Dark Matter

[Seer]

The night has passed uneventfully. Our unlikely heroes are coming back together, at least geographically.

The newlyweds Cameron and Haleigh have come home early from their honeymoon. After their world tour cutting some of the more unsavory Hellfire connections, they will settle into daily life as husband and wife. What that will look like, neither of them can know just yet. They will have to figure it out as they go, while managing their hostile takeover of Hellfire.

Ava is there as well, helping in the effort to take command of the shadowy group she had once surrendered herself in order to watch her sister’s back. This was never something they’d really planned, but seizing the opportunities as they came was paramount to survival. Ava was not nearly as content about the outcome as her sister. She had lost her love, Alek, and struggled to grapple with that. It was debatable whether her new Red Bishop Selene was helping or hurting in that respect, but one does whatever they can in the face of grief.

Delilah continues her own recovery. She has renewed her bond with Cameron, and even made a stronger connection with Ava, but she remains estranged from Haleigh and the others. Time marches on, but the differences seem to remain the same. Delilah maintains her position on the issues between her and her former friends, as do they. It appears it will take more than mere apologies to reconcile the matters.

Alison recently gave a warning to the group, that the city was in danger, and one of their number may be more at risk than the rest. Yet, as breakfast comes around the next morning, breaking news is disseminated throughout the city. The FBI put a stop to a bio terror plot against Manhattan, saving countless lives from a potential viral pandemic. Was this a lucky break for the team, or only the beginning?

 

[Persephone]

The evening spent at the Sanctum Sanctorum was very short-lived, Persephone taking her leave after getting into an argument with Alison about why she was withholding information about a catastrophic event that would harm someone they loved. She understood the precog carried a burden of 'knowing' that no one should ever have to, but after losing Alek, she didn't want to sit around and wait until it was convenient for Alison to tell them what to do and how to possible save the life or lives of people they considered family. Of course Morgan and Blaze defended Alison relentlessly, which lead to Persephone leaving before she said something that would likely end their friendships.

Upon leaving the Sanctum, Persephone returned to her castle in the Underworld for the night, though she would not sleep. Every night for months, Persephone went section by section grid searching for Alek's soul. It was like trying to find a needle in a massive haystack, but she refused to give up. Hades hid his soul as a last ditch effort to hurt her before she killed him, so she knew he was in the Underworld somewhere, it would only be a matter of time before she found him. However in the early morning hours, Persephone's eyes grew heavy as she stared at the embers glowing in the fireplace of her living room. Slowly they shut, and for the briefest of moments, she found sleep.

Antonia: "My lady?"

Inhaling a sharp breath as she was pulled from her momentary slumber, Persephone turned to look over her shoulder, seeing her chamber maid Antonia standing by the living room entrance.

Antonia: "Apologise, Lady Persephone. I received word from the Searchers in Tarterus, they just finished combing the south eastern quadrant...still nothing."

It wasn't a surprise anymore to hear that they had come up short in their search, but it still chipped away a bit of Persephone's heart every single time. Nodding, she turned back to face the fireplace, her fingers gently pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Have them start the south western quadrant next."

Antonia: "Of course, Lady Persephone."

There was a moment of silence before Antonia spoke once again, this time her tone hinted with concern.

Antonia: "May I draw you a milk bath? With hot stones and honey? It would relax you....you haven't slept in weeks, My Lady."

Antonia had been Hades chamber slave for centuries, her soul being lost in the Asphodel Meadows before Hades 'rescued' her. Persephone used that term loosely, because she was anything but rescued. Hades tortured her endlessly for centuries, her body riddled in scarred reminders. Once Hades was killed, Persephone offered Antonia to live in the Elysian Fields for the rest of eternity, but she asked to remain in the castle, eternally grateful to the goddess. Persephone turned her head once again to look at her, giving her a soft smile.

"Thank you, Antonia....but i'm fine."

Antonia gave a polite bow before disappearing down the hall. Standing from the couch, Persephone let out a slow, long breath as she stretched her neck from side to side. It was time to trade in one Queendom for another. Disappearing in a tornado of flames, Persephone left the Underworld and reappeared in the Red Queen chambers on Blackwell Island. Changing into a crimson pencil dress, Persephone pulled her long chocolate locks into a slicked back ponytail. She didn't have to be down at brunch for another 45 minutes, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to start early with at least a quad shot Americano. Picking up the mansion phone, as soon as the operator got on the line, Persephone hesitated as she sensed something familiar. It was almost like electricity, a faint buzzing that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Turning toward the large bedroom windows as if somehow it would give her answers, Persephone slowly stood, placing the phone back on the receiver before walking to them. Her room overlooked the water, but more specifically the docks.

Brenthon.

A memory from her past. A person she saw die at the hands of Black...or so she thought. It may have been well over thirty years since she was a Dire Wraith in the Masters of Evil, but those people - Brenthon - were her family. She thought she had lost all of them with the exception of Darkchilde, so to see him sitting right there, across Blackwell Estate, alive? It was surreal. Persephone's body enveloped in a tornado of flames before appearing a few yards behind Brenthon on the docks. His pants were rolled to his knees and his feet dangled in the cool ocean with the innocents of a young child.

"I saw you die."

She finally said, her Grecian accent rolling off her tongue like honey.

"I saw Black kill you."

She recognized the shadowed outline of his evil eye tattoo showing through his thin white shirt, yet her eyes still searched for any indication that this was some sort of manipulation or trick.

[Romani] "Spune-mi că asta nu este o apariție, vechi prietene." [Tell me this isn't an apparition, old friend.]

 

[Brenthon]

Blackwell's Island - The Docks

<< He was used to being alone, but he was getting tired of it. Brenthon had spent what felt like eons looking for a way out of the prison that was Limbo. And while he had developed relationships with the very particular cast of characters that called that place home, all of those bonds were temporary. Because when he fell into the next disc, somebody he had once called friend might have turned foe. Somebody he had dared to love, might hate him. All at the turn of a cursed disc. But he did get out. When he had all but lost faith, she had saved him. Returning to the mortal coil had been different than he anticipated. But one thing remained constant - he was still alone. >>

"A king with no throne..."

<< He sat down on the dock, rolling his jeans up to his knee caps and dipped his feet in the water. Whenever Brenthon found himself waxing morose about his life, he tried to connect with nature. There was no ocean in Limbo. No sentient life that was not created out of strife and magick. To feel something as simple as the icy cold water of the ocean envelop his legs and feet, it helped him feel connected to Earth - a place he was still struggling to find his place in. >>

<< Evil Incarnate. Avatar of sin. Disciple of Darkchilde. Worked his way up, seizing power and titles in service of his coven. So much so that his own wants and desires were sacrificed. Eons spent looking for a woman who could have rescued him with little more than a second thought. When he escaped Limbo, he thought he had escaped his duty to the place. Only to find himself in the Elysian Fields, with Hecate declaring him to be an integral part to a trinity he had long lost faith in. As if he was kept in that place until he was needed here. Upon meeting the spellbinder, it became clear to him - he could not let this consume him. He could not fall under the service of another Darkchilde. He had earned his freedom and was relieved that Haleigh had offered him refuge here, in some modern version of Hellfire that he didn't recognize. >>

<< Brenthon wanted to live life for himself. He could no longer be an island, and yet he had no ties to this place. Earth had moved on from him. The way people spoke, how they lived, how they made money - it was all but foreign to him. He had picked up a thing or two from his time in the arena, but the arena wasn't real life either. He wasn't sure what to do with himself. He could not go back to the Sanctum, and he likely could not stay at Hellfire for long, but he had no home to go to. >>

Persephone: "I saw you die."

<< Her voice pierced through him as the goddess had visibly caught him off guard, something that rarely happened to Brenthon. It was her. He had seen her in The Underworld for just a few moments. And he couldn't be sure that the Persephone he saw was the Persephone he knew..but the second she spoke to him in this moment, he knew it was her. His gift of sight confirmed it."

Persephone: "Spune-mi că asta nu este o apariție, vechi prietene."

"Urai vagyunk a gonosznak, nővérem. Mindig azért élünk, hogy egy másik napon meghaljunk."
(We are masters of evil, my sister. We always live to die another day.)

<< Brenthon rose to his feet, propping himself up off the dock. He had not truly seen her in decades. His mind raced back to the battle with Black. The night he had fallen into a stepping disc. The night he had gotten lost in Limbo for eternity. He was not an emotional man. But Beto was a man of faith. Of destiny. He had been sitting there, feeling alone. Feeling like it was wrong of him to return to Earth. And here was now..one of the only people in the multiverse who could understand what he had gone through. He was looking for his people. Fate brought her to him. He bridged the gap between them, a bit quicker than he was proud of, as he responded to her, his thick Hungarian accent filling the space with it's deep timbre. >>

"It is me, Persephone. I can feel your pain...I would not dare to add to it by deceiving you."

<< He enveloped her in his arms, giving her a hug using all the strength he had in his body. No match for a goddess, but enough for her to feel that it was him. He closed his eyes. Her hair smelled of peony. Her energy was very, very different. But it was her. It was his friend. His comrade. >>

"I was lost in Limbo...took a fall into a stray stepping disc meant to kill Black...all this time. For both hundreds of years and also just seconds. Endlessly trading one hell for another. But I am free. And I am happy to know I am not the sole survivor of our coven."

<< Brenthon let her out of his arms, but still reached for her hand, finding himself in desperate need of physical connection to her. Because he thought he'd never see her again. >>

"It appears, however, that once again you have beaten me. Returned to your throne in The Underworld. And as my sight catches me up, I see you are Queen of Hellfire. Are you happy with your life here, Persephone? Or do I still have much misery to look forward to?"

 

[Persephone]

Brenthon: "Urai vagyunk a gonosznak, nővérem. Mindig azért élünk, hogy egy másik napon meghaljunk."

"Poate...dar nu astăzi." [Perhaps...but not today.]

She warned as she watched him withdraw his feet from the ocean before standing. She was still wary of how he stood before her and why, but as Brenthon approached her, the current between them intensified as if they were two magnets drawn to each other. She knew it was him, she could feel it. She could see it with the markings across his body that were indicative to him. But Persephone had gotten so used to living within a chasm of pain, it was hard to truly accept something good was happening to her.

