S.M.I.L.E. Agent Aria Blaze

Chapters

Dealing with THE MAN
New Kid on the Block
Come to Me
Going for a Ride
Because I'm Freefalling
Round and Round
Hit the Road
On the Hunt
Bang Bang!
Expressions
Blood on the Dance Floor
Pack It Up
Country Roads
We All Fall Down
All Around the World
Booty Booty Booty Call
There's Got To Be A Morning After
No Going Back
Drowning in Your Eyeless

Dealing with THE MAN

In their forgotten little basement apartment sat The Dazzlings. Aria Blaze sat upside down on the couch, staring at the television. Technically, she was watching it, but was not really paying attention. It was some stupid superhero movie that was clearly made to capitalize on how popular other superhero movies were, without trying to put anything original or creative into it. Sonata Dusk sat next to her, bowl of popcorn in her lap, idly munching away as she stared intently at the screen. Nearby, Adagio Dazzle sat in what was specifically her chair, reading... Aria did not know what, and did not really care. Probably some dumb romance novel or other.

While she could not speak for the others, Aria Blaze was bored. Bored, bored, bored, and of course, bored. With their gemstones gone, they could no longer create negative emotions among creatures, nor could they feed off it to give themselves power. It also meant they could no longer sing. For the longest time, they had been stewing in bitterness, and planning on coming up with a way to take revenge against The Rainbooms for defeating them, but after working with those same girls to help save Sunset Shimmer and Canterlot City, the three of them had kind of moved past it. They would by no means consider the girls "friends" (and the idea of it made Aria want to puke), but it did make it hard to hate and blame the group for the defeat. Then after going to Equestria, fleeing in terror when they learned Starswirl and The Pillars were still around, and being convinced to return in order to explore the kingdom, The Dazzlings had decided to return to and stay on earth. Which means that they had no reason to go back, and no reason to plan on a way to do so.

This all added up to one major question.

What were they supposed to do now?

No reason to cause chaos and arguing, no desire to go back to Equestria, no need to try and get energy on Earth, no real desire to get revenge, and that also meant that there was no reason to go out and get drunk while they stew in their depression and anger.

So it was that they sat at home, a bad superhero movie playing on TV, with Aria bored out of her skull.

Maybe she could try becoming a supervillain. She could put on one of their old costumes and commit a few crimes. Maybe find some people that would be willing to work for her. As long as she kept away from Canterlot High and the mall, she would not have to worry too much about The Rainbooms messing with her. Although... now that they had superpowers of their own, it was possible they would actively try to stop her...

A knock at the door got the attention of all three of them. They all turned, staring at it.

No one knocked on their door. No one was even supposed to know where their apartment was supposed to be. The building was one that had locking mailboxes in the lobby, and any food delivery was met there as well. They also never had any friends come over.

Maybe one of the Rain-bums found out and came over to try and talk to them about "the magic of friendship," or some other crap.

Or maybe it was one of those religious people.

The knocking repeated.

"I'll get it," Aria declared, pushing to get up. Maybe she could threaten whoever was out there. There were times when a good glare and scowl got the point across pretty well, but sometimes it was nice to tell someone what you were going to do with their little booklet or flyers if they did not fuck right off.

Pulling open the door, Aria found herself face to face with a woman in a suit. Said woman looked to be at least in her thirties by human standards. Her skin was an extremely pale gray color, and her hair was white with streaks of purple going through it.

"Easy," she said in a friendly tone, holding up her hands. "I come in peace. Not here to cause you any trouble." She gave a smile, that reached her pale blue eyes. "I promise."

That... was not what Aria was expecting. If it had been one of the Rainbooms, they would have just started with hello. If it had been a religious person, they would have pretty much jumped into their whole spiel right off. This woman seemed to think they were some sort of danger, and was trying to calm them. Did... did she know what they were?

The woman leaned forward and raised an eyebrow.

"May I come in?"

If it had just been Aria, she would have let the woman in, if only to find out what was going on. However, it was not just her. So she turned to look at the others. First, she turned to Sonata, who had moved to face the door, and was watching things as she continued to munch her popcorn. Next she turned to Adagio, who gave a small nod.

"Don't try anything funny," Aria warned, giving one more glare to the woman. After a second, she stepped back, pulling the door open wider as she moved out of the way.

"I'll leave the knock-knock jokes at the door," the woman said as she stepped into the apartment. She made her way toward the living room, looking around as she did. She came to a stop beside the television, turning to face The Dazzlings.

"Ladies, my name is Twilight Velvet," she announced.

Sonata let out a gasp.

"You mean the writer?" she asked, leaning forward.

"The same," Velvet confirmed, giving a small nod. "However, that is not my only job, and it isn't why I'm here." She took a deep breath, straightening up. "You see, I am also an agent of SMILE. The Secret Magical Intelligence League of Earth. It's our job to monitor supernatural and magical events, deal with such in the necessary manner, and keep the general public from becoming aware of them."

"Well, you're doing a shitty job of it," Aria blurted out. All eyes were suddenly on her. None of them were angry, however. Even the agent that she had actually just insulted did not seem very offended. More curious.

Aria held up a hand.

"Sunset Satan," she said, ticking a finger, "us, Midnight Sparkle, the giant woman who rampaged through the mall." She threw out her hands. "Deep Abyss, we had this whole thing where Sunset Shimmers came from across who knows how many dimensions! And that doesn't even touch on things like whatever happened to give the Rainbooms super powers!"

Without realizing it, she had taken a step forward and was pointing a finger.

"If you were good at you're job, you probably would have busted our ass before we were able to get through The Battle of the Bands!"

A gasp suddenly escaped from Sonata as she turned to look at the suited woman again.

"You're not here to lock us up, are you?"

"Sonata, relax," Adagio said. "If she were here to do something like that, she wouldn't have come alone."

"Unless there are a bunch of agents surrounding the building, waiting for her order," Sonata replied.

The thought of a bunch of humans in suits surrounding the building made Aria look toward the door. She found herself grateful that they were underground, which meant it was the only way through to their apartment, while at the same time wishing that there were windows so that she could look outside and be sure that was not what was happening.

"Besides," Adagio continued as though no one had interrupted, "if they were interested in capturing us, they likely would have done it when we were at our most vulnerable and recognizable." She turned to look at Velvet. "Such as right after our defeat. Not months later." Her gaze narrowed. "And especially not after we helped the same people who defeated us deal with an issue." One orange eyebrow raised up. "Or am I mistaken?"

"No, no," Twilight Velvet said. "You're not mistaken at all. As I said, I come in peace."

She then turned to Aria.

"As to your point: I will concede that there is a problem from where you are looking." She let out a sigh, shifting. "Unfortunately, things are a bit... complicated when it comes to Canterlot High. I don't entirely know the details, but there are additional restrictions on what we are and aren't allowed to do on or near the campus."

A finger came up.

"However, that doesn't mean we haven't done anything." Twilight Velvet gave a smirk. "Or have none of you noticed how all those events are not mentioned in the paper or on the news?"

From the look on her face, that gave Adagio a moment of pause. Of the three of them, she was the one that kept track of the news the most. Even if they had not been paying as much attention to it as she used to, she still would have noticed if any of that had been mentioned.

"Nobody watches the news on tv or reads the paper anymore," Sonata declared. "They get their news on the internet. With all those teens and their phones, there must be dozens of videos of everything that happened."

"Right," Velvet said, a small chuckle in her voice. "A random teenager puts up a video on a website, claiming to see a girl transform into some sort of monster due to magic. In and of itself, if we assume someone does see that video, what are the chances they are going to believe that it is real?"

That was something of a good point. Most people did not believe in magic as a rule. Especially in this day and age. If they saw anything that was supposedly magic, more often than not, they would disregard it. Stories of hoaxes often helped with that. Kind of hard to prove ghosts are real when most mediums are using speakers and wires.

"Now," Twilight Velvet continued, "add to that the fact videos are made every day which are special effects, made to entertain. People who want to make videos themselves to entertain others, or hoping to some day become actual movie directors. Many times, those videos do not include any notes about how they aren't real. Next, have a comment about seeing wires or cg here, some pixelation around someone or something there, create a video showing how a similar special effect could be created, and all of a sudden, the real video with actual magic is seen as just another something that people made to get views."

She shifted, letting out a sigh.

"Although, admittedly, some are easier than others." She motioned toward The Dazzlings. "Say, like a music video where two bands play against each other, and it ends up in a lightshow battle where giant figures representing both go up against each other in massive fight, with only one winning. It's like someone saw Shire Trotter Vs The World and decided to use an idea straight from it."

"Oh... right..." Sonata said in a soft tone.

"Getting back to the matter at hand," Adagio called out, "why, precisely, are you here?"

"Right," Velvet agreed. "First, on behalf of SMILE, I would like to thank you for your assistance in dealing with the recent multi-dimensional Sunset Shimmer anomaly. While it may have been for your own reasons, you were helpful, and your aid is greatly appreciated."

Aria could not help but roll her eyes, letting out a snort. They had teamed up with their one time enemies, spent hours searching for Sunset Shimmers, had to fight a bunch of evil and monstrous versions of the same, and in the end, rejected the reason they had offered to help in the first place. Now they were getting thanked for it? If the agency was really grateful, they would show it with something more tangible. Like money.

"Second," Velvet said, "I have been sent here to offer a job with us to Aria Blaze."

"...What?" all three Dazzlings cried out.

"Why?" Aria added.

In response, the woman gave a shrug.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know," she said. "Orders came straight from the top, but gave no explanation. Only that of the three, you were the only one that could accept the position." She held up a hand. "However, there is more to it. So, full deal... or, as much as I can share with you. You, Aria Blaze, come work for SMILE, help deal with supernatural and magical events that occur in and around Canterlot City, and let our scientists study you. That means running tests on your abilities, doing scans of your body, collecting tissue samples, and probably some more invasive examinations that would do no serious harm. In exchange: you will receive a paycheck; any civilian criminal records will be completely expunged; SMILE will keep its own record of your history and activities, but it will be restricted to requiring a high level of clearance to be viewed; and most importantly, you will be given all the paperwork needed to be seen as full and legal citizens of both this world, and this country. That means birth certificates, vaccination records, school records, driver's licenses, and high school diplomas."

There she paused, and Aria tried to take it all in.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! she thought to herself. This was a decision. A big decision. One that affected all of them. Yes, she had talked about overthrowing Adagio and taking control of the group before, but she had never actually gone through with it. And Sonata had been right when she said that Aria had never come up with a plan of her own for the three of them to use. She was not a leader. She was a punk. A rebel. One of her favorite parts was how they could screw up human society.

Aria turned to look at the others.

Sonata was no help. She was just looking at Aria with wide eyes.

Adagio raised an eyebrow, then made a "go ahead" motion with her hand.

The bitch was leaving it completely up to Aria.

"How long do I have to think about it?"

A sigh escaped Twilight Velvet, shoulders sagging.

"I'm afraid this is a now or never type of deal." Pulling back a sleeve, she looked at her watch. "I have to leave in ten minutes to attend a different meeting, and I need an answer before I go. If I don't get one, then it's considered a 'no,' and the offer is off the table."

"That's not fair," Sonata said. "Aria should have time to think about it."

"No, it's not," Velvet agreed. "And yes, she should." Turning, she gave a sympathetic smile. "If it were up to me, I would give her at least the night to think about it." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "But it's not up to me. I have my orders."

Velvet turned to the Dazzling in question.

"Besides, think of it as experience. People have to make choices without knowing everything or getting to think it through all the time. If you do accept, you will have to do so all the more."

Aria scowled but considered it. As much as she hated it, it was kind of true. Although, Adagio was still better at thinking things through than she was. Still, there had been a few times where their group had to do what they could and kind of hope for the best.

Still, she needed a little more time to think. And a little more information.

"What if I say no?"

"Then that would be the end of it," Velvet answered. "I would leave, you three would get to go on with your lives, and SMILE will leave you alone so long as you don't try to use magic to take over the world, or restore your lost powers." She held up a finger. "But, that also means you don't get any of the benefits. You will not have any of the previously mentioned paperwork, with the exception of what pieces you already have, and any open warrants on any of you would still be that way. Also, I feel I should point out that, should you ever decide to try and get jobs, you can no longer rely on your powers to make someone hire you, and a background check will show the lack of documentation. It's not impossible for you to get a job, but it would be difficult, and likely something with very little pay."

Aria's lips pressed thin as she looked at the woman. As annoying as it was, it was all true. No birth certificates, no school records. Aria had a driver's license, but she was the only one, and she had used her powers to get it instead of filling out all the proper paperwork. They had some money, and few bills, but they had never really saved up much. After all, if they ever needed more, they could manipulate someone into giving it to them. That was no longer an option, though. If they decided to move out, not only would there be a matter of having no previous addresses, but they would also have to pay either the rent, or a mortgage. In either case, it would eat up most of their savings, and they would need to get jobs.

Something else suddenly occurred to her. If she accepted this deal, she would likely have to deal with other magical creatures. It would be part of her job to stop them. Maybe even fight them. She would get to fight monsters like what she used to be, and she would be getting paid for it.

"Alright," Aria said, "I'll do it."

New Kid on the Block

A few days later, Twilight Velvet returned to take Aria Blaze to SMILE. As it turned out, the headquarters was actually an underground facility, with its entrance in the underground parking lot of Golden Bull Investments.

"With international markets and such, there are always people coming and going," Velvet explained.

While they did swing by Twilight Velvet's office ("not that I'm in there very often,"), the first major stop on Aria's tour was the lab. It was supposed to be a combination of the research and development, and the medical departments. That way, any unknown creatures could be cared for and studied, and possible experimental treatments could be used almost immediately once they were prepared. It was also where any magical items that were found would be brought to study, and where the agency's weapons and gear were made.

For Aria Blaze, this meant that it was where she was going both to be treated for any injuries she occurs while on duty, but it was also where she was going to be playing lab rat. Where they were going to study and test her as "a non-native entity," as it was put.

As soon as Aria was in the lab, a petite, blue skinned girl with pink hair popped up before her. She looked up with a wide smile, purple eyes glittering with excitement.

"Hi," the woman (girl?) said with a slight bounce. "You must be our new agent. Aria Blaze. This is the first time I've met a non-native entity before." She tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "...I think..." Her gaze drifted down, then back up. "You look pretty human to me. So if other N.N.E.s are just as passable, that very well means that I could have been right by one and not even realize it."

The woman took a step back.

"I'm Kerfuffle. Fashion designer and engineer." Turning, she motioned behind her with a thumb. "That's Doctor Moondancer."

Not far from the two of them stood another woman dressed in a lab coat and wearing a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses...with tape? Were the glasses actually being held together at the nose by tape?

"Remove your clothes and all accessories, and place them over there," Moondancer ordered, motioning toward a table.

"Don't take it personally," Kerfuffle assured. "Moondancer is a great scientist and inventor, but has terrible inter-personal skills. Right now, we're just going to do a standard medical examination. Same as with any new agent that joins. Most of it will be the same as a regular check-up, although there are a few differences. Nothing too intrusive, though."

Aria looked from the friendly woman right in front of her, to the scientist further away, and back. They were like one of those mismatched pairs from a sitcom or cartoon. A real Pinkie and The Brain situation.

At least Kerfuffle was kind of cute, even if in an overly sugary kind of way.

With a huff, Aria made her way over to the table. As she walked, she pulled the star bands from her hair. The twin tails fell away, spreading out behind her as it took its full length. After the hair bands were set on the table, the wrist bands were not far behind.

Once naked the examination began. Aria weighed and measured, but not just for height. Her neck, shoulders, biceps, arm length, bust, waist, hips, thighs, calves, length of thigh, length of calf, and foot size were all checked and written down. Next came the checking of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Then her breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure was checked, followed by the taking of a blood sample.

At some point during the examination, Kerfuffle had left the room. As the examination was finishing up, she returned, carrying a full suit, tie, and shoes with her. As she approached, Aria noticed something odd about her gait. It was hard to say what, exactly, but something about it was off.

Before Aria could put too much thought into it, Moondancer spoke up.

"That completes all but one for the time being," she said. "Now, step into the imaging chamber."

"Imaging chamber?" Aria repeated.

A door opened from one of the walls, revealing a small, circular space. The walls were covered in square lighting panels, as well as rings of silver and copper colored metal. A large, single circular light filled the ceiling, and the floor had a six inch silvery disk in the center, with rings of the two metals alternating all the way out to the edges.

"What is this?" Aria asked as she stared in through the doorway.

"Magic Bio-field Resonance Imaging Chamber," Moondancer answered. "It scans a life form, and produces images based on their magical energies. That includes thaumic levels, auras, flow paths, and focal points for where those energies are specifically channeled."

"That's the theory, anyways," Kerfuffle added. "So far, most of our scans have been on native, non-magic using humans. Gives us a sense on the variation of potential magic users, but that's about all."

"Great," Aria huffed, crossing her arms. "Time to start being a lab rat."

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the chamber. The door shut behind her, fitting seamlessly into the rest of it. An electric hum filled the air as the lights shifted, each ring taking on a different color of the spectrum. The colors began to move and shift, spinning around Aria, moving up and down along the walls, until they had all become randomized. Her skin tingled as energy ran along it. It was not like electricity, with its tingle and crackle, nor was it like the cool, watery feeling of when she had used her siren magic. It was warm. Soft. Like...

They were going to do it. They were going to win. Aria could practically taste it. The three of them had so much power. They had managed to sprout wings and float, they had manifested energy projections of their true forms. The Rainbooms and their precious pony princess had been knocked down.

One more attack, and victory would be theirs.

The world would be theirs.

Their music starts back up as another voice speaks out, daring to defy Aria. Defy The Dazzlings. Others join it.

A rainbow shoots into the air.

An alicorn of pure light appears from the clouds. It opens its mouth, unleashing a blast.

Whiteness. Warm. Gentle. Terrifying.

Aria sees their manifestations destroyed.

She feels the soft warmth touch her.

Something inside her shatters, breaking apart. Like warm water thawing apart chunks of ice.

It did not hurt.

It should have.

Why didn't it hurt?

A burst of pain from her right hand brought Aria Blaze back to the present. She gave a shake of her head, blinking away the tears in her eyes. She had punched one of the lights, shattering the glass cover. Pulling it away, Aria found her hand was scratched and cut, with several shards and fragments sticking from it.

The remaining lights returned to normal as the door opened. Moondancer and Kerfuffle both stood at the entrance, looking inside.

"Are you okay?" asked Kerfuffle.

"Fine," Aria replied. Grabbing the largest shard, she yanked it from her hand.

"...sorry about your machine..."

"It's repairable," Moondancer said as she checked the damage. "Although we are going to continue the scans another day." Turning, she gave Aria a flat look. "Preferably, without causing further damage."

"Yeah, yeah."

"For now, let's clean and dress that hand."

As Aria left the chamber, Kerfuffle reached out, placing a hand on Aria's upper arm.

"Hey," Kerfuffle said in a soft tone, "if you want to talk about what happened--"

"I don't," Aria growled as she pulled away. "I'm fine."

"Okay, but if you change your mind, or want to talk about anything, I'm here."

Kerfuffle then gave Aria a pat on the back, smiling gently.

Aria let out a low growl, but did not say anything more about the matter. While she did not actually hate the offer, she really had no intent of taking it. The girl was cute, and Aria would not mind hanging out with her (or doing something more), but opening up and sharing her feeling was not really something she did. She did not even do that with Adagio, and definitely not Sonata. No way she was going to do it with a girl she had just met. Yes, she would get pissed off and snap at them or tell them off, but she was not going to sit down, say what the problem was, and "talk it out."

Back at the examination table, all glass was removed as the cuts and scratches were clean and disinfected. After giving a visual inspection and some gentle prodding, it was decided that there would be no need for stitches.

While Moondancer bandaged up Aria's hand, Kerfuffle grabbed the suit to go over it.

"The socks and dress shirt are pretty standard," she explained. "You can buy them at most shops. Not much reason to create a single special one when you're going to change it every time you dress, right? The rest of it is currently based on your rough measurements, and can be used while I work to create your fully customized and fitted suit. Additionally, if you want extra customization like extra or larger pockets, or extra defensive capabilities, let me know. I will try to accommodate you as best I can."

Kerfuffle held up a pair of black, low-heel, dress shoes.

"The shoes are high-grade synthetic leather, with hidden slits to reduce heat and allow for ventilation. Although, that does mean it is easier for water to get in, so be careful about that. A hard protective shell is placed in the tips, which will protect the toes. The soles are a high density rubber, which will provide some insulation against electric shocks, and have a high grip traction surface." Her grin widened. "You could walk across highly polished marble coated in a layer of oil without slipping. Although, I still wouldn't recommend it."

Putting the shoes aside, she picked up the rest.

"The suit itself is largely cotton, with aromatic polyamide and nano-carbon fibers interwoven through out it. It will hold up against knives and, technically, small caliber firearms, but keep in mind that you will still feel the impact of the shot. As such, it will still hurt and could cause blunt force trauma. Additionally, it could take a short blast of high heat, such as a fireball or three second burst from a flame thrower, but extended exposure will cause it to burn, albeit at a slower rate. Also, I would still recommend avoiding such attacks since -- you know -- it doesn't cover your entire body. Having the suit make it through isn't much good if your face and hands are covered in third degree burns.

"Finally, there's the tie," Kerfuffle said as she picked up the garment in question. "It is composed largely of bamboo silk, and like the suit, has carbon fiber thread reinforcement. Not only could it be used as an improvised binding for a person or creature, but also as something to hold onto if you find the need to zip-line down from a location. Not just you either. Its tensile strength can withstand nearly one thousand pounds before tearing. Which I doubt is ever going to be an issue, but 'better to have and not need.'"

"Is that it?" Aria asked. "No belt with a tiny grappling hook in the buckle? No watch that fires knock out darts? No supercomputer sunglasses?"

"The grappling hook belt doesn't work," Moondancer stated. "It doesn't have sufficient points of support and weight distribution to be viable."

"As for the watch and sunglasses, we do have those," Kerfuffle added, "but they're not standard issue. If you want, you can requisition them."

"No," Aria answered. Grabbing her underwear and the suit, she started getting dressed.

She had put on her bra and panties, and was in the middle of buttoning her shirt when Agent Velvet returned.

