Shanghai, HDD please.” Shanghai nodded her head before activating HDD. After the light dissipated, she drew her broadsword… Except for the first time, everyone noticed that it wasn't a broadsword in her HDD form. Instead, it appeared to be a long rapier with a fancy, intricately styled guard curving over the pure white grip. Meanwhile, the blade, guard and pommel were all a lustrous silvery colour with a golden tinge, resembling white gold. The shining metal that caught the sunlight was a massive contrast to the dull iron of the unremarkable broadsword she had in her normal form.

“I will strike you down for hurting our friends,” Shanghai announced to Mima, tightening her grip on the rapier she held one-handed in her right hand. “Take this!” She then rushed Mima, rapier reared back, point twinkling in the sun.

“Idiot…” Mima muttered, quickly flicking her scepter to cause a small magical explosion on Shanghai… But Shanghai simply charged through it, utterly unaffected. Mima's eyes widened, caught by surprise and she failed to avoid Shanghai's flurry of strikes.

Shanghai struck Mima several times in quick succession with her rapier before rearing back. “With my Aku no Tsuihō, I will banish you to the netherworld!” Shanghai shouted before lunging forward with a powerful jab, striking Mima before she could recover from the previous assault.

“Urk…” Mima grunted. “Damned pest… Why won't you just die!?” Mima swept her scepter at the Fairy, a series of magical explosions erupting on Shanghai. However, Shanghai was completely unfazed by them.

Meanwhile, Alexandria noticed Marisa's dropped device. She went over and picked it up. Remembering something from a while ago, she had an idea. She whispered something into the device and pointed it at Mima before bracing herself as power began to build in the device.

“What are you!?” Mima snarled in frustration at Shanghai.

“A Fairy, plain and simple,” Shanghai answered.

“Impossible,” Mima said, shaking her head. “A mere Fairy can't possibly be unaffected by my magic.”

“I'm not a 'mere' Fairy,” Shanghai retorted. “Now, prepare yourself!” Shanghai then continued to attack Mima with her rapier, Mima attempting to dodge the strikes, but Shanghai was surprisingly adept and swift with the weapon, landing blow after blow.

After a good thirty seconds or so, Alexandria suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs. “CLEAR OUT!!!” Shanghai ignored Alexandria, continuing to assault Mima, which prevented Mima from making an escape. Arela and Ayis looked to the glowing device in Alexandria's grasp, and promptly moved out of the blast range.

Hikan turned and his eyes widened before he flew off, still holding onto Marisa. “Star, grab Shell!”

“Rodger!” The unicorn answered, teleporting to the Changeling's side and grabbing her before another blink made the pair disappear.

Just as everyone cleared out, the device exploded with power.

Lightning Sign [Mighty Thunderbolt]

A massive, 2-foot thick lightning bolt fired from the face of the device, going through Shanghai straight to Mima where it hit hard.

“HRAAAAGH!!” Mima screamed as the bolt struck her.

“Ouch…!” Alexandria said, dropping the searing hot device after the bolt dissipated.

“Damn you…” Mima snarled darkly as she got back up. “You messed with the wrong spirit…” Alexandria's eyes widened in surprise as Mima swung her scepter to point at her. “I'll bury you where you stand!” Mima shouted, unleashing a beam not too dissimilar from Marisa's Master Spark. Alexandria was too surprised to avoid it in time.

“Agh…!” she shouted as the attack hit her.

“Ngah…!” Shanghai grunted in pain, flinching and recoiling from the blow Alexandria took.

“Alex! Squirt!” Ayis cried, and before anyone could stop her, she summoned her sais once more, and rushed at Mima, and when the woman turned to stop her, Ayis crossed her sais together, and magic Mima had never seen before glowed around the sais, building rapidly. “JUDGEMENT OF THE WASTES!” Ayis roared, and a gigantic sword of edged bone, held by two phantasmal, skeletal hands, slammed down towards the spirit, erupting in a shower of blackish purple magic.

While Ayis was doing all this, Shanghai shook her head, regaining her focus. “You…” she growled, sounding genuinely pissed off as she gripped her rapier and held it vertically in front of herself. “I will damn you to Hell myself!”