Brenthon: "It is me, Persephone. I can feel your pain...I would not dare to add to it by deceiving you."

And then his arms were around her and Persephone expelled a breath she had not realized she was holding. Her hand went to the back of his head, holding him in place, her other arm circling around him.

"It's so good to see you alive, brother. But how did this happen?"

Brenthon: "I was lost in Limbo...took a fall into a stray stepping disc meant to kill Black...all this time. For both hundreds of years and also just seconds. Endlessly trading one hell for another. But I am free. And I am happy to know I am not the sole survivor of our coven."

She knew well how one could get lost within the Trinity's stepping disks, nodding with understanding. But to know that he had been alive all this time, lost in Limbo? It hurt her but also angered her. Darkchilde could have helped him like she helped Persephone. Guided him to a new life and new timeline without having him suffer the way that he did. Why were they always a slave to the Trinity? Persephone tempered her anger as he pulled out of their hug, her hands going to either side of his face to hold him there. He looked older than she remembered. Not in a bad way, but in a weathered way, his face telling the stories of his journey. She gave him a small smile before letting his face go.

"Me too. Although many things have changed since then."

Persephone decided to take a page out of Brenthon's book, walking with him to the edge of the dock. She slipped out of her black heels and took a seat at the edge, not caring if her thousand dollar dress got dirty. Placing her feet in the ocean, she looked over at her friend as he sat too.

Brenthon: "It appears, however, that once again you have beaten me. Returned to your throne in The Underworld. And as my sight catches me up, I see you are Queen of Hellfire."

She softly chuckled as she looked out onto the calm waters.

"You know me, I can't have just one crown."

Brenthon: "Are you happy with your life here, Persephone? Or do I still have much misery to look forward to?"

That was a loaded question. Because yes, she had been happy for a long time. This universe, this thread of time, being something she didn't realize she needed so deeply in her life. She had fought it when Darkchilde first brought her, not wanting to leave her friend, and not wanting to sacrifice herself by merging with a mortal cross time alternate. But as the years passed on, Ava became apart of her in a way Persephone never knew possible. She was a balance that was much needed in her life. A echo of good within her chaos of darkness. She had memories of Ava, experiences that were now her experiences. She had a sister, new friends...a new family that she would die for in a heartbeat. But as of late, it felt like she had lost herself in the pain of so much trauma that she wondered if happiness was even possible for her anymore.

"I am. I...was. It's complicated."

Shaking her head as she tried to figure out how to best explain what she meant.

"This world is so different than ours. You came here as yourself, I came here and became apart of someone else. I am Persephone, but I am also my cross time alternate, Ava Cassadine. I grew to accept this, although it took quite a few years. But now, it's just who I am. I have a family here, friends, a life that I loved."

Past tense. Her eyes lowered for a moment as she paused.

"A lot has happened to me in the last two years that made me question being here. But...I can't deny this is my home."

Looking over at Brenthon.

"Your time filled with misery is over, Brenthon. But with any life, within any timeline, there's heartache. So I can't promise there won't be pain. But if you decide to stay here, you'll at least have a friend to navigate it all with. And I can help you adjust, introduce you to my team - my friends. You could start fresh, beyond the Masters of Evil."

 

[Brenthon]

Blackwell's Island - The Docks

<< He was relieved to see, both for her and himself, that Persephone still held her edge as he approached her. They had fought inumerable battles at each other's side. She had soft spots, but her edges had always been razor sharp. Brenthon knew more than most what she was capable of, but all of that melted away as they embraced, heading back down to the docks, this time both dipping their feet into the water. It was the most simple interaction they'd ever had. There was not much time in The Masters of Evil for small moments. So much of them had been consumed with a war that, having lived as long as he had now, didn't matter in the slightest. >>

<< Brenthon inquired as to her happiness, knowing there was a great wave of pain bubbling just underneath the surface. That was always her way. But there was something different about that pain now. Something more meaningful. >>

Persephone: "I am..I...was. It's complicated."

<< He reached out a hand and placed it over hers as she continued. >>

Persephone: "This world is so different than ours. You came here as yourself, I came here and became apart of something else. I am Persephone, but I am also my cross time alternate, Ava Cassadine. I grew to accept this, although it took quite a few years. but now, it's just who I am. I have family here, friends, a life that I loved."

<< Brenthon's eyes widened as many locks in his mind began to click and buzz with information. Ava Cassadine. This was the woman who's lover Maxine Dupont had been searching for. The same woman who had left Simon Pratt out in the cold. Part of him wanted to stifle a laugh at the realization that he had been in orbit of those she knew and cared about for quite some time, but he remained stiff in his face. >>

Persephone: "Your time filled with misery is over, Brenthon. But with any life, within any timeline, there's heartache. So I can't promise there won't be pain. But if you decide to stay here, you'll at least have a friend to navigate it all with. And I can help you adjust, introduce you to my team - my friends. You could start fresh, beyond the Masters of Evil."

<< It was a lovely thought, but Brenthon knew better than to hope. Still, there had to be a reason he was here now. Perhaps it was his reward for time served. Perhaps he could find some kind of life outside of everything he had known before. His hand left hers as he braced his hands on either side of the dock and leaned back, facing upwards towards the sun, letting the warm rays wash over his face, before turning his gaze back to Persephone. >>

"Misery, I can deal with. Even heartache. It's the good things I'm unsure I can handle..As if this hasn't been enough of a sign of fate, it appears I have already met some of your friends. The black widow has been more than friendly..she is your sister here, yes? It is by her hand that I am allowed to stay here...but there are others..."

<< Pausing for a moment. >>

"The path that brought me here was by the hand of a woman looking for a knight. Who I am now able to perceive as your knight. Domino, they call her. She was with the lucky boy..a lover of yours...Simon. I had heard all these stories of Ava Cassadine, never assuming I would meet her, and more, that I would know her. Though I am amused to know that Ava has just as big of a reputation as Persephone..."

<< He smirked and once again placed his hand over hers. >>

"She is still looking for him. She was not a woman of many words, but many feelings. Like you. She cared for him. And she won't give up...but I do not wish to spend what precious time I have with you prodding and poking at your pain. I do want to start fresh, Persephone....I want a job, a homestead...I want to find whatever blood I have left here. I do not say this lightly..but I need help."

<< Brenthon pulled the phone that Haleigh had manifested for him out of his pocket. >>

"For instance, this infernal device has been plaguing me since I was given it. I cannot stop looking at it. Is there some way we can enchant it? Break it's hold over me?"

 

[Persephone]

Brenthon put his hand on hers, and in that gesture she knew he could sense the inner turmoil she was going through. She didn't want to give specifics on the matter, despite their long history with one another. She hadn't truly opened up to anyone about what she was feeling outside of Zach, whom she couldn't exactly hide feelings from. So she moved the conversation to Brenthon, and how regardless of where he ended up there would always be some sort of heartache there, but at least here he would have a friend to navigate it with.

Brenthon: "Misery, I can deal with. Even heartache. It's the good things I'm unsure I can handle..As if this hasn't been enough of a sign of fate, it appears I have already met some of your friends. The black widow has been more than friendly..she is your sister here, yes? It is by her hand that I am allowed to stay here...but there are others..."

"Yes, she is. You'd be wise to befriend her...she is amazing."

Persephone softly mused as she looked out to the ocean. Despite her feelings about Haleigh over the last six months, she loved her sister, and missed her a lot. But it hurt to see her with the life that Persephone wanted, especially her being married to the man she loved. It wasn't Haleigh fault by any means, and Persephone was truly happy for her, but it was hard to want to be around her.

Brenthon: "The path that brought me here was by the hand of a woman looking for a knight. Who I am now able to perceive as your knight. Domino, they call her."

That made Persephone look over at Brenthon, her interest piqued.

Brenthon: "She was with the lucky boy..a lover of yours...Simon."

Persephone scoffed at that.

"He was hardly a lover. More like a much needed distraction."

She corrected. It had been only a couple months after being held captive by Hades that she met Simon and needed to fuck away the pain. It was helpful at the time, but it was hardly a love affair.

Brenthon: "I had heard all these stories of Ava Cassadine, never assuming I would meet her, and more, that I would know her. Though I am amused to know that Ava has just as big of a reputation as Persephone..."

Persephone smirked.

"You flatter me. You always have."

Brenthon was still the charmer, even when he didn't realize he was being one. But Persephone smirk faded once he mentioned that Max was still looking for Alek. That she wouldn't stop because she cared about him. Shutting her eyes, she hadn't thought that Max would still be looking, and she felt horrible knowing that she was looking in vain.

Brenthon: "I do not wish to spend what precious time I have with you prodding and poking at your pain. I do want to start fresh, Persephone....I want a job, a homestead...I want to find whatever blood I have left here. I do not say this lightly..but I need help."

Looking to Brenthon, it was her turn to put her hand on top of his.

"You can stay here at Hellfire for as long as you like, your invitation extended indefinitely. As for everything else? I'll help you however I can."

It was then, Brenthon took out an iPhone much to Persephone's surprise.

Brenthon: "For instance, this infernal device has been plaguing me since I was given it. I cannot stop looking at it. Is there some way we can enchant it? Break it's hold over me?"

And for the first time in a long time, Persephone laughed.

"Let me guess? Haleigh gave this to you? [shaking her head with a smile] Unfortunately there's no enchantment strong enough to break the addiction to cell phones. It's something you're just going to have to embrace. But..."

Taking the phone from his hand, Persephone opened up the contacts and put her number in.

"It has its perks. Now you can text or call me whenever you need me."

Handing him back his phone, Persephone's eyes then softened sentimentally.

"I'm really happy you're here, Brenthon. I've missed you."

 

[Brenthon]

Blackwell's Island - The Docks

Persephone: "He was hardly a lover. More like a much needed distraction."