"Well, Agent Blaze," she called out, "it seems that orientation is over, and it's time to dive in head first. I got a job, and you're helping."

She then turned to Moondancer and Kerfuffle.

"One of you get her a shock gun, please."

The shock gun was a handheld device with a gun-style handle and triggered, and "barrel" a rectangular shape, and the "muzzle" a square. As it was explained, the weapon fired two barbed metal darts with wires attached to the back ends. When the trigger was pulled, it would fire the two darts into the target, and unleash an electric shock that could cause paralysis as the muscles tense.

It was made very clear by Moondancer that it was specifically not a Taser and Taser was a brand. This had been built in the lab of SMILE and their exact specifications. Plus, it had something that Taser did not: immediate multiple uses. Each SMILE Labs Shock Gun held three cartridges containing the propellant and wires. Once used, a button on the side could be hit, which ejected the used cartridge, and loaded a fresh one in its place. Expelled cartridges could then be collected and brought back, where it would be reset and refilled, allowing it to be used again in the future.

In the parking garage, they were met by two others. One was a man with dark green skin and bright red hair. He watched with a bored and annoyed look on his face as they approached, a briefcase held in one hand.. The other was a woman with green skin and orange hair. She gave a smile at the two, pulling one hand from her pocket to give a little wave.

"Aria Blaze," Twilight Velvet said as she walked toward the two others, "these are agents Pharynx and Firecracker Burst. They are the veteran agents who you will be working with and training under on a regular basis."

"Welcome aboard," Firecracker Burst said.

Pharynx said nothing, shifting as he gave her a look up and down.

"We'll take two identical cars," Velvet called out, pointing pair sedans. "Blaze, you'll ride with me."

The car was one of those high end luxury kind. The type that wealthy people bought to drive themselves, or corporations leased for their executives. Black and chrome exterior. Leather and wood interior. A console that included built in GPS, satellite radio and Bluetooth compatibility.

"Seat belt," Velvet said as she buckled up.

Aria let out a small growl, but grabbed her belt and buckled it in place.

"So, what's the assignment, anyways?"

"An associate of mine is coming to town," Velvet answered as she started the car. "Doesn't actually work for us. She's an independent agent. Self-financed. Travels all over the world find rare artifacts, normally so they can be put on display in a museum so people can learn about its history." A smile pulled at her mouth as she held up hand, her head tilting enough to glimpse at Aria while keeping most of her attention on the road. "But, sometimes she comes across something that has some actual magic to it. Something dangerous if it ends up in the wrong hands." She shifted, eye narrowing as she faced the road again. A tension formed in her jaw. "Or inexperienced and overly curious ones..."

That got Aria's attention. It sounded like there was a story to that, and quite an entertaining one. Someone Twilight Velvet knew got involved with magic. Someone young and curious. Someone Velvet felt very close to. Maybe a lover, or younger sibling. Maybe that was what got her involved with SMILE in the first place.

"When that happens," Velvet continued, "she calls us, we create a duplicate, and then take the original back to SMILE for containment while she gives the copy to the museum."

The devious part of the former siren took note. That would mean that somewhere in the headquarters, was a collection of ancient artifacts guaranteed to have magical properties. There may even be things that could restore their voices. Their powers. If not, then there were probably things that could do similar. Something that would allow the user to subjugate others.

They continued on in silence.

Author's Note

So, after seeing Rainbow Roadtrip, I was one of the many that instantly liked Kerfuffle. Since near the end, when we see her make not just clothes, but goggles for Rainbow Dash and the Barrel twins, I headcanon that she actually designed and built her own prosthetic leg. So, here we now have a friendly engineer version of Kerfuffle.

Come to Me

As it turned out, the main portion of the airport was not their destination. Away from the main structure and the scheduled commercial flights, but still a part of the Canterlot City Airport's property was a small runway. It was officially a part of the airport, but intended for use by privately owned planes or chartered flights.

Their cars arrived just in time to see a plane coming to a stop. Not having ever kept up with such things, Aria had no idea what kind it was. It was a type that had visible propellers, one engine on each wing, which were along the top. Out toward the edges were pontoons, hanging down from underneath. The wheel legs were short, making the body extremely low to the ground. In fact, the underside kind of looked like a boat.

Following Velvet's lead, the four of them got out of their cars. Once the propellers had come to a full stop did they approach the plane.

Just past the back edge of the wing, a door opened from the side of the plane. Out stepped a woman with a lean, toned build, and golden brown skin. Strangely, she was dressed like an explorer from a movie set in the nineteen-twenties or so: short-sleeved, khaki button up shirt; white pants; mid-calf boots; and a pith helmet. One hand held a briefcase while the other gripped the handle of a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Archie," Velvet called out as she approached. "You're looking well."

"Hey, Twi," Archie called back. "How's the family doing?"

"They're good. Shiny is finished at the academy, and Twily transferred to Canterlot High."

"As in the public school? I mean, it's great she got out of C.P. but I thought she would go to some college, or straight into the private sector. Be the CEO of Sparkle Technologies in a year or two."

"Well, she at least needs a diploma," Velvet stated. "Besides, it's more about socializing than education. She's made friends there that actually care about her."

After the mention of "Twily," and "Canterlot High," Aria Blaze's attention was elsewhere. When she and the other Dazzlings were helping find all the different versions of Sunset Shimmer, she had met Twilight "Sci-Twi" Sparkle, the human counterpart to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and learned that she had recently transferred to CHS from Crystal Prep after a very... interesting event at The Friendship Games (one Aria kind of regretted missing out on).

Could it be that Twilight Velvet was Twilight Sparkle's mother? Now that Aria considered it, she thought she could see some similarities between the two of them.

"Speaking of new friends," Archie called out, "looks like you got a fresh member with you."

"That's right," Velvet confirmed. Taking a step, she turned to face between both of them. "Agent Blaze, Archaic Yearling, adventurer and author. Miss Yearling, Agent Aria Blaze, former siren and newest recruit."

"Siren?" Yearling asked, raising an eyebrow. "As in Greek mythology? The creatures that would sing songs which enchanted sailors, causing them to crash their ships?"

"Wasn't us," Aria replied, holding up her hands. "By the time we got here, The Greco-Roman Empire had long since fallen, and humans were well into The Middle Ages."

"Really?" Yearling said, both eyebrows now rising high.

Twilight Velvet gave a loud, fake cough.

"Getting back to the immediate matter." She motioned toward the briefcase. "Is that it?"

Archaic Yearling let out a chuckle. With one quick motion, she lifted the case, resting it flat on her arms, and undid the clasps.

"Behold!" she announced as she lifted the lid. "The Crown of Catrina!"

"Catrina?" Aria called out as she moved to look. "As in the Cat-witch of the Scottish Moors?"

"You know her?" someone asked.

"No," Aria answered, with a shake of her head. "Just rumors around the country at the time. We made it a point to avoid people rumored to be witches, so we wouldn't get caught in the middle when the people went to torture and kill them for crimes, true or not."

Not that it did any good. Fear of witches and the hunt and killing of them had made its way all across Europe. Practically every little place would sooner or later accuse people of witches for being different. Adagio Dazzle's feet were still proof of that.

Aria stared at the crown in the case. It was a band of gold, about two inches or so in width, with the edges having a thicker, rounded look. The only decoration was a pair of dark red gemstones, shaped like eyes, with a rounded, perfectly smooth surface.

Aria suddenly felt like those eyes were staring at her, watching her.

They're magic, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Actual magic. Catrina was a queen. Had ruled for decades before she was defeated. People worshiped her. Feared her. Obeyed her every command. You could have that too. You've had magic before. You've had control. You could have it again. And this time, it would just be you. No need to share. No reason to be a subordinate. Ju--

"Blaze," Twilight Velvet warned.

Aria blinked, looking down. At some point, she had reached out toward the crown, her fingers less than an inch from it. Agent Twilight Velvet's hand had a steel vice grip on her wrist, holding her from reaching any closer.

Looking up, she found everyone watching her. Firecracker Burst was simple curiosity, and Pharynx had a narrowed, suspicious look on his face. Miss Yearling's face had curiosity as well, but it was more intense, more analytical, like she was studying something noteworthy. Agent Velvet had a look of concern on her face, like she was afraid Aria was going to be sick or something.

Admittedly, the idea was not too far off.

Aria stepped away from the case and pulled her hand back. Her wrist slipped easily from Velvet's grip, although it was more the senior agent letting go since there was no longer need than anything on Aria's part. She rubbed at the wrist.

"Are you okay?" Velvet asked.

Aria turned, not looking at her. Or the crown.

"That thing's magic," Aria said. "Dark magic. It wants someone to wear it. To use it."

"How do you know?" Firecracker Bursts asked.

Aria shifted, looking down at her bandaged hand as she continued to rub at her wrist. She knew because she had used dark magic, and dark magic was like a drug. It made the user feel incredible, powerful, unstoppable! But it never lasted. The user would have to do more. Get more. More magic. More power. More, more, MORE! While that was happening, what the user did have would dig into them, tear out a part of them and fill that part with itself. Then, whether by a purge brought on by harmoniously charged magic or the user giving up the magic of their own volition, when that dark magic is no longer in use, it leaves a hole in them. An empty spot that needs to be filled. One that makes the former user now all the more vulnerable to the next item of dark magic. The next artifact. The next fix of their drug.

The difference was that in the case of dark magic, the drug was also its own dealer, and knew what the user was looking for. Could make promises of giving exactly what they wanted, just not mentioning the price for it.

Yeah, you can have an amazing voice and adoring fans, but you have to use that voice to make them fight each other.

Sure, you can rule an entire empire, but you will have to keep the citizens in a state of constant depression, and force them to suffer through their own worst fears to make them obey you.

You want the power to defeat your greatest rival? Okay, but it's going to make you paranoid psychopath. The ego? That's all you.

The ego is always you!

Although, she would never admit any of that. Not out loud, and definitely not to a bunch of strangers she just met.

Aria turned to give Firecracker Burst a flat look.

"I just do," she answered.

This seemed to be enough for Burst, who held up her hands and took a step back.

"Pharynx," Agent Velvet called out. "You have the replacement crown, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Agent Pharynx answered, holding up the briefcase he carried.

"Good. You and Blaze go with Yearling to take the replacement crown to the museum. Burst, you're with me as we take the actual crown back for study and storage."

"I still need to pull the plane into a hanger and set up refueling before I go," Archaic said.

"Go ahead," Velvet said. "We'll wait until you're done. Leave at the same time. Burst, take the crown to the car."

"On it," Burst said, walking over and grabbing the briefcase that had been shut at some point from Archaic Knowledge.

"Aria," Twilight Velvet said in a softer voice, "may I have a word please? Alone?"

Firecracker Burst went to one car, Pharynx, the other, and Yearling, her plane. With everyone else gone, Aria was now pretty much left alone with Velvet, whether she liked it or not.

Not having much choice, Aria faced her. Velvet had her arms crossed, pale ice blue eyes looking at Aria with concern.

"Something happened back there," Velvet stated. She held up a hand. "I'm not going to force you to tell me what, although if you want to talk, I am willing to listen." Her gaze grew firmer. "However, I do have to ask if it will be a problem in the future."

Aria's first instinct was to tell her to fuck off! That it was none of her business.

Her hands and jaw clenched tight, biting back that reaction.

Because it was not true. This was Aria's job now, and Agent Velvet was someone she had to work with. If it was something that would affect Aria's work, put her or anyone else in danger on the job, then it was Velvet's business. As much as Aria hated to do it, she had to tell at least something.

"It called out to me," Aria stated. "Didn't even realize I was reaching for it 'til you snapped me out of it." She let out a huff. "May want to keep me away from evil artifacts, or have someone keep an eye so I don't grab for them again, but that should be it."

She hoped.

There was a sudden shift in Twilight Velvet. The professional concern suddenly vanished and there was a look of fear in those eyes.

"Is... is this something everyone who uses magic has to worry about?"

That was when Aria realized, she was no longer looking at Twilight Velvet, SMILE agent. This was Twilight Velvet, concerned mother.

"Dark magic," Aria felt the need to clarify. "And most, yeah, but not all. Like Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle don't have to worry anymore." That immediately got Velvet to visibly relax. "I don't know if they're exposure was long enough to leave a mark or not," -- and she could not honestly say: Aria and the other Dazzlings had used their dark magic for centuries, but Sunset and had only been exposed to it for a small number of minutes, and she had no idea how long it took for the magic to dig into someone -- "but even if it did, the harmony magic or whatever they call it has probably filled the gap. They would have to be separated from their friends and lose that magic first. And even then..." Aria shrugged.

Twilight Velvet gave a nod and small smile. She then took a deep breath, straightened up, and was Agent Twilight Velvet once again.

"Come on," she said. "We have a crown we need to get to safety."

Aria nodded, then made her way toward the car. She caught sight of Pharynx at the driver's side, watching her with that same look of bored annoyance he had in the parking area. Making her way to the passenger door, she got in.

"Once we have Miss Yearling," Pharynx stated as he got into the car himself, "move to sit in the back with her."

"Why?" Aria asked.

He turned to look at her as he put his seat belt on. His blue-violet eyes locked on her as he continued to give her that bored and annoyed look.

"To better keep her safe and protect the crown."

And that was the end of the conversation. Pharynx simply turned forward and started the car. It was pretty clear he was not going to say anything else.

That was fine with her.

Going for a Ride

Both cars had left the airport at the same time, with the one Pharynx drove in front. Once away from said airport and on the freeway, they had separated, with their car heading for downtown and the city museum.

"So, what's your story?" Yearling asked.

Aria turned to the adventurer and watched as the hat came off, one hand reaching up to run through the hair. It was all gray, a variety of it running from just short of white to nearly black, and each in its own sort of section from the others. She looked at the siren turned woman turned agent curiously,

"Not one I want to share," Aria declared.

Yearling's smile grew as she leaned in. One elbow went out, nudging Aria in the side.

"Come on. It sounds like it could be an interesting one. At least tell me where you came from."

A groan escaped Aria as she rolled her eyes, looking away.

"Fine," she said. "When a mommy and daddy love each other very much..." She then left it at that, hoping that the human would take the hint.

"Not that," Yearling said with a chuckle. It suddenly stopped as her brow furrowed. "Although, if you actually were willing, I wouldn't mind. Assuming it's different from human reproduction." The furrow vanished as she returned her full attention to Aria. "I mean, where do you come from? You said that The Roman Empire was gone when you arrived. Arrived. Not born." A finger came up to point. "Which means that you came from somewhere else."

Crap! Aria thought to herself as she turned to look out the window. She had said that. Had not even been thinking about it much. It was just a sort of flippant remark, albeit one she had never had the opportunity to make before since they had kept their actual status something of a secret. In a strange way, it was the type of remark she wished she could have made more often. To not have to keep a certain part of them -- of herself -- secret from everyone else.

Not enough to share her actual past with a total stranger, though.

"Speculate all you want," she declared. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Okay," Yearling said. She started speculating. Out loud. With most of it seeming to be random and unrelated ramblings. One moment, she would talk about the possibility of life on other planets. The next, she would be talking about a major historic event. Then a comment about mythology. Alternate dimensions. Specific historic figures. Folk lore and fairy tales.

To most it would almost seem random. But Aria knew better. It was a trick she had seen before. Even been a part of it, although it was more a Sonata and Adagio thing. When those two did it, it was as a team. First, Adagio would pick out a person and watch them for a while, trying to figure out as much as she could. Details of their clothes, minor motions, anything that could give a clue about what they were like. She would then share some of the information with Sonata and the two would move closer, Adagio so she could listen easily, and Sonata up to talk to the person. More often than not, Sonata would be seen as cute, and come off as innocent or naive, and the target would talk back. Like Yearling was doing now, the conversation would jump around and seem random, but it all tied to what Adagio had noticed: ideas that may one way or another tie to the target. Although, sometimes Sonata would throw in something of her own, just to keep from it getting too noticeable (also encourage said target to drink a little more, lowering the inhibitions and loosening the tongue). While the conversation was going on, Adagio would listen, and watch, not just to get the verbal answers that the target was giving, but catching anything she could in their body language, actions, and movements. An honest answer here, a hesitation in motion there. It all added up to creating more information on the person that she could use.

Yearling was doing the same thing. Talking about various topics, but all that relate to what she knew of Aria, although with two differences. One was that there was no real pretense. No need to act like she was doing otherwise. The other was that she was not getting any verbal answers, but that was not the major point.

Aria could feel those eyes on her, making the back of her neck itch.

Still, she would do everything she could not to acknowledge it, or hint it bothered her in the slightest. So she stared out the window, watching the city, and tried to tune out as much of the overly curious adventurer as she could.

"Blaze!" Pharynx called out. "Get ready!"

That snapped Aria out of her near stupor. She looked forward, straightening up.

"What's going on?"

"Sudden detour," he answered. "Could be a trap."

Aria had never seen anyone actually use a detour as a trap in real life before. It was something she had only seen in movies and on television. Especially in those cartoons that Sonata liked. Still, Pharynx was the more experienced agent, so it would be best to trust his judgement.

Reaching up, she undid her tie, letting it fall against her chest, then unbuttoned the first three buttons of her dress shirt, pulling it open to expose her cleavage.

Pharynx's head jerked to look at her from the rear view mirror.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready," Aria snapped.

"To fight," Pharynx stated. "Not to perform a strip-tease."

Aria rolled her eyes and let out a snort.

"Please. If you're hoping for a free show, then you are dealing with the wrong siren."

There was one last glare through the rear view before Pharynx returned his full attention to driving. A few minutes later, the car jerked as they came to a sudden stop, and Aria could see why.

Their detour path had led them into an alley, wider then one car, but not enough for two. An SUV was pulled across the opening in front of them, blocking their exit. Another pulled across behind them, blocking the way they had come in and keeping them from backing out. Doors from the vehicles opened, people stepping out. Five in total, two in front, and three in back, with one on each side holding a shotgun or rifle: Aria could not tell the difference from a distance.

When the one behind them was aimed, and a red dot appeared on her shirt, Aria concluded that it must have been a rifle.

"Is this thing bullet proof?"

"More than," Pharynx answered. "Could even ram them and keep driving if we need to."

"So why don't we?" Aria glanced, noticing the three without guns walking toward the car.

"It would still damage the car, and take weeks to repair," Pharynx replied.

"Plus we should find out more about them," Yearling added, putting her hat back on. One finger ran along the front rim. "Find out what we can. Like who they could be working for."

A tapping came from the driver's and two back door windows. Aria hit the button, the darkened glass lowering to reveal the man standing on the other side. One snow white hand gripped the sill as he leaned in. His icy blue eyes locked onto Aria, and a predatory smile spread across his lips.

She could not help but return it with one of her own, and there was a moment of satisfaction as his faltered, eyes flicking away.

"Ladies," a voice from Yearling's side purred out. "And how nice to see such lovely ones at that."

Aria turned enough to look at the other man, while keeping the one on her side in view. His skin was a rusty red-brown in color, with a long, narrow face. He had thick black hair, and a matching goatee on his chin. A small scar cut across his left brow and down below that same eye.

"Not exactly under the best of circumstances, though," Yearling retorted. "I mean, you do have us boxed in."

"Had to make sure you couldn't get away," the scarred man replied. "At least not until after you heard what we had to say."

"We know what you're going to say," Aria snapped. Her gaze flicked to the driver's window where a purple-skinned woman stood, then back to her own and the thug that stood there. One hand slid up, grabbing at the lowest edge of her undone neck tie.

"Do you now?" asked Scar.

"Not the exact wording," answered Yearling, "but the broad concept. Give you what you want 'or else.'" Her head shifted back and forth. "And I'm guessing the 'or else' has to do with the guns pointed at us."

"Yes," Scar confirmed. "In this case, we want the crown, or they will open fire."

Yearling leaned closer to him, one hand reaching up to rest on top of his arm, while the other reached down into her bag.

"I don't suppose we could talk you into letting us go?"

"Not an option," Scar replied.

His other hand then pulled up, holding up a pistol and pointing it at Yearling. On Aria's side, the white skinned man did the same. Up front, the purple-skinned woman pulled out a knife, bringing the blade up against Pharynx's throat.

"And trying to do anything heroic would be rather foolish," the thug continued. He motioned with the pistol. "Now, why don't you slowly pull your hand out of that bag and raise so we can all see it."

A second passed as Yearling and Scar stared at each other, unmoving. Two. Three. Yearling slowly straightened up, pulling her hand from her bag. She continued to raise both hands as she sat back, showing nothing in them.

"Good," Scar said.

He turned toward Aria.

"Now, you. If you would be so kind, hand the crown over to my associate."

Aria glared at the scarred criminal, letting out a low growl of annoyance. Slowly, she bent down, reaching out for the briefcase. She took a hold of the handle, and lifted it up from the floor. Swinging it up hard, Aria slammed the edge of the case into the guy's wrist, knocking the arm and gun upwards.

The gun went off.

In the movies and shows that Aria had seen, the hero was able to have a gun go off right next to them, and have no problem whatsoever.

As it turned out, those movies and shows were shit. The sound of the gunshot had left her ears ringing, unable to hear anything else. The muzzle flash had been nowhere near as bright, but was still enough to leave Aria seeing spots. The gunpowder left a burning sensation behind, making her eyes water, nostrils burn, and fighting the need to cough. It all left Aria disoriented, trying to regain her senses.

She managed to do so enough to see a handle coming toward her. Instincts and lifetimes of experience kicked in. Aria's free hand shot out, snagging the wrist. She squeezed tight and twisted until she felt something break. A high-pitched shriek managed to cut through the ringing.

Giving the arm a hard yank, Aria swung with the briefcase. The broad side slammed into the face of the white-skinned thug, knocking him back.

Up front, the purple-skinned woman was nowhere to be seen. Pharynx was holding the knife in one hand and the shock gun in the other.

That only left the scar-faced guy.

Who had an arm around Archaic Yearling's neck, with his gun pointed against her temple.

"Very impressive," he said, "but ultimately pointless. Now, toss the briefcase out through the window. And don't try anything." He tapped the barrel against Yearling's head. "I doubt you can do anything to me before I shoot."

