[hr][center][hider=Chase & Status - End Credits][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AICYx-6YX40[/youtube][/hider][/center][hr] After that revelation, the "Support Group" finds themselves at John Reid's farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Strangely enough, the place was intact. It was chosen by Kimberly by the virtue of being the only place that isn't swarming with the National Guard. They were all assembled on the porch of his farmhouse in their special spots, talking. "Oh shit!" Justin said as he walked out of the farmhouse with two bottles of liquor. "His booze survived the earthquake!" "Give me a shot," Zoey said with a sigh as she sat on the ground facing away from the group. "I'll need it" "I'll take one too please," Tuyen said, running a hand through her hair. She wasn't much of a drinker but it was honestly needed after all that. "Yeah, sure," Justin said, as he shook his head, "Mind having a word later, Tuyen?" "I think I'll pass," Kimberly said softly. "Besides... shouldn't we be like..." "Like what?" Justin said, "We saved the world! We should be celebrating!" "... Talking about what happened, honestly." Kimberly brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around it. "Like you did, we did just save the world, but now what...?" Justin was silent. "Farmer Hill is destroyed, and now magic is back in the world. What do we do from here?" Kimberly asked. "Go back and try to pretend things are normal?" "What else can we do?" Caelea commented from where she was perched on a chair. "Unless you want to, I dunno, start a support group for all those new people suddenly awakening. I think we deserve a break after that shit." "Yeah, I think we had our fill on support groups," Hagan said, sitting on the steps. "Hate to say it, but I think it's time all of us head our separate ways." "But, I'm worried about the people who lived here," Justin said. "Where are all ya'll going?" "No idea," Tuyen said with a despondent sigh. This was the only place she'd ever known but she wasn't keen on moving somewhere else with her Aunt and Uncle. "I don't have a place to live or a future since I don't think we can just go back to college..." "To hell with college," Caelea shrugged. "And plans. I'm fairly certain I don't have a home anymore but, you know, we just gotta make the most of it. Anywhere's better than here, right?" She tilted her head. "Can't believe I'm giving fucking pep talks now." "My family's moving out east to New York I think," Kimberly said. "I'm going to Florida," Hagan said. "Going where the wind takes me." "I might head back to Texas, actually," said Rita. She did still have a home, technically, and now she had a way to get the answers she always wanted. "See if I can't convince my Dad or Mom to throw me a bone." "What if we keep watching?" said Penny, finally raising her voice. "I mean, if you want to come along I can't—" Rita was cutoff. "No, sorry, I meant for what Kim said. It'd be fucking irresponsible just to turn a blind eye on all of this and try and go on with our lives, but the Recollections have shown us the dangers of taking preemptive actions. So what if we just watch the world around us for anything weird for now and then decide with everyone else on how we're going to handle it?" said Penny as she looked around at the group. "Magical whistleblowers, non-psycokiller guardians, I don't care what we call it, but we can't do nothing." "I meeeeeeeean..." Kimberly dragged out the e in mean very awkwardly as she looked around. "I had a different idea, but this works too." "I don't I'd be much help," Hagan said as he put a hand on his leg and turned to Penny, giving her the side-eye, "But I'm good on keeping my eye open at the very least." "Yeah, yeah, then the avengers will assemble," Zoey said as she created a massive snowflake made out of ice and launched it at the ground like a shuriken where it got embedded. "But, I gotta feeling that shit's gonna hit the fan real soon." "No doubt in my mind about that," Justin said with a chuckle. "Britney did say that there are other threats like the Glutton out there, right? And I have a feeling that not all the Awakened are going to be as altruistic as us." "... And what about the League?" Kimberly also said. "Don't forget about them." "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Justin said, then he looked at the rest of the group. "As for everyone else; I suggest keeping all of this on the low-low. Not just because anyone we tell will think we're [i]crazy[/i] and all; people shouldn't know what we're capable of." "But also, people will really think we're crazy," added Rita. "Yeah, that's important too," Kimberly said. "But you guys know what this means right?" Zoey asked. "Huh?" Justin asked. "... Snaaaaapchat group!" The group groaned. Kimberly rolled her eyes as she clutched her camera in her hands. "I have a better idea; one last group photograph before we... y' know, go our separate ways." "Last?" Justin said, "Never say never, Kimberly... because I have a feeling we'll run into each other again." "We'll see each other again through my Snapchat group," Zoey said laughing. "If we keep talking about Snapchat I'm going to need another support group," said Penny with a chuckle. "Agreed, a Snapchat group is the worst idea I've ever heard," Caelea rolled her eyes even as she grinned. "Does anyone even use Snapchat now?" Zoey raised her hand. Kimberly rolled her eyes as she pulled out her vintage-styled camera as she took a few steps off to the front of the group and aimed it at them. "Yo, aren't [i]you[/i] going to get into the picture?" "Nah, it'll be better if I take the picture like this," Kimberly said as she brought the camera up to her eye. "Everyone, strike a pose!" Justin crossed his arms giving a confident smirk. Penny mocked his pose, crossing her arms while rolling her eyes with a good-spirited, shit-eating smirk. While Hagan sat where he was, giving an aside glance as he kept his fist to his jaw (his trademark pose it seemed), while Zoey threw up the peace sign. Caelea forced a smile and a thumbs-up, incredibly awkward in photos. Tuyen hesitated a moment before throwing an arm around Rita and grinning, who in turn laughed and locked herself tighter around Tuyen. With one button press and a flash, a fresh photograph came out of the camera, and Kimberly gave it a look. She tilted her head as she put her camera away and... wondered if something was wrong here. "Hey, guys come here." They looked at the photograph and in the background showed Lynette with her hands together right next to Penny, Claire leaning up against Zoey, Jordan was sticking her tongue out and giving two middle fingers, and Sharon in the background facing away from the camera, looking sullen. "... What does this mean?" "We can photograph dead people now?" Caelea said. "I mean," Kimberly said as she quickly rotated her camera in her hands, looking at it from all angles. "That'd be cool." "Maybe it has some meaningful shit behind it. Like photos are moments locked in time or something so maybe