Aku no Tsuihō [The Doll's Judgment]

The blade of the rapier erupted with both flame and electricity. Shanghai then lunged at Mima, slashing her with a renewed vigor and swiftness, striking hundreds of times in a matter of seconds, each blow simultaneously exploding and erupting into sparks on impact. Shanghai then drew back and struck one final time with extra force, the attack coinciding perfectly with Ayis' spell.

“AAARGH!” Mima shouted, falling to the ground. It was at this time that everyone finally noticed that she didn't have legs, but rather a spectral tail under the robe. “This… Isn't the last you'll see of me…” Mima muttered in a strained voice. “I'll be back… To get my revenge…” With that ominous threat, Mima slowly faded away.

After completing her powerful Spellcard, Shanghai reverted to her normal form, her broadsword in its sheath. She put a hand to her head and wobbled in midair dizzily before dropping to the ground unconscious. Ayis rushed over to her, looking her over and sighing in relief when she found that she was unharmed. She then looked to Arela.

“Take her, please, I need to see my girlfriend,” she said. Arela nodded and did so as Ayis briskly moved to Alexandria, checking her over. While Ayis was looking her over, Alexandria then came to, putting a hand to her head as her eyes scrunched and her brows furrowed.

“Uuuuuugh…” she groaned. “That hurt pretty bad…” She then opened her eyes and started with a sharp intake of breath when she saw Ayis over her.

“Calm down, Alex. It's just me,” Ayis said softly. “How do you feel?”

Alexandria paused for a moment before sighing. “To be honest?” she began. “Very very sore.”

“Anything else? Any stinging pains in your body?” Ayis asked next.

Alexandria shook her head as she sat up slowly. “Just a lot of soreness.” Ayis breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank Triyte…” she said, before placing her hands over Alexandria's chest. “Stay still, I'm going to give you a little pick-me-up.” Alexandria remained silent and still. Then, a greenish-golden glow surrounded Ayis' hands, and then Alexandria, and the soreness in her body died down. Alexandria gave a breath of laughter.

“I'm sure Daiyousei could have easily done the same thing…” she commented in good humor. Ayis gave a cocky grin.

“I'm still sexier than her, though. Like a hot nurse,” Ayis said, winking at Alexandria.

“Riight,” Alexandria said with a smile, just a little teasingly before her face turned more serious and she looked around. “…Where's Shanghai? She should have been right on me, worrying her little guts out by now.”

“Over there with Arela,” Ayis said, pointing to the two. Alexandria stood up and made her way to Arela quickly. She noticed that Shanghai was unconscious as she approached.

“Shanghai…!?” she said, her eyes widening as she grabbed the little Fairy and held her carefully. “W-What… Happened…!? Is she going to be okay!?”

“She's fine, just tired. She used a lot of power to help Ayis finish off Mima,” Arela explained. Alexandria let out a huge sigh, tears of relief forming in her eyes.

“Thank Heaven…” she whispered. “If I'd lost her, I… I…” Ayis put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don't worry about it. It's over now,” Ayis said warmly.

“…Right,” Alexandria said, gently placing Shanghai into the pocket on her dress and wiping the tears from her eyes. “I think we should go about building our base then. Shanghai needs somewhere to rest.”

“Hey, why don't we build it right on this very plot?” Marisa said, her hat off her head. She was using it as a basket to carry her device which was undoubtedly still hot to the touch. “It's big, flat, and nobody else's usin' it. It's perfect, ain't it?”

“Hmmm… We'll likely have to ask the city planners if it's okay first, since this is a construction zone, but I'm sure Ronzul will be able to work it out. He has a lot of friends up in the construction business,” Ayis said.

“Guys!” Hikan's call rang out over the abandoned zone.

“What is it, my love?” Arela asked, walking over. Starlight cradled Shell's head in her lap, a stream of green blood flowing from her forehead and down her face. Hikan stood over them, his eyes going over the silk like purple mane that flowed from the Changeling's head where Shell's now broken helmet used to rest.