Aria glared at him, considering. She could try lunging, but that would give enough notice to have him pull the trigger. She still had the shock gun, but even if she could pull it out without his noticing (which was doubtful) and shock him, the muscle spasms might cause him to pull the trigger anyways.

Maybe Pharynx could do something?

A glance to the front got him to give a shake of his head.

With a huff, Aria took the briefcase and tossed it out the window. There was a meaty thump, and small grunt of pain.

"Good girl," Scar said, giving a smile.

"If I ever catch you again..." Aria growled, leaving the threat hanging in the air.

He smiled.

"Well, let's hope we don't," the man said. He moved further away from the car, keeping Yearling between him and Aria for as long as possible before moving out of the window's way. He stepped around behind the car, making his way to the other side. Reaching the briefcase, he reached down and picked it up. Once the scarred man had it, he made his way toward the back of the alley.

Ahead, the people blocking the alley stepped aside. The SUV blocking the exit started up, pulling out of the way.

They were free to go.

"Ma'am?" Pharynx asked, turning to look at Yearling.

After chewing her lip for a minute, Yearling let out a sigh and shook her head.

"Let's get out of here," she declared. "They have us outnumbered and outgunned. At best, we would succeed, but they would realize something was weird about the whole thing."

Pharynx gave a nod, and started forward. The windows were rolled up as the car pulled out of the alleyway and back onto the road.

"Besides," Yearling added with a smirk, "I'm betting that whoever they're working for isn't going to be happy when the crown doesn't work."

Because I'm Freefalling

Author's Note

For those who haven't read the blog post: I have decided to stop working on this story for various reasons. I don't know if it's permanently cancelled, or on hiatus for an extended period, but I won't be writing it any more for a long time.

I still have multiple chapters that I have written. As such, I will continue to post them on the regular schedule. However, once I catch up to where I stopped, that's going to be it. No finale. No ending. Just stopping where I gave up.

Again, apologies to those of you who enjoyed it.

Because I'm Freefalling

Aria Blaze grinned to herself as she swam. Powerful tail muscles flexed and shifted, sending her forward. She could feel the cool water rushing across her scaled body. Her dorsal fin stuck out above the water, cutting a line across the surface. Every sense was open, taking in the sense of terror from every creature as they fled from her.

It would put a smile on her face if she did not have one already.

Aria turned, and dove down. She worked her way deeper and deeper, further into the depths. When the light was barely visible, she turned and swam toward the surface. Every muscle in her body pumped with all its power.

The siren breached the surface, doing so with such force that even her tail left the water.

She was flying.

Pink feathered wings flapped excitedly, letting the pegasus climb higher and higher in the clear blue sky. Aria stretched her forelegs out in front of her, getting in better position for proper flight. Her eyes narrowed and ears pulled back against head as the wind rushed across her. She could feel it blow her mane and make her tail snap and wave behind her like a flag.

Aria did an aileron roll, laughing as she did.

Music filled the air. Aria could feel it tickling her coat as it wrapped around her. It stabilized her, helping her fly straighter. It pushed at her, making her want to climb higher and higher. So she did. She climbed and climbed, making her way up and up.

The world vanished far below. There was only Aria, endless sky, and the sun.

Feathers melted. They stretched and flopped as they dripped away. Globs of wax hung in the air like bubbles, or left pink streaks across the sky. With each loss, her wings grew shorter and shorter. The shrinking forced her to flap faster and faster, leaving more streaks and causing more and more wax to fly off.

With a loud POP! two crayons came off of Aria's shoulders. With her wings gone, she fell, spinning through the air. All four legs flapped as fast as they could. Aria tried making her twin-tails and actual tail spin like propellers, to no effect.

She hit the water back-first, slipping beneath the surface.

Something swam toward the now human Aria Blaze. At first, it looked like a black wolf, but as it got closer, the muzzle was too wide, teeth too long, and the "paws" were large and webbed. It grinned at her, bubbles escaping from between its teeth. A whip-like tail lashed back and forth behind it.

The tail lashed around, a hand on the end of it grabbing Aria by the throat and snapping shut. It turned and dove, pulling her down by her neck with it.

Aria screamed, bubbles escaping her mouth and breaking for the surface. She tried to grab at the hand and tail, to pull them off and free herself, but she could not get a good enough grip. Her hands would just slide off.

A line of rainbow light shot up through the water, striking the tail. The hand let go as the tail was turned into eyeballs. The eyes all turned toward Aria, staring at her as they floated up toward the surface.

With a gurgling yelp, the creature fled.

A glowing white light appeared beneath Aria. It grew larger and larger, brighter and brighter. As it got closer, it took on the shape of a horse.

No. An ALICORN.

Aria found herself on the creature's back as they surfaced. It turned its head around, looking at her with glowing white eyes.

WHY DO YOU HOLD ME BACK?

Aria opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. She did not really see it at first. The head of the glowing alicorn filled her vision, its words echoing through her mind. As the sound faded from her ears, so did the image from her sight. Soon it was gone, leaving Aria Blaze alone in the quiet darkness of her room.

Just a plain, white, ceiling.

Tossing aside the sheets, she got up and made her way to the bathroom. At the sink, she turned the cold water on, letting it run before splashing some onto her face.

She turned it off and looked at herself in the mirror. Purple eyes stared back at her.

But who was staring back? Or, would it be more accurate to ask what? She was no longer a siren. Those powers were gone, probably forever. Although, they did not entirely miss it (as Sonata had made them realize not too long ago), it had been who they were, what they were, for so long. In fact, when they had gone back to Equestria, they had been changed into ponies. Aria in particular had been a pegasus. She had not really spent much time to get used to it, either. Since their arrival, they had looked human, but never actually were.

Her gaze drifted down to her right hand. When she had punched the light, it had cut up that hand, enough that it had needed to be cleaned and bandaged. The next day, it had been pretty much healed. Now, there was no sign that anything had even happened.

Aria's attention returned to her reflection. A thought occurred to her. One that in under circumstances, she may have dismissed. As it was, however, she figured she may as well. No reason not to, after all.

As she made her way to the kitchen, the smell of chocolate filled the air.

Sonata Dusk sat at the kitchen table, dressed in her Mane-iac pajamas. Her hands were clasped around a mug, head down as she was staring into it.

"What are you doing up?" Aria asked.

Sonata jumped, jerking the mug. Some of the contents splashed out, spilling onto her hand. She looked up, raspberry eyes blinking as Sonata's attention came back to the present and processed the question that she had been asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Sonata answered. She glanced down at the mug "Thought the hot chocolate would help." Her gaze flicked up at Aria again. "There's some left if you want."

"Maybe after," Aria replied.

"After what?"

Stopping in front of one of the drawers, Aria opened it and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"What are you doing?" asked Sonata.

"Cutting my hair," Aria answered. From all the time it spent in twin tails, her hair tended to be separated into two sections, even when not being held by her hair bands. While it could be annoying when she wanted to simply let her hair down and hang free, it normally made things easier went she wanted to gather it up. Such as when she to put it back up in the tails.

Or in this case, cut it.

She collected the hair on the left side of her head.

"Why?" Sonata asked.

"Why not?" Aria retorted. "We've changed it before."

"You mean like that time you first learned about Punk Rock and got a Mohawk?"

Aria froze, entire body tensing as the memory came back. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head, glaring at the other siren.

"We agreed not to talk about that," she growled out. Her face then took on a vicious smirk. "Just like we agreed to never talk about your beehive."

The comment caused Sonata to shrink down in her seat. Her gaze shifted to the other side of the room as she brought hot chocolate to her mouth. Aria could not see it, but she was pretty sure that Sonata was blushing at the memory.

Aria's attention returned to her hair.

"Besides," she continued, "everything's different now. We're not going back to Equestria, we don't have our powers, we can't feed on dark magic any more even if we wanted." She let out a sigh. "We're not even planning revenge for losing them anymore. We even helped the Rainbooms. We don't think of them as friends... or at least I don't, but..." Aria shook her head. "I even have a job now. One where I am working to keep humans safe from what we used to be and who knows what else."

With her free hand, she grabbed the scissors.

"New world. New life. New look."

Aria opened the scissors and brought the blades to her hair. As she cut, she could hear the hiss of metal sliding against metal, and the crunch of the hair being severed. The cut portion fell, one part hanging limply in her hand, as the other came to rest against her head once more. She had forgotten how much her hair could weigh on her head until she noticed how much lighter her scalp felt.

The process was repeated with the other side.

It was not short enough.

"Hey, Sonata, mind helping me out?"

"Sure," Sonata replied as she stood up. "What do you want?"

With a flick of her wrist, Aria flipped the scissors so that she was holding them by the blades. She walked over to Sonata, holding them out for her. One leg reached out, foot twisting to hook the leg of a chair. With a practiced motion, Aria simultaneously pulled the chair out from the table and turned it around to face her.

"Cut it short," she ordered. "'bout finger width."

After taking the scissors, Sonata moved behind Aria. She ran her fingers through the recently cut hair, then gripped it firmly between her pointer and middle fingers. The hiss-snip, hiss-snip of the scissors cutting filled the silence as she worked.

It was a sound that quickly started to get on Aria's nerves.

"So, why couldn't you sleep?" she asked Sonata.

The cutting paused for a second.

"I've... been thinking about getting a job," Sonata answered as she resumed cutting. "I mean, that was part of the idea, wasn't it? You work for SMILE, our records get wiped, we are given all that stupid government paperwork like birth certificates and high school diplomas, and then we get jobs. Right?"

"Well, technically you don't have to," Aria replied. "We still have a lot of money saved up. You use some of it to go to college. Or just live off it."

"I want to though," Sonata replied. "I want to get a job. I want to prove I can get one. Without mind control or blackmail. I want to prove that I can take care of myself. That I don't need you or Dagi looking out for me all time."

Aria was suddenly very worried about the fact there was a sharp metal object so close to her head.

"Sonata," she started.

"I know, I know," Sonata continued. "I am the baby of us, and you've always had to look out for me. Even back when we were pups and you had to get Canto Mesmer to leave me alone --"

"She was a bitch, anyways," Aria mumbled to herself.

"-- but I'm not a baby, and I'm not an invalid. I can take care of myself!"

The sound of scissors cutting and Sonata huffing filled the air.

"Besides, it's not fair. You shouldn't be the one doing all of the work. We should all do our part."

"Alright, alright," Aria huffed, rolling her eyes. "I get your point already. You want to work." She started to turn, but stopped as she remembered that her hair was being cut. "So, what are you gonna do?"

Sonata let out a sigh.

"That's part of the problem," she answered. "I have to figure out what I want to do, and what I can do. I mean, as far as everyone is concerned, I'm eighteen and just graduated from high school. Even if I wanted to put 'able to manipulate people into distrusting each other and acting against their own well-being' on my resume and they believed me, I would still have to get real work experience or something before they made me a manager. So whatever I end up picking has to be something that I can get with no prior experience. Then there's the question of taking the skills I do have, and how to word them so they sound like they would be useful and relevant. And that doesn't even take into account what I actually want to do, you know? Like, figuring out what I would like to do for hours and hours, for days on end, or at least what I could tolerate enough to go through with it."

"Okay, yeah," Aria conceded. "I get it. That is a lot to think about."

"Yeah," Sonata agreed.

The cutting continued.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Aria asked, turning to look at Sonata.

"I said I'm sorry," Sonata replied. She gently took a hold of Aria's head and moved it to face forward. "Head straight. I'm almost done." The sound of cutting resumed. "It's... something else I've been thinking about lately. Something I have been trying not to think about since... the battle..." Sonata let out a sigh. "I owe you an apology. I owe you so much more than that."

"You're not making any sense."

"It's my fault," Sonata declared, and Aria could hear the sadness in her voice. "If we hadn't met, if I hadn't forced you to be my friend, then you never would have gotten involved in Adagio's plan. You wouldn't have been brought into this world with us. You wouldn't... be stuck here, doing this..."

She gave a sniff.

"Are you done?" asked Aria.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm done."

"Good. Because I want to look at you when I say this."

Aria got up and turned to face Sonata.

"Sonata, in all the years we have known each other, that is by far, the STUPIDEST thing you have ever said."

Sonata took a step back, eyes going wide.

"Ar--"

"Shut up!" Aria snapped. "I'm talking, and I want you to listen. And I mean really listen. Because I want this to get through that chunk of rock you use for a brain." She pointed a finger at the younger siren. "My being here is not your fault!"

"But--"

"NO!" Aria cut. "My life, my choices. I chose to put up with you, I chose to defend you, and to keep doing so, I chose to go along with Adagio's plan for Equestria, and I went along with the plan to attack Canterlot High. I chose to stay with you doofuses through all that crap, I chose to stay here with you two when we could have gone back to Equestria, and just like I chose to work with SMILE so we could get those stupid papers. Understand?"

Sonata gave a nod while chewing her lip.

"Good!" Taking a step closer, Aria's eyes narrowed. "And if I ever hear you talking about how this all your fault again, I will give you an atomic wedgie."

"W-what's that?"

Aria grinned.

"It's where I grab your underwear and pull it up by so hard that the waistband goes up over your head."

A squeak escaped Sonata as she took a step back, eyes going wide. Most likely she was remembering the non-atomic type wedgies that she had experienced in the past: such as when Sonata had worn a thong, sharing that it was also called "butt-floss," and Aria had given her one, explaining that, "you have to really get it up in there if you want to floss properly."

Aria reached up and gave Sonata a gentle pat on the cheek.

"Glad we got that cleared up."

Turning away, she started for the cabinet, wanting to grab a mug so she could enjoy some of the hot chocolate.

Aria barely made it three steps before she was tackled from behind. She could feel a head pressing against her back as scrawny blue arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed tight.

She let out a huff of annoyance as Sonata hugged her.

She did not push away.

Round and Round

Once again, Aria Blaze stood naked in the lab's magic imaging whatever the full name was. She could see the lights and feel the tingling as they tried scanning her once more. Her hand clenched until her nails threatened to pierce the skin of her palm. Her jaw did the same until the muscles ached, and at least one molar threatened to crack under the pressure.

There were no flashbacks this time.

There was an electric click.

"Now try using your powers," Moondancer's voice said from somewhere.

"But I can't," Aria called out, voice echoing off the walls. "My power came from my gem, which was destroyed."

"I'm aware," Moondancer replied. "Try anyways."

A low growl escaped Aria as she glared up. She could not be sure that there was a camera to see her, much less that she was actually facing it, but she still held up both her middle fingers, just in case. She may have agreed to let herself be tested so they could learn what they could about sirens (or former sirens, basically), but it was never said that she had to like it or be happy about it. Once she was satisfied -- even if it had not actually been seen -- she let out a sigh, running a hand through the short hair she now sported.

Even if she was not happy about it, it was part of the deal. Besides, sooner she did it, sooner she could get out of the stupid metal tube.

Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Out of force of habit, one hand reached up to her neck, fingertips pressing at the spot where her jewel once rested. There is a second of phantom sensation, as though she could feel the pressure on her neck, and the cool, smooth surface against her touch. Focusing, she picked the most basic notes that they used.

"Ah-ah, ah-ah," she sang. Although "screeched" might have been a more accurate. She could hear the noise echoing off the walls of the little chamber, scratchy, cracking, and off-key. It was torture. Hearing every shattered, sour note sent pain through Aria's ears, deep into her skull, and down into her heart.

When she felt something warm and wet run down her cheek, she stopped, deciding that was enough. Whatever it was, the wetness was quickly wiped away, making sure that no one would see it.

As soon as the door unsealed, Aria shoved it open and stormed out, making her way to her clothes. Moondancer and Kerfuffle were over by some the console, putting them well away from her. That was fine with Aria. If either of them had been close, she might have accidentally punched them in the face.

She had put on her bra and panties, and was working to button her shirt before she felt calmed enough to talk.

"So, find anything interesting?"

"It... will take time for us to study and interpret the results..." Kerfuffle replied.

Aria paused in her buttoning, tilting her head enough to look toward the two. They were both staring very intently at the screen. Moondancer's eyes was hidden by her glasses, lenses reflecting images too small and distorted to make out. Kerfuffle's brow was furrowed as she looked at the screen, chewing on her lower lip.

"We will have to do additional scans," Moondancer declared. "Also check the calibrations and test the MBRI to make sure it's working properly. Make sure this isn't an anomaly or system error."

Now it had gotten Aria curious.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Her hand resumed buttoning her shirt as she walked towards them.

"We don't know," Moondancer answered.

Kerfuffle looked up at her.

"The results... are rather odd," she said. "I don't understand it as well as Moondancer, but..." Her eyes glanced back to the screen as her brow furrowed. "... it looks like... there are two different magical energies in you."

"And at extremely low levels," Moondancer added. She pointed at the screen. "If this is accurate, then what magic you do have is actually well below those of non-magic using humans." Her lips pressed tight as she gave a shake of her head. "Except that doesn't make sense." Turning from the screen, she looked up at Aria. "You have strength beyond what your muscle mass should allow, and enhanced healing capabilities. Those require large amounts of energy. Your dietary habits have already established it is not entirely metabolic, so it has to be thaumic!"

She flopped back into her chair, letting out a huff.

Aria went back to her clothes, finished getting dressed, and left. As she made her way back to her desk, her mind tried to process what she had been told. She understood what she had been told for the most part. Magic had been a part of their lives when they had been in the other dimension. Even if she had not needed to study portions of it, and she had, it was extremely difficult to spend time around it all and not pick up some of it. Especially once they were among ponies, and feeding off their negative emotions.

The problem was, she did not know what it meant either. Because, quite honestly, magic had never been something she cared about beyond the most basics. She had no idea what her thaumic levels had ever been in her entire life, and honestly could not remember if it had never been taught, or if it had, but was a lesson she had either simply ignored, or wound up sleeping through. It had never mattered anyway. By the time it would have, it was the three of them. Then, no matter what their levels or how much magic they had, the answer was always "never enough." When they had attacked Equestria, they kept needing more and more, so they would have enough to command them all. Then here in the human world, it was always "just enough to survive."

Just as she was in sight of her desk, Pharynx stepped in the way.

"We have an assignment."

"What kind?" Aria asked.

Pharynx moved past her and walked off, making his way... somewhere.

After a low growl, Aria followed after him.

All the way back down tot he lab.

"Kerfuffle!" Pharynx called out from the door.

"Sir?" Kerfuffle replied, standing up straight and at attention.

"Hiking boots. Two pairs. Myself and Agent Blaze."

"On it!" Kerfuffle announced before rushing off.

"Hiking boots?" Aria repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Again, instead of answering, Pharynx resumed walking.

The next stop was not one that Aria Blaze had seen before: The Armory. A wave of Pharynx's hand across the sensor panel got a beep, making the door open. As she followed him inside, the first thing she noticed was the extra shock guns. Five rows of them, each holding five of the square electric weapons. Next was the actual firearms. From handguns, to rifles and shotguns. There was even one that looked like some sort of submachine gun. Then there were weapons: swords, axes, morning stars... was that a chakram?

Pharynx grabbed a rifle and slung it over his shoulder. He grabbed another, then moved to a different section, and grabbed a different one. With them, he returned to Aria.

"Hunting rifle," Pharynx declared as she held it out to her.

Aria took it.

"Tranquilizer gun," he said, holding out the other.

She took that as well.

"Don't get them mixed up." He pointed at a locker. "Ammunition is over there."

In all her years in the human world, Aria had never had much use for guns. She was aware of the basic concepts for them, decades around a culture that was obsessed with the technology would do that. It was just that she never had much reason to use them. After all, they fed off of negative emotions for their powers, and a dead person could not give those off. Plus, none had ever dared to try and point guns at them.

One of the things that she had picked up over the years was that there were times where a person would run out of ammunition, and would resort to using their rifle as a club.

As Pharynx turned his back to her, Aria considered testing how well it worked against the back of his head.

Instead, she made her way over to the ammunition cabinet and opened the door.

Which made her realize an issue about not being actually familiar with firearms. One that she had never really thought about before because she had never really cared about.

Ammunition.

The tranquilizer darts were easy enough. There was only one size for those. The shotgun shells were marked as such, even if different sizes, so she did not have worry about that. Still, the sheer amount of differing ammunition was overwhelming. Magnum, and standard. Numbers from forty-five to twenty-two, with nine millimeter, and numerous between and beyond. Most of them were equally split between pistol ammunition, and rifle ammunition.

She had not even known there was a difference.

"Hey, Fart Stinks!" Aria called out, turning to look away from the locker. "You never told me what caliber of ammunition I need."

"Three seventy-five," Pharynx answered. He pulled something out of a separate locker and turned around.

The weapon he held looked like something from a science fiction movie. The top portion was like someone had taken a large pipe and chromed it. Two smaller ones were attached to the underside. It turned out that the space between the two lower pipes was actually a slot. In the slot, Pharynx inserted a glass canister filled with a glowing green goo of some kind. A panel on the top lit up, showing green lights as well. It had a handle and trigger like a pistol, but there was also a portion at the back which looked like a shoulder rest. A black strap attached to it was slung over Pharynx's shoulder.

"What is that?" Aria asked.

Pharynx looked at her, eyes narrowed.

"This," he said, giving the weapon a pat, 'is the SAP cannon. It is one of a kind." His eyes narrowed further. "And it is mine."

Aria's eyes looked at the glowing green goo in the canister.

"Sap?" she repeated.

"Synthetic Adhesive Plas-gel," Kerfuffle announced. She stood in the doorway, two boxes nestled under one arm. "It releases a small ball of the gel in the container. On impact, the gel expands enough to engulf the average adult male, not only trapping them, but causing them to become stuck to any nearby surface."

"Is he really the only one who gets to use it?" Aria asked. In her mind, she was picturing taking the weapon home and using it on Adagio and Sonata. The idea of catching them walking around in the middle of the night, covering them in green slime, and having them pinned against the wall was hilarious. Plus, the basement apartment was pretty much sound-proof. If one them screamed, only the other two would hear it.

"He was the one who agreed to use the prototype," Kerfuffle answered. "We could reclaim it, but have no reason to. It would either be broken down and recycled, or put in storage. As far as we were concerned, he could keep it."

"When are you making another?"

Kerfuffle shook her head.

"We aren't. Despite how much Agent Pharynx likes it, there were too many complications compared to the benefits. As such, we decided not to make another, although we are still trying to come up with alternate non-lethal capturing methods."