this means they will always be with us or something!" Zoey added some rather insightful commentary. Everyone stared at her, in shock. "You know what, I kind of like that," said Penny. "Or we're haunted," added Rita. "No, we're going with the former," said Penny quietly, looking from the photo to the spot where Sharon had been standing. "Definitely haunted," Kimberly said with a smile. "I... I think this is where we part ways," Justin said as he began to walk away, "Goodbye ya'll." "Yeah, see ya'll around," Kimberly said as she walked away. "I'll stay here a bit," Zoey said, "Catch up with my boy Hagan." [hr] After their group went their separate ways, Justin walked his way over to his old grandmother's house. Making sure to keep out of sight of the national guard. The house was in pretty good shape and he considered getting some of his stuff out of it. However, he needed to make this quick - Justin ran up and kicked the door open... and saw that the place was pretty thoroughly looted. Which means they have his PlayStation. Damn it. So, Justin had no distractions. He went inside and found the tile that his grandmother was talking about. It stuck out like Lihua wanted him to find it and now he had to channel the emotions that Lihua held to use her abstraction. He closed and focused... Lihua's abstraction was fueled by her... "... Vanity." Justin said to himself as the sigil of stone activated on his hand. Out of the ground came two hands (which were strangely replicas of Lihua's hands) made out of stone which bent into their fingers dug into the ground and parted the ground. Inside the ground was a perfectly carved box made out of wood... which he opened up to reveal a strange glowing white crystal. There was something [i] off [/i] about its glow and Justin didn't know what it was. However, Justin closed the box as he turned on the oven to let the gas out... before he stepped outside and summoned the soul self to ignite the house in flames. It was not going to go without notice, he turned around and the first thing he saw as the Hound sitting on the ground. Justin was surprised, but he knew what was coming. He averted eye contact as he looked at the Hound, "So, are you here for what I think you are here for?" "Yes..." The Hound said as he walked to Justin's side. "I hope you're ready to pay the ultimate price for my help." Justin balled his fists... he wasn't going to allow this thing to boss him around. He was going to be his own person... it was what his grandmother would have wanted. Justin grinned at the hound as heat radiated off of him. [hr][center][hider=Gunship - Thrasher][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXbxh9WSWpg[/youtube][/hider][/center][hr] "Sorry Houndie," Justin said, "But there's been a change of plans." The Soul-Self erupted from behind Justin in its phoenix as he put his hands in his pockets and laughed as he ran a hand through his hair. "You know you can't win..." The Hound, strangely enough, grinned himself, "So, why fight it?" "Because," Justin said, "Jordan may have willingly gave up her own life, but I wouldn't be able to face my grandmother on the other side if I didn't go without a fight!" Fire surrounded him. "Well then," The Hound laughed, "If you're going to fight me, make sure to entertain me at the very least." Justin screamed as the Soul-Self flew from behind his back and jetted right towards the Hound who disappeared in his black fog. He knew how the Hound fought... or what the thing was capable of. He heard its paws slamming against the ground as he whipped around to see the Hound lunging directly at him - but the Soul-Self appeared in front of him and clashed with the Hound's paws. Forcing Justin to skid back as the Soul-Self blast fire into the Hound's face, Justin grinned as he pushed back at the Hound, sending the minivan sized beast flying. However, the Hound flipped backward and landed on his feet, and the Hound laughed maliciously as he walked a circle around Justin. "Not bad, Justin Liao," The Hound said. "However, you need to do better than that if you're going to stop me." "Hmmm..." Justin said, "You're right." A hand made out of stone appeared from underneath the Hound's jaw and grabbed the Hound by the lower jaw and grabbed on tight. It dragged the Hound's jaw directly into the ground and slammed it into the ground so hard that it [i]cracked[/i]. While the Hound was stunned Justin ran after the Hound as his arms were transformed into stone and leaped into the air, with his fist cocked backward to bring it down on the Hound. However, the Hound seemingly [i]exploded[/i] into a thick cloud of black fog. "Shit!" Justin said as he looked around and could see nothing but darkness. Like hell he was going to stay in here - he immediately took off running as the symbol on his back began glowing. A skeletal blade cut through the fog and went directly for him as the Soul-Self reappeared as a tiger and slapped the bone spear in half in an explosion of flames. The Tiger ran around him and stood mighty as it opened it's jaw and fired a spinning inferno out of its maw. The thing burned the darkness away as Justin could see the Hound sitting on top of one of the houses. Without a second word, the Soul-Self flew towards the Hound, spraying fire as it ran and fired a massive blast of pure flames at the Hound. The beast of darkness lept off the house as it was set ablaze and it fired another one where the Hound landed as Justin tried to close the distance. However, the second time the Hound landed the fog of darkness appeared as a barrier and blocked the explosive blast. It wasn't just a barrier, however... a mass of bones appeared to jut out of the darkness and launched themselves at Justin at breakneck speeds. He immediately took off running and hit behind one of the houses. Okay, this wasn't good. He could feel the bones smashing against the wall and breaking the windows. He glanced from behind cover and got an idea... the sigil of stone on his hand began glowing and a towering hand made out of stone appeared behind the Hound. He whipped around and opened it's maw as a blast of black fog came out and shattered the hand. Then it stopped glowing and the other sigil of the half-phoenix, half-tiger started glowing as he crazily ran out into the barrage... and then the soul self of a tiger appeared and slashed at every single bone that was coming his way. All he could see was flames and splinters - until he broke through the fog and ended up face to face with the Hound. As he got closer the Soul-Self grabbed onto Justin with its maw and tossed him up into the air as it disappeared as Justin tried to channel Lihua's vanity again. Focus... And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't turn his hands back into stone. The Hound grinned as it rammed him with his otherworldly body and sent him flying across the terrain. Justin felt every bit of the concrete as he tumbled across and the grass didn't feel any better. He climbed to his feet as the Hound opened its maw yet again and fired a massive blast of the black fog and