<< Beto furrowed his brow a bit as she spoke of Simon. Mortal love was confusing to him. While he did not know Simon deeply, the time he spent with the boy, showed him a lot. He had thrown himself head first into a world he had no business being a part of. Showed heart, and bravery. And he could sense that the myriad of feelings Simon held for Ava, were not feelings that were reciprocated. How awful. He made note to never get himself in such a situation. >>

"I watched him bury his sword through a four armed woman twice his size in front of an arena of thousands of cheering patrons. Fought by his side against an abomination of man and science. There are worse men to distract oneself with..."

<< He didn't press the issue, but still. Simon had shown him compassion and loyalty without even knowing him, and for that, he figured he would put in a good word for the man. He let her know that there were others still looking for her knight, but it did not seem to comfort her. And in that moment, he watched the water around them - the number of ripples in the wave as several fished bobbed up and down. >>

"Eight."

<< The number of death. Her knight had perished and he mourned for her. >>

Persephone: "You can stay here at Hellfire for as long as you like, your invitation extended indefinitely. As for everything else? I'll help you however I can."

<< Brenthon felt a tingling in his stomach. It took a minute to realize that it was a feeling of...happiness. Things were starting to look up for him. Maybe he could really do this. Find a life away from what he had previously known. Since she was so helpful so far, he implored her to help his remove the curse of the wretched device that Haleigh had given him. She laughed in his face, and he couldn't help but to return the laughter, even if he was a bit confused. >>

Persephone: "Let me guess? Haleigh gave this to you? Unfortunately, there's no enchantment strong enough to break the addiction to cell phones. It's something you're just going to have to embrace. But.."

<< This was horrid news because he was already in deep. He felt a wave of anguish as Persephone took this "phone" from him. Even for the few seconds she had it, he wanted it back. The information it contained was greater than any library. Anything you wanted to see, or know. It was there. >>

Persephone: "It has it's perks. Now you can text or call me whenever you need me."

<< He grabbed for the phone a bit quicker than he would have liked as he stared at her number for a few moments. It made him happy. He had seen on television, people using these things to talk to people they loved or hated. Now he could be one of these people. >>

"I've no idea how to do so, but when I do..I promise you shall be the first....[awkwardly] phone call that I make."

Persephone: "I'm really happy you're here, Brenthon. I've missed you."

<< Brenthon rested his head on her shoulder for a moment, closing his eyes and exhaling. Being around someone so familiar made him breath a bit easier. >>

"More than you will ever know, my sweet Persephone...I have missed you as well..."

<< He perked his head up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, lingering for probably several seconds longer than he should have, before returning to an appropriate distance. He was quiet for a few moments. >>

"It feels like fate that you wound up here...do you know that this is the timeline I came from? Just...give or take three hundred years earlier. Darkchilde searched both the future and the past for members of the coven. I was simply returned here..awoke in a grave of one of my ancestors..not such a favorable experience...[mockingly in an American accent] full cap."

He smirked.

"The woman who brought me back is also here...but different. She is a young girl here. But in Limbo, she was it's Queen. One of many I saw in my time there. I called her Nightshade, but here - she is called...Alexia. She is of Romani blood, by way of her father. You associate with the spellbinder...do you know her? I desperately wish to see her..to thank her for what she has done for me."

 

[Prophet]

Blackwell's Island

<< FLASH! >>

Monica Cabello. 27. Newark, New Jersey. Pre-Med Student with the ability to read, perceive and manipulate auras. Died of a seizure in her sleep.

David Prescott, 15. Cambridge, UK. Gifted piano player. Just started dating a sweet girl from Essex. Nascent astral projector. Found dead in the tube, from an apparent aneurism.

Penelope Beaumant, 64, a retired teacher from Augusta, Georgia. She had just paid off her house and was getting ready to travel abroad for the first time in thirty years. Gifted telepath. Died in her sleep. Unknown causes.

Cameron tossed and turned in his sleep. Despite taking the time to ensure that his wife had healed from the trauma she experienced at Hellfire, he had been largely ignoring the blood on his hands, always trying to move ever forward to do something to make up for all the deaths he caused. These names were but one of hundreds, buried in the ground because of his and Diana's actions. Every night, he saw them, felt their deaths, their dreams, their lost ambition. It had been a rough day turned into a beautiful evening, as Cameron and Haleigh had dinner, drinks, and spent a few hours at a speakeasy listening to a beautiful woman sing the blues. And in the White Wing of the new Hellfire facility, they consumated their marital suite, making love until both were exhausted. For a few hours, Cameron thought he might have escaped his dreams for the evening. That he might have had the right amount of alcohol and food to not remember. To not relive. But it was no use. Because when the faces of those who deaths he had been responsible for were not present, he saw other, equally horrific things.

<< FLASH! >>

Cameron was standing in front of a military force of hundreds, surrounded in all directions. Laser targets decorating his body. They had called for his head because they were scared of him. Of what he had done. Of what he could do. And they had every reason to be scared.

"STAND DOWN!"

He felt a wave of rage rush over him. Of all the humans had done to him. Of all that Hellfire and MysTech had done to him. All because man was afraid of mutant. Cameron had decided that he could no longer make peace with them. He could no longer deign himself to be subjugated. To be lesser than who he was for their comfort. It was time they knew that homo superior was just that...superior. If the government wanted him dead, he saw no other choice but to destroy it.

He spoke in a loud, stereophonic voice.

"Let it be HEARD! That the fall of the humans comes by MY HAND!"

His eyes began to glow their signature electric red as his psionic energy signature crackled around him. Within an instant, the eyes of every man and woman on the field, in the sky began to reflect his same energy. Taking hold of all of them at once, as if it were nothing to him - because it was nothing to him.

<< BOOM! >>

Prophet CLAPPED his hands together as chaos ensued. Man against man, turning their weapons on each other and beginning the slaughter as helicopters and jets FELL from the sky, crashing INTO different parts of the city, setting buildings on fire from stray parts of wreckage. All of it, being destroyed at his hand. And he loved it. Loved how it felt. Waving his hands, he began to telekinetically warp the area around him, bending beam supports, upheaving the earth, all in chaotic and vicious pattern before a BOOMING explosion could be heard. His vision completely engulfed in fire.

He shot out of bed, his body drenched in sweat, his bare torso covered in dew as he rubbed his face, and turned to the clock on the nightstand.

6 a.m.

Haleigh wasn't in bed, but that wasn't unusual. His wife didn't actually need to sleep. It was something she did purely for pleasure. And after everything she had gone through at the Sanctum, he was sure she had a lot on her mind. He did too. Despite being in the city, Alison hadn't reached out. None of them had.

Cameron rose from the white silk sheets and walked over to the dresser, grabbing a pair of underwear and white active shorts, before walking over to the closet and grabbing a pair of pristine white Nike trainers, sitting down on a plush white chair, beginning to lace them up. He knew that things had changed between them, but Cameron was beginning to feel like this was different than the times before. That moving forward, some of those they called family would no longer be a part of the cause. And while he hated it - this was a part of life. All of them had done more than enough for the world. Lost more than they deserved to. Anybody who wanted out, who wanted to live something different, was more than welcome to. But Cameron would never quit. The Six was his family. It was who he was. He was, however, beginning to put his mind towards what the team would look like going forward. For now? He grabbed his air pods from the top of his vanity, plugged them into either ear and headed outside.

He had actually been a bit relieved to be staying at Blackwell's. While The Parthenon was the center of his empire, it was nice to stay somewhere without worrying about everything little thing. Here, Haleigh took care of that for him, and he was deeply grateful. And running the perimeter of the island was a great workout. He turned on his music and set out along the shore. Exercise had always been his answer to sorting out his feelings. It was why he had gained a good twenty pounds of muscle over the last few years. Giving himself a task, a job, something to focus on that was good for him, that he could measure, it gave him a sense of control and peace over himself. And he needed that these days.

Two hours later, he had just finished a marathon's worth of miles, as he huffed back into the mansion, back to The White Corridor and into the spa. It was nowhere near The Parthenon's amenities, but it was serviceable. A hot as fuck shower later, Cameron returned to his suite, changed into something more suitable for the day and headed towards his work space. Outside of exercise, Cameron never felt more centered than he did at work. For years now The Zenith Group had been on autopilot. He no longer felt challenged. He was a literal billionaire now. He had won capitalism. So to have The Hellfire Trading Company now in his hands, for the first time in a long time, it was something new.

Stepping into the pristine white offices, he felt at ease with buzz of phone lines, and flurry of work chatter. He remembered the first time he ever set foot inside the stock exchange. The energy had been palpable. Chaotic. Exhilirating. He was happy to be back in such an environment.

Receptionist: "Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon, Mr. King?"

Cameron smirked as he sat down a hot coffee he had grabbed from a tray cart in the white corridor and set it down in front of Sheila, a buxom red head who ran the front desk. If there was one thing Cameron had learned over the years, it was to keep your receptionist happy. She gave an excited look as she pressed the headset she was wearing and gave him a wink.

Sheila: "Hellfire Trading Company, please hold. [taking a sip] Ugh, you truly are a king among men, Cameron. Thank you. The girls are already in your office."

"Thanks, Red."

The White King walked down the hall, relieved that the fanfare of him being King had faded a bit. The people here were making money, they didn't have time to coo over some King. Walking down the long corridor, passing glass wall offices, he rounded the corner into and headed into his office, greeting his girls with a smile.

"Good morning, girls."

 

[Trifecta]

Hellfire - Blackwell's Island

The Prince Sisters had enjoyed working for Cameron and Haleigh since being rescued from a holding facility in Prague several months ago, but there had been a hard adjustment period. They had not been born, but created in a lab. They had no idea how long they had actually been alive. But they remembered being girls. Being tested. Being poked and prodded by government officials to see what they could do. But no matter what happened to them, they had each other: Sophie, Sarah, Sydney, Siobhan and Stephanie. And then, the event. For days their powers had been in overdrive. They had been able to perceive far past the prison they were raised in, and they started to push back against their captors. Before Sophie took control as the leader of the hive, it had been Siobhan. She had been the strong one, the brave one. Always making sure they were taken care of. But then she became weak. Something was draining her very life force. For days she could barely eat. And then Stephanie got sick. Two days later, Sophie, Sydney and Sarah cradled the dead bodies of their sisters, victims of the war between Cameron and Diana, though they didn't know it. All the remaining sisters knew, was that they had to get out. That whatever lay beyond "The Facility" had to be better than what they knew. So they attacked. Waited for a staff change and took down every operative around them with violent precision. For days they raged across the city, killing anybody who crossed their path or challenged them in any way. And then they came across The White King & Queen.