She pulled the box out from under her arm.

"Anywho, here are you hiking boots." Kerfuffle gave a smile.

Aria took the box.

"Good luck on your assignment," Kerfuffle said, giving her a pat. She then turned and walked off.

"Blaze!" Pharynx called out. "Ammunition."

Aria let out a huff, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled. Turning to the locker, she grabbed a box of the .375 rifle ammunition and box of tranquilizer darts, stuffing them into her jacket pockets.

Hit the Road

The guns and boots were loaded into the back of a black SUV. Pharynx made his way over to the driver's door, so Aria walked around to the passenger. As she got in, she gave the door an extra firm slam to shut it.

"So are you finally going to tell me what the assignment is?"

"Seat belt," Pharynx said as he grabbed his own, snapping it in place.

Aria let out a low growl, rolling her eyes. With her middle-finger, she grabbed her belt and pulled it across her body, snapping it in place.

Pharynx glanced at her, then returned his attention to the car. He started up the engine, pulled out of the parking spot, and headed for the garage exit. The drive went on in silence, making their way through the city streets.

It was as they were reaching the edge of town that Pharynx finally spoke.

"Around three a.m. this morning, we picked up an energy surge in Ursa Major State Forest. One that was very similar to the readings we get for Equestria. Shortly after eight this morning, a camper was found on the side of a hiking trail, severely injured. The wounds look to be inflicted by a large predator -- which, despite the name, don't exist in the forest -- and during his conscious moments, he talked about the forest coming alive and attacking him."

He shifted to look at Aria from the corner of his eye.

"Any of that mean anything to you?"

Aria shifted, looking through the front window as she tried to think back. After a few seconds she gave a shake of her head.

"Once we went to the surface, our biggest focus was causing chaos and feeding on the negative emotions," she stated. "Didn't exactly bother to learn a lot about the surface creatures beyond whether or not we could control them."

Pharynx let out a small grunt and turned to face the road as he continued.

"Our main assignment is to try and locate, capture, and return the creature to SMILE."

With that, the conversation came to an end. The drive continued in silence, neither speaking. Which was fine with Aria. She turned and stared out the window, watching as the inner city turned into the outer city, which gave way to suburbs, and finally the countryside. Trees blurred into one another, interrupted by open fields and the occasional signpost.

It was pretty boring.

As she caught sight of the big wooden sign that had the shape of bear and the words "Ursa Major Forest" painted on it, Aria thought about how stupid the entire idea was, and by extension, how stupid humans were for such a thing in the first place. They destroy massive amounts nature, claiming it is in the name of "progress," or "civilization," or some other stupid term, and when they realize they might destroy all of it, instead of stopping, they slap a fence around a part of it, and claim "we're not messing with this piece."

Except that was a load of crap. They were constantly messing with it. Like building look out towers to keep eyes out for fires (although, Aria was pretty sure she heard somewhere that people in parks and such would set intentional fires to clear out some of the underbrush and somehow reduce the risk of all out forest fires). The places that were supposed to "preserve" nature would allow hunting, and in some cases needed to because humans had wiped out all the predators, making it so that their hunting was the only thing keeping the prey species from overpopulating and eating everything. Paths would be cut through and maintained them so that people could safely hike. Because driving for hours to spend twenty to thirty minutes doing something they do every day, but surrounded by trees instead of building made so much sense. They also set up camping sites: little areas where people could spend hundreds of dollars to spend a night pretending they were homeless. Then there were camping trailers and recreational vehicles. Because nothing said "one with nature" like being in a giant metal box filled with all the modern conveniences they could get away with.

Taking an exit, the SUV left the main road, and went up along one that led to the entrance of Ursa Major Forest. Although, it turned out not directly. There had been a few more miles and several turns before they finally reached the entrance. There was a small guard shack, with those raisable traffic barricade things blocking the path on each side.

From the shack stepped out a woman in what must have been a ranger uniform. She had a big smile on her face as she made her way toward the driver's side window.

"Good morning," she called out as the window rolled down. "What can I do for you fine folks this nice day?"

Aria managed to catch a glimpse of a smile on Pharynx's face as he turned to lean out the window. A warm and friendly voice came from him as he spoke.

"Good morning, Ranger..." he lifted a hand, pointing at the name tag, "... Blaze." He turned enough to glance toward Aria. "My partner and I are with The Wildlife Department. You heard about the hiker that was attacked."

Ranger Blaze let out a gasp, bringing a hand up to her chest.

"I did," she confirmed. "So horrible. And honestly, kind of strange. There shouldn't be any animals like that out here."

"That's part of why we're here," Pharynx replied. His voice then dropped to a deeper tone. "Can you keep a secret?"

The park ranger gave a nod.

Leaning out the window, Pharynx looked up and down the road.

"You didn't hear this," he said just above a whisper, "but we think someone might be using the forest as a way to smuggle animals."

"What?" Ranger Blaze cried out, getting a quick shush from Pharynx.

"I know it sounds strange," he said, "but in a way it makes sense. I mean, most people don't bother to research what sort of wildlife lives in the park, and they're not going to think much beyond hearing something beyond 'I hope it doesn't come near me.'" Reaching out, he placed a hand on her arm. "Keep this to yourself, though. We don't want them knowing we're onto them yet. Plus, if others find out, they may try as well."

"Right, right," the ranger said with a nod. She placed her hand on top of Pharynx's. "Although I should warn you. The FBI are here as well."

"F...B...I..." Pharynx repeated, getting a nod. "Did they happen to say why they were here?"

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. "They just identified themselves and ordered me to open the gate."

After a second, Pharynx let out a chuckle.

"Well thanks for the heads up." He gave her hand a pat before pulling away. "And don't worry. I promise we want tell them you told us." There was another chuckle. "Although I doubt we have to worry about it. Knowing them, they probably have fill a report on their arrival, and then wait for orders on where to start. In triplicate."

That got a laugh from the park ranger as she pulled away. Walking back to the booth, she did something that made the barricade raise up, letting them pass through.

Pharynx gave her one more wave as they drove by, getting one in return. As soon as the window was up and the shack was behind him, the smile vanished, leaving him with the bored and annoyed look Aria normally saw on his face. His hands shifted on the wheel, tightening.

"The FUCK was that?" Aria cried out.

"An animal attack, even in a state forest, doesn't directly fall under FBI jurisdiction," Pharynx stated. "Even if it was, they wouldn't be able to send agents to investigate so soon." He turned enough to look at Aria from the corner of his eye. "Call headquarters. Inform them that a rival agency might be out here."

Aria opened her mouth to respond, and stopped. The rant she had been building up to was suddenly forgotten as Pharynx's order sank in. Especially the last part, and what it indicated.

"There are other agencies like ours?" she asked.

"At least one that we know of. Make the call."

"Right." Aria gave a shake of her head, focusing on the task she had been given. Reaching for the inside pocket of her dress jacket, she pulled out her phone and turned it on. Among the list of contacts was now one that simply said "office" and had no picture included. A quick tap of her thumb and the phone was ringing.

"Hello?" a modulated voice called out.

"This is Aria Blaze, calling with Pharynx," she announced. "We're at the park, but... he thinks some rival agents may be here."

A second passed.

"Please hold," the voice said. There was a click as she was put on hold. The sound of music now came from the phone's speakers. Aria rolled her eyes, letting out a groan of annoyance. Not for being put on hold, but because of their choice in music. Aria could recognize the tune, some recent pop hit that all the stations played and every television show had to include at least a few bars of. Except they had butchered it. The tempo had been slowed down, and the tune had been turned to an instrumental, with a series of horns filling in for the lyrics.

When that ended and another started, it took a while to recognize the song. Not just because of the change, but because a part of her mind refused to admit that anyone would ever turn a classic like that into elevator music. It was a CRIME! One that could only be corrected in one way: whoever thought this was a good idea would have to be hunted down and sacrificed to the rock gods. The defilement of Lord Flashy Mercury must be avenged!

Before the details of the ritual could be fully developed, the abomination was cut off and the modulated voice returned.

"Thank you for holding," the voice said. "Please continue with your current objective. Should you encounter other agents, try to identify them and the agency they are with if possible. Do not incite conflict or provoke them into doing similar to claim self-defense. Understood?"

"Understsood," Aria answered. Although, she was kind of curious. Was the comment about inciting conflict or provoking such a standard message, one intended toward her? Admittedly, considering her past and what she was, it would be a fair warning.

Some minutes later, they pulled into one of the parking areas for a hiking trail.

As they did, Aria noticed the other black SUV parked there.

On the Hunt

Dress shoes were quickly switched out for hiking boots, and weapons were loaded and slung over shoulders. Pharynx took a moment to study the other SUV. He walked around it, looked through the all the windows, kicked at the tires, even crouched down in front of and behind it, and slipped his hand under the bumper, feeling along them.

Then he brought the nozzle of the SAP Cannon up to the opening of the exhaust pipe, and pulled the trigger. As he pulled away and stood up, a small amount of the green goo leaked out of the pipe and onto the ground.

Aria crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What happened to not inciting conflict?" she asked.

Pharynx looked at her, his pale purple eyes narrowing.

"I am doing no such thing," he stated. "If their car happens to stall out shortly after they start it, can't really blame me. Especially if it ends up being fine again in a few hours."

Aria watched Pharynx as he made his way toward the trailhead. What he had just done was petty, vindictive, and against the spirit of the orders, if not the actual words. It actually made her like him a little more. It was nice to see he had a petty and vindictive side to him.

She followed after him and made her way along the trail. As she walked along the marked path, Aria let her eyes wander, taking in all the nature around her. All of the boring, boring, nature. There was a tree. There was a rock. There was a tree. There was a bush. There was a tree. There was a patch of dirt. Oh look. What a surprise. There was a tree. Just like every other forest on this damnable planet that they had to flee through: because a plan went wrong; because a plan went right; because they were accused of something they did not do; because they were accused of something they did do; because of rampant paranoia; or because they had been in one place too long, and people were starting to notice they were not aging. At least with that last one, they had time to pack up what they could take with them, sell off what they could not or did not want to, and not have to start over completely from scratch.

Two memories in particular came to mind.

In one, the three of them deep in some old forest, using a broken tree to keep them out of the rain. Aria's clothes had been laid down on the ground to give them some protection against the dirt and bugs. Adagio's was on top of them, providing them an extra layer of warmth and protection. The three of them were naked between them, huddling close for shared warmth. Sonata was in the middle, needing the heat most. Still, she shivered. Even with their accelerated healing, the wounds on her back continued to bleed, and despite Adagio's assurances, Aria swore she saw signs of infection.

It was many years before certain books would be written, so the word "sadistic" did not exist yet, but that was what the Count was, enjoying every second as he whipped Sonata's back all the way down to the bone. They could be as well. Aria especially. As they laid there, Aria swore to herself that Sonata died, she would go back to see if he was still alive, and if he was... Well... She would find out how much pain he could tolerate without blacking out, and then keep him right there. For days. Until he was begging for death.

The other was a night where there was no rain. The inferno that had once been a village was proof of that. The sounds of building crackling and and popping as they burned, and voices shouting "witch," "demon," as well as other names and variety of profanities could be heard by the sirens as they left. Although not at a very quick pace. Aria and Sonata each had one of Adagio's arms over their shoulders as they carried her unconscious body. As they went, the air quickly went from too hot to too cold, making the sweat Aria had been covered on feel like ice across her skin. The smell of cooking meat filled her nose, and normally, it was a smell that she loved, but the fact that it was coming from Adagio's burnt legs made her stomach churn instead.

As they walked, Aria called Adagio stupid over and over again. Had the lead siren been awake, Aria would have been chewing her out something fierce. Not for being accused of witchcraft, since Adagio was actually innocent of that this time, and they had been accusing normal humans as well. No, what had been stupid was that instead of simply leaving, Adagio had insisted they stay long enough to give a dramatic monologue, and then used their magic to turn the villagers against each other, leading to the place's current state. She should have saved all the energy she could, try to focus on healing, but no. Queen Bitch just had to be dramatic.

In the present, Aria was so caught up in her memories that she did not notice that Pharynx had stopped until she had bumped into him.

"We're here," he stated.

Looking around, Aria took in the current trail in the current forest she was in. There were several patches of rusty brown spots, with at least one still having a wet, red gleam to its center. A single deep breath, and she could smell -- practically taste -- the metallic scent that came with it.

"And you said he was conscious?" she asked. Aria gave a shake of her head. Considering the amount of blood, it was hard to imagine he had even survived.

Off to one side of the path, there was a line where the ground had been gouged out and scraped. Like something had dug in and kept sliding. Curious, Aria walked over and placed her foot into it. The furrow was wide enough to fit her boot into it easily, and deep enough the that sole was below the edge. Aria traced along it, making her way toward the piled up mound of dirt and debris.

The heel bumped against something. Keeping her foot against it, Aria bent down, felt around to find the edges of it, and pulled it out, holding it up to see what she had hit.

It was a piece of wood. Not a completely natural one, either. One end looked like it had been broken off, but the rest of it looked like it was intentional. The thing was longer than her middle finger, and the base twice as wide. It curved and narrowed, ending in a sharp point. It was like someone had taken a piece of wood, and tried to carve it into a claw. Although not well. Maybe with like a rock or something.

"Pharynx," she called out. As she stood and turned Aria held up the piece of wood for him to see.

His pale violet eyes narrowed as he stared at it. Slowly, he reached up and took it from her, turning it around as he studied it.

"A piece of wood," he stated.

"Found it at the end of the furrow, half-buried in the dirt."

"The forest came to life and attacked him," Pharynx repeated. He then looked at Aria. "Do you think that the creature could be made out of wood?"

Aria thought about it a moment, before giving a half-shrug.

"I guess it's possible," she answered. "There were stories of rock lobsters that were actually made of rock, and there was at least one time we found a creature made out of seaweed." There had also been a story about a living ship that ate sirens, but that was not really relevant. "As such, it wouldn't surprise me if some surface creature was made out wood."

Pharynx let out a hum as he gave a small nod. His gaze drifted from her, toward the furrowed ground, then he turned around and looked across toward the other side.

"Check on this side," he ordered, motioning behind him. "See if you can find any other signs of the creature or where it may have gone."

He walked across the trail and stepped off, looking ahead.

Aria gave a nod despite not being looked out, and moved back to the furrow. She brought a hand up to block out the sun and narrowed her eyes. Slowly, she stepped further from the path, looking for anything that might be out of place. Although, it would help if she had more an idea on what that might be. The only thing they had even close to a clue was that it was big, and may be made out of wood.

She turned to glare at a tree.

"Don't try anything," she growled out.

Once satisfied that the tree was in fact a normal tree, Aria continued to walk forward and look around. She stared at patches of grass, trying to figure out if they were bent differently from other grass patches, which were actually very few. She stared at rocks, trying to figure out if they had been moved from other spots where they may have been. At piles of leaves that may have been crushed. At sticks that could have been broken by any of a dozen different things. At mud.

Which looked like something had stepped in it.

"FOUND SOMETHING!" Aria shouted out. Moving closer to it, she crouched down to get a better look. There was a rectangular impression, somewhere between an eight by ten photograph and sheet of paper, by Aria's guess. On one of the narrower ends were to long, triangular impression: one on the left side, and one in the middle.

"What did you find?" Pharynx asked as he approached.

"Give me the piece I found," she said, holding out her hand. As soon as she felt it touch her palm, she took it and held it down against the mud, beside one of the triangular impressions.

It was a match.

She felt more than saw Pharynx move closer and crouch down beside her. One of his dark blue-green hands reached out, pressing against the rectangular portion of the print in the mud.

"Large," he muttered to himself. "Made of wood. Willing to attack people, but didn't kill or eat him..." He shifted. "Any of this remind you of anything?"

"No," Aria answered, giving a shake of her head. Her brow furrowed as something tugged at the back of her mind. Something that at least a part of her said did not make sense. Something that she could not quite figure out.

Pharynx stood back up, moved around the impression, and started walking further along.

Slipping the... toe?... into her pocket, Aria stood up and followed after him. As they walked, the ground became more sloped. There were even a few places where they were forced to slow down, even had to move at an angle to keep from slipping and falling. At one point, Aria was about to snap and yell how it could not have possibly gone this way, only to come across more of the strange prints.

The two them reached a stony shore of a river. It was wide, and the water was clear. The bottom could be seen easily, but it was difficult to tell how deep it went, or how fast it was moving if at all. Instead of crossing, they decided to follow the shore upriver.

As they walked, the terrain on either side of their rocky riverside path grew taller. There were even points where they were sheer walls, well over their heads. At one point, a tree was partially hanging off the edge on top, some of the roots sticking out in the air. It was kind of impressive it had not fallen yet.

Further along, they found what looked like the entrance to a cave. It was a small one, forcing Pharynx hunch down as he looked inside.

"Wait out here," Pharynx ordered.

"Seriously?" Aria said. Crossing her arms, she raised an eyebrow at him. "We're basically hunting a monster in the woods, and not only do you want to separate, but go into a dark, unknown cave alone?"

Pharynx turned to look at her, with an expression of bored annoyance.

"This isn't a horror movie," he stated. "Considering the size of the prints, I doubt the target is even in here. However, it should still be checked just in case." He pointed a finger at here. "So wait out here."

"Aye-aye," Aria huffed. She threw up one hand, bringing the middle to her brow in a mock-salute.

Pharynx scowled more, but said nothing. He turned back to the cave entrance, brought the SAP cannon up against his chest, and stepped further inside.

Aria let out a huff and turned away from the cave. She walked a little further up, catching sight of a pile of branches and twigs. Slipping the rifles off her shoulders, she moved to lean back against it.

Just as she had committed herself to the action, she suddenly remembered what it was they were supposed to looking for.

As soon as her butt hit the wood, she felt it start to move.

Fuck me!

Bang Bang!

Aria Blaze lunged away from the moving pile of branches and sticks, holding the rifles ahead of her. As she hit the ground, Aria learned two things. The first and biggest was that even though the suit was supposedly bulletproof, she could still feel impacts against her body. She could feel the rocks slamming into her as she landed on them, likely leaving at least one bruise. The second was that the inner lining of her pants pockets were not so resistant. Pain exploded through her leg as the wooden claw cut through the lining into her thigh.

Dropping one rifle, Aria turned over, bringing the other up to her shoulder as she pointed it at the creature.

What she had mistaken for a pile of branches, sticks, and leaves now looked like a wolf. Like someone took a bunch of pieces of raw wood and worked it into that shape. Sickly yellow light glowed from where eyes would have been, and Aria was sure that they were looking right at her. Wooden jaws opened to reveal "teeth" made from dozens of short, thick, sharpened teeth. A very wolf-like growl emanated from the throat. One large wooden foot stepped forward.

Aria pointed the gun at the creature's face and pulled the trigger.

The trigger did not move.

"Shit," Aria whispered to herself. Taking her eyes off the wooden wolf, she looked down at the rifle to try and figure out what had gone wrong.

Cursing at her own stupidity, she turned off the safety, brought the gun back up, and pulled the trigger once more.

There was a puff of air and a yelp from timber beast. Its head tilted as the yellow eyes focused on the dart sticking out of its nose, the back end covered in a bright red feather.

"Oh, fuck me with a baseball bat!" Aria cried out.

The creature let out a snarl, and lunged.

Turning the weapon sideways, Aria held it up and thrust it forward, slamming it into the monster's open mouth.

"That wasn't an invitation!" she snarled.

The wolf let out a snarl and pushed forward, snapping its jaws. It had a breath, and it smelled like vegetation rotting on a humid summer day. Amber sap dripped from its open mouth like drool, landing on Aria's face.

With a twist of her body, Aria put as much of her strength as she could into kicking the creature. There was a loud thump as the toe slammed into wood.

The monster did not even notice.

Releasing her grip on the barrel, Aria pulled her hand back as far as she could, and punched the wooden wolf in the face. She felt her bare knuckles strike the wood, hitting it in the cheek just below the eye. The wolf did not even flinch. Instead it bit down harder and yanked its head back, pulling the rifle from Aria's grasp, and shook it with a snarl.

While it was busy doing that, Aria grabbed the hunting rifle. Her finger flicked over the safety, turning it off as she brought the weapon up. The tip of the barrel pressed directly against the wood of the creature's face.

Aria pulled the trigger.

The thunder-crack of gunfire filled the air. The wooden wolf let out an unheard yelp as the bullet struck the cheek, making it splinter apart. It gave a shake of its head, then reached up with one paw to rub at the shattered spot.

Aria pulled back the bolt to reload, aimed, and pulled the trigger again. The next shot missed the head, but slammed into the creature's shoulder. The third missed completely. The fourth somehow managed to strike one of the hind legs, causing the wooden animal to fall onto its backside.

With a push of her elbow, Aria sat up. Reloading one last time, she brought the barrel up under the wolf's jaw and pulled the trigger.

The head exploded in a spray of splinters and shattered wood.

Dropping the gun, Aria flopped backwards onto the ground. She stared up at the what she could see of the sky, panting. Her heart pounded in her chest, slamming against the inside of ribs until they ached. Her ears rang with the echo of gunfire.

Pharynx appeared, looking down at her.

"What happened?" he asked.

Aria held up a finger.

"First," -- she pointed a finger at him -- "fuck you. 'Not a horror movie' my ass! Second," -- she pointed at where she thought the pile of wood was -- "that was our target. Shortly after you entered the cave, it came to life and attacked me. So I had to fight it off."

"So it's dead?"

Aria shifted to glare at him.

"How the fuck should I know?" she snapped. "I'm not an Equestrian magic theorist or whatever they would call themselves. I don't even know if the thing was actually alive or just..."

The words stopped, but her mind kept going, working through numerous possibilities. Aria sat up, staring at the pile as one particular possibility stuck in her mind. After a few seconds of it playing over and over, she stood up and walk to the pile.

"Grab a piece," she yelled. "Take it away from the rest. Toss it in the cave or something."

Grabbing one of the leg pieces, she carried it over to the river and tossed it in. A grin spread across her face at the splash, and she watched as the massive piece of wood floated away.

Pharynx walked around to the other side of the wood pile, staring down at it.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because we don't know if it's dead!" Aria snapped. Her brow furrowed as she walked toward the remains again. "Not even sure if it was actually alive in the first place." she picked up one of the other legs. "So, it might be dead, OR it might be recharging its energy so it can rebuild itself."