Justin rolled as it tore through the environment and shattered a house on contact. "Definitely don't want to get hit by that," Justin thought to himself. So far... the Hound was kicking his ass. "How many [i]fuckin'[/i] powers do you have?" The Hound slowly walked towards him... "You should worry about your own power, Justin Liao," The Hound said, "The Soul-Self isn't your true abstraction... and you are unable to channel Lihua's vanity properly so you're unable to use it to its full extent." The Soul-Self disappeared as Justin's fists landed at his sides. "Truth be told," Justin said, "I don't think I'll [i]ever[/i] be able to see the way my grandmother did, but I'm going to [i]try[/i]." The distance was closed as Justin's arms up until the elbow was turned into stone and he punched the Hound in the jaw hard as he could, making the beast sway its head to the side. Before he grabbed the Hound by the neck and flipped him over to the other side to slam him onto the ground. He swung at the Hound with all of his might... Only for the thing to disappear and Justin fell over onto the ground. "... Ouch." "Justin Liao," The Hound said from behind him and Justin hopped to his feet - the stone faded. The Hound was sitting on his behind just staring at Justin. "I said to [i]at least[/i] entertain me." "Is this a fuckin' game to you!?" Justin shouted as the Soul-Self manifested in the shape of a tiger and fired a massive blast of fire at the Hound... only for it to teleport again. "I'm not playing this again!" "... It's as your grandmother said," The Hound said from his new position to the side of Justin, "You're so bullheaded you haven't realized your [i]own[/i] abstraction changed." "Huh?" Justin said as the Soul-Self charged up another attack. "... You can feel," The Hound said, "You have tunnel vision, you can only see what's in front of you... which in this instance is me." "Oh, I never noticed," Justin shouted as all the flames around him doubled in intensity and size... before burning themselves out. "[b][i]NOW GO TO HELL, WILL YA![/i][/b]" The Soul-Self unleashed a fireball the size of a small house and it flew towards the Hound... exploding on contact with him in a massive mushroom cloud of flames that could be felt from [i]miles[/i]. Justin had to shield his face as the only flames in the area was the mushroom cloud. When it faded away, there was no Hound. "Yeah, that'll show ya!" Justin shouted. "... You were close to impressing me," The Hound said from behind him and before Justin could turn around the Hound grabbed him by the back of his shirt with his jaws. He lifted him into the air and created a black vortex of a strange thick and black liquid at his feet... before slamming Justin into it. "But, I [i]will[/i] collect, Justin." "Shit, fuck!" Justin shouted as he tried to climb his way out of the darkness but every time he tried to climb out, he sunk back in. He was desperately trying to get out of this blackness or whatever the fuck it was. Every time he tried, he failed. He was struggling to break free... and the Hound was just sitting there watching. Is that bastard happy? Taking some kind of [i]pleasure[/i] out of this? Justin couldn't give up now! His grandmother, sister, aunt, cousins... they were counting on him! He couldn't fail them! He tried his best but he couldn't find his way out. So, the Soul-Self manifested as a Phoenix and he grabbed onto its legs and it tried to pull him out... and strangely enough, the Soul-Self of the tiger appeared and bit down on his shoulder and tried to pull him out. He felt a ray of hope, but he was still sinking into the ground. "What the hell is this!?" Justin shouted. "The vortex of black death, Justin Liao." The Hound answered, "Nobody can escape it, once caught in it..." Out of the liquid, dozens of skeletons came out and grabbed onto Justin, each of them pushing him down as the Soul Selves tried to free him. [center][i]No! This can't be it. Why... why did I ever make that deal? I can't let it end like this! The Hound... That bastard was going to pay! I just... didn't have the power. I'm going to stop him. And whatever else crops up! I just need to... [/i][/center] ... Justin stopped sinking and he ended up in the darkness... he looked around and that's all he could see. Except he looked down and could see himself just fine. This wasn't ordinary darkness... ... It was advanced darkness. However, he felt the glow of the fire in front of him and the Soul-Self appeared in the form of a tiger. Sitting down and staring at him. "Hey there litt-" The Soul-Self - Tiger - stood on its hind-legs as it let out a roar that fired a jet flame directly into the air. Justin had to shield his eyes from it because it was so bright it hurt! Once the Tiger stopped and stood on all fours it lunged at Justin. Knocking him flat on his ass as he had to grab onto its head and had to try his hardest to keep it from biting his face off. He managed to flip the thing over and send it flying across... nothing. Justin hopped on his feet as he faced the thing down... as it flew through the air it, naturally, landed on its feet. It charged him and Justin charged it back. The Tiger bit onto his leg as he brought down his fist on its neck and managed to kick it against its torso and sent it rolling. The Soul-Self lunged at him and Justin punched it across the face. And he felt pretty badass. How many people can say they punched a flaming tiger? However, he heard a screech behind him as he turned around to see the Soul-Self's form of the Phoenix flying right at him. "Oh, you gotta be..." The Phoenix grabbed onto Justin by the shoulders and took off with him, "[b][i]... KIDDING ME![/i][/b]" The Phoenix slammed him onto the ground a few times as he helplessly tried to punch at it. It flew high up into the air(?) and dropped him onto the ground. "Aaaaaaaaaaaah..." Justin screamed as he fell onto the ground. He hit the ground and he saw the Phoenix flying downwards at breakneck speeds with its claws out. Justin had to be quick - he rolled over as it exploded into a mass of flames and reformed. Justin grinned... ... Before the Tiger pounced on him. "Fuck you!" Justin shouted as he punched it square in the face and threw it off, "I thought you two were supposed to be helping me!?" He faced them as he shouted again, "Wh-why are you attacking me!?" The Tiger lunged at Justin from the front and the Phoenix came from the back. Justin tried to charge at the tiger but the Phoenix slashed at him from the back. He swung at the tiger but it dodged and slashed him in the chest. All the while the Phoenix was violently pecking at his back. He couldn't take this anymore as he fell to his knees and things started going black... [center][i] I guess I wasn't strong enough. It really sucks. Getting so far. Only to fail in the end. I need to... Do I need power? No. More power wouldn't solve this situation. I have to think of this from a different angle. How would grandmother conquer the Hound? She wouldn't use brute force. Wait... I can feel. I can feel. The Hound said I can feel. When