When they realized who The White King was, they showed no mercy, engaging in a fire fight that was only thwarted thanks in large part to Haleigh.. and the timely defection of Sarah to the side of reason. Cameron offered them refuge. Employed them. Promising them to make up for what he had done to their sisters, and while there had been a VERY difficult adjustment period, Cameron had proven himself to them, and shown them that the true threat to all telepaths was a woman who had every ability to come back for revenge. For months, they were operatives to the cause of Hellfire, and when they had proven their effectiveness, Cameron and Haleigh offered them the position of White Rook. While they were wary, they accepted, if only because they had no other options, and no place to go. Since then, The White Court had taken care of them. Showered them with money and resources. Not laid a hand on them. Not tested them and experimented on them. Shown them only compassion and mentorship.

The White King had promised them that this was only temporary. That a place like Hellfire could not be deigned to live for much longer. That if they helped him dismantle the organization, he would take care of them for life. While they waited, the perks were certainly seeming to be worth it. They wanted to for nothing. He mentally taught them business. Haleigh taught them espionage. By the end of their finishing school, they were a circuit of absolute power and precision not to be trifled with, and when linked together, they had a power that gave even a world class telepath like Cameron King pause.

When they agreed to be The White Rook, they settled on a few things. Three people occupying one position would be difficult to navigate. So, in an effort to make things a bit more clear, they decided that, depending on the situation, the sister "in charge" for the day, acting in an official capacity as White Rook, would wear white. The rest would dress as they pleased. So as The Prince Sisters settled into Cameron's office for the day, it was Sophie acting as spokesperson for the day. She was the one mostly in charge. The strongest of the three, she handled day to day operations. Sarah, who was in a spare desk in the corner, always analyzing some kind of document in her hand, took control when they needed to be diplomatic. Sydney, who was lounging on a chaise lounge in the center of the room, once again scrolling mindlessly through her phone, blasting music throughout the room, was the one who took control when they needed to bring the hammer down. Each of them played their part, but make no mistake, when they moved, they moved together.

[Inside The Trifecta]

Sydney: "Cam incoming in thirty seconds. Everybody look busy.."

Sarah: "Some of us don't have to pretend, Syd."

Sophie: "Both of you shut up. He knows who he hired. It's not our job to look busy. It's our job to be effective."

Sydney: "So dramatic, Soph. Jesus."

Sarah: "Incoming."

Sydney shut off the music.

[The White King's Office]

Cameron: "Good morning, girls."

[all at once] "Good morning, Cameron."

[Inside The Trifecta]

Sydney: "God I hate that Charlie's Angels bullshit."

Sophie: "Me too...but he sure gets a kick out of it. But I call Lucy Liu."

Sydney: "Please, you wish you were as hot. I'm definitely Drew Barrymore."

Sarah: "Wait..isn't Cameron Diaz the dumb one?"

Sydney: "I wouldn't say dumb...."

[The White King's Office]

Cameron sauntered over to his chair, eyeing each of them up and down for a moment before settling into his seat. The sisters flashed a cheeky smile to each other as they continued on their tasks. Cameron liked to think he was cool, but alas, he was nowhere near. At least not anymore. Everytime he saw them, it was as if their outfits had accosted him, and part of that gave each of the girls a bit of perverse pleasure. For a few moments there was silence as Cameron fired up his laptop, and gave a bit of an exasperated laugh.

Cameron: "So...not dressing for the office and wearing the biggest, most ill fitting thing you can find is like a Gen Z thing right?"

The Trifecta collectively rolled their eyes as they continued their tasks.

Sydney: "Excuse you, asshole. These jeans are Dior."

Sarah: "Syd! Watch your mouth!"

Sophie: "She's fine, Sarah. Cameron, don't take this the wrong way, but...you're old. You like skinny jeans, flannel, ironic scarves, mustache tattoos and saying things like doggo. You hired us because we're young, hot, and can get into rooms that you can't. Also you are responsible for the death of our sisters..So, maybe don't worry about what we wear. We know what we're doing."

Cameron: "Touche. Speaking of what you're doing. Let's take it from the top, shall we?"

They were relieved to move the topic to business as Sophie rose from her seat, adjusting her white tuxedo jacket a bit as she handed a dossier over to Cameron and moved towards the front of his desk, pacing back and forthe as she spoke.

Sophie: "Right. Well we've spent the last six months pouring through assets. Looking at contracts, products, deals, everything we could find that was making the club money. But I have to admit, we weren't able to find much that doesn't conflict with this new morality clause you and Haleigh are seeking."

Sydney: "She means that basically all the ways this place used to make money you and Haleigh put a stop to. We're broke."

Sarah: "Not broke, but it appears that Hellfire was living off of investments for quite some time. Not a lot of new business. But it isn't all bad news..."

Sophie: "Turns out that when this chapter was founded, a lot of the money was raised in pharmaceuticals. Specifically from the work of Dr. Victory and Dr. Chandler. Hellfire holds the patents on several life saving drugs. But after their deaths, it appears the inner circle simply just collected the checks. Never really messed with things..."

Sarah: "And...after you and Haleigh cut down the more morally ambiguous parts of Hellfire, it does appear that there are several military contracts that aren't as duplicitous as we originally thought. There's room to move forward..."

Sydney: "But it's a fucking mess. Nobody has looked at this shit in years. They just cashed the checks and bought diamonds and champagne. If we are going to become salvable, we gotta start pooling resources...Basically..."

[All Three Together]: "We need Ava."

The girls knew he wasn't on the best terms with Ava at the moment, but if they were being honest? Most of Haleigh's business was off book. Couldn't be monetized into stock. Together, Ava and Cameron had a fortune in the billions. Whatever industry one lacked, the other had. They were also global public figures. If they had any hopes of legitimizing the above board businesses of Hellfire, they were going to have to figure out a way to work together.

Sophie: "You are a titan of industry, Cam. But prescription drugs and weapons aren't your fortay. The whole goal here is to eventually liberate these assets from Hellfire and absorb them into your own portfolios. Haleigh's intelligence connections help, but Ava's name and her father's reputation are key."

Sydney: "You said Hellfire was a cancer. You said it had to be dismantled. Told us not to get used to these fancy titles. You also told us to keep you honest."

Sophie: "She's right. You also have penance to pay, Cameron. For our sisters. For the people you hurt. And the faster we handle Hellfire, the faster we can get to the important stuff."

Sarah: "We don't say this to make you feel bad. We're saying this to keep you focused. Because what you are planning...is for the greater good. A war like yours and Diana's can never happen again."

Despite the trust they had built with Cameron and Haleigh over the last six months, they didn't like working for Hellfire in it's current incarnation. Cameron may have been responsible for hundreds of deaths, but as they had dug deeper into Hellfire, they realized, this club that now signed their paychecks, had hurt millions of people. In so many different ways. And when it came down to it, Cameron's personal pursuit, of justice on the astral plane, was more important to them than anything Hellfire had to offer. He wanted them to make sure he remembered that. So they did. At every chance they got.

Sophie: "We're getting so close, Cam. In fact...I feel like now that you're here, it's a good a time as any to maybe visit the job site. Maybe seeing what you helped create might make you feel better. What do you say?"

 

[Prophet]

Hellfire - Blackwell's Island

These girls were trouble. Part of Cameron loved it. Another part of it annoyed him endlessly. He remembered being their age. He'd been just as stubborn. Just as obstinate. So he took it with a grain of salt as he sat down at his desk and fired up his computer, pretending to look at e-mails and not the garish fashion show that was in front of him. The Prince sisters always dressed like they were extras on Euphoria. He knew there was a bit of a generational disconnect, and he always tried to keep his cool. But these girls had quickly become like daughters to him, and he couldn't help but to give them a little bit of the business.

"So..not dresing for the office and wearing the biggest, most ill fitting thing you can find is like a Gen Z thing, right?"

Sydney: "Excuse you, asshole. These jeans are Dior."

Cameron laughed. He remembered when Dior wouldn't even consider designing denim. Now, it appeared that fashion had devolved into something he couldn't even recognize.

Sarah: "Syd! Watch your mouth!"

Sarah was always the voice of reason. When her sisters were ready to deliver a kill shot to him and his wife in Prague, she had been the one to talk them off the ledge. Each of the girls offered a unique perspective. And they kept him on his toes. He truly saw them as the next generation, and he was heavily invested in their future success.

Sophie: "She's fine, Sarah. Cameron, don't take this the wrong way, but...you're old. You like skinny jeans, ironic scarves, mustache tattoos and saying things like doggo. You hired us because we're young, hot, and can get into rooms that you can't. Also you are responsible for the death of our sisters...So, maybe don't worry about what we wear. We know what we're doing."

It was like a knife to his heart. The sisters were a constant reminder of his failure. Which was why he kept them close. The three of them together were stronger than any telepath he had ever encountered outside of possibly Malice. To know what they could have been had his war with Diana not taken two of their number? It was something he would never get over. It only confirmed to him that the path he was on, was the right one.

"Touche. Speaking of what you're doing. Let's take it from the top, shall we?"

The trifecta had been instrumental in Cameron and Haleigh's new vision for Hellfire. And they were quick studies. In weeks, The White King and Queen had been able to instill the girls with a lifetime's worth of skill, and they wasted no time. While he and his wife had been gallavanting around the world doing wetwork, the girls had held down the fort, looking at the brass tacs of Hellfire and figuring out what was worth keeping and what needed to be let go.

Sophie: "Right. Well we've spent the last six months pouring through assets. Looking at contracts, products, deals, everything we could find that was making the club money. But I have to admit, we weren't able to find much that doesn't conflict with this new morality clause you and Haleigh are seeking."