Another leg was thrown into the river with a splash and floated away. As she stood there, a fresh twinge of pain reminded Aria of what had happened to her thigh, and what had caused it. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the now blood-stained claw, and tossed it in as well.

"Which it may not be able to do if the parts or too scattered," Pharynx finished. Giving a nod, he picked up several pieces and carried them to the cave.

As she pulled a large part of what had been the chest off, Aria caught sight of it.

A heart.

Like the rest of the creature, it was made of wood, but nowhere near as crude. It was a single piece of dark wood, carved into the perfect shape of a heart. Not the symbolic heart, with its twin rounded tops and pointed bottom end. It was an anatomical heart. There were even noticeable veins across the surface of it. A glow that matched the creature's eyes now came from the openings for the arteries, shining from deep inside the heart's chambers.

"I think I found the focus," she blurted out.

"Take off your jacket, and wrap it around that," Pharynx said. "Hold it close and casual, like you took it off because it was too hot and you didn't want to wear it any more. Look as sore and tired as you possibly can, and don't say anything."

Aria turned to look at him, curiously.

"Hurry!" he snapped.

Aria quickly took off her suit jacket and wrapped it around the heart. Next, she undid her tie, but did not take it off, letting it hang around her neck. With that done, she was able to undo the top buttons of her shirt, opening it to just above her bra.

As for looking sore and tired, that was all too easy. The adrenaline of the battle with the monster had pretty much worn off. It left her feeling worn out and tired. Between the pounding of her heart on the inside, and impact of the rocks on the outside, Aria's chest and back ached to the ribs. Her limbs felt like boiled rubber. The gouge in her thigh throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

A wound that reminded her of its existence as she moved to stand up.

Pharynx picked up the two dropped rifles and gave them back to her. The two of them started walking, making their way along the shore and back the way they had come. It was at a slower pace, one that Aria was being allowed to set. Pharynx kept close, walking beside her when there was enough space, and behind there when there was not. She was also pretty sure that he had been looking at her leg multiple times.

Aria tried to keep her mind in the present, and on making it to the car. In a way, it was kind of interesting. Because of how sore and tired she was, she was forced to go slower as she walked through the forest. With that walk, memories of the past pushed at her mind. Those past memories, combined with her most recent experiences, made her want to do nothing more than get out of the forest as fast as possible. If she did try to go faster, however, it would just wear her out faster and make her hurt more, forcing her to go slower.

If there was some sort of Equestria deity, Aria was sure that it would be watching, and laughing.

At some point after they had gotten back to sloping sides instead of a canyon-like groove, but before they had reached the point where they had come down to the river, Aria caught sight of two others.

"Remember what I told you," Pharynx said, not looking at her.

As they got closer, Aria was able to make out more of the other two. Both of them were dressed in black suits like her and Pharynx. In the classic comedy duo pairing, one of them was tall and thin, while the other was short and fat. The tall one had dark, wine-red skin and deep red hair, while the shorter was so dark and light in grey it was almost black and white.

Pharynx said something, but it was too soft for Aria to catch it.

"Pharynx!" the shorter one called out, waving a hand. "Hey, Pharynx!" The voice was masculine, and there was a hint of a lisp. "How are ya?"

"Grubber," Pharynx stated flatly. His head then turned slightly and eyes narrowed. "Shadow."

"Pharynx," the taller one said in a feminine voice. The woman, "Shadow," quickly turned toward Aria -- letting her catch the blue eyes, and scar running from brow to cheek -- looked her up and down, and then turned away again. Aria had just been dismissed, and it pissed her off. She found enough strength to clench a hand into a fist, even if it felt like every muscle in her arm had to be forced into movement.

"We were just leaving," Pharynx said as he took a step forward. "Move."

There was a glint as Tempest Shadow held up her left hand. Except it was not a left hand. At least, not a real one. It was white, and shiny, like highly polished ceramic. A light of some kind came from it, but it was too hard to make out in the sunlight.

Pharynx took a step back, glaring at the hand.

"We heard the sound of gunfire from this direction," Shadow stated. "Do you know anything about it?"

A second passed. Two. Three.

"And why should I be inclined to answer any of your questions?" Pharynx growled out.

When no answer came, he pushed past the two and walked on.

Aria followed after him. Once past, she had to resist the urge not to look back at them. Because, as Adagio pointed out multiple times, "That would ruin the dramatic exit." Plus, it could be seen as a sign of weakness, something that gives the person being looked at an advantage.

It was a bit difficult, though. There was a story here. And it looked to be an interesting one. One that seemed to involve Pharynx and Tempest Shadow.

As it turned out, whatever the story was, she was not getting any time soon. At least, not from him. He did not say a single word, did not even look at her, all the way to back to the SUV. Once there, what he said was not to her, the phone as he called headquarters.

"We have intercepted the rival agents," he announced. "They are Grubber and Tempest Shadow of SCOWL."

He did not say anything more on the drive back.

Expressions

Twilight Velvet was waiting for the two of them as they returned. She stood up as straight as they approached, raising one eyebrow as she looked them up and down.

"Looks like it was a bit rough," she stated. "Was it a success?"

With a low growl, Aria unrolled her jacket and held up the wooden heart.

"It was a wolf made of wood," Aria stated.

"So," Twilight Velvet said, eyes narrowing as she smirked, "you could call it... a timber wolf?"

Aria let out a groan, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure that's what they're called in Equestria." Because it was obvious, stupid, and very much something the ponies would name such a thing. "Anyway, we were able to deal with it, and found this." She held up the heart. "Pretty sure it's the focus. Like the battery for it or something."

Velvet gave a nod, then turned to Pharynx.

"And you ran into SCOWL?"

"After," Pharynx answered. "Agents Grubber and Shadow."

"Did they discover anything?"

"We were nowhere near the remaining brush when we met. Aria had hidden the object in her jacket well before then, and neither she nor I answered any of their questions."

Twilight Velvet gave a nod.

"Good." She took a breath. "Pharynx, go ahead and get started on the report. I'm going to escort Aria down to the lab so she can turn in the focus for study, and get a check up."

With a nod, Pharynx stepped away and walked off, leaving the two women where they were.

"I can get there on my own," Aria declared, glaring at the senior agent.

"I'm sure you can," Velvet assured, "but there is still a matter we need to discuss." She motioned down the hall toward the lab area.

"You mean SCOWL?" Aria asked. When she got a nod, she rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed grunt. "What kind of stupid name is that, anyways?"

"Not as stupid as SMILE, I bet," Velvet replied with a smile.

A snort of surprise escaped from Aria at that. Admittedly, she had been thinking that herself as well since the first time she heard it. What kind of secret organization would name itself an acronym based on a facial expression? Especially one that was supposed to be positive? A qualifier she did not think she would add before today. Still, she had no plan of saying it out loud, and definitely was not expecting to hear it from someone else who worked here.

Aria's eyes narrowed as she studied the other woman. Was this a trick? An act? Was she trying to act friendly to make Aria like her? Make her think that they had something in common? Might even be friendly toward each other? It was a ploy that Aria had seen Adagio use before. Although if that was the case, why? What could Agent Twilight Velvet get out of pretending to get along with Aria? Aria was already working for them. Although so far, that had been more of a pain in the ass then it was worth so far. Still, she had agreed, and was not going to quit any time soon. At the same time, why would Velvet be so friendly to her if not for some ulterior motive? Considering all the trouble the sirens caused, she should actually openly dislike Aria. More so since Velvet's daughter was friends with the girls the three of them tried to drive apart and destroy, even if it did end up backfiring on them.

It was all making Aria's head hurt.

Or was that exhaustion and dehydration?

Whatever. No matter the cause of it, the best way to get rid of it was to jut get things over and done with. Drop off the heart, get checked out, find out what she can about SCOWL, then she can go home, have something to drink, and take a nap. Or maybe go out, have a couple drinks, and find a girl to spend the night with.

Aria walked after Agent Velvet, following her to the lab.

"So, who are they?" she asked.

"That's another reason we're heading to the lab," Velvet said. "Moondancer has tried looking into them, and has a pretty good theory about them." A small smile tugged at her mouth as she gave a shake of her head. "I swear, sometimes the only way to get that girl to talk about something is to get her lecturing." The smile grew smaller. "She really needs to get out more. Make some friends her own age. Or any friends at all, for that matter."

The moment they arrived, Moondancer was in front of them, eyes wide with excitement. Her arms were across her chest, one hand gripping the elbow of her lab coat, while the other tapped nervously against the same.

"You have a magical object for me to study?" she asked, in the same tone of an addict looking for their next fix.

Aria held up the timber wolf heart. Moondancer gave a squeal at the sight, and snatched it up, holding it against her chest.

"Hold on," Agent Velvet called out. "Before you disappear to study that, Aria needs to have her injuries checked, especially her leg, and you need to fill her in on SCOWL."

Moondancer's eyes went wide as she slowly inhaled. Rushing to a desk, she opened a drawer and put the heart in it.

"Kerfuffle can perform the exam," she declared. "I have to get the presentation ready."

"Presentation," Aria muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. What had she just gotten into?

"Agent Blaze," Kerfuffle called out from beside the examination table. "Take your pants and lay down, and I'll take care of you." Her hands came up to her mouth as she let out a small gasp. A pink tinge spread across her face. "I-I-I mean your legs. Your injuries. I'll take care of your injuries."

Aria raised an eyebrow, looking curiously at the blushing girl. She had caught the innuendo in Kerfuffle's statement, and had considered teasing her about it. Like asking about getting dinner first, or at least a drink. Given Kerfuffle's reaction, though, she had caught it herself and was rather embarrassed. Could the little lab rat have an interest in Aria?

Maybe this could work to her advantage.

The blood soaked pocket stuck to Aria's skin as she took her pants off, pulling away slowly. The tugging as it peeled off sent a fresh flare of pain through the leg, and re-opened the wound. Aria settled on the table, and the blood was cleaned from the leg, letting Kerfuffle see the wounds and figure out how severe they were.

Meanwhile, Moondancer pulled out transparent drawing board, wheeling it so that everyone could see. She then pulled out a small tablet and tapped at it. As she did, the glass screen lit up white, before shifting to black. The letters S-C-O-W-L showed up in the center, in big, red block letters. Moondancer ran her hand down her front, straightened up, and took a deep breath.

"SCOWL," she announced. "A rival agency to our own." The letters shifted to line up vertically along the edge of the screen. "The name of which stands for: the Study and Containment of Other World Lifeforms." As Moondancer said the word, it spelled out on the screen, filling out the acronym. The writing vanished as a picture of a building appeared. "From what I can gather, the agency was created by The Department of Defense, after a mysterious ship crashed in Hoswell, New Marexico, back in nineteen forty-one." The picture changed to a crash site, a long deep furrow in the ground.

"Wait," Aria called out, leaning forward. "Are you saying that it actually was a UFO?"

"Yes, and no," Moondancer replied. The picture shifted to wreckage, and she pointed at it. "By the literal definition of the acronym, yes, an unidentified flying object did in fact crash. One that was filled with technology not familiar with people of that time. However, the connotation of it being a ship from another world is not one that I can confirm or deny. It is a possibility, but it also could have been an experimental vessel for extra-dimensional or trans-temporal exploration."

"You mean a time machine?"

"Among other possibilities, yes."

As Aria leaned back and considered the possibilities, Moondancer continued.

"Regardless of origin, an unknown craft did crash, and contained technology previously unknown by humans at the time." She changed the picture, showing a series of images from ancient giant computers, to laptops, and then to tablets. "Some of it has likely been adapted for use and to advance our own technology and capabilities, while others have either been kept in containment, or confined to their own purposes." Moondancer let out a sigh, adjusting her glasses. "Unfortunately, that means we don't know what sort of technology they use, or how it compares to our own."

The screen turned back to black, a white question mark in the middle.

"And, sadly, that's all I know about them so far."

"Well that's entertaining," Aria said, "but fuck all when it comes to useful."

"Secret agencies don't exactly set up official websites explaining their purpose, location, members, and having an FAQ page," Moondancer retorted. "I can run the names and descriptions of the agents you met, and see if anything shows up."

"Which, I'm afraid, will do no good," Twilight Velvet replied. "At least in regards to Tempest Shadow. We tried that when we first ran into her, and nothing came up."

"Excuse me for interrupting," Kerfuffle spoke up, "but I'm done cleaning the leg and wound. It's not too bad, but should be sutured shut. With a normal person, I would recommend stitches, but considering your accelerated healing capabilities, I think we should go with staples instead."

"Staples," Aria repeated, taking the information in. The idea of humans using staples to hold their skin together was not surprising. Humans did all sorts of crazy things. It was easy to imagine some construction worker taking a staple gun, using it on a cut on his arm, and going on with work. Still, this was the first time she was hearing it as an actual medical procedure. She had seen stitches with thread, those butterfly bandages, and even glues, but not staples.

"Don't worry," Velvet assured. "It may itch a little, but once the anesthesia wears off, you hardly notice them." She took a step toward the door. "That said, however, I think you will understand if I don't wish to stay and watch. I know it's not going to hurt, but seeing it..." She gave a shake of her head. "So I'll leave you to it."

With Agent Velvet gone and Moondancer's presentation done, that just left Aria to focus on her leg. Iodine was used to disinfect the area around her wound, and a local anesthetic was injected. Once it was properly numb, Kerfuffle went and grabbed the surgical stapler.

It did not look like how Aria had imagined. Admittedly, she had not known about it to give it much thought, but it had still been enough to develop a basic impression. One where someone basically took a staple gun used for carpentry and put it to a person's skin. That was not the case, however. For starters, it came in a paper and plastic wrapper, like most other doctor instruments came in. Probably to keep it sterile? Then there was the stapler itself. It was much smaller than a staple gun, barely more than two handles to squeeze together and the head for the staples to come out of. It was also covered in a bright white enamel coating.

It also turned out that since none of them were used to it, it became a two person job. Moondancer had to hold the wound closed and flesh in place while Kerfuffle applied the staples. Aria watched as they were placed. Each time there was a click of the stapler, her mind told her that there was also a small burst of pain, but she never actually felt it. No pain at all. Not even the pressure of the metal pressing through her skin.

"There we go," Kerfuffle announced. "All finished up." She set the stapler aside. "Once the anesthesia wears off, your body should have gotten used to them enough that you won't notice them." With a smile, she gave the leg a pat. "Still, it would be best not to overexert it. So no dancing and no running if you can help it."

Aria leaned closer, looked Kerfuffle in the eye, and raised an eyebrow.

"So, can I still fuck?"

Kerfuffle let out a squeak and looked away, blushing.

Blood on the Dance Floor

Days later, Aria Blaze made her way toward the main room of CHERRY FLICKERS. Even in the foyer, beside the counter and register, she could hear the music. Feel it. The bass shook her bones. Beat in time to her heart. It spoke to that part of her that was still siren. That understood the power of music. Even non-magic human music.

She stopped at the entrance and let it all sink in. The pulsing music with the heavy bass. The flashing and dancing lights. The heat of the bodies. The smell of sweat, alcohol, and hormones.

It was not as good as feeding, but it felt wonderful. Like a sleeping part of her had awakened, and was hungry.

The siren stalked forward, moving among her prey. The loud music covered the sound of her motorcycle boots against the floor, allowing her to move in silence. Purple skinny and a red halter top showed off her lean, muscular body. Bands of studded leather covered her wrists, hiding the scars and glinting in the light. A sign of danger if someone came too close.

As she swam through the crowd, her eyes scanned, seeking out possible targets.

One caught her eye. A girl standing on the edge of the dance floor, who did not look like she really wanted to be there. She was dressed in baggy jeans and an over-sized shirt, her body drawn inward. The ever changing colored lights made it hard to tell her skin color, but it must have been more toward the blue or green end, and her hair was multicolored, with at least one part of it being light.

Either she had come with friends and they had abandoned her for their own fun, or she had come on her own and quickly regretted it. Whichever was the case, the girl was alone, vulnerable, timid, and scared.

Easy prey.

Aria Blaze circled around her target, allowing herself to be seen. The girl stopped dancing as their eyes met. She bit her lip, but did not back up. Her gaze even drifted up and down Aria's body. A smirk pulled at Aria's face as she held out her hand. The girl took it, revealing she was wearing a wrist band. Her being at the club put her over eighteen, but the band marked her as under twenty-one.

"You here with anyone?" Aria asked, shouting to be heard over the music.

"No," the girl said -- or mouthed as Aria could not hear it -- as she shook her head.

Aria's smile grew wider as she pulled the girl away from the floor and toward one of the sitting areas.

"You need a break," she declared. "Grab us a table, and I'll get us some drinks."

"Alicorn with grenadine, please," the girl said, loud enough to be heard.

"Sure," Aria confirmed. As she turned away, she could not help but roll her eyes. The girl was not even going to try and get one over on her. Try and order something with alcohol in the hopes of getting away with it.

Maybe she would not be such easy prey after all. A bit more of a challenge.

Not that she was going to back out. That actually made it a little more fun.

Reaching the bar, Aria ordered the girl's Alicorn Cola with grenadine, as well as a rum and cola for herself. As she waited for the drinks, a gold skinned man with bright blue hair walked toward her. The smell of alcohol and body spray came off him in a cloud, making Aria's nostrils burn.

"Hey, hot stuff," he said, swaying slightly. "You must be a demon, because damn that ass is fine!"

Internally, Aria groaned at the horrible pickup line. Externally, she was trying to keep from being bothered by the smell.

"Go home and shower," she growled out.

"Don't be like that," the guy said. He took a step closer, his breath blowing directly into her face. "I just want to get to know you, baby."

"Not interested," she snarled out between clenched teeth.

"Come on," he purred, leaning in until his lips nearly touched her cheek. "I bet if you gave me half a chance, you'd be amazed at how well we --" he brought a hand to grab her ass "-- fit together."

Aria's own hand snapped out and grabbed the middle finger. She gave it a yank to pull it away, then twisted and pushed the digit up and toward the the rest of the hand. The man screamed as his finger popped out of joint. He dropped to his knees, clutching his hand against his chest.

Aria paid for the drinks, then gave the bartender and extra twenty.

"You didn't see anything."

The bartender nodded, saying nothing as she took the twenty.

Grabbing the drinks, Aria stepped around the crying guy and made her way toward the tables. She caught sight of the girl easily, who was staring at her with wide eyes.

"You broke that guy's hand!" the girl cried out.

"No, I didn't," Aria said as she set the drink down on the table. She then sat down on the other side. "I just dislocated his middle finger." She took a swallow of her own drink. "It'll be stiff and hurt for a few days. May need a brace, but only for a week or so." Her eyes narrowed. "Besides, I already told him I wasn't interested before he tried to grab my ass." Leaning forward, she pointed a finger. "If we're lucky, he'll remember what happened and not grope someone against their will again."

Although she was doubtful. In her experience, idiots were idiots, and little could change that. More likely, the guy will alter, rationalize, and change events until he was somehow completely innocent, and his finger was dislocated by some big, muscular guy who attacked him for absolutely no reason. That was assuming he was sober enough to remember any of it to begin with. It was also possible he would wake up, find his hand bandaged and finger hurting, and have no idea what happened.

Whatever the case, Aria doubted it would be her problem. At least, provided some bouncer did not show up and ask her to leave in the next five minutes.

For now, there was a girl to focus on.

"So what should I call you?" asked Aria.

The girl's lips pressed thin as she looked down, staring at her drink as she swirled it.

"Fizzy," she finally answered.

"And you can call me Aria." Aria leaned closer. "So, what are you doing here? Don't exactly look like someone who likes the club scene."

Fizzy looked up, brow furrowed.

"And what does someone who's into the club scene look like?"

"At the very least, comfortable to be there," Aria retorted. She was actually starting to like Fizzy a little. The girl had at least something of a spine.

Fizzy let out a sigh, looking away.

"My roommate, Masquerade, is out of town, and everyone is always telling me I need to get out more." She flopped back in her seat. "Thought this would be as good a place as any." A sigh. "But you're right. Definitely not a club girl." She then looked back up. "What about you?"

Aria grinned and moved to lean in closer.

"I've had a rough couple days, and am looking for a girl to sleep with." She held up a hand. "But let's worry about that later. Get to know each other first to see if you're interested."

So the two of them talked, drank, and even danced together several times. As the night progressed, they moved closer and closer together, and not always because Aria decided to. During one of the later dances, when Fizzy had her back to Aria, the girl backed up, pressing her butt against Aria's legs. While she did that, Aria stroked her hands up and down along Fizzy's arms and outer thighs.

After one of the songs ended, Aria's drinks got the better of her. Excusing herself, she made her way to the ladies' room.

As she washed her hands, Aria heard the bathroom door open, and someone else come in.

"Aria Blaze."

Aria tensed at the sound of her name, glancing up at the mirror. Tempest Shadow stood behind her, dressed in black from her jacket to her boots. The only bit of color was the white text of her shirt advertising a band called Iron Pyrite.

"I'm admittedly a bit embarrassed that I didn't recognize you," she said, "but in my defense, I didn't think I would ever see you working with a group like SMILE." She walked closer, boots thumping against the linoleum. "I always imagined it would be in battle, when we finally considered you enough of a threat to actually bother with, and take you down." Her eyes narrowed as her lips pulled tight. "Of course, that was prior to your rather humiliating and public defeat."

Aria gripped the edges of her sink, squeezing until her knuckles were white. She imagined ripping it from the wall and slamming it into the woman's face. Of bringing it down on her head, and hitting her with it over and over until it shattered. Maybe even picking up one of the larger chunks and using it as a shiv.

"What do you want?" Aria growled out from between clenched teeth.

Tempest stopped beside Aria, towering over her, then turned to look at her in the mirror.

"My superiors have decided, in light of recent events, that SMILE has not only grown ineffective, but incompetent. As such, we will be maintaining a presence in the region until we can create a permanent one. Which also means that we shall be responding to any sort of anomalous events, be they supernatural, paranormal, or extraterrestrial."

Great! That was just what Aria needed. Now, not only did she have to deal with whatever dangers that came her way while working for SMILE, but now, she was going to have this bitch and her potato of a partner breathing down her neck.