I couldn't while I used... That means... [/i][/center] The Tiger and the Phoenix ceased their vicious barrage on Justin and he got up to his feet. The Phoenix was floating in the air as the Tiger was sitting on its behind. They were sitting side by side as Justin realized how stupid he was before. He was oblivious to their true nature before. He thought they were just soulless minions that took his emotions with him as they attacked. Justin walked over to the Tiger and placed his hand on the Tiger's head, the tiger affectionately shook his head. He realized they [i]were[/i] his emotions, and they were wild and out of control. A raging force of nature that few could control... much like Justin. However, there was one thing that could control Justin, his grandmother. He felt so bad he was powerless to stop her death, even though she seems to be at peace. He would rather have her here... The Phoenix was next to receive some of Justin's affection as he caressed its head and neck and it affectionately returned the favor. "Now I understand you," Justin said, as the Tiger began floating into the air much like the Phoenix. "You [i]aren't[/i] minions or anything like that." That was when Justin began floating up into the air with the Soul-Self... around them, his various friends, living and dead, appeared in the form of fire. Forming a circle as Justin ascended through the air. "You are me," Justin said, "And I am you." Justin laughed as the Tiger and the Phoenix floated into him and he was surrounded in flames. "I have a lot of answering to do when I get home," Justin muttered to himself as he looked to the side. "I think I finally understand my abstraction... it was telling me something that I was ignoring." The sigil of the tiger and Phoenix on his back faded away and was replaced with [url=https://i.imgur.com/ZjzqD5o.png]a new sigil of a phoenix[/url] "Justin..." The flaming reflection of Lihua floated towards him, "... I'm glad you're finally growing." "I am, too." "You are stronger than ever, which you'll need." "... Am I talking to my grandmother?" Justin asked. "Yes," Lihua said. "And not her memories or past consciousness, your [i]actual[/i] grandmother." "Are you here to tell me something?" "You have a big heart, grandson, full of kindness, love, and passion," Lihua said. "Thank you," Justin said. "But that's all...?" "I need to tell you something important," Lihua said, "I wanted our last conversation to be our last, but there are still doubts on my mind about things left unfulfilled. Perhaps they should stay just that, unfulfilled - but, things are changing and I think it's fair that I tell you at the very least." "Yeah?" "Ages ago... well," Lihua said as she crossed her arms, "I'll just cut to the chase, grandson; I'm not from Shimmer." "Huh?" Justin said, "Then where are you from?" "A dead world..." Lihua said as the scene took the appearance of a desolate beach. Littered with skeletons from years ago and tanks that were rusted. There were other rusted guns as far as the eye could see. "... Shade." "What happened here?" Justin asked as he looked around. "War, Justin," Lihua said, "It was like World War two but perverted by magic and the Extra-Normal... it ended with the world being uninhabitable. Almost everyone here, dead by the end. Sad, isn't it? After the war ended many people moved onto other worlds, myself included. Some people tried holding on, but as you can see. The world is empty now. They've died without a whisper or a whimper. But if you listen closely, you can hear their voices. Echoing through time." "So, I assume you awakened here?" "That is correct," Lihua said as another Lihua, except not made out of fire appeared. She was younger, probably around Justin's age. She walked on the beach and pointed her hand into the distance. "Except... that wasn't my first abstraction." A blast of energy appeared out of her hand as it created a portal in thin air... which Lihua walked through. "Fueled by my desire to leave this war and world beyond for new horizons," Lihua said, "I could create portals and that's what I did... I was a vagrant of many different worlds. It was some of the best times I've had, Grandson. Traveling from world to world and having hundreds of different adventures and meeting hundreds of different versions of myself. I wish I could go back and relive it all, but..." Lihua sighed, "I've made many, many, mistakes," She said, "And none was worse than meeting [i]him[/i]..." The Recollection(?) or whatever it was changed to the scene of the teenaged Lihua standing on the bottom of the stairs, staring up at a [url=https://66.media.tumblr.com/8d4c2d22787c470eb8d797c59cfc1b26/ec31a278fe41f8d5-f0/s500x750/eb11eaa417e6abbda39797c0013aa8d5e1d45fdd.jpg]sharp dressed man[/url] surrounded by several Apparitions and shadowy figures. "... [i]Thorton Walters[/i]," Lihua said, "He was charismatic, had big dreams, and wanted to build up to something new... he wanted a paradise for us, his... Inner-Circle he called us." "And who were they?" Justin asked. "A collection of people who were hurt across the All-Verse, of course, who needed some kind of community or peace," Lihua sighed as her burning effigy turned off and stared into the distance of the city. "And I was hurt, too. In ways... you'll find out as you experience my Recollections. He offered me everything and truly, I wanted to stop and find my happiness and build up something new." Lihua sighed yet again and shook her head. "I joined him, acting as the transport for the Inner-Circle and becoming his number two, of course," Lihua said, awfully low. "However, in time, it turned out that Thorton didn't have our best interests at heart as he said. He was obsessed with revenge against the very being you are facing at the moment and... he almost destroyed all life attempting to kill it." The scene changed to the sight of Thorton Walters standing on top of a roof... gazing at a massive, all-consuming portal in the distance. Lihua was right next to him, absolutely horrified that reality here was coming to an end. He shook his head as he turned around and walking away. "... We'll just have to try again," He callously said, "Lihua, let's go." Only for no response, he turned around to see that Lihua was gone. "Damn it!" Thorton shouted and that was where the Recollection ended and everything went back to the black void yet again. "This..." Justin said, "Why are you showing me this now? Why are you telling me this?" "Because... you were going to find out anyway, with my abstraction and all," Lihua said, "But, there's something more important... something crucial that you need to do, Grandson." "What's that?" "Stop Thorton Walters," Lihua said, "I was going to have Meifeng do it, but with your new abstraction and little epiphany there..