Sydney: "She means that basically all the ways this place used to make money you and Haleigh put a stop to. We're broke."

Sarah: "Not broke, but it appears that Hellfire was living off of investments for quite some time. Not a lot of new business. But it isn't all bad news..."

Sophie: "Turns out that when this chapter was founded, a lot of the money was raised in pharmaceuticals. Specifically from the work of Dr. Victory and Dr. Chandler. Hellfire holds the patents on several life saving drugs. But after their deaths, it appears the inner circle simply just collected the checks. Never really messed with things..."

Sarah: "And...after you and Haleigh cut down the more morally ambiguous parts of Hellfire, it does appear that there are several military contracts that aren't as duplicitous as we originally thought. There's room to move forward..."

Sydney: "But it's a fucking mess. Nobody has looked at this shit in years. They just cashed the checks and bought diamonds and champagne. If we are going to become salvable, we gotta start pooling resources...Basically..."

[All Three Together]: "We need Ava."

Cameron winced a bit at the thought of it. He felt farther from Ava than he ever had. Even when they had first met, when she absolutely hated him, the boundaries were clear. Now? They had spent time together. They had come to love each other. It wasn't as easy as setting up a meeting and moving forward. Cameron often thought of The Purifier Event, a moment in time for The Six that he felt changed things for them forever. It was the night that Alison told him he would be captured...and that Ava would lose all of those children. By that point, they had been business partners, friends. They were joyously planning the opening of The Parisian Parthenon. When they heard the news, the message from Alison, it broke them separately...but it bonded them. They decided together, that they were strong enough to endure it. That if it meant success in the long run, they could handle it. But things weren't the same after that. And then came The Hellfire Era. Even before that, Cameron knew Ava was hiding something from him. When she lost the children, he felt like he lost her. When she defected to Hellfire, he mourned more than anybody would ever know. It was a pain he held within him for the longest time. Because he had nobody to go to. He had promised Delilah he would destroy Malice. The woman he loved was with Ava. His sister was hurt, and Morgan was ready to kill. What nobody realized...was that after so many years, after so much effort, Ava had become a sister to him. He had pulled her into his life more than he had even pulled Alison. When she defected, when she pulled her business from his, when she attacked Simon and Vivica...when he knew that she was in love with Alek, in such a way that she was willing to humiliate herself to keep him, it broke Cameron. It was a pain he couldn't articulate to the others. Not to Haleigh. Not to Alison. The dust had settled. Ava was still in so much pain, and Cameron could feel it. But he couldn't help but feel like he had gotten lost in the fray. He had put in the time. He had made such an effort to bring her into his life, in the most intimate way he knew how. And she couldn't just say that. She couldn't just say that she loved him. That she was sorry. That she was wrong. She was still leaning into Hellfire. In ways that made him so uncomfortable. He loved her so much, but he was afraid that he would never get her back.

"Easier said than done. But if it's required...I'll do it. We may not see eye to eye personally, but if there's one language we still speak with other...it's business. If it needs to be done, I have to believe she'll do it."

Sophie: "You are a titan of industry, Cam. But prescription drugs and weapons aren't your fortay. The whole goal here is to eventually liberate these assets from Hellfire and absorb them into your own portfolios. Haleigh's intelligence connections help, but Ava's name and her father's reputation are key."

Sydney: "You said Hellfire was a cancer. You said it had to be dismantled. Told us not to get used to these fancy titles. You also told us to keep you honest."

Sophie: "She's right. You also have penance to pay, Cameron. For our sisters. For the people you hurt. And the faster we handle Hellfire, the faster we can get to the important stuff."

Sarah: "We don't say this to make you feel bad. We're saying this to keep you focused. Because what you are planning...is for the greater good. A war like yours and Diana's can never happen again."

He needed to hear that. Being with Haleigh was incredible. Every moment was exciting. But Haleigh was always poised towards self destruction. After everything she had gone through, she just didn't believe in herself anymore. Every valorous act she had committed, she counteracted with some horrible slight. She had given up on being a hero, despite being the most heroic woman he had ever known. He had joined league with her in Hellfire under the guise of dismantling it. That they would take the valuable assets, and that they would move on. But Cameron was not ignorant to the fact that this place meant more to his wife than it did to him, and it wasn't just in some kind of psychotic vigil to her mother. He would do this for as long as Haleigh needed him to do this. He would follow her lead, but hearing the girls speak to him with such candor, it reminded him that lip service to his wife would not help her. They had to find and come up with a concrete plan out of Hellfire.

Sophie: "We're getting close, Cam. In fact...I feel like now that you're here, it's a good a time as any to maybe visit the job site. Maybe seeing what you helped create might make you feel better. What do you say?"

He smirked at Sophie as he reached out and squeezed her shoulder with his hands. Though he believed in both of her sisters, Sophie was special to him. She was so strong. So precise in how she wielded her power. So articulate. She was everything he wished he could have been at her age, and right now she was right.

"I'd say that's a good idea. Let's go..."

The girls nodded as they gathered around his desk. Cameron extended his hands, Sophie on his left, grabbing one hand and Sydney on the right grabbing his other hand. Linked together, Cameron closed his eyes, and the girls followed. When Cameron opened his eyes, he was no longer on Blackwell's Island, but on the Astral Plane, at the center of his next business venture, hovering in the space between realities, as he waited for the girls to give him a tour.

 

[MorningStar]

Gavin's Apartment - EOS Nomad

Delilah snuggled deeper into the nest of bed covers as she started to wake. Her arm was draped across Gavin's sleeping body, hers pressed against his side. Her mind started to clear from the mist of sleep and she picked up her head so she could look at him. He looked like a little boy when he slept, and there was something about it that was so endearing to her. She smiled, pressing her lips against his chest before pulling herself on top of him, nestling her face in the crook of his neck.

The night before he had freaked because of something Cameron had said. They had fought in the car home. They had made up. They had gotten to the apartment, and forgot all about watching Netflix and instead made love before falling asleep. She hadn't gone home after, and now it was morning, and Delilah hadn't been this happy in a long time.

She could tell he was waking up, so she started to kiss his neck. There were things she wanted to talk to him about this morning. But not just yet.

 

[Trifecta]

The Astral Plane

For a few months, the sisters were wary of Cameron and with good reason. Siobhan and Stephanie had died because of him and a woman they'd never met. He had seemed regretful. He had promised him the world. But they had grown up only able to trust each other. Everybody else in their life had simply attempted to use them for their own purposes. Had they not escaped from the facility, they would have been assets of a government. Weapons, pointed towards marks and objectives. Cameron said all the right things, but it felt like he was promising them something he just couldn't deliver. He wanted to protect The Astral Plane, establish a sense of order in a place with no laws, no rules - a realm that belonged to no one, and yet everyone all at the same time. And then they saw what he had done.

They knew Cameron was powerful. But when he brought them to The Astral Plane and showed them what he had created, to say they were in awe of him was a gross miscalculation of the reality of their feelings. He had created something physical in The Astral Plane. An actual location. Many telepaths and psi sensitives could create things here, but they were temporary. Like phantoms. Holograms even. But he had used his power to physically anchor something in a place that had no locations. Created something from absolutely nothing, using his own finely developed immense power. And now they were standing at the center of it.

The Astral Embassy - a place in The Astral Plane that offered refuge, protection and training for wayward travelers and those in need of assistance. Cameron had always been forthright with them about his past, of how when he was a little boy, a baby - he used to travel to the darkest reaches of The Astral Plane and into The Further - a dark place with malevolent spirits and entities. He wanted to make sure that kids like him had help. People and those not of human flesh watching over them, helping to make sure they didn't go to far, that they learned how to train and develop themselves safely.

They had manifested in the center at the tallest peak of the structure, under the dome that frosted and skewed the swirling astral energies of the place, cascading a beautiful light all through the now empty space, just waiting to be filled. As soon as they had touched down, Sophie's sisters held back, allowing Sophie to speak for them.

"It's breathtaking, truly...Cameron. A testament to your power. Just waiting to be filled..."

Sophie began to pace around as she spoke, her heels clicking against what could be described as marble floor, but in the astral plane, descriptors were never quite accurate.

"An embassy, a place of refuge. A place where your council can gather, to help watch. To help develop those like us. This place is going to help a lot of people, and a lot of other types of entity that might need our help...All that's left..is to fill it. Is to make the calls and to get people here..."

She bridged the gap between them, now standing opposite him. For months Cameron had been looking for the right mix of people to act as his partners in this. He hadn't been foolish enough to believe that he could rule The Astral Plane. He needed people who wanted to help, who believed in his cause. People from all walks from telepathic to magickal. And everything in between. The girls had been watching over Elena Estrada since she left back for Mexico. They would give her a few days before reaching out on his behalf, and Sydney had already set up a meeting with Rae. But he would need more. He would need as many as he could get.

"But 'construction' on this space only finishes when you say so, Cameron. When you decide what arms this operation needs. So what do you see Cameron. What do we need? How do we finish this place up?"

 

[Persephone]

For whatever reason Brenthon had taken strongly to Simon, defending his honor and saying he had fought side by side with him and that there were worst men to be distracted by. Persephone raised a brow at his apparent new found friendship.

"I never claimed he wasn't a decent man, Brenthon. But we found each other when I was in a very dark and very vulnerable place in my life. While he was a distraction for me, I could tell for him our relationship was much more than that. It was a complicated situation that ended, but I wish him well."

There was nothing more to say on the matter, and Brenthon left it at that. As Persephone looked out at the water, she offered him to stay at Hellfire for as long as he wanted. He then took out a phone that Haleigh had given him, asking for help to curb his already growing addiction to it. Persephone laughed, and she didn't realize how badly she needed such a carefree moment like that. She smiled giving him back the phone, programming her number into it.

Brenthon: "I've no idea how to do so, but when I do..I promise you shall be the first....[awkwardly] phone call that I make."

Chuckling again, she nodded.

"Sounds good."