"Great," Aria huffed. "I'll be sure to tell your fuck buddy in case either of you want to make a booty call."

Tempest's eyes went wide as she took a step back, looking like she had just been slapped.

"He told you?"

"No," Aria replied with a smirk.

In truth, it had been Adagio. Aria had come home to find the other two on the couch, watching the original Camp Blood. When it was paused so Sonata could make some more popcorn, Aria told them all about what happened. Sonata was very fascinated by the timber wolf, but Adagio was more interested in Tempest and Pharynx. When Aria mentioned that Pharynx never said what happened, Adagio let out a snort and rolled her eyes.

"That's no surprise," Adagio had stated, "and I'm surprised you couldn't figure it out." She gave that knowing smirk, eyes narrowing. "For someone to get that passionately upset, it's pretty clear they were sleeping together."

And judging from Tempest's reaction, she had been spot on.

Still, no reason to tell either Adagio or Tempest that. Adagio would be annoyingly smug (well... more so...) about being right, and Tempest would assume that Aria had somehow figured it out, forcing Tempest to re-evaluate how much of a threat Aria might be.

Nobody dismissed Aria Blaze.

Speaking of dismissing.

Aria stood up and made her way toward the door.

"If there's nothing else," she said as she shoulder her way past Tempest Shadow.

The other woman moved to stand directly in front of her.

"Actually, there is one more thing," Agent Tempest Shadow stated. "I don't know what you did to get on their good side, but you don't fool me." She stepped in closer, eyes narrowing. "Something that has been the same for centuries doesn't change so much in a few months." Bringing up a hand, she poked Aria in the chest. "Sooner or later, you're going to mess up, and when you do, I'm going to be there. You and your sisters will be locked up and never see the light of day again."

There had not even been a moment of thought. The moment Tempest had threatened Adagio and Sonata, Aria had reacted, punching her in the face.

Judging from the shocked expression, Tempest Shadow had not been expecting it either.

Grabbing Tempest's shirt, Aria Blaze pulled her in until their faces were almost touching.

"Go ahead and try to take down SMILE," Aria nearly yelled. "Watch and threaten me all you like." Her voice dropped low, just above a whisper. "But if you touch one hair on their heads, I swear by the trench, I will rip that that mechanical arm off, and beat you with it."

Tempest smirked as she brought up her prosthetic hand, its joints glowing a pale blue.

"You mean this arm?"

Reaching out, she placed her hand on Aria's bare shoulder. As artificial fingers gripped living flesh, a crackle filled the air. Electricity shot through the arm and into Aria's chest, muscles tensing painfully as they were shocked.

There was also a tingle of pleasure through her.

Bringing her leg up, Aria drove her knee into Tempest's thigh. The impact made Tempest take a step back, her electrified hand releasing its grip. Aria let go of the shirt with one hand, bringing it down to punch her opponent in the diaphragm, knocking the air from Tempest's lungs.

"Gonna have to do bette--"

Tempest lunged forward, slamming her forehead into Aria's nose. Pain exploded across her face as something broke. She could feel liquid warmth running down her face and dripping off her chin. The smell and taste of metal overpowered her sense of smell and taste.

A loud rip filled the air as the shirt gave way in her grip. Even through the tears and pain, Aria was able to take notice of Tempest Shadow's exposed chest and stomach. Massive scars ran across her skin, lines of discolored skin disappearing under her clothes.

Once able to breath again, Tempest Shadow stood up, tucked the remains of her shirt into her jacket, and zipped it up to hide her exposed underside. Taking a deep breath, she ran a hand down the front to smooth it out.

"Believe it or not, I'm not here to fight," Tempest stated. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it in place. "Merely letting you -- and by extension, the others -- know what is going on." Her eyes narrowed. "However, I will not forget this. Next time, I'll kick your crusty ancient ass."

With that, she headed for the door, and left.

After she was gone, Aria let out a huff. Closing her eyes, she reached up and placed her hands to her nose. With a wet crunching sound and a fresh burst of pain, she put it back into place.

Once the blood stopped flowing and she had washed it off her face, Aria decided to head on home, the mood pretty much ruined for the night anyways. So she said good-bye to a shocked looking Fizzy, refused to explain what happened, and left.

As she walked back toward her Jeep, the night air felt cold against her skin. Her face burned around her eyes, bruises forming around them. Aria reached up to rub at her lip, feeling like there was still blood there.

She was going to make Tempest Shadow pay for everything. That bitch was not going to lay a single finger on her sisters.

...and... maybe Aria now had a way to start...

Reaching into her pocket, Aria pulled out her phone, and hit the number for SMILE.

"Hey," she called out as soon as someone picked up. "I have something I need you to look into."

Pack It Up

"Hey there, Bandit," Firecracker Burst called out as she walked toward Aria's desk. She leaned against the desk, grinning as she crossed her arms. "How's raiding trashcans treating ya?"

Aria let out a growl, turning to look up at the fiery-orange haired agent. Bruises circled each eye, dark brown and hints purple discoloring the pink skin.

"One more raccoon joke, and I'll shove you in one to find out."

That got a laugh from Burst. She then stood up, turning to face Aria as the smile got smaller.

"Seriously, though, we got a special assignment. There'll just be three of us, and likely won't run into many civilians, so you can go like that." Her head tilted. "But... if you like, we can requisition you a pair of sunglasses to wear until you heal. Or, if you would prefer, there's make-up." She looked past Aria and raised her voice. "Kerfuffle is pretty good at applying it if you need help."

"That's really sweet of you to say," Kerfuffle said as she approached from the other side, "but it's only basics that anyone can pick up from magazines or the internet." She had a smile on her face as she reached the pair. "I'm sure that Ari -- OH DEAR LORD! What happened to your face?!"

"I had a run in with Tempest Shadow at a night club and got in a fight," Aria repeated for the... twentieth time? She had not actually been keeping count. All she knew was that it was way more than she had liked, which was more than once. Aria had even tried given some sarcastic answers, but that only lead to the person asking, "what really happened?" making her have to answer anyways.

Kerfuffle took a hold of Aria's head, a concerned look on her face as she leaned in close. Soft, warm fingers gently caressed along the nose and around the eyes, stroking across tender skin.

"Why didn't you come see us?" Kerfuffle asked, brow furrowed and lips turned down.

"Because I can deal with a broken nose on my own," Aria replied, "and you can't do anything about the bruising anyways."

She took a hold of Kerfuffle's wrists, and pulled the hands away.

"So, what's this assignment?" she asked Burst.

"An escort mission," Firecracker Burst announced. She placed an arm around Kerfuffle. "We're to take Kerfuffle here to an old abandoned farm not far from town." Her grin grew. "Supposedly, it's haunted." She waggled the fingers of her free hand. "Ooooooooh."

"We don't know if it's actually haunted," Kerfuffle stated. "There's some rumors and stories, but nothing confirmed. General scans don't pick up unusual reading, while more focused attempts do, but at extremely low levels. As such, there may be nothing there for us to investigate, but there is too much for us to ignore."

"So," Aria pointed a finger at the girl, "you're going to see if there's actually something there to check out," she then pointed at herself, "and we're going in case something goes wrong?"

"Pretty much."

"And if worse comes to worse, I get to blow the whole place up," Firecracker Burst added, grinning maniacally.

"Although I'm hoping it doesn't come to that," replied Kerfuffle.

"Do we at least get some cool weapons to hunt ghost with?" asked Aria. Images of lightning shooting backpacks likes in Spirit Smashers formed in her mind.

As it turned out, the answer was "no." Even if the devices in the movie were possible, the theory behind them required specific scientific data collected directly from ghosts already. Doing that required being able to keep a ghost in position long enough to scan and study. In other words, they had to catch a ghost, to study it, so they can make the devices that would let them catch ghosts. Although there had been efforts, they had not been successful.

Weapon-wise, Aria was given her shock gun, and a rod of salted iron, with mystic symbols etched into it. A rather simple weapon, but one that had proven its effectiveness against ghosts, fae, and humans.

Most of the time was spent packing scientific equipment. Like the scanners: there was a scanner for thermal changes; another for electromagnetic fields; a third that picked up errant or altered radio waves outside typical broadcast signals, although it could pick up those if someone wanted. There was a video camera, a digital picture camera, and an instant film camera (because some stories had apparitions appearing on one, but not the other). They even packed a large package of glow sticks, in case the ghost or such caused electronics, like flashlights, to stop working.

"So, what happened after the fight with Tempest?" asked Kerfuffle as they put the last of the equipment into the back of the SUV.

"Nothing much," Aria answered. "Went home and watched Camp Campy with Sonata." She could not help but roll her eyes at the memory. It had been one of those over the top absurd comedies, like the Vengeance of the Dorks or Cop Training series. The type where the main character constantly broke every rule, but were too stupid to be subtle or sneaky about it. Only got away with it because the plot made the antagonists dumber, incompetent, or just unable to do something about it. And that did not even include the stuff that was out and out illegal.

"Oh," said Kerfuffle. She moved to sit in the back seat.

Firecracker Burst already sat in the driver's seat, leaving Aria to take the passenger.

"Now before we get going, I want to tell you two things," said Firecracker Burst. She held up a finger. "First, seat belts on before we get going. This thing cannot outrun the police, especially with city traffic, and I don't want us to get pulled over." Another joined it. "Second, driver picks the radio, passengers shut up, or walk." Burst turned to face forward. "Now, does anybody need to go before we go?"

The question lingered in the air for a second.

"Well, since you've brought it up," Kerfuffle said from the back seat. She moved toward the door, pushing it back open.

"I'll be right back."

Aria let out a groan of annoyance, made all the more by the sound of Burst chuckling.

A few minutes later, after Kerfuffle had returned and everyone had buckled up, they finally got going.

Country Roads

A rusted wire fence with barbed wire along the top surrounded the farm. A similarly rusted metal gate blocked the driveway, a newer looking chain and padlock holding it shut.

Firecracker Burst got out and walked up to the gate. As she did, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small silvery object. After slipping whatever it was into the lock, she made her way back to the car, pulling her phone out of her pocket. A few taps and flicks of her thumb, and there was a sudden loud POP!

The chain fell away.

"We could have picked the lock," Kerfuffle pointed out.

"We could have," Burst conceded, "but where's the fun in that?"

The hinges of the gate were rusted in place. It had taken help from Aria to force it open enough for them to drive through, the rusted metal groaning painfully -- both in the sense that it sounded like the gate was in pain, and in that it hurt Aria's ears -- the entire time.

"Perfect for a haunted house, huh?" the senior agent asked.

They left the gate opened as they continued down the dirt road.

The black SUV, now covered in a fine layer of brown dust, came to a stop in front of the farmhouse. It was two stories in height, with the windows on the second floor being the kind that stuck out of the roof, surrounded by siding ("dormer windows" they were called, but Aria had no idea, never really gotten into architecture). The building had probably once been a bright, cheery white color, but parts of it had broken off, and what remained had taken on that sickly yellow tone that white things often do when left out in the sun for far too long.

A brown and white dog shot out of nowhere, running directly for the car. Firecracker Burst had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting the animal. Even at their slow pace, the stop was sudden enough to throw them against their seat belts. As they recovered, the canine continued to stand in front of the car, barking at them.

"A dog?" Firecracker Burst said, looking at the animal.

"Probably one of the neighbor's," Kerfuffle offered. "Sometimes they'll get loose and explore. Check out neighboring farms, the people that live there, stuff like that."

"Sure it's not just some stray?" Aria asked.

"Too healthy." The scientist leaned forward more, pointing at the dog. "It's well fed, more than it could just scrounge up. Plus, a coat like that requires some brushing to keep it from getting knotted or matted. Especially this time of year, when it would either have just finished shedding the winter coat, or still doing so. " She shifted to look at Aria from the corner of her eye. "I bet if it lets us get close, we'll find it has a collar and tag on."

"If?"

"It might come up to us, or it might just bark at us from a distance, backing up whenever we move closer." One shoulder shrugged. "Hard to say with strange dogs." Kerfuffle turned to watch the dog a second longer. "Although, I don't think it'll attack us."

Aria decided to get out first. As she opened the door, the dog ran over to her side. It barked at her, spun in a circle with a little whimper, then ran toward the house. A second later, it came back and repeated the process.

"I think it wants us to follow it," Burst suggested.

"We're not going to find some stupid brat trapped in a well, are we?" Aria grumbled.

She and the others followed the animal, although not very far. The dog stopped in front of the house, letting out small whimpers as it looked between them and the porch.

"Okay," Agent Firecracker Burst said as she moved to the front. "Change of plans. I'm pretty sure this dog's owner is inside the house. So our first priority is to find them, make sure they're okay, and get them out. Leave the scanning equipment for now. Grab the lights and weapons." She held up a hand. "And remember, there is at least one other person in there. So don't attack anything or anyone unless you're sure it's a threat. Got it?"

"Got it," Aria and Kerfuffle both confirmed.

"Good."

The three of them got what they needed, and made their way toward the door. Firecracker Burst took the lead, and Aria pulled up the rear, Kerfuffle between them as she was the least inclined or experienced at combat. The dog watched from the base of the steps, but refused to go up onto the porch.

The door groaned as it opened, allowing the three to enter. Floorboards creaked under their footsteps. The air smelled stale and musty, getting a few coughs and sneezes. Flecks of dust danced in the light. Black mold stained the wall, along both the floor and the ceiling, spreading toward the center.

"Maybe I should burn this place down when we're done after all," Firecracker Burst said. "Just because of how toxic this place must be."

She turned to face the other two.

"Standard horror movie rules apply here. Which means we all stay close together. We'll check the ground floor first, move up, and then continue to an attic and basement if they have one." She turned and motioned to one side. "The stairs are over there," she then turned the other way, "so we'll start on that end."

The three made their way to what turned out to be the kitchen. Much like the rest of the house, the walls were peeling and discolored. There was more black mold, with a very large patch where the refrigerator must have been. There was also a gap where the stove must have been, marked by smoke stains. Something was growing in the sink, and Aria would swear she saw it moving. Not far from the sink was the back door, a deadbolt attached to it. Against another wall, was another door. One which looked more like it belonged to a closet. Probably a pantry.

"Kerfuffle, stand beside the wall and open the door from behind it," Burst ordered. "That way, if anything comes out, you'll be out of immediate danger. Aria, stand off toward the right of it. Be ready if anything pops out. Like an animal or such."

Kerfuffle gave a nod and moved forward. Pressing her back against the wall, she reached out and grabbed the door handle. Her attention focused on the other two, waiting for them. Once they were in position, and Burst gave a nod, Kerfuffle yanked the door open.

A shout came from the pantry as a girl ran out, swinging her balled up fists blindly.

Stepping forward, Aria's hand darted out to grab one of the wrists. It was enough to get the girl to stop, and let Aria get a good look at her. She was in her early teens, and kind of on the beefy side. Her skin was a burnt orange color, and kind of dark pink hair, with slightly brighter streaks in it. One of her booted feet lashed out, kicking at empty air.

"Knock it off, you brat!" Aria yelled. "We're here to rescue you, for fuck's sake."

That was enough to get the girl to stop attacking. She opened her eyes, looking up at Aria with a scowl and pulling her arm free.

"How'd yous even know we was in trouble?"

"What's your name?" asked Firecracker Burst.

"Ain't supposed to give it to strangers," the girl said, pronouncing the O's in "to" and the end of "stranger" like they were A's.

"Ain't supposed to be walking around an abandoned and possibly haunted house alone, either," Aria retorted.

"Aria," Burst warned, giving her a look. She then returned her attention to the girl. "How about I introduce us first?" One hand came up to press against her own chest. "I'm Firecracker Burst." She turned her head. "That's Aria Blaze." Turned again. "And behind you is Kerfuffle."

Kerfuffle gave a small wave.

"Now, what can we call you?" asked Firecracker.

"...Babs..."

"Okay, Babs, why don't you tell us what you're doing here?"

Babs let out a sigh, moving to wrap her arms around herself. She licked her lips as she looked down at the floor.

"I came down to visit my cousin Apple Bloom for Spring Break. We and her friends was watching Teen Mystery Solvers: The Movie, when Scootaloo thought it would be cool to try it out ourselves. That was when Apple Bloom remembered this place, and how it was supposedly haunted. So we came here to check it out."

A growl formed in Aria's throat. Closing her eyes, she rubbed at her forehead. She recognized those names. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and a third named Sweetie Belle were a trio of freshman from Canterlot High. More importantly, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were the younger sisters of two of The Rainbooms.

Normally, that would probably mean the bunch of them showing up, using their powers, and rainbow blasting everything. Although she may have gotten over things enough to no longer plot revenge, that did not mean she wanted to hang around with any of them any time soon. Applejack especially. Plus, there was the matter of Aria being recognized and asked about being there, and the fact that SMILE was not supposed to interfere with Rainboom matters.

Hopefully whatever was going on with that spring break cruise they went on would somehow keep them from showing up, but Aria was not willing to bet on it.

"So there's three others here?" Firecracker Burst asked.

"Yeah," Babs answered.

"Do you have any idea where they might be?"

Babs started to nod, then stopped. Her lips pressed thin as her brow furrowed. One hand reached up, running through her hair.

"We... we arrived and came in." Her jaw clenched and brow furrowed more. "There... there was an argument... I think? About where we should start? Someone said... something... and the rest of us said no..."

"Hey," Firecracker said softly, "it's alright. If you don't remember, it's fine." She straightened up. "Our car is right outside. Go wait by it, and we'll find your friends."

"No," Babs snapped, straightening up. "They're my friends. I ain't abandonin' them."

"You're not. You're just going to be somewhere safe so nothing happens to you while we find the others. Don't want to find them, only to lose you again."

Babs crossed her arms and let out a huff, but did not argue. So the four of them made their way toward the back door. After finding it locked, Firecracker Burst tried unlocking the deadbolt.

The knob snapped off in her hand.

"No plan survives first contact," Burst mumbled to herself as she looked at the broken piece of metal. She then spoke up to the others. "Looks like we're going back to the front door." Once again, she took the lead as they walked, making their way to the front door. Although now, Babs was behind her, followed by Kerfuffle, and having Aria pull up the rear.

A loud groan from the house caused the group to stop.

A thunderous crack of wood breaking echoed around the group. Kerfuffle cried out as the floor gave way beneath her.

Aria lunged out, trying to grab a hold of the girl's arm.

Kerfuffle's hand slipped right between her fingers.

We All Fall Down

Firecracker Burst and Aria Blaze both moved to the edge, crouching down.

"Kerfuffle!" Burst shouted. "Kerfuffle! Can you hear me?"

There was no answer.

"Kerfuffle!" Aria cried out. She moved to lay on her stomach, poking her head down into the gap. The smell of mold and rotting wood filled her nose. Eyes narrowed, she looked down, trying to catch sight of the fallen girl.

"I can't see her."

Firecracker Burst stood up and turned away. Her hands ran through her bright red-orange hair as she walked several steps, then turned and moved back. Worry filled her features as she stared down at the gap where one of their associates had disappeared.

Closing her eyes, she held up her hands.

"Okay," Burst said, her voice high with tension. "I'm going to take Babs out to the car, call for assistance, and get the first aid kit." Her eyes opened. "Aria, head down to the basement and look for Kerfuffle. Check to see if she's injured, and bring her back up if you can."

"Right," Aria confirmed, pushing herself back up. The iron bar rolled to press against her, having dropped it when she tried to catch Kerfuffle. Picking it up, she walked around the gap and made her way toward the staircase.

As hoped, there was a door built into the wall underneath. One that opened easily to reveal a narrow set of steps going down. A light was on somewhere further down, allowing her to see her way to a landing.

Aria made her way down the stairs as fast as she dared, which was still slower than she would have liked, but falling down them or having one break under her would just get her hurt. The railing seemed strong and sturdy, so Aria gripped it with her free hand. The wooden steps creaked, groan, and more than once, shifted under her weight, but held.

From the landing, Aria saw four figures on the floor. One was Kerfuffle, sprawled out on the floor where she had landed, staring up at the ceiling. The other three -- likely the missing trio -- were closer to the bottom of the steps. One was on the floor, with the other two on top of her. It almost looked like they had fallen asleep during a slumber party.

As she made her way down the rest of the stairs, Aria felt something pressing against her skin. It was slimy, chilled her to the bone, and vaguely familiar. Something that she had experienced at some point. A point far past remembering. Maybe something from her time in Equestria? Before their banishment?

She would figure it out later. Right now, there was more pressing matters.

Reaching the trio, Aria bent down and felt the neck of the white skinned one.

A pulse.

The same was true for the orange and the yellow ones. They were alive, and showed no signs of injury.

As Aria approached, it was instantly clear that Kerfuffle had not been so fortunate. She was breathing fine, and her pulse was strong and steady, which was a relief. The problem was her left leg. Kerfuffle's foot was bent at right angle, and there was a bulge from the shin.

But there was no blood.

Before she could move and get a better look, a hum filled the air. A black crystal in one corner started to glow, sickly green smoke rolling off it.

Aria realized what she had been feeling since coming down.

"Fu--"

Dark magic struck her.

The siren Aria Blaze was in a tank of water, metal bands around her neck, forelegs, and tail her chaining her in place. Even pressed against the bottom, the tip of her head fin broke against the surface, although the collar on her neck kept her from lifting her head up into the air. Her tail curled around her body, tip resting in front of her bound hooves. Even with that, the part of her furthest back nearly touched the back wall. At the same time, her snout was less than an inch away from the front. If she gave a snort, it would hit the glass.

Beyond her tank, she saw a human laboratory. Directly in her field of view was a massive steel table, the edges raised, and a drain built on one end of it. Next to it was a large tray filled with implements: scalpels, knives, saws, even rib spreaders. A single bulb shined down on it from above, as well as a hose with a sprayer head attached to it.

Four humans in white hazard suits entered. Each held a chain, gripping it tightly as they pulled and yanked.

"Sonata!" Aria cried out.

Sonata Dusk was dragged into the room. The blue siren was bound similar to how Aria was, with bands around her neck, legs, and tail. However, unlike Aria, Sonata had been muzzled as well, a small steel cage placed around her snout. Tears ran from her eyes, dripping to the floor below. She fought, yanking and jerking against the chains, but kept being pulled into the room.

Toward the table.