“We need to get her out of here,” Hikan said dully, much of the emotion gone from his voice.

Arela and Ayis rushed over. “By the Gods…” Arela breathed, tears forming in her eyes.

“What are we standing here for? Let's get her to a doctor quick!” Ayis urged.

“I-I'm supposed to be the healer, right?” Daiyousei said. “I've never tried to heal anything this bad before, but… Let me try first.” Without waiting for an answer, she knelt down next to Shell and put her hands on the Changeling.

Recovery [Healing Power]

As the familiar green glow spread onto Shell, the group watched as the blood flow slowed and the large gash partially coagulated. It didn't heal completely, but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

“She still isn't fully healed. She needs a doctor,” Arela affirmed.

“I, uh, I made things better though, didn't I…?” Daiyousei asked hesitantly. Hikan nodded his head and bent down and lifted the Changeling, cradling her gently as her head rested against his chest.

“You did,” he said quietly. “But she needs help now.” He started moving away. “Ayis, Alex, do you guys know the way to the clinic you guys went to?”

“Yeah, follow us!” Ayis said, taking off into the sky, Alexandria nodding as she followed suit, giving the 'come on' hand gesture. Hikan activated his boosters and raised into the air gently before hovering after them, trying to keep the flight as stable as possible for his ward. Starlight watched them go a little ways before a light turquoise glow surrounded her body and she floated into the air shakily before following after them. Marisa grabbed her broomstick off the ground and got on it.

“C'mon Dai, let's go,” she said to the Greater Fairy before taking off, upside-down hat still in hand. Daiyousei quickly followed Marisa, her wings flapping.

Arela quickly followed, spreading her wings and taking flight, ending up next to Hikan and casting a worried look to Shell.

It wasn't long before Ayis and Alexandria landed on the street just outside the clinic. “Here we are,” Alexandria said once Hikan landed next to her.

Hikan only nodded in response before he started to walk forward, only to be met as Truth Seer exited the building with his keys in hand. The good doctor jumped a bit when he looked up to see Hikan. The zebra looked at him, then to the Changeling in his arms before looking back up at the man. “Bring her inside,” he said simply, turning and opening the door once more.

“Thank you,” the hunter replied, quickly moving to head inside, Starlight following after him. Alexandria went to enter, but was stopped by Seer.

“Sorry, but could I please ask you to wait outside?” he asked. “I know you're worried, but I can only allow two to accompany the patient.” Alexandria was silent, nodding slowly after a few moments. Seer then entered the clinic, the door closing behind him. Ayis and Arela looked on with worry and concern, but conceded.

“…Looks like we're stuck playin' the waitin' game, huh?” Marisa said, making her landing next to Alexandria, Daiyousei also touching down nearby.

“Apparently, yes,” Arela concurred. There was an awkward silence after that for several seconds. Marisa went and sat on the ground, her back against the building.

“Sooooo…” she said slowly. “Got anythin' interestin' to talk about?”

“No, but I know a game we can play as we wait,” Ayis offered.

“I like games,” Daiyousei said. “What's it called?”

“'Charmed Hands',” Ayis answered.

“Ooh, that's a good one,” Arela commented.

“Of course it is. It's a game of my people,” Ayis said proudly. Arela rolled her eyes at this.

“How do you play?” Alexandria asked. Ayis waved her hands, and a small box of cards appeared in her hand.

“Well, first, we each take a deck of ten cards,” Ayis said, pulling a stack of cards out of the box. They all noted that the covers on the cards all had various pictures of handsome men and women, either in armor or scanty clothes and robes. A few had more respectable clothes, but all of them were very attractive. Marisa raised an eyebrow.

“That's an… 'interestin’' set of cards…” she commented.

“It is called Charmed Hands,” Ayis pointed out. “Anyways, it goes like this…” Ayis said, beginning to explain. After a good while of explaining, they all played a game, then two, then three. It seemed they had gotten really engrossed in the game, and at this point, they had started to make bets with more than just money, as the game required some form of betting.

Ayis had bet Alexandria a favor, whilst Arela had bet the last coin she had from Erevale, as she didn't want to bet anything else. Hence why she said she was going to stop playing after the current round.