Persephone didn't realize until that moment how badly she had missed Brenthon. It had been over twenty years since she had last seen him, and while she thought about her Masters of Evil family often, the pain and grief of losing her loved ones slowly started to become less painful as the years went on - acceptance filling in for grief. As Brenthon put his head on Persephone's shoulder, her brows creased. She couldn't imagine that happening with Alek. She couldn't imagine a day where her heart didn't ache for him, where her body didn't crave him, where her mind wasn't riddled with guilt because of him. It felt like her soul had been ripped out of her that not even twenty years seemed like enough time to heal from it. Her mind was lost in thought until Brenthon pulled her back to the present with a kiss to the cheek, his lips lingering by her skin for a few moments longer than she would have liked, but he pulled back. She knew it was an innocent moment, so she didn't press it.

Brenthon: "It feels like fate that you wound up here...do you know that this is the timeline I came from? Just...give or take three hundred years earlier. Darkchilde searched both the future and the past for members of the coven. I was simply returned here..awoke in a grave of one of my ancestors..not such a favorable experience...[mockingly in an American accent] full cap."

Persephone slightly cringed as he said that, shaking her head.

"Don't ever say that again."

Her tone light hearted as she nudged her shoulder against his.

Brenthon: "The woman who brought me back is also here...but different. She is a young girl here. But in Limbo, she was it's Queen. One of many I saw in my time there. I called her Nightshade, but here - she is called...Alexia."

Ava quickly looked at Brenthon, more serious now.

"What?"

Brenthon: "She is of Romani blood, by way of her father. You associate with the spellbinder...do you know her? I desperately wish to see her..to thank her for what she has done for me."

Alexia? As in Delilah's Alexia? Was Queen of Limbo? How was that even possible? But everything he was saying was true...which meant he actually did know Delilah's daughter. Persephone took a moment to process what he said, shaking her head.

"We all wish to see her."

She finally said, knowing that was vague as hell and she needed to explain the situation a little better. Plus, if he interacted with Alexia, it could potentially mean he could help bring her home to Delilah.

"Alexia is my good friend Delilah's daughter. Years ago we found out that Alexia was essentially deadly when near Delilah, so Spellbinder and Harbinger took it upon themselves to take Alexia to Limbo to protect Delilah. She was never given a choice on the matter...and to this day, Delilah has still never met her daughter."

It was a cliff notes version, but enough to get the point across as to why Alexia was so important to them all.

"Now that the old Hellfire regime isn't a threat anymore, there's no reason not to bring Alexia back....we just need to figure out how and if she would still pose a threat to Delilah. [looking at Brenthon] What are her powers like?"

If Brenthon could give more insight on Alexia's ability, maybe they could figure out how to bring her home sooner.

 

[Brenthon]

Hellfire - Blackwell's Island

After a certain amount of time in Limbo, Brenthon had developed an understanding of the way it operated. How time seemed to both matter and not matter at all. He endlessly threw himself through discs, hoping the outcome was greater than his last freefall. Sometimes it was, and sometimes it wasn't. The cast of characters was small. Fresh blood was not something easily came by in Limbo. But over the years, over the decades, he met them all. He had experienced a Limbo ran by the woman known as Alexis Quartermaine on Earth. He had experienced a time when Ororo had given up her soul to protect Morgan, becoming the very thing she always feared. He had watched the little girl Alexia figure things out on her own. He had seen Illyana hold back hordes of techno organic foes for eons. When he came back to Earth, he had wondered..what exactly where the circumstances here? Who was primed to take over that place? Who was in charge currently? But he was also divorced from it. If he was being honest, despite living for what felt like centuries at the mercy of Limbo, when he first breathed a gasp of life into the mortal world for the first time in hundreds of years, he wanted to forget Limbo.

Persephone: "Now that the old Hellfire regime isn't a threat anymore, there's no reason not to bring Alexia back...we just need to figure out how and if she would still pose a threat to Delilah...What are her powers like..."

"She extinguishes light. Which in Limbo, a place of darkness, is quite the feat. I have known her in many different ways, Persephone, so I am afraid that how I know her, is not who she is here. What I do know..is that most of the times she has popped up in my journey, it has been because she lost everyone who could have saved her from the place."

His gaze went back to the water, as his eyes glossed over, thinking of his time in Limbo. Alexia was one of Limbo's more tragic characters. When he jumped through a disc and found himself in a place and time that she ruled, it was always decidedly dark. She was Limbo's unlikely hero. A Queen who rose in defiance of what Limbo was, and try as she may, to learn magick, to defend herself, to create her own weapons of power, she was always alone. There was no Ororo. No Alexis. No him to show her the way. She always took the mantle in spite of the place. He ran his fingers through his hair as he waded his feet back and forth, trying to make what he was about to say less tragic than it actually was.

"Nightshade never wanted Limbo, but everytime she claimed it...it was because those who loved her, were utterly destroyed. She had no other family. No choice but to claim the only place she ever knew. She was always fearful of me. The interloper. It took me so long to know she was of my blood. That her gift? To engulf herself in darkness? Was that she was a natural successor to me. That she could be the one to walk The Shadowed Path as I did. If she wanted."

The moments they shared before he returned to Earth were sacred to him. So many times, Alexia would not see him, would not deign to know him, always tried to take him out before he could reach her. But he had gotten lucky one time. And that one time had sent him home. Her power was incredible, and was always hopeful for the chance that one day he might jump through a stepping disc and find himself as her mentor, but it never happened. He had been able to save a version of Morgan. A version of Illyana..but he had never been given the chance to save Alexia, and for a time, it had driven him mad.

"What I do know is this...Limbo has always been ruled by a woman who shouldn't have HAD to rule it. It has always been a prison. It is the haven of a madman who has always lured young and innocent girls to their deaths or corruption. The man that Morgan defeated...that Darkchilde defeated...he still permeates every single corner of that place."

He placed his hand over Ava's again as he spoke, this time with more sincerity than before. His tone taking a far more serious turn.

"Alexia is gypsy. Romani. She is of my people. And she will never be safe unless she comes home. Until she comes back here. And I will do whatever is required to make that happen. I can teach her how to embrace the shadow without extinguishing the light that creates it."

God he had missed her so much. It had been twenty years in mortal time that he had seen her, talked to her. But to him, it had been over a thousand years. Something he had accepted when he had been lost for so long, was that he would never have closure. That he would never be able to look at the people he once called family and tell them that he loved them. That he would never ever have a conversation with somebody again that actually knew the totality of who he was. Yet here he was. On a dock..in New York City. In the modern times. Talking to a greek goddess who was also a human woman. He had learned a lot over the years, and he decided in that moment that he couldn't not tell Persephone how he felt about things. But he started slowly.

"You know...I say now...with a lifetime of experience...I respect your journey more than I ever gave you credit for. I know your history with Hades. I know the stories and the legends never get it exactly right. Even listening to Hecate, one would think you were but a footnote in your own history.."

Brenthon and Persephone had a bit of a checkered past. He, along with Alessandra had been wildly impestuous in their youth. All three of them wanted to prove themselves, which resulted in a number of awkward and juvenile experiences and situations. And it didn't help that they were often placed in each other's way. Brenthon had gone to great lengths to prove to Persephone that he was just as important as she was, including a brief romance with Aphrodite herself, to prove to the goddess that he was virile and strong. It had been so foolish.

"We were often pit against each other. Your emotion. Your pain over what that man..what Hades.. did to you, was so carelessly overlooked as weakness on your part. But it was never that. Looking back..it was so much strength. More strength than I had. It was only when I realized how dire my circumstances were that I was able to see you for who you truly were."

He had been in his own underworld for quite some time. And over time, certain qualities that Persephone had suddenly made more sense to him. How she was able to survive. How she was able to endure. And she needed to know that.

"Both of us were on quests for power. There was a cost to it. I know that Hades was your fool, but I also know that you did...love him. At least for a time. In a way that not many people understand. But I do. Because I loved her...loved the Darkchilde...in a different but familiar way. She had saved me, plucked me from the mortal coil and gave me power and position. If I wanted to be the man of legend I knew I was, I had to go through her. I see you now...Goddess of the Dead. Queen of The Underworld..and it makes me...a bit jealous. Because your path seems like it was worth it. Mine wasn't..."

Brenthon was embarrassed at times over his association with The Masters of Evil. He had been all in. He had been their most precise operative. Nothing was more important than the cause. It didn't matter who he burned or who he killed as long as he furthered Darkchilde's agenda. As long as he was still bathed in her light. But that wasn't returned to him, despite his greatest effort. And to know that Darkchilde had seen to it that Persephone would end up here, it made him question everything he had ever done, and he didn't like the questions that arose from his own investigation.

"i fell into Limbo...as Darkchilde's most decorated disciple. And what did I get from it? Nothing. There was no rescue. There were no eyes on my body as I fought tooth and nail everyday to live. To persist. As much as I loved them, it was not The Masters of Evil, not even Darkchilde herself who saved me. It was Nightshade. It was Alexia. A stranger who's only commonality we shared was our gypsy blood and the fact that we had been exiled there. Darkchilde was my Hades, Persephone. She may not have done what he did to you, to me...but she left me there. Until I could be of use to her. My love for her has prevented me from being as angry as I should for that, but it is there...bubbling underneath the surface..."

Brenthon shook his head.

"I guess that none of this matters anymore. And...feeling your pain now...maybe it wasn't worth it...all that aside...for whatever reason...call it a gypsy's intuition...you need people who understand you right now...who get you...Rest assured, I do...more than you will know..."

 

[Black Widow]

Blackwell’s Island — Hellfire, the White Queen’s Office

As much as she enjoyed laying next to her husband at night, Haleigh rarely stayed in bed past 04:30. She found getting up and into the office during these hours were the best opportunity to work uninterrupted. While everyone else slept, she was the most productive. This morning she was pouring over notes made by Adriana, her Bishop. Adriana had proven herself quite adept in the position, and over the past several months while Haleigh and Cameron had been cutting the most unsavory of Hellfire connections out of existence, Adriana had been gathering blackmail and extortion material on the ones who were more useful than deplorable. At daybreak, her Knight appeared in the doorway, looking pensive.

”Good Morning Arthur, how are you?”

AJ: “A bit concerned, to be truthful.”