Aria Blaze let out a snarl, yanking against her own chains. She twisted, jerked, pulled with every fiber of her being, and even tried biting through them. She fought against them until they cut into her skin and blood seeped out.

None of it did any good.

The humans dragged the struggling siren to the table, flipping her onto her back. They pulled the chains taut and snapped the other ends to hooks in the floor, pinning Sonata in place. Once that was done, one of them moved over to the instrument tray and picked up a massive, glistening knife.

They were going to vivisect her.

As the realization struck Aria, her struggles grew more desperate. She had to get free. Had to stop what was happening. She needed to save Sonata. Protect her. Keep her safe.

She had to... she had to... she had to...

A small voice in the back of her mind told her she had to calm down. Aria had to remember that she had been hit by a fear spell of some sort. What she was seeing in front of her was not real.

Closing her eyes tight, Aria Blaze closed her eyes (or went through the motion), and tried to block out everything she thought she saw and heard. She had to focus. To concentrate. She was not a siren. At least in form. She was currently in a human body. That body was not currently in a lab. It was in an old farmhouse outside of Canterlot City. One that had dark magic crystals in the basement. Sonata Dusk was not in a human lab somewhere, about to be cut open. She was probably at home, watching some dumb cartoon or stupid movie.

Aria focused on her hands. Just on her hands. All her focus, all her concentration, all her energy. She focused on bringing them up to her face. A face she could not actually feel, but knew she had. A small twinge of pain let her know that she had found it. Aria's focus tightened, moving two the first two fingers of each hand. That was all she needed. Focus on those, press firmly, and give a hard twist.

Fresh pain exploded through Aria's face as her broken nose was once again forced out of joint. With it, the illusion shattered, leaving her standing in the basement once again. Fresh liquid warmth ran down her mouth and chin.

Blinking through tears (which was only from the pain of her face, and had nothing to do with the residual terror of what she had seen), Aria picked up the rod she had dropped and made her way toward the crystal. Both hands gripped one end, squeezing tightly until her knuckles were turning white.

Stance wide, Aria's entire body twisted as she brought the rod back as far as she could manage. With a feral scream of pure rage, she swung the bar, putting every ounce of emotionally charged strength into it.

The black crystal shattered. Dark energy exploded in every direction, but without the structure controlling and directing it, there was no real or immediate danger. Those exposed might be in bad moods for a while, and there might be some nightmares for a few nights if anyone ever moves in again, but all the negative energy will eventually fade.

Two pink feathers fell to the floor, unnoticed.

Dropping the now bent bar of iron, Aria turned and walked over to Kerfuffle. A small grunt escaped the young woman, eyes opening a second before closing again.

"Wh..." Kerfuffle mumbled.

"Don't move," Aria ordered as she crouched down. "You took a nasty fall. Your left leg looks broken in at least two places, and that's just what I can see." Her eyes glanced at the remains of the crystal. "You also got hit by a pretty nasty fear spell. Going to leave you feeling disoriented."

"It's fake."

"What?" Aria asked, the comment catching her off-guard.

"Prosthetic," Kerfuffle stated. She turned to look at it. "Lost everything below the knee when I was eleven."

"That explains the lack of blood," Aria said, looking at the pant leg. She then turned back to Kerfuffle.

"Come on, let's get you out of here."

"No," Kerfuffle snapped, moving one hand. She then winced in pain. "While my leg took most of it, I still took a nasty fall, and hit my back pretty hard. It or my neck could be damaged. Moving me wrong could make things worse. We need to wait until I can be properly immobilized and moved."

Her hand gripped Aria's as she looked up with those big, purple, worry-filled eyes.

"Stay with me until they get here?"

Looking down at the injured and frightened Kerfuffle, Aria Blaze felt... sympathy? That was the term, right? When someone felt bad for someone else being upset? Was... was she actually feeling bad for a human? Granted, one she found cute, if a little annoying, but still. She had never really felt sympathy for a person before.

Aria did not like it.

She should leave. Just get up, go upstairs and tell Firecracker Burst. Let the senior agent deal with the whole thing. Burst would come down and keep Kerfuffle company. Wait with her until help arrives. It would be easier now. Keep it clear there was no real emotional attachment between them.

She was a siren. A predator. One that fed off of negative emotions. Saw humans as food and play things.

Was.

"Yeah," Aria said, giving the hand a gentle pat. "Yeah, I can stay with you."

And she did.

All Around the World

Aria walked up to Twilight Velvet's office, finding the door open. The senior agent sat leaning over her desk, glasses resting on her nose. A large stack of paper rested on her desk, flipped open as she read through it. Several folders rested off to the sides.

Aria walked in without knocking.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked. Aria flopped into a chair -- without asking or waiting to be asked -- and sat sideways, one leg flopped over the armrest.

"Yeah," Agent Velvet replied, not looking up. "Just..." she held up one finger. Her eyes continued to move back and forth, reading whatever text was in front of her.

After a few seconds, she brought her finger down and looked up, closing the papers. She gave a small smile as she looked up, holding up the documents.

"My latest story," Velvet stated. "Picked it up from the editor on the way in. Just going through to see what notes they've put in it this time." She smiled. "Got to keep up with my official job, you know." Turning, she set the story aside. "But, I'm sure you can guess that's not why I called you in here." She picked up one of the folders. "I actually wanted to talk to you about a few things with the farmhouse incident."

Crossing her arms, Aria gave a shrug.

"First," Velvet continued, "Kerfuffle is going to be fine. She's going to be stiff and bruised for a while, but will be back in a few days."

"So?" Aria snapped, pressing down in the chair more as she turned away. "Why should I care?" Kerfuffle was a girl she barely knew. Sure, Aria thought she was kind of cute, and her position here showed her to be pretty smart, but she was also perky. Annoyingly so. Aria would not mind a fling with her, but that was it.

And anyone who claimed that Aria had been up late, having trouble sleeping because she was worried about Kerfuffle was a damned liar.

Twilight Velvet shifted in her seat, looking away from the file. Her icy blue eyes stared over the rim of her glasses, pinning Aria in place, and lips pressed thin in thought. One finger tapped on the side of the folder.

"Okay?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No," Aria snapped, pressing down in her seat more.

Several seconds passed with the two looking at each other.

"Well if you change your mind." Velvet returned her attention to the folder. "Getting to your report, I wanted to ask: why did you re-break your nose?" One hand moved to rub at her nose. "It sounds incredibly painful."

"It was," Aria stated. "That was the point." She moved to sit up straighter. "My resistance wasn't enough to avoid being affected completely, but it was enough that I was able to realize it wasn't real, and move a little on my own. To break completely free, I needed a massive shock. In this case, the pain of having my nose re-broken."

"So, a shock could break someone out of a mental attack?" Velvet asked. "Like the fear spell or your mind control?"

Aria shook her head back and forth, letting out a hum.

"It depends." She waved a hand. "It's like the target's willpower, the spell's strength, previous experience, training..." her brow furrowed as she racked her brain. "... a bunch of other things I don't remember." She scratched her cheek. "Think there was something about food once? Like eating certain things could make it better or worse?" With a sigh, she waved her hand. "I don't remember, and never really cared."

Velvet let out a hum, sitting back in her own seat.

"That makes things a little more complicated. I suspected it was something like that, and had hoped you could explain how Kerfuffle ended up under its control despite the fall, or how Miss Seed was able to resist."

"Sorry," Aria replied. "Don't know enough about the circumstances or the factors."

"What about your sisters?" asked Velvet. "Maybe you could speak with them and see if either of them remember more." She gave a chuckle. "Especially if that food part is true. Having any edge against mental attacks would be extremely helpful."

A snort escaped Aria as she rolled her eyes. Adagio would just love that. Miss Know-It-All showing why it had been so important to pay attention to those stupid, long, and boring lectures about magic and magical theory that Aria had never really cared for. Oh, Adagio would definitely tell her, but there was probably going to be a price to pay for it. Maybe humiliation. Maybe groveling. Nothing too serious, just a reminder as to why Adagio had been the brains of the operations.

Grabbing a pen, Velvet made a mark on the paper.

"I guess that means there is no reason to ask about how Babs was able to stay awake enough to flee the basement after being hit by the spell, or your opinion on her in general." She let out a sigh. "Still, it might be worth keeping an eye on her. See how she develops, and if she has any innate or direct magical abilities when she's older."

"Thinking about recruiting her?"

"Once she's old enough, if the circumstances are right. Some magic abilities do run in bloodlines, after all. So if she ends up having even half the abilities of Applejack, she could be a great help in protecting others."

"Isn't Moondancer your daughter's age?"

Velvet looked up at Aria.

"Moondancer is a genius who graduated college level classes last year." She pointed a finger. "And she's here so we can keep an eye on her just as much as because of her incredible brilliance and skill." Her lips pressed thin, as she licked her lips. "As much as I love my daughter, I can't ignore her flaws, including how she can get very focused on an idea, to the detriment of many things. Cinch may have encouraged her to unleash the magic, but Twily herself made that spectrometer that collected it in the first place." Eyes narrowing, she tapped at the desk. "Imagine what would have happened if someone just as smart, driven, and focused had done the same thing, but neither had the assistance of Sunset Shimmer to talk her down, nor the emotional support of friends and family to help deal with the aftermath."

After seeing video of "Midnight Sparkle," and seeing the nerdy alternate universe version of Sunset turn into what someone named "Morningstar Shimmer" with her own eyes, it was easy to imagine the little nerd Moondancer going full on dark angel of destruction as well.

What would they even call her? "Nightmare Moondancer?"

"Yeah," Aria conceded, "I can see why that might be a problem."

Velvet gave a nod, settling back into her seat.

A knocking sound came from the door.

"Sorry to interrupt," a feminine voice Aria did not recognize said from behind her, "but we're getting readings that the portal in front of Canterlot High has opened. Thought you would want to know immediately."

"The portal," Velvet repeated.

It was an unexpected announcement. Not only was the school closed for Spring Break, but The Rainbooms were off on a cruise for the entire time. As such, there would be no reason to open it from this side. Plus, considering Shimmer had a way of communicating with the Equestrian Sparkle, the princess would be aware of their being away, and have no reason to open it from the other end.

"Have some people look into it," Agent Velvet ordered. "Passive observation only for now. See if anything comes through, and whether or not it is a threat before we do anything else."

"Yes, ma'am," the woman at the door called out.

Velvet let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Our luck something attacks when the girls are out of town."

Her attention returned to Aria.

"Getting back to the report, I wanted to ask you about the crystals."

Before the conversation could get back on track, music suddenly filled the air.

Aria felt a brief surge of anger as she recognized the song. It was not the one that The Rainbooms had used to defeat her and the other sirens, but it was one that she had heard. Over and over and over again. The music video would be played day after day, on every screen, in front of every store, all throughout the mall. Not only was it a burning reminder of their defeat, but they were seeing the very band that defeated them having a modicum of success. There was some comfort in the fact that it was not the very song that had been used in their defeat, but it was still them, and just because they had started to move on did not mean all of the wounds had healed.

Pulling a cell phone from her pocket, Velvet hit the button and brought it up to her ear.

"Twily? Is everything okay?"

She listened to the person on the other side, brow furrowing.

"Yes," Velvet answered, "I can pick you up, but what are you doing at the school?"

She listened more.

"Okay. But I want a full explanation when I get there. Understood?"

After a second, she gave a nod.

"Good. Be there in a few minutes."

Ending the call, Velvet returned her attention to Aria.

"We'll have to cut this short," she announced as she stood up. "It seems something happened on the cruise, and now everyone needs to be picked up from the school."

Booty Booty Booty Call

Aria Blaze laid on the couch, dressed in a pair of boxers and a tank top. The remotes rested on her stomach as she stared at the TV screen, half-staring at the menu as she waited for the others to join her. The sound of popcorn being made filled the air, as did the aroma.

Adagio appeared beside the couch, looming there in one of her satin robes. She tossed down a notebook, having it land right on Aria's face.

"Fuck is this?" Aria asked as she grabbed the offending object from her face.

"It's what you asked for," Adagio replied, moving toward her chair. "Everything I could remember about what could possibly affect mental-influence spells." She let out a huff. "Don't expect much, though. It has been over a thousand years since I had to actually remember any of that crap." One shoulder lifted in a shrug. "For all I know, some of it may not even be accurate. I may have forgotten, or remembered wrong, or this could all be pointless since we're in a different world dealing with a different species."

Aria's eyes narrowed as she looked between the notebook and Adagio.

This was too easy.

"You're just giving this to me?" Aria asked. "No strings attached?"

Adagio looked at her a moment, then threw her head back and started laughing.

And laughing.

"Oh, Aria," she finally said as the laughter ended. "Don't be stupid. Of course I'm not." Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward.

"The way I see it, this is me doing you a favor." There was a dramatic sigh. "Admittedly, not a very big favor, but a favor nonetheless." A smirk spread across her mouth as her raspberry eyes narrowed further. "Which means you owe me one. At some point in the future, I'm going to ask you to do something for me, and you'll have to do it." The smirk grew wider. "Even if it's something you absolutely hate."

"Of course," Aria sighed, flopping back down. That was more in line with the Adagio Dazzle that Aria Blaze knew and did not smother in her sleep. Adagio was probably going to wait until Aria had forgotten about the whole thing, then ask her to do some stupid little thing that Adagio could easily do herself, but is feeling too lazy. Then when Aria tells her to do it herself, that is when Adagio will remind her about the favor.

Why did she continue to put up with this shit again?

"It's done!" Sonata Dusk announced. She rushed into the living room, dressed in her plush cat pajama suit. A wide grin was on her face as she held a bowl of popcorn up above her head.

"Behold! Olive oil and garlic salt popcorn!"

"Great!" Aria snapped. "Now sit down so we can start the stupid movie already."

Sonata sat down.

As it turned out, Aria's declaration was truer than she intended: the movie was stupid. Monumentally so. It was like someone watched some internet reviews of bad religious films, read articles on a bunch of summer camp horror movies, got black-out drunk, and tried to write a movie combining the worst cliches from both genres.

Around the time one of the guys who worked for the church (in this case,the equivalent of a counselor) was conspiring with one of the campers to go get beer, so they could get two of the girl campers drunk and have sex with them, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Aria declared, jumping up. "Don't bother pausing the movie."

While she was grateful for the excuse to get away and save a few of her brain cells, there was also a bit of curiosity behind it. Although a few more knew their address, they still were not giving it out to the public if they could help it, and no one had come to see them since Velvet recruited her. Plus, it was nearly midnight. Not exactly a time for people to casually drop by.

There was another knock as Aria reached the door. As soon as she twisted the knob, the door was pushed open.

Kerfuffle stumbled forward, falling against Aria with a thump. Her arms wrapped around Aria, one hand grabbing a butt cheek and giving a squeeze. Kerfuffle looked up with glassy purple eyes, a red tinge across her nose and cheeks.

"Hey," she said, breath reeking of alcohol. She brought one hand up, pressing it against Aria's chest and stroking down. "Surprised to see me?"

"You're drunk," Aria blurted out.

"Yeah," Kerfuffle said, rolling out her eyes. "That's what happens when you go drinking." She then burst into giggles, ending in a snort.

"Everything okay?" Sonata called from the couch.

"Fine," Aria snapped. Although, that was not entirely true. There was a completely drunk girl leaning against and groping her. Still, there was nothing that either Adagio or Sonata could do to really help.

Turning her attention back to Kerfuffle, Aria took a hold of the hand on her chest and pulled it away.

"What are you doing here?"

"Remember how you asked me to come sleep with you?" Kerfuffle asked. She released her grip on Aria's butt, tracing her fingers along the waistband of the boxers. "Well, I was hoping that the offer was still open. And I could take you up on it." She then tried to wink, but the eye stayed closed, the other joining it as she let out a massive yawn.

A raspy groan escaped Aria as she rolled her eyes.

Great. Just great. As much as Aria liked the idea of having sex with Kerfuffle, this was definitely not the way she wanted to do it. Sure, she did not mind having a few drinks, but that was normally together. Plus, it was just a few, enough to get a buzz and relax. Not stumbling, cannot even stand up, will not remember shit in the morning blackout drunk, which is what she believed Kerfuffle to be at this point.

She should kick Kerfuffle out. Tell the girl to go home and sleep it off. Maybe they could discuss it another day when she was clearly not so drunk.

Except, some part of Aria pointed out, kicking out Kerfuffle in her current state would be a bad idea. The girl was so drunk that she could not even stand up, let alone walk. For all Aria knew, she would walk end up passing out in the hallway. If she was able to leave, then who knows what sort of dangers she would run into. The girl could get robbed, raped, killed, or all three. Assuming she did not stumble into traffic, or fall and crack her head open, or something.

Which meant that the best thing to do would be to let Kerfuffle stay here for the night.

"Come on," Aria said. "Let's--"

That was as far as she got before a cheer from Kerfuffle interrupted her. The drunk girl grabbed a hold of her fluffy vest and pulled it off, letting it fall to the floor. She then grabbed the bottom of her lavender shirt and pulled up, exposing her belly as she took it off.

Just as she was catching sight of the bra, Aria reached out and grabbed Kerfuffle's hands, pulling them back down.

"Let's get you to bed," she continued, "so you can sleep it off."

Kerfuffle looked up at Aria, then started to tear up.

"Don't you want me anymore?" she whimpered.

"YES I STILL WANT YOU!" Aria yelled. "BUT I'M NOT GOING TO FUCK YOU WHEN YOU'RE TOO DRUNK TO REMEMBER IT!!"

The two stood there, Kerfuffle staring wide-eyed at Aria, who was glaring at her. The rest of the world seemed to have gone silent as the words echoed between them.

"...Oh..." Kerfuffle finally said, sounding pretty sober about it. She took a step back. "I'm... I'm sorry. I just... I was..." A small sniffle escaped her as she turned around. "I should go."

As Kerfuffle got ready to leave, Aria felt a pang of guilt, which pissed her off. Guilt was a stupid, worthless feeling, which she hated, and served no purpose whatsoever. Especially when there was no reason for her to, even by stupid human standards. She should not feel bad for not having sex with a drunk girl, and had already decided to let Kerfuffle stay the night.

"No," Aria stated, reaching out to grab Kerfuffle's shoulder. "You're going to stay here and get some sleep."

Kerfuffle turned to look at her, eyes still red and tear-filled.

"But--"

"Stop," Aria ordered. "Whatever you're going to stay, just stop. It's late, you're drunk, and this neighborhood isn't safe." She stepped closer, looming over Kerfuffle, and narrowed her eyes. "You are staying here tonight, sleep off your drunken state, and then, when we find out how much you remember in the morning, we'll go from there." She leaned in until they were nearly nose to nose. "Understood?"

Kerfuffle gave a slow nod.

Then vomited all over Aria's front. Warm, liquid wetness spread down her chest and stomach, and dripped down her feet. The smell of alcohol and stomach acid burned her nostrils and the back of her throat.

"Oh good heavens," Kerfuffle said as she wiped at her mouth. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know that was going to happen. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Aria glared at the girl, but she looked so sad, pathetic, and pitiful that Aria just could not get good and angry at the drunken girl. She just felt bad for Kerfuffle.

It suddenly had Aria wondering: how did this become her life?

"Okay," Aria growled between clenched teeth. "Change of plans. First a shower, then bed."

Over the years, Aria Blaze had read stories and watched video of people taking baths and showers together. They were normally romantic, or sexy. Many times, the bath or shower was foreplay, leading to sex. Usually in the shower stall or bath tub. One would start washing another, lathering up, teasing intimate places, one thing would lead to another, and then they would be going at it. Aria never had the opportunity to try it herself, but it did sound like would be fun.

The reality of it was nowhere near as fun.

For starters, there was the fact that the other person was drunk, and had already puked on her. If there had been any sort of romantic or sexual mood to begin with, that would have killed it. More so with how foul it smelled. Undressing was easy enough. Kerfuffle was more than willing to help with that, revealing a bra that was nearly the same color of her skin, and a pair of panties with the words "what's new" followed by a picture of a kitten on the front.

It also led to an odd question. One Aria never imagined she would have asked.

"What about the leg?"

"It'll be fine," Kerfuffle answered. "It may be a temporary until I finish my new leg, but it's fully waterproof."

Then there was the shower itself. Being a bath tub with a shower head, there was plenty of room for both of them to fit. Unfortunately, the shower head could not cover the entire length of the tub, especially with someone standing in the way. So they had to take turns, alternating between standing under the water, while the other waited near the back for their turn.

Although, Aria did not get the opportunity to just enjoy being under the water. Instead, she had to make sure that Kerfuffle did not fall, as well as help her actually get properly washed.

At least when she got sick again, Aria was able to simply wash it down the drain.

By the time they had finished, Kerfuffle had sobered up enough to dry and dress herself. They borrowed a pair of Sonata's underwear, her being closer to Kerfuffle's size, then tossed a too large shirt over it. Once that was done, Aria just had to lead her to the bed and she laid down.

"Stay with me?" Kerfuffle asked, holding out a hand. "Please? I really don't want to be alone."

Aria looked down at her. It was hard to believe that this was the same annoyingly perky and friendly girl that she had not too long ago. Something had really shaken her. Probably whatever she saw when they had been at that house, and she had been hit by the fear spell.

"Fine," Aria huffed. Moving around the bed, she climbed onto the other side, putting Kerfuffle closer to the door in case of a bathroom emergency.

As soon as Aria laid down, Kerfuffle moved to press against her. One arm wrapped around her waist, pulling close. Aria could feel the warmth against her side. Kerfuffle slipped her head under Aria's arm, making it wrap around her as she pressed against Aria's chest. Kerfuffle's eyes closed as she nuzzled against the other girl.

Kerfuffle fell asleep almost instantly.

Aria spent the better part of an hour staring at the ceiling.

Author's Note

And with this, we reach the current endpoint. Yes, the stories not over, but this is as far as I got before getting stuck. I do hope to come back and work on it more, finishing it up, but for now, we are stopping here.

Thank you to those who have been enjoying the story, and sorry that it isn't paying out at this time.

There's Got To Be A Morning After

It was not quite a peaceful sleep for Aria. Several times she was awaken by Kerfuffle using the bathroom, and at one point, had to get up and lead her back to Aria's room after she had stumbled into Adagio's and tried to snuggle the siren. As such, she was the last siren up in the morning. Well... that was actually the case normally, but this time, she had an excuse for it.