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Justin said. "You're asking a whole [i]lot[/i] from me, grandmother." "I know," Lihua said, "But, he is persistent and ruthless - driven mad by grief... he won't stop until he has what he wants, even if its at the cost of everyone else. Most importantly of all; he's going to come after you for the crystal and-or revenge. I'm not sure what." Justin sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. "Well, I guess..." Justin rolled his eyes as he looked off to the side, "Where do I even start?" "I would start by destroying that crystal, but Thorton can probably easily find more of those," Lihua said, "They grow on trees in the universe where they're from. Sometimes; literally." Lihua chuckled. "But, I would start in Araminta... you know the place where Katie goes to school," Lihua said, "Find a man named James Vanburen - he'll help you with [i]everything[/i]." Justin sighed as he was, once again, shunted off to [i]yet another[/i] adventure. Still, he had one last question on his mind. "If you're not from Shimmer then..." Justin raised an eyebrow, "Where is your counterpart? Why do you have a brother?" "You've never met her, but Qiaolian, my mother..." Lihua trailed off, "Is my counterpart... and as you can tell, she died [i]years[/i] before you were born. She took me in as her daughter and I took the name Liu until I met my husband and married him." "And that means uncle Jiao-Long...?" Justin trailed off. "Well, technically not related to you by blood," Lihua trailed off, "But, he's [i]still[/i] your great-uncle even in his state of... advanced age." She trailed off, realizing that she told Justin all that she had to tell him. And Justin began floating out of the dark void up into the sky. "But, you have work you still need to do," Lihua said as Justin ascended into the air towards a light, "... Defeat the Hound, for me, and then defeat Thorton." "That I will..." Justin said as he was engulfed in light. "... Grandmother." [hr][center][hider=Starsailor - Listen to Your Heart][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj9sk354PGs[/youtube][/hider][/center][hr] Out of the black vortex came a massive pillar of flames that could be seen from miles away. And out of the fire came Justin, floating seemingly out of thin air. The Phoenix Soul-Self appeared out of the fire and floated behind him. Followed by the Tiger Soul-Self which quickly flew into the Phoenix and they merged into a massive ball of fire... before finally taking the appearance of [url=https://i.imgur.com/DwPWQct.jpg]two phoenixes joining together, forming a heart.[/url] They floated behind Justin giving him the illusion of wings as he floated in thin air, surrounded by a ring of fire. He faced the Hound who was contently sitting. "You've completed the rite..." The Hound said as he got to his feet, "Now, show me you are [i]serious[/i]." He lunged at Justin and Justin merely floated. The Soul-Self didn't deploy or move from its spot... however, various rocks and broken pieces of the houses from their battle began levitating - with a flaming aura around them. They quickly moved and pelted the Hound from all directions with flaming debris however that wasn't all. Justin stuck his hand out and a barrier made out of seemingly solid flamed appeared and stopped the Hound in his tracks. "You're mine," Justin calmly said as the Hound was hit with raw telekinetic force - the impact exploded with flames as the Hound was sent flying through a building. The Hound got up as he faced Justin and black fog appeared out from around him and another barrage of bones appeared and flew directly at Justin. However, instead of the Soul-Self protecting him, Justin merely deflected them with his brand new abstraction. He quickly flew through the machinegun-like barrage of bones and other nonsense as he closed the distance to the Hound. The beast of black death lunged at him with his jaws open... however, Justin fired another blast of telekinetic energy that hit the Hound dead on and sent him flying into the ground. The Hound was then lifted off the ground with the same burning aura and hit with another crashing blast of telekinetic [i]force[/i] that sent him flying overhead to the treeline... and Justin was right behind him. The Hound hit the ground and Justin floated over the hound as he hit him with one powerful blast after the other that made a larger and larger crater into the ground that was also on fire. When Justin relented The Hound was on his side and he grinned and spot his one-liner. "Looks like death doesn't come as th-" That one-liner got cut off as the fog came out of the Hound at lightning speeds and grasped onto Justin and yanked him through the air. He felt his emotions being sapped from his body as the Soul-Self disappeared. He was brought face to face with the Hound who climbed up to his feet and faced Justin. "Ah... what a great fight..." The Hound said, "... Yet, you didn't make me use more than [i]two percent[/i] of my power." Shiiiiiiiiiit... he was going easy on him the whole time. "I've got to hand it to you, Justin Liao," The Hound said, "You have passion, power... among other things." "I refuse death," Justin said as he tried to break free but couldn't. The Hound brought him close. "Even though you've been defeated, you still have a little fight left in you..." The Hound said, "... You truly will be a worthy successor." The fog disappeared as Justin immediately deployed the soul-self to keep up in the air he was confused. "What does that mean?" "Change is coming, Liao," The Hound said, "And the bringer of change is death..." The Hound sunk into the ground into the fog and disappeared into nothing and left Justin with some parting words. "... and [i]everyone[/i] dies. Even [i]I,[/i] Liao. When the time comes, I will find you..." That Hound... Justin floated to the ground as the Soul-Self disappeared. He was mysterious as always but was he toying with him the whole time back at that night... he said that he would claim Justin's soul. Still, he didn't stipulate [i]when[/i]. Justin sighed as he looked around and then began the long walk home. He walked back where he left the crystal and picked it up. "...Justin?" Tuyen appeared from around the corner slightly out of breath, not particularly surprised at who the source of the fire was. She'd just been on a short, far too thoughtful, walk after the group had gone their separate ways when she'd seen his soul self and heard the fight a short distance off. By the time she'd appeared there was just Justin. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" Tuyen... she was still even here? Justin had his hands in his pockets as he looked at her. It was awkward... mainly because he was silently staring at her for what was probably a minute now. There was something wrong - when he looked he felt something that couldn't exist. Even before any of this happened. Now, with his renewed self, he couldn't go with it. "I'm fine," Justin said, "I just wanted to know if... you're okay. Like, you know, with everything that's going on." "I'm alright, aside from being basically homeless," Tuyen laughed nervously, shifting uncomfortably even as she forced herself to keep her gaze on him. It had been a long time, and they needed to talk. Justin ran a hand through his hair before he realized he needed to stop dancing around the issue. "Tuyen, I have a confession to make," Justin started his speech. "I've been lying to you, and I've been lying to myself. I thought it was because of what happened with my grandmother but I... I realized it was something else. And I know you've been feeling the same way, so I think we should just end it here because we're just... incompatible, if you know what I mean." "I know," Tuyen sighed softly even as she forced a smile. "I've been lying too, even if it's still hard to admit to myself. We never really worked as more than friends, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the time together. But I agree that we should just end it here. That would be for the best." "Yeah," Justin said with a smile. They've come to an understanding, and she didn't seem hurt by the revelation. To be honest, he felt like she swung the other way too with the way she was looking at his grandmother. "But, Min though... I think he'd be more my speed." He laughed with his hands in his pockets. A hand flew to Tuyen's mouth as she choked back a laugh. "Well, I can hook you up if that's what you want," she teased, shrugging as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It wasn't something she'd said out loud yet, but she felt like it was fine now. Accepted. "And maybe you could use your good looks to attract some girls for me to steal in exchange, yeah?" Her eye lit up with laughter and a bright, relieved smile. "Ehhhh, I don't know," Justin said as he put a hand on his chin. "Min has a stick so far up his ass I think it'd kill him to take it out!" Before he started laughing. This was... nice. He looked at Tuyen in a different light now. She was... his friend now. Not a shield or a guard for his insecurities or what he was. They were perfect now. Perfect this way. "So, are you really going to be alright?" Justin asked, legitimately. "We both have a very long road ahead of us with all of these... changes, y' know?" "Honestly, I don't know," Tuyen shrugged as her smile faded, even as a bit of laughter remained in her eyes. It was nice to have someone concerned for her - someone, she could now properly consider a friend. She glanced momentarily at the shadow that still clung to her, even though it was no longer the same creature that had tormented her (as much). "Min is going with his parents to San Francisco, but I know I don't want to go with them. I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not anymore. So I don't know what I'm going to do or where I'm going to go but, I'll figure it out..." She grimaced slightly. "Sorry, that was a lot." Yeah, it was weird not knowing what to do next. Justin felt the same way at this point. Sure, his goal was to honor his grandmother and fulfill her wish from the other side - but then what? Was he going to try to pretend things were normal? Course not. Things were, as they thing, completely fucked. However, Justin was going to focus on the now; his new "best friend". "I would offer you a place to stay in LA... but, I don't think you'd want to deal with mama Liao," Justin said as he ran a hand through his hair. "She'd make you wish you were homeless." Justin knew that his mother wouldn't take it too well bringing random girls from Montana to live with them... that isn't his wife and or girlfriend. "And before I head back to LA, I got things I need to do," Justin said, "You know, go on a weird quest, stop another bad guy. That jazz." "That's okay, I don't think I want to deal with that either," Tuyen smiled slightly. She'd dealt enough with overbearing parents that weren't her parents and she was pretty sure that would just be going back to square one. She'd figure out something - she still had some money left by her father, after all. "Another bad guy? You sure do move on fast. I hope for your sake, and the world's, that it's not as bad as the Glutton was." Justin smirked. "Don't worry, even if he is as bad as the Glutton," He started, as he raised his fist to his chest-level and it engulfed in flames. "I'll shove his ass right back where he came from and make him [i]wish[/i] he wasn't born." "Of course you will," Tuyen laughed even as she rolled her eyes at his confidence and fiery display. "I'm certain that you'll do just that but... well, if you end up needing any help you've got my number and all. My shadow may have been a pain before but it's pretty good at fighting when I can convince it. I doubt you'll need it, though." "Of course, Tuyen... I know I probably wouldn't have been able to do [i]any[/i] of this on my own," Justin began floating in the air, but before he was gone he turned back to look at Tuyen. "Maybe... you can join me?" He asked. It was hard swallowing his pride but he didn't want to adventure alone. "I'd love to," Tuyen smiled brightly even as she had to crane her neck to look up at him. "It's not like I have other plans and, well, someone needs to stop you from burning everything down, right?" "But that's the best part," Justin said as he extended his hand to Tuyen. Tuyen went to take his hand but paused before she got too close. "You know you're on fire, right?" There was a brief pause. "... Oh yeah," Justin felt stupid, "I guess we can walk." [hr] It was true. In Farmer Hill, everything changed. Kimberly saw that firsthand. While everyone went their separate ways to try to act like things were normal... Kimberly had other plans. The Walton family moved down south to Florida. They were always thinking about it, but after their house was flattened they went through with it. So now, Kimberly lives in the metropolis of New York, she misses home but... this is how these things go. She went through on finishing her degree at New York University and she's putting it to good use. She felt the winter breeze hit her as Kimberly was forced to put her hands in her pockets. She thought, after living near mountains in Montana all her life, she would be more used to this. Kimberly approached the gates to a graveyard and saw that it was chained down tightly, she grabbed onto the lock and gave it a little shake. She looked over the ominous fence and wondered if she could just hop it - but that was too much effort as she wasn't alone. Kimberly turned around and faced the person behind her. A guy with dirty blonde hair, that was scrawny and kinda white trash - holding a camera. If anyone stuck out like a sore thumb it'd be them -just because, individually they wouldn't be that standout but together... they were the oddest couple. He held the camera as Kimberly reached into her leather, vintage-styled satchel and pulled out a photograph of the other side of the gate. "You know the drill, Rowan." Kimberly snickered as she started glowing. She then stuck her hand out as Rowan grabbed on and the two disappeared in a flash of light. Then they appeared on the other side and were in the graveyard, giving Rowan a nod, she said. "Hit it." Penny... was right. Kimberly didn't do much, much to her distress, during the whole shitstorm with the Glutton which she regreted. Just that, after Jordan died, she didn't