She beckoned him inside with a hand. Most people would come in and automatically sit in one of the chairs opposite her on the other side of the desk, but not AJ. He approached without hesitation to her side of the desk, sitting back against the edge, not a foot away from where she sat.

“What’s up?”

She asked, looking back at him comfortably as she leaned back in her chair a bit. He laid a packet of paper on the desk in front of her. She leaned forward again and picked through it, aware that he was watching her do so. There were pictures, and apparently all the legal and social documentation available on a very beautiful woman that Haleigh had never seen before. Even more curious was the Clandestine logo at the top right corner of the pages.

”How did you manage to get a hold of a CI dossier?”

She asked casually, not recalling ever having given him clearance of any kind.

AJ: “The day King died, — or rather, the day he didn’t — after you left, I spent a great deal of time waiting for you to return. Griffin and I spoke at length. We have since developed a friendship.”

She nodded at his explanation, unexpected though it was. She almost told him it was good that he seemed to have made a modern friend other than her, but she didn’t know if that would come across the way she meant it.

”Very well then, why are you a bit concerned about—”

She flipped to the right page, though she was ninety percent sure she remembered the name she’d read a few moments before.

”Elena Estrada?”

 

[Persephone]

Brenthon: "She extinguishes light. Which in Limbo, a place of darkness, is quite the feat. I have known her in many different ways, Persephone, so I am afraid that how I know her, is not who she is here. What I do know..is that most of the times she has popped up in my journey, it has been because she lost everyone who could have saved her from the place."

Persephone nodded slowly, at least Brenthon confirmed that Alexia's powers were still the same. But it also confirmed exactly why she was in Limbo. But the threat to Delilah was when Alexia was a baby and didn't know how to control her powers, so if she is as powerful as Brenthon says, there was a better chance she knew how to control her abilities and she could be around her mother, right? Sighing out, the situation was still so complicated. Part of Persephone wished she could just stick a power suppression collar on Alexia until she was old enough to not be a threat, but the other part would never subject someone to complete loss of power control like that. She experienced it first hand multiple times, and it was a terrifying feeling. But there had to be a way to bring her home.

Brenthon: "Nightshade never wanted Limbo, but everytime she claimed it...it was because those who loved her, were utterly destroyed. She had no other family. No choice but to claim the only place she ever knew. She was always fearful of me. The interloper. It took me so long to know she was of my blood. That her gift? To engulf herself in darkness? Was that she was a natural successor to me. That she could be the one to walk The Shadowed Path as I did. If she wanted."

"You've been to many timelines, and while I don't doubt that in other threads she had no family or anyone left who love her, she does here. She won't turn into that person you've met, not if we [The Six] have anything to do about it. We're all still here, we're all still alive, and we're all still fighting for a way to bring her home."

They hadn't given up on Alexia, or abandoned her. Every day they fought to make it safer for her to come home, the old Queens of Hellfire being dethroned was one giant way in doing that.

Brenthon: "What I do know is this...Limbo has always been ruled by a woman who shouldn't have HAD to rule it. It has always been a prison. It is the haven of a madman who has always lured young and innocent girls to their deaths or corruption. The man that Morgan defeated...that Darkchilde defeated...he still permeates every single corner of that place. Alexia is gypsy. Romani. She is of my people. And she will never be safe unless she comes home. Until she comes back here. And I will do whatever is required to make that happen. I can teach her how to embrace the shadow without extinguishing the light that creates it."

It had always been a small comfort for Persephone to know that Alexia was kept safe by Ororo. She had know the weather witch well over many timelines throughout many millennia, and Ororo would die for that little girl before letting anything happen to her. But to hear Brenthon's words, to know how dangerous Limbo for her was, it made Persephone's stomach turn. She had rested on her comfort knowing Ororo was with her, but it seemed that didn't matter in the end. They needed to find a way to bring her home, now. Brenthon's hand went to hers again, Persephone's eyes filled with worry as he told her he could help her with her abilities and embrace them in a way that wouldn't be dangerous to herself or Delilah.

"This could be why your path brought you here...to help Alexia survive in this timeline the way she didn't in others."

She needed to talk to Haleigh...to Cameron. She didn't want to keep Delilah in the dark like Morgan and Alison had, but she didn't want to get Delilah's hopes up either. Delilah had finally started to find happiness in her life, and she deserved that more than anyone. And while she and Delilah had never been as close as Haleigh and Cameron were in the past, Persephone loved her so much and wanted her path to be one filled with only joy, not heartache. Persephone was lost in thought, thinking about how she would approach Haleigh and Cameron with this information considering they knew nothing of Brenthon or had any reason to trust him.

Brenthon: "You know...I say now...with a lifetime of experience...I respect your journey more than I ever gave you credit for. I know your history with Hades."

That made Persephone finally look at Brenthon, her eyes hard. Her tone a warning. She was not about to get into this with him now.

"Brenthon."

Brenthon: "I know the stories and the legends never get it exactly right. Even listening to Hecate, one would think you were but a footnote in your own history...We were often pit against each other. Your emotion. Your pain over what that man..what Hades.. did to you, was so carelessly overlooked as weakness on your part.."

"Stop."

Persephone retracted her hand from his, sitting more upright and ridged as she looked out to the ocean trying to temper her breathing. She wanted to tell him to fuck off and that he had no idea what he was talking about, or to simply disappear and avoid the conversation all together. But she couldn't do either. He was a link to possibly bringing Alexia home and Persephone couldn't offend him or screw it up because of her own personal feelings about what he was prying into.

Brenthon: "But it was never that. Looking back..it was so much strength. More strength than I had. It was only when I realized how dire my circumstances were that I was able to see you for who you truly were. Both of us were on quests for power. There was a cost to it. I know that Hades was your fool, but I also know that you did...love him. At least for a time."

Persephone gripped the edge of the dock feeling the wood bend at her strength, her eyes staying focused on the ocean. She knew he was trying to help. But he wasn't. He was igniting her fight or flight and she could do neither in these circumstances, feeling uncomfortably stuck in the moment for the first time in a very long time.

Brenthon: "In a way that not many people understand. But I do. Because I loved her...loved the Darkchilde...in a different but familiar way. She had saved me, plucked me from the mortal coil and gave me power and position. If I wanted to be the man of legend I knew I was, I had to go through her. I see you now...Goddess of the Dead. Queen of The Underworld..and it makes me...a bit jealous. Because your path seems like it was worth it. Mine wasn't..."

She softly scoffed at that, not in disrespect to Brenthon's feelings or insight, but because she had questioned whether everything she had been through the last few years was worth it. She had a family, friends, a team. She had power and money. She had love at one point. She had everything people strived for in life, yet she still felt so empty. And then, the realization of everything that Brenthon was saying, hit her. What Cameron had said earlier. She couldn't embrace or enjoy these things anymore because she was drowning within herself. All of the heartache, trauma, pain, guilt, anger, fear, it was suffocating her from the inside. And every time someone in her life tried to throw a life preserver her way, she ignored it, feeling like if she accepted their help, she would drown them with her. Persephone's eyes became glassy as she stared absently forward, the wind blowing her hair back behind her shoulders.

Brenthon: "Darkchilde was my Hades, Persephone. She may not have done what he did to you, to me...but she left me there. Until I could be of use to her. My love for her has prevented me from being as angry as I should for that, but it is there...bubbling underneath the surface...I guess that none of this matters anymore. And...feeling your pain now...maybe it wasn't worth it...all that aside...for whatever reason...call it a gypsy's intuition...you need people who understand you right now...who get you...Rest assured, I do...more than you will know..."

Persephone was silent for a long while, internally regulating her emotions while outwardly looking eerily calm. Inhaling a deep breath, she bowed her head for a moment and shut her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

She finally said before looking over at him.

"What Darkchilde did to you...it was despicable. She mentored you...put you on a pedestal as one of her favorites, only to abandon you and leave you there to rot. As much a I want to pretend that I will never understand why she helped me escape Limbo, but left you there to suffer alone...I do understand. She loved you because you represented her. Her power, her title, her kingdom. But she never loved you..only the ownership she had over you. And once that ownership was gone - the Masters of Evil were gone - there was no reason for her to love you anymore...to help you."

Her words were harsh, unintentionally so, but they were the truth. What Brenthon said earlier about Darkchilde being his Hades was more accurate than he probably even realized.

"Hades-"

Persephone hesitated.

"You're right...I did love him once. When I was very young and very naive. When all I craved was titles and power, and he was the most powerful of the three brothers, so I craved him. I used his desire for me to my advantage, and he told me I could have everything I ever wanted as long as I was his. So I stupidly said yes, not realizing the ramifications of my choice. He became obsessed, cruel, evil beyond even what I thought possible for someone who claimed to 'love me'. But again, he never loved me, he loved his ownership of me."

Memories came flooding back from that night. His booming voice at the realization that she wasn't 'his' Persephone anymore and that a mortal had become apart of her. Wanting to purge Ava from her - rip her out. Suppressing her powers and beating her until she couldn't fight back anymore. Torturing her. Raping her. Day after day for weeks.

"I don't want people to understand what I've been through. No one should ever have to subject themselves to that. What I want is to move on from it all. To be happy again.. But....ironically enough, i've become so accustom to pain, it's almost hard to remember not feeling like this. So, maybe this is my new normal."

She joked darkly with a small laugh. Placing her hand on Brenthon's now, she gave him a serious look.

"But it doesn't have to be your normal. You came out of the darkness, to a new life, an old friend, and a new beginning. Darkchilde isn't a factor anymore, nor is Spellbinder. Your life doesn't revolve around them, Brenthon. Take your ownership back, you deserve it."

Persephone grabbed her shoes and withdrew her feet from the water.

"I should go. I have a meeting soon with my sister and [rolling her eyes] new brother-in-law."

Standing, Persephone opted to hold her shoes by the straps instead of putting them back on. As much as she wanted to continue to talk to Brenthon, she also felt the 'flight' bubbling up inside her. He would press further if she didn't leave, and she didn't want to continue down this path today. What she had opened up about was already more than enough, at least for right now.