“Come on, just bet your clothes or something. Or even some gems. I know you High Angels can make them on a whim,” Ayis urged. Arela shook her head firmly.

“No way am I betting my clothes, much less using my magic just to keep playing. That's just low,” Arela said.

“Ugh, fine,” Ayis turned to Alexandria. “So, whatcha got, babe? Any Temptresses?”

“Yeah…” Alexandria answered. Ayis grinned.

“Guess I win then, because…” Ayis showed the group her hand. “I got a Tribunal Crusade!” She cheered, showing them the three paladin cards she had. Arela groaned at this.

“Lithg dammit…” she cursed.

“Oh hush. I won fair and square, so cough it all up, ladies! Oh! And you owe me a favor, Alex,” Ayis said, grin growing.

“I'm… Oddly okay with that,” Alexandria responded, laying down her hand to reveal the two Temptresses in it. “Though I guess it depends on what you mean by 'favor'.”

“Heh, the two of you're suppose'ta be datin', right?” Marisa asked, paying up and receiving a nod from Alexandria. Marisa's grin widened as she helped Daiyousei count out the money she owed. “Then I guess the question is… Is it a favor or a 'favor'?” Marisa made air quotes on the last word. Ayis giggled.

“We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?” Ayis said teasingly.

The bell over the door to the clinic rang out as the door opened up and Starlight walked out, eyes on the ground. She let the door swing shut behind her. “...Arela… Hikan wants you in there…” she said quietly, not letting her voice above much else than a whisper. Arela nodded, placing her cards down and walking inside.

“Uh, hey Starlight,” Alexandria greeted awkwardly.

“So, you got kicked out in favor of the angel, huh?” Marisa asked bluntly.

Starlight shook her head numbly before sitting down, not saying anything else and not lifting her head.

“Um…” Daiyousei started, giving Starlight a worried look. “Are you okay…?”

Starlight was quiet for a moment. “...Shell's really hurt…” she said quietly. “Dr. Seer says she may have a major concussion and… he can't take care of her here… And he said that the hospital might not help because… because…”

“Starlight, calm down,” Alexandria said. “I'm sure everything will end up alright.”

“So the ponies at the hospital might be racist, and won't help,” Ayis summed up. Alexandria looked at Ayis.

“That's right, the ponies have some… bad views of the Changelings,” she said. She then turned back to Starlight. She was silent for several seconds, but looked like she was going to say something the whole time. Finally, she spoke up again. “Well, if they won't do their damn job, then I say fuck 'em. We'll just treat Shell ourselves if we have to.”

“We can take her to Ronzul. He was a field medic back in the War on Mt. Saintkiss in Lleiya, I'm sure he could help,” Ayis offered.

Starlight was quiet for a while before she looked up slowly towards the Fallen Angel. “…Dr. Seer wants to keep Shell for the night,” she said quietly. “He has a place inside where he and the others can rest… but thank you, Ayis. We'll… we'll have to come back tomorrow and make sure Hikan and Arela know…”

“Ah, the doc's keepin' her for the night,” Marisa said. “Then I guess we're stuck goin' back to Gaelle's place, huh? We'll haffta tell her that Hikan and Arela're stayin' here at the clinic tonight.”

Starlight nodded her head, getting back to her hooves. “Yeah, Cat's probably freaking out by now, too,” she said.

“Alright then,” Alexandria said, getting to her feet as well. “Let's get going to Gaelle's.” She then looked down at Shanghai, who was still out cold in her pocket. “Hopefully Shanghai will be feeling better in the morning…” she added worriedly.

“Yeah. I miss the Squirt's voice already,” Ayis agreed, standing up as well.

Starlight nodded her head before she started down the street, her head bowed towards the ground.

Alexandria, Marisa, Daiyousei and Ayis followed her. Alexandria ran to catch up with her. “Don't worry,” Alexandria said to Starlight. “Shell's going to make it through this, okay?”

The unicorn looked up to her friend before giving a small nod and an even smaller smile. “I hope so,” she said, looking back down the street. “I really hope so…”