know what to do and was dragging herself along step by step. However, Kimberly couldn't just walk away from all of that and act like everything's normal. Hell no. Pretending isn't in her nature and despite how hard many of them try to move on like it's nothing, it's apart of them now. The whole thing will shape and define each one of their actions from here until... probably their death. Rowan pressed the button on the camera and the rest light was the cue for Kimberly to get into the character she pulled out her microphone as she said. "Hello, my name is Kimberly Walton, and this is Project Worlds Unknown," Kimberly began the introduction to her video. Most other people, after what happened, would probably have given up on such things - but not Kimberly. If anything, her interest in the supernatural has only grown... she couldn't help but take it a bit more seriously though. "This is the Riverside National Cemetary where a fire Apparition is believed to have taken residence. Going off some Reddit posts; this Apparition has been attacking people who come by and nobody has a clue as to why. Let's see if, today, can get to the bottom of this." On the other hand, Kimberly was going to try to defend her community from the Extra-Normal anyway she could. And the way she picked was rather... eccentric? She wasn't sure anymore, but she decided to use her show as a cover for her actions - along with achieving her dreams of being an internet superstar. Do some theatrics, editing, and other nonsense, and the money prints itself. Enough to support Kimberly and allows her to make this her career! Along with bagging a little extra money if she "ghost hunted" for some rich people. They walked through the graveyard as they approached the very center of the graveyard a massive pillar of fire appeared [url=https://imgur.com/eh7AXKa]and when it faded it revealed a demonic creature out of the flame.[/url] He floated with his arms crossed, creating an orange light as far as the eye could see. Wendy looked behind her and Rowan took cover behind a gravestone with the camera positioned and then turned around to face the firey being. "Who dares enter my domain...?" The being asked and Kimberly wondered if some random tombstone could be considered a "domain". "Oh, um," Kimberly said as she kept the microphone to her mouth. "My name is Kimberly Walton, Ghost Hunter." "Ghost Hunter...? I am no "Ghost", child," The Apparition said, "I am Agni, the spirit of fiery revenge, and I've come to reclaim my domain." "I certainly have a dangerous ghost on my hands here! Look at the flames!" Kimberly looked back as Agni furrowed his brow. "Child..." "I'm going to try to negotiate with it!" Kimberly, still staying in character said, "Oh, Agni, the great spirit, why haven't you passed on?!" "[i]Child...[/i]" "There must be something keeping you-" "ENOUGH GAMES!" Agni shouted, "I am not here to amuse you, child!" The fire got more intense as the Apparition created fireballs in the palms of his hands. "Yup, I think the reasoning is out of the window!" Kimberly said as her stance dropped. Agni shot both hands out and two orbs of fire cut through the air at lightning speeds... but this wasn't the Kimberly back at Farmer Hill. When she saw the orbs coming she immediately dove behind a tombstone and when the fireballs hit they exploded. However, Agni roared as his maw opened and created a jet flame that went directly for Kimberly... ... However, she disappeared into a flash of light not unlike the flash of a camera - except it was a purple color. Kimberly had teleported across the graveyard and in her hand contained several different photographs of the graveyard. From a wide variety of different angles... see, Kimberly wasn't an idiot. Before she even attempted this, she took photographs to make great usage of her abstraction. She grinned as Agni looked across the graveyard at her. He let out a roar as he charged Kimberly a swirling inferno in place of his legs and Kimberly was forced to run. "Do I keep recording?!" Rowan shouted the question. "[i]KEEP RECORDING![/i]" Kimberly shouted as she was literally running for her life. "[i]THIS IS[/i] GREAT[i] FOOTAGE[/i]" Kimberly focused on another photograph and teleported behind Agni... except she reached into her satchel and pulled out her camera. Her old, trusty, camera... she would never leave this behind. Agni roared as he tossed a fireball in the direction of Kimberly and she dodged as it hit the tombstone and shattered it on contact. She [i]definitely[/i] didn't want to get hit by that. She kept one photograph out as she noticed Agni sinking into the ground, burning a massive hole. "Perfect." Kimberly primed her camera as she heard Agni burst out of the ground in a flaming display of strength. And she merely took a picture of him. "What?" Agni said as he found himself stopping in his tracks... as he was getting sucked into the camera's eye. He grabbed onto the ground and created massive firey claw marks in the ground as he couldn't prevent his capture. Was she toying with him the whole time? Agni turned his head and saw the brown-haired one [i]still[/i] recording him. Eventually, he was sucked into the camera... which produced one photograph with nothing but him. Kimberly grabbed the photograph and grinned as Rowan got close. "Col-lected," Kimberly chuckled her catchphrase. You see, Kimberly discovered an aspect of her abstraction - or was it even there to begin with. She could seal Apparitions inside of her camera but taking pictures of them... and it was usually an instant process. Certain Apparitions needed to be weakened first, or have several different pictures taken of them. Kimberly slid Agni into her satchel as she looked around... the whole place was on fire. "I wish I could have gotten more footage," Kimberly hissed, "He would have made some cool scenes." "But, this isn't going to go unnoticed," Rowan said - while he knew that the Extra-Normal couldn't be perceived by the normal. "I know..." Kimberly said before she had a mischievous smile on her face, one that suggested that she had trouble on her mind, "But, you know..." Her hand wrapped around Rowan's as she smiled at him, and whispered. "... At least we get to enjoy the walk home." [hr] [center][i]Somewhere. There was a light. A strange ball of light. Wrapped in thorns and vines made out the same green light. After a moment. It realized something. I am the ball of light. I didn't have hands. Feet. Or even eyes. Yet. I can think. I can see. I can feel. Like I'm human. But not. What am I? Where am I? Or better yet, why am I? I have memories. I have a name. I'm not even sure if it's [i]mine[/i] anymore.[/i][/center] The ball of light floated up into the air... all it saw was a destroyed town. With nowhere to look or go, they kept going. It was completely desolate. Not a soul in sight. The only thing that they saw was the animals that now take refuge inside of the place. They kept going, being the only source of the light in the dead of the silent night. They hovered through the streets of the town until they stopped at one building that was still relatively intact. There was a sign. [b][code]Grand Ridge Academy.