 

[Savage]

Blackwell’s Island — Hellfire

After the dawn patrol of the island with his pack, AJ returned to human form and dressed quickly in faded jeans and a white Henley shirt before heading towards his Queen’s office. She was back in residence after months of being gone. He was happy about that, though hearing that she’d married the King was less joyful news. He hadn’t needed to pretend to be pleased, luckily. Adriana had told him, and been there to commiserate over drinks at the Blind Tiger. Then he’d had his moon-shift, days in the wild to get himself right again. He tried to compose himself now, before he saw her for the first time in months.

He was not looking forward to telling her the news. He felt ambivalent about it, that it might be a stroke of luck for him, though he knew it would be a bitter pill for her. Still, he wanted to get it over with. Better to tell her quickly, than to let the situation develop into something that could only hurt her more, and then have to tell her later that he’d known all along and done nothing. He darkened the doorway cautiously, but he didn’t get much time at all to appreciate the sight of her before she was bidding him good morning and asking him how he was. He could not say that he was jealous of her King and husband, because that would taint the situation needlessly. He told her he was concerned, instead, and that was true enough.

She motioned him to come in, and he gladly did. He came and sat on the edge of her desk right next to her chair, delivering the packet of information that Griffin had produced within minutes of his request. He watched her look it over, seeing no signs of recognition. She was more impressed that he’d gotten the dossier. He explained, perhaps somewhat pridefully, that he’d made a friend of Griffin after she’d left him the day King died came out of his coma. He hadn’t meant it to sound like he was trying to guilt her about leaving him there, and he wondered if that was how she took it, but before he could apologize she had already moved on, asking him why he was concerned about the woman in the dossier. He took a deep breath. He had rehearsed how to say this, but he still wasn’t sure there was a ‘good’ way.

”Yesterday upon The King’s return, his security detail was resumed as he left the island and went into the city. He met this woman, then took her to the Met for lunch. It seemed to be an emotional affair.”

He told her meaningfully. He had expected her to be upset. Half the reason he’d positioned himself next to her was because he thought she might want to be consoled. He was confused by the nonchalant way she sat back, just listening to him, looking at him like she expected him to say more. There was a long silence between them.

Haleigh: ”They had lunch. Emotionally. And then what happened?”

”She left, tearfully, when the Red Queen turned up. Griffin’s packet includes her geographical history, evidently she is a former lover of the King’s from his time on the West Coast.”

He said, and still she did not react except to blink at him. Was she refusing to accept what he was showing her?

”She has apparently gone back to Mexico for now. I sent someone there to discover the truth of the matter.”

 

[Brenthon]

Hellfire - Blackwell's Island

Persephone: "You've been to many timelines, and while I don't doubt that in other threads she had no family or anyone left who loved her, she does here. She won't turn into that person you've met, not if we have anything to do about it. We're all still here, we're all still alive, and we're all still fighting for a way to bring her home."

He did not want to dull the light she had when she spoke of Alexia, so he remained silent. But he knew how quickly things changed and how fickle fate was. He was sure the family who loved and cared for her had said the same thing, before they all died and had left her alone. Persephone was going through enough, he didn't wish to add another layer of complexity to her life. Instead, he simply accented the point that he might be able to help her, that he wanted to help her if given the chance.

Persephone: "This could be why your path brought you here...to help Alexia survive this timeline the way she didn't in others."

Brenthon was a man of faith, but hope was a more complex concept to him. For a long time, he had lost it, but he also knew that he would have never escaped without it. And the prospect of repaying the woman who had finally freed him seemed to refill his belief a bit.

"Perhaps."

He hadn't seen her in what felt like hundreds of years, and with the way that his life had gone, he didn't know if he would enter his chambers at Hellfire and be somewhere else. Fall somewhere else. Have anything he cared about simply stripped from him again, so he felt it important to say certain things to Persephone that he had never gotten the chance to, believing she was dead for so many years.

Persephone: "Stop."

Brenthon did not. Control over herself and her emotions was always something of great importance to her. And it had always been her greatest hurdle. After so much time apart, he would not let her foolish pride get in the way of what he needed to say to her. She would withdraw, she would deflect, but she would hear him.

Persephone: "I'm sorry. What Darkchilde did to you...it was despicable. She mentored you..put you on a pedestal as one of her favorites, only to abandon you and leave you there to rot. As much as I want to pretend that I will never understand why she helped me escape Limbo, but left you there to suffer alone...I do understand.."

It was like a knife to his heart, and for a moment he found himself looking around for any signs of Darkchilde. As if she were going to arrive to deliver punishment for the blasphemous way he was now beginning to feel about her. And now it seemed as if Persephone, a comrade, seemed to agree. It made him angry, but she continued.

Persephone: "She loved you because you represented her. Her power, her title, her kingdom. But she never loved you..."

"Stop."

She didn't.

Persephone: "Only the ownership she had over you. And once that ownership was gone - the Masters of Evil were gone - there was no reason for her to love you anymore...to help you."

"Your words give me so much anger I could kill you, Persephone. But my heart...it knows that you speak the truth. What a tragic case I am..."

She spoke of Hades. It was the first time he had ever pressed Persephone about this. It had always been off limits. He had been the source of so much of her strife during her tenure within The Masters of Evil. It was meaningful to him here. Her willing to talk of him, to speak of him, it meant that Persephone truly had grown here, and it gave him hope that he could too.

Persephone: "You're right...I did love him once. When I was very young and very naive. When all I craved was titles and power, and he was the most powerful of the three brothers, so I craved him..."

He understood that. He had never felt more seen than when he was bathed in Darkchilde's light.

Persephone: "I used his desire for me to my advantage, and he told me I could have everything I ever wanted as long as I was his. So I stupidly said yes, not realizing the ramifications of my choice. He became obsessed, cruel, evil beyond even what I thought possible for someone who claimed to love me. But again, he never loved me, he loved his ownership of me."

"He was a fool."

She was silent for a few moments and Brenthon felt a bit bad. He did not wish to exploit her pain for his own knowledge, but there had always been a bit of a disconnect between them, and it was something they never got the chance to talk about. He could not help himself but want to know, because Persephone didn't share her life the way others did.

Persephone: "I don't want people to understand what I've been through. No one should ever have to subject themselves to that. What I want is to move on from it all. To be happy again...But...ironically enough, I've become so accustomed to pain, it's almost hard to remember not feeling like this. So, maybe this is my new normal."

This he resonated with. The last better half of his life had been spent in survival mode. The things he had to do in order to survive, in order to reach the next disc, it was a millenia's worth of trauma and pain, and it felt like to share that to others..was not pointless, but also not helpful. Nobody could fix him. Nobody could help him feel better about what he went through. It was something only he could understand, and in that moment, he became clear as to Persephone's reasons for her discretion over the years.

Persephone: "But it doesn't have to be your normal. You came out of the darkness, to a new life, an old friend, and a new beginning. Darkchilde isn't a factor anymore, nor is Spellbinder. Your life doesn't revolve around them, Brenthon. Take your ownership back, you deserve it."

He smiled softly at her.

"You are smarter than I remember you being. Or do I have [sarcastically] Ava to thank for that?"

She rose to her feet, grabbing her shoes.

Persephone: "I should go. I have a meeting soon with my sister and [rolling her eyes] new brother-in-law."

Brenthon rose to his feet as well. He could tell she wanted to get out of this place. It did not stop him from embracing her in a tight hug, trying as he may to calm her 'flight' instinct.

"I would love to see the man your sister calls her husband, but I can sense I prodded enough for one day. Thank you for your words, Persephone. But know this...no matter where I am, I am never out of darkness...and neither are you. But you are right...we cannot let that darkness define us. You have helped me today. But do not let a relic from the past interfere with your present..."

He squeezed her with all of his strength.

"I love you, Persephone...and I am so glad to see you again.."

 

[Tycoon]

Manhattan — EOS Nomad

Gavin awoke to the feeling of her snuggling on top of him. He smiled at the lovely scent of her shampoo, his arms encircling her under the covers. He was quite glad their little quarrel last night had been smoothed over already. For a first disagreement, he was grateful it had been mild, and in particular, his own fault. It was easier to overcome, if he could just never do that again. Looking back on it he kind of felt silly for getting so worked up about an offhand comment. And after the way they’d made up last night, he felt reassured that she was indeed enjoying him. He kissed the nearest part of her, her shoulder.

“A lad could get used to waking up with a radiant lady every morning.”

He remarked warmly, rubbing her back with his hands. He was less afraid of scaring her off than he was of her kissing him being the nice way to prepare to say she should probably leave. His body insisted on asserting itself as usual in the morning.

”Ah, pardon me. I find if I just ignore it, it goes away after a few minutes.”

He told her in a humorous tone. He didn’t want her thinking he expected her to do something with him immediately upon waking. He was, however, having a hard time thinking about anything other than the way she was pressed against him. If he looked under the covers he was likely to lose all self control. He cleared his throat gently.

”Would you like me to brew some tea? Or, I could make you a nice English breakfast, if you’ve time?”

 

[MorningStar]

EOS Nomad

Gavin was waking up now, and Delilah felt his arms come around her and his lips press against her shoulder. She smiled against his neck.

Gavin: “A lad could get used to waking up with a radiant lady every morning.”

She smirked, even though he couldn’t see it.

“Well, it’s certainly cheaper than buying one of those sunrise alarm clocks.”

Then she thought that perhaps she should check in that she hadn’t overstepped.

“Is it okay that I stayed?”

He was rubbing her back, and it was making her want to go back to sleep. Until something else woke up.

Gavin: ”Ah, pardon me. I find if I just ignore it, it goes away after a few minutes.”

She stopped kissing his neck and picked her head up so she could look into his face.

“Do you ignore it a lot? What a shame.”

Gavin: ”Would you like me to brew some tea? Or, I could make you a nice English breakfast, if you’ve time?”

She pressed her lips against his, and smiled.

“After last night, I think *I* should cook *you* breakfast.”

Delilah slid her hands up to his shoulders, and gave him a playful look.

“But first, I just want to make sure you don’t have any other questions you want answered.”