Not acknowledging the other two, Aria made her way straight to the coffee pot. She filled her mug, and started downing the hot, dark brew.

"So, how's your girlfriend?" Adagio asked from her spot at the table.

Aria held up her middle finger, finishing her coffee before answering.

"She's not my girlfriend," Aria stated. "She's someone I barely know from work."

"But you asked her out, didn't you?" Sonata asked from the stove.

"No." Grabbing the pot, Aria refilled her mug. "I asked her if she wanted to have sex with me, and that was mostly teasing."

Before the conversation could get any further, Sonata's cellphone began ringing. She jumped at the sound, then grabbed for it, dropping her spatula as she did. Her eyes went wide as she looked at the screen.

"Everyone shut up!" Sonata cried out. "This could be about my job."

She hit answer.

"Sonata Dusk speaking."

Aria raised an eyebrow, turning to Adagio. "Job?" she mouthed silently. Adagio only gave a shrug in response, her own eyebrow raised as well. The two of them returned their attention to Sonata, listening to her talk as she continued making breakfast.

"I'm in great physical shape." Sonata bent down to pick up the dropped spatula. "I can go for hours without getting sore or tired."

"So you have to do a phone interview for porn now?" Aria asked, smirking.

Sonata's arm shot out straight as her wrist gave a quick flick. The spatula flew from her grip, cutting through the air. Before the action even registered, the edge of the blade hit Aria in the forehead, making her cry out. The impact left a straight vertical line right in the middle of her forehead.

"Hm," said Adagio, eyes narrowing as she smirked. "Looks like she's serious if she's willing to attack you like that."

Aria turned to scowl at Adagio, reaching up with one hand, to rub the spot with her middle finger.

"I do have some experience with camping and wilderness survival," Sonata continued casually as she picked up a clean spatula. "It wasn't anything formal, like The Girl Guides, but my sisters and I spent a lot of camping out over the years. Sometimes, we even did so without any supplies at all."

Aria turned her attention to Sonata, the conversation making her all the more curious.

"I think I'm pretty good with kids," the youngest of them said. She straightened up, puffing out her chest. "I've been told many times that I really relate to them on their level."

In more than a thousand years of life, there was a lot that the sirens had experienced. As such, there were times when they each felt they had experienced all there was, and there was nothing new left. That was when life would have something happen in order to prove them wrong.

At this time, life decided that Aria Blaze should learn what it was like to have coffee go up her nose. She had been taking a drink during the conversation, and Sonata's ... interesting interpretation of being called childish had made her try to laugh, sucking the scalding hot liquid into her nostrils.

This also led her to learning what it was like to try and scream in pain and cough at the same time.

By the time the coughing had stopped and the burning had subsided enough to pay attention to other matters, Sonata was hanging up. She let out a squeal of excitement, jumping up and down.

"I DID IT!" she cried out. "I GOT THE JOB!"

Her bouncing came to an end as she turned to the other, grinning widely.

"You're looking at one of the counselors for Camp Rainbow Falls!"

"Camp Rainbow Falls?" Adagio repeated. "You mean you're going to be working at a summer camp? With kids?"

"Yep," Sonata confirmed, nodding.

Something suddenly clicked in Aria's head.

"Is that why all the movies you've been picking out are at summer camps?"

"Right," Sonata replied. "It was research." Placing her hands on her hips, she puffed out her chest. "Now I'm ready for anything from over the top pranks to masked murderers."

"Sonata," Adagio said calmy, "we've been over this before. You cannot learn practical real world skills just by watching movies."

Sonata's eyes narrowed as a wicked smirk formed on her face.

"You mean like how Aria saw Wrath of the Dragon's Fist, and tried to do mirror all the fighting moves?"

"Hey!" Aria snapped. She tried to come up with a witty and scathing retort, but between the lack of sleep and the still lingering pain of having her brain boiled, could not really think of anything.

"Shut up."

That just made Sonata's stupid smirk grow larger, making her look very punchable.

A few minutes later, the three of them heard a thump of someone hitting the wall, followed by low groans. What had once been known as Kerfuffle shambled toward them, leaning against the wall for support.

"Why would someone knowingly put themselves through this?" she asked in a raspy near-whisper.

"I take it you haven't gotten drunk before?" asked Adagio.

"And I'm never doing it again," the hungover human declared. Pushing off the wall, she made her way toward one of the chairs. As she sat down, she placed her head onto the table.

"What kind of sick masochist willingly puts themself through such misery?"

Aria thought about The Dazzlings' own relatively short lived experience with alcoholism. Specifically, the last time, when they had been defeated by The Rainbooms. They had sought out seedy bars, buying the strongest, cheapest stuff. Aria herself often drank until she could not remember what happened after. Some times, she woke up covered in bruises and scratches, and others, in someone else's bed.

"They're not thinking about the pain of the hangover," she stated as she got up. "They get drunk to numb some pain or other in order to feel something else."

Aria grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and set it in front of Kerfuffle.

"Drink this."

The hungover human obeyed, opening the water and quickly chugging it down.

"That way," Sonata said, "if you need to puke, it won't just be dry heaves..."

As soon as she heard the word "puke," Kerfuffle dropped the bottle, knocked over the chair as she got up, and ran as fast as she could to the bathroom.

Judging from the sounds, she made it, but forgot to close the door.

Adagio turned to Aria and smirked.

"And you wanted to hit that."

"...shut up..."

No Going Back

The siren pup, Aria Blaze, laid sprawled out on the rock. Her eyes were nearly closed, almost sleeping as she watched the thermal vent, its bright orange glow shining off the bubbles it was releasing. It was very hypnotic. Plus, the vent made the water nice and warm, which was relaxing. The whole thing made it all perfect for napping. Just watch the glowing bubbles, enjoy the heat, and let thoughts drift away until falling asleep.

She felt like she could stay like this forever.

"Hi!" a high pitched voice called out.

A low growl bubbled in Aria's throat as she turned toward the creature that had ruined her peaceful relaxation (which would be the first of many, many times).

Floating not far from her was another siren pup. Said pup was hard to see at first, as she had blue scales that made her blend in with the water. Once Aria was able to make her out, however, she noticed that the intruding pup was smaller than her. The intruder moved closer, revealing raspberry eyes and a big white smile. There were also bite marks along her forelegs, and a large patch of missing scales on her left side.

It made Aria feel less inclined to attack her. After all, what fun was there in attacking an already injured and weakened opponent? No thrill or challenge to it.

"I'm Sonata," the pup said, holding out a hoof.

"I don't care," Aria retorted, turning to look away from her and back to the vent.

Instead of taking the hint and leaving, Sonata swam closer, moving around to be in eyesight once again.

"I found a recently sunken ship." Sonata moved closer still, her snout almost pressing against Aria. "Wanna go explore it? See what treasures there could be?"

Aria let out a huff as she reached out with a hoof, and shoved Sonata away.

"Why would I care about some stupid surface junk?"

Sonata let out a gasp, eyes going wide.

"Why wouldn't you?" Reaching out, she grabbed Aria's face and pulled it so they were touching snout to snout. "Have you seen their stuff? It's all so different and weird." She let go and shifted back. "Like those little shiny round things, about the size of seashells. What are they for? And why are there always so many? And what about the bits of coral? Or those things that look like a marlin's nose?" She spun in a backflip. "It's all so strange and different."

Her eyes turned away from Aria and up toward the surface.

"I would love to see it all some day. Find out what the surface creatures and their world is like."

Aria rolled her eyes and made a vomiting motion.

Sirens fascinated by the surface world were nothing new to her. She had seen quite a few of them. There was even another Aria that was obsessed with the idea, to the point where she had even burst into song about wanting to be a part of that world. Aria Blaze, however, never understood the fascination. There was plenty of stuff in the ocean for them to explore, and play with, and eat. Plus, so much of the stuff that comes down from the surface was weird and useless. Like those little, round, shiny things they have. Or the fake lobster shell coverings they make for themselves. Why would they even need such a thing?

Sonata swam around to face her again.

"Do you like squid?"

That got Aria's interest. Squids were not the tastiest of prey, but they could be chewy in a fun way. That was not why she was interested in them, though. No, what she liked was the challenge of them. Fish just tried to flee. Crabs and lobsters tried, but they just had pinchers in front of them, and could only do so much. Things like clams and oysters could not even move, they just stuck to what they were on. Squids and octopuses though, those were fun prey. They had the ability to camouflage themselves and be hard to find, they could squirt ink to blind predators to try and escape, and best of all, when they were caught, they would put up a fight. They would wrap their tentacles around the attack, and try to bite with their sharp beaks. Some were even venomous, and while by no means fatal to a siren Aria's size, it could cause effects ranging from euphoria and numbness to feeling sick for a few days.

There were even stories of giant squids that actually attacked and ate sirens.

"I know where there's a whole bunch of them," Sonata said, pointing off with one hoof. "If you come with me to explore the ship, then I'll take you there, and you can hunt all the squids you want."

That sounded pretty good.

Too good in fact.

"What do you get out of it?" asked Aria.

"What do you mean?" Sonata asked, looking up with wide eyes as she tapped the edges of her hooves together.

Aria continued to glare at the other pup, not saying anything. Sirens were not known for working together, and like their dragon cousins, did not like to share. What stories there were of sirens cooperating usually ended with them fighting over the prize, because everyone wanted it all for themselves.

So even having a pup offer something -- anything -- in exchange for a favor was weird.

After several seconds, Sonata let out a sigh, head dropping.

"Okay, fine," she huffed. "The ship isn't far from where Canto Mesmer hangs out, and she doesn't like me. If she sees me, she'll attack me and won't let me get anywhere near it, even though she doesn't care about it."

She moved closer and pointed a hoof at Aria.

"She's afraid of you, though," Sonata continued. "If you come with me, she'll totally leave me alone instead of facing you. And if she does try anything, you can whip her sorry tail all the way to the shore." She emphasized this by making several punching motions.

Aria Blaze tensed at the name, fighting the snarl that bubbled in her throat. Aria was familiar with Canto Mesmer. In the human world, Aria would learn two terms that she would retroactively apply to the siren: one is "Napoleon Complex;" the other is "two-faced, trash-talkin' bitch!" Canto was a couple clutches older than Aria, but was not much bigger. She was also mean, attacking and insulting any siren smaller and weaker than her. Canto had tried it with Aria once, and quickly learned that while Aria was smaller, she was not weaker, and definitely was not a siren Canto could boss around.

Aria's looked Sonata over again. She had never measured Canto's mouth or anything, but the bite marks looked about the right size. The patch where the scales was missing was covered with pink raw patches and scratches, like the spot had been rubbed against something rough with sharp points. Say, for example, like a larger siren forced Sonata against some coral.

So Aria would get to have squid, possibly beat up on a siren she does not actually like, and Sonata thought she was hiring a body guard. Seemed like a win-win to Aria.

"Alright, fine," Aria said as she got up.

"Woo-hoo!" Sonata squealed out, doing a backward somersault. She then shot forward, hugging Aria. "New friend!"

Aria let out a low growl. She was already regretting it.

The feeling of the SUV slowing down and turning pulled Aria out of ancient memories. Soon, she and Firecracker Burst would be back at the farm house. Aria was mostly there as back up in case the "terror crystals" (the official scientific name was something she could not remember) still had enough energy to affect Burst. The senior agent was to blow up the remnants of the crystals, and implode the house so it all collapses into the basement.

As they approached the gate, they instead saw a pair of black and white SUVs with flashing lights on top, and several people in police uniforms.

"Ah, shit," Firecracker Burst muttered as she came to a stop. She was already opening the window as one of the officers approached: an officer with a potbelly and sagging jowls.

Aria turned away and bit her thumb, resisting the urge to make pig jokes.

The fact that the officer made a snorting sound as he looked through the window did not help.

"Are you folks lost?" he asked.

"No sir, Officer... Beanes," said Burst, reading off the last part.

Aria tasted blood as she bit down harder.

"My associate and I are from Silver Shilling Realty," Burst continued. "This property is supposed to go up for auction, and we were sent to evaluate it." She glanced forward, shifting to look further. "I'm guessing that won't be happening though."

"Sorry, ma'am,' the officer replied, "but we have strict orders not to let any unauthorized personnel onto this property."

"Ah, too bad," Burst replied. She placed her hand on top of the officer's. "Any chance you can tell me by who?"

Before Officer Beanes could respond, the sound of someone coughing caused him to jump, pulling away.

"I'll take if from here," stated Tempest Shadow. She pushed the officer back as she stepped forward, approaching the car. Her arms rested on the edge of the window frame as she bent down, poking her head inside. Reflective sunglasses showed Firecracker Burst and Aria Blaze in them.

"I'm afraid that for reasons that cannot be disclosed, the Environmental Protection Agency has declared this are indefinitely off limits until the matter can be cleaned up." She pulled the sunglasses down, looking at the pair from over the top. "I'm sure you and your bosses will understand."

"Ah," Firecracker Burst said with a cold note in her voice. "Of course. Sorry to waste your time."

Tempest Shadow smirked and pushed her glasses back up.

"Have a safe trip back." She gave the door a pat as she stepped back. Her smirk grew wider as she pushed her sunglasses back up.

Burst rolled up the window, and backed up to turn around.

"Fuck," Aria huffed.

"Yeah," Firecracker Burst replied. "It sucks we don't get to blow the place up." She sighed, then smiled. "Still, It's not all bad. We managed to get samples of the crystals, and someone else is now having to deal with clean up."

"Still don't like it," Aria growled, glaring at the rearview mirror. Seeing Tempest Shadow behind them made the back of her neck itch.

Drowning in Your Eyeless

Aria Blaze was learning about one of the far less exciting and thrilling, and more tedious and dull aspects of working for an agency, top secret or not. One that the action movies and shows that she watched had at most only mentioned in passing. One of the most dreaded aspects of work for all employees.

Paperwork!

Everything that happened yesterday from their arrival at the airport to their leaving Archaic Yearling at the museum all had to be typed out. All as factual and accurate as possible, with no exaggeration. So it was that Aria sat at her desk, staring at a computer screen as she tried to write out what happened.

A task made all the harder by the fact that they had failed.

Officially, it had been a success. Their assignment had been to distract any potential criminals with the fake crown while the real one was taken to SMILE and secured safely. In that aspect, they had been completely successful. However, even if the crown had been fake, and some of the thugs had been injured, they had still managed to steal it and escape. As far as Aria was concerned, that meant they had failed. That she had failed. It had been eating away at her all night, and staring at the computer screen as she tried to remember it and write it out was pissing her off all over again.

With a huff, Aria pushed from the desk and got up. She needed to take a break.

Was there a gym area? The idea of using a punching bag sounded appealing.

"Agent Blaze," a voice called out.

Aria turned to see Kerfuffle approaching.

"Agent Blaze," she called out again as she walked up. "I was just looking for you."

"Well you found me," Aria replied. She crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"The police found a body in a lake this morning. The body is in a bit of an unusual state, and we think it's one of the people who attacked you, Agent Pharynx, and Miss Yearling, so it was intercepted and re-routed here. We wanted to see if you could identify him, and maybe see if you knew anything about the injuries."

"What kind of injuries?" Aria asked. She was doubtful she could help with the identifying of injuries, but was kind of curious.

Kerfuffle gave a shrug.

"I don't know. I haven't seen the body yet, and Doctor Moondancer didn't tell me." She smiled as she took a step back and motioned with a hand. "Come on. The body is back down in the lab."

Aria followed, eyes focused on the other woman's backside as they went. Admittedly, Kerfuffle had a pretty nice butt, but that was not the reason that Aria was watching (just a nice bonus). It was more about trying to figure out what was off about her gait. It looked to be something to do with the left leg, which meant that would be the one Aria should focus on in a fight. Unfortunately, Aria did not have Adagio's observation or deduction skills. She could pick up on some details from watching a person, but her focus was more on physical weak points, allowing her to deal with any physical threats. Adagio was always the one who had studied attacking psychological ones.

A thought occurred to her as they walked. The two of them were supposed to be co-workers, which means they were supposed to trust each other. That meant that if Aria wanted to know something about Kerfuffle, she could actually just try asking Kerfuffle about it. There were two risks with that, though. One was that the woman would not be willing to share her story. The other was that in turn, Kerfuffle would expect Aria to share some personal information as well.

The former, Aria could deal with. It would just mean that Aria would have to butter her up and get closer before trying again. Not something Aria was entirely fond of, but she had done it before, and again, being co-workers, it would probably be better if they could cooperate. The latter, however, was not something she wanted. People having knowledge about her meant they potentially had knowledge to use against her.

Aria would ask Adagio for ideas about it later. A thought which caused Aria to mentally groan and physically roll her eyes. She could already see a twinkle in those raspberry colored eyes and wicked smirk on those golden lips as Adagio commented in a condescending tone about how Aria needed her help. Just thinking about it made her want to punch Adagio in her stupid, smug face. The bitch.

As it turned out, the lab had multiple areas, each sectioned off from each the others and the front. The small room that Aria entered was freezer cold. Enough that not only could she feel the chill the second she stepped in, but could see the frost of her breath. One wall had the large steel drawers used in morgues to store bodies. The rest of the room was covered in tile. There was a slant to the floor, leading to a large drain in the center.

"Do you actually use all these things?" Aria asked, staring at them.

"Not really," Moondancer answered, standing beside an autopsy table with a body bag on it. "Since my appointment here, we have only had two at most, and that was for perhaps a single day." She pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. "Come over here. I'm about to uncover the body and begin the examination." Taking a hold of the zipper, she pulled it down.

As soon as the top teeth separated, water began pouring out.

"Grab some vials," Moondancer ordered as she zipped it back up, stopping the flow.

Kerfuffle did as she was told, grabbing as many glass tubes as she could manage. Once she was back, Moondancer unzipped the bag again. As before, water poured out from it. Kerfuffle pressed the vial against the surface,letting the water fill the tube to the top. Once one was full, she would switch to another.

"The body was found in a lake," Moondancer explained. Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at the bag. "Even if some of the water had been collected with the body, it would not have filled the bag to this extent."

She looked up.

"Step back."

Aria and Kerfuffle did as they were told. Moondancer pulled the zipper all the way down. More water flooded from the opening and splashed against the floor.

With the water away and the bag open, Aria looked at the corpse. It was the body of a man, with rusty red-brown skin, black hair, goatee, and a scar over his left eye... socket?

"Where the fuck are his eyes?" Aria blurted out.

Moondancer reached down and grabbed the man's nose and jaw, pulling his mouth open.

"That and his teeth were part of the reason it was considered strange."

Aria looked into his mouth.

His teeth were missing.

Moondancer let go and stepped back, pulling off the gloves.

"Kerfuffle, label the vials and put them on my desk for later. I'm going to have some agents collect samples from the lake for comparison."

"I'll wait here," Aria stated.

"I'll be right back," Kerfuffle assured her. "You know where the door is if you get too cold or need anything."

"Put on gloves if you're going to touch the remains," Moondancer added.

Aria let out a grunt of acknowledgement as she made her way over to the table. She grabbed a pair of gloves from the box and pulled them on, flexing her fingers as she got used to the sensation. Once comfortable with them, Aria leaned forward and reached down. Her thumbs pressed against the top and bottom of the left eye socket, pulling the lids open.

A hand grabbed her wrist.

Aria tensed and straightened up, taking a step back. Her free hand balled into a fist, pulling back behind her.

The body moved, sitting up. Its head turned to face Aria, water running down from the eye sockets. Its mouth shifted.

"Siren," a voice said as the mouth moved. It was deeper and raspier than Scar's had been when alive.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Aria asked.

The brow furrowed and lips pulled back. It looked like whatever was in control was trying to make the face snarl. The fact it had no teeth made it so it was not threatening in the slightest. In fact, Aria found it kind of funny.

"You may call me Ahuizotl."

It let go of her wrist, pointing a finger at her.

"You cost me two fine warriors."

Aria's eyes narrowed as she bared her own teeth.

"So what?" she growled out. "This is your plan to get back me? Some sort of waterlogged meat puppet?"

"DO NOT MOCK ME!" Ahuizotl roared. "I was worshiped as a GOD while you fled from accusations of witchcraft! My name was feared for generations!"

"Now you just sound like something stuck in an old man's throat," Aria shot back.

While she had never met a spirit or "god" in this world, she had met plenty of mortals, and had learned something pretty quickly. It was that the more someone talked about how powerful and dangerous they used to be, the less of one they actually were. Because all the power, all the glory, all the authority they once had was now gone. In more modern terms, it was like those people who peaked in high school, and spent the rest of their life talking about how great they had been then, while hating the life they had now. Admittedly, it had been something the three of them had done as well when they had first arrived.

Still, hearing Ahuizotl talk about how he used to be a "god" and demanded to be treated with respect for such had Aria Blaze lowering her opinion on how much of a threat he was. The body proved he was able and willing to kill, but she was sure that he was not going to actually try anything with him.

He grabbed her by the neck. Ice cold fingers pressed against her throat, squeezing with vice-like strength, threatening to block her windpipe. A pain built in the back of Aria's neck as she was lifted off her feet.

"Know this," Ahuizotl growled out, "you may be safe in your little city, with your agency, and group of child-mages, but should you ever enter my domain, I will kill you. I will watch you struggle vainly, fighting desperately to breathe, to survive, and enjoy every second of it. Then, once you are dead, I will take much gratification in feasting on your eyes, and leaving the rest to rot."

Aria's vision blurred around the edges. She grabbed at the hand, trying to pry the fingers from her throat.

Ahuizotl let go.

Aria fell to the floor, legs collapsing beneath her. She gasped for air, hands rubbing at her throat.

"Blaze!" Kerfuffle cried out. She ran over to Aria, shoes tapping on the tile as she did. Crouching down, she placed a hand on Aria's back.

"Are you okay?"

Aria gave a nod, her throat ached, each breath burning as she inhaled.

"Here," Kerfuffle said, taking a hold of Aria's shoulder. "Let me help you up."

Letting go of her throat, Aria took a hold of the other woman's hand. As she stood, her gaze focused on the body. Once again it was laying on the autopsy table, lifeless.

Ahuizotl was gone.