[/code][/b] "... Why hello there," The ball of light heard a voice from behind them, and they saw a [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJH72QMW4AEqdYc?format=jpg&name=small]skeleton with demonic horns wearing a suit[/url]. He floated with his hands in his pockets. "You must be a fresh apparition which is usual for disasters like this. Do you know your name?" The ball of light wasn't sure if they could even speak. They had no mouth... but a mind that can comprehend words. And how the meaning keeps changing. However, they tried to speak. "I have one, but I'm not sure if it's mine anymore..." "Oh?" The skeleton said, "If you're not sure, then just give me something." "... [i]The Nurturing Will.[/i]" He kept laughing with his hands in his pockets. "My name is [i]Thorton Walters.[/i]" That name was a name The Nurturing Will knew. Thorton Walters had many names... terror across the multiverse backed by his organization, the Inner-Circle. He was an enemy of the League and plenty of others... however, he was sealed within Shimmer. They figured with the death of the Glutton and the return of the Godforce he was able to escape. That meant that he was going to resume his plans. Not that the Nurturing Will was planning on trying to stop him - they were done fighting Extra-Normal threats. "I heard that the Glutton was destroyed and I just couldn't believe it! The All-Verse. [i]Finally[/i] rid of that abomination!? I just had to see it for myself!" Thorton placed a hand on his chest as he looked off into the distance. "How about you, what's your story?" "I... lived here, in Farmer Hill, I did everything to stop the Glutton," The Nurturing Will started, "In the end, I sacrificed myself to save the people that did it for me." "Well, isn't that interesting?" Thorton said, chuckling, "No wonder you came back as an Apparition..." "Yeah... I don't know what to do now," The Nurturing Will said, "I feel like all I've done was to stop that thing..." "That's a problem most young Apparitions face," Thorton said, "Perhaps, you should join me. I've had quite a long nap and I'm after great things. The key to [i]everyone's[/i] happiness." "I think... I'm going to try to live for myself, Thorton," The Nurturing Will wanted no part in his crusade. "I don't know what that is yet but I'll find it." "Ah, then I would suggest finding a human... somewhere," Thorton said, as a black portal appeared behind him and he hovered into it. "Maybe you can find a common language with them..." Thorton disappeared and that left the Nurturing Will lost as ever. They disappeared into a portal of their own and shifted from one universe to the next. And next thing the Nurturing Will knew, they were in the middle of an expansive desert. They believed they were in Glint, the last place where they wanted to be an Apparition - however, they had an idea. There was this place in the middle of Africa that they wanted to visit, so the Nurturing Will floated for days on end. For about ten days and ten nights until they finally reached their destination. A very... basic village crafted out of loose materials like wood and leftover stone. All the Nurturing Will could see was dying and starving men and women... and children. Skin and bones... barely able to react to the Apparition floating into their village. This... this wasn't right. The Nurturing Will floated over to the fields that surrounded the village that were dead. In an instant, massive fields of lush fruits and vegetables began to grow to provide sustenance for the village. Probably enough for months... if they don't immediately devour it all. Soon enough the village was surrounded by vegetation and forest. The villagers celebrated as they immediately went to eat the food. However, on the outskirts, the Nurturing Will floated towards a house in the middle of nowhere. There sat an elderly African woman with grey hair sitting on her rocking chair watching it all. The Nurturing Will floated over to her and she asked in a language that most couldn't understand. "Who are you?" She asked. The Nurturing Will thought hard and their body changed features. It went from a ball of light surrounded thorny vines and branches to a more humanoid form. Eventually, when she was finished shaping itself, it was a [url=https://pre00.deviantart.net/8555/th/pre/i/2014/186/3/d/you_don_t_say_by_rainbowboy0530-d7pcqjj.jpg]very familiar form[/url]. In truth, the Nurturing Will was unsure of whether or not they even should be taking this shape... but it was the only shape that came to mind. The Nurturing Will smiled at the woman as they said. "I am the guardian of this town," She said, "The Nurturing Will." [hr] Even though the Awakened had left Farmer Hill, there was still one final Recollection that they needed to see. One that would change [i]everything[/i]. John Reid had everything he wanted. Money. A beautiful wife. Loving children. And more importantly of all; power. Though, was it really... perfect? John Reid walked through his house in the dead of night. He opened up a door and saw his daughter asleep in bed, he smiled as he gently closed the door with the knob clicking. He went back into his bedroom to see that Amy Reid was gone. He sighed. This was the third time he noticed that she was gone in the middle of the night. First, she said that she was going to the bathroom and he nodded back off. Then it became... a routine. Then he realized that she was going nowhere near the bathroom and wondered how many other times did she disappear. He heard a noise downstairs and immediately was sent on high alert. John Reid immediately reached underneath his bed and pulled out a box with a lock... unlocking it he pulled out a Remington shotgun. As powerful as he was... it'd be easier to explain killing someone with a shotgun than a bolt of lightning. However, he'd get the drop on them. He floated up into the air until he was a few feet off the ground and pushed open the door. John Reid heard a sound that was similar to the water running as he floated down the stairs into the kitchen. When he got there he saw somebody hunched over the kitchen sink like they were cleaning something and prepared to cock his shotgun. He stopped when he recognized the person leaning over the sink. However, he could recognize [i]her[/i] from anywhere. "Amy?" John said as Amy immediately whipped around and John saw the horrible look on her face. She was bruised, beaten, and covered in blood... and his jaw went agape as he walked over to his wife and put his hand on her shoulder. "Wha-what happened to you?" "I just..." Amy said, "Fell." "This was not a fall... Amy, what's been going on with you lately?" John said. "Nothing, John," "You've been disappearing at random." "It's nothing." "Being secretive." "John..." "And now you're here beaten, covered in blood!?" John almost shouted but he had to remember the kids were supposed to be asleep. "John!" Amy shouted. "It's nothing, do not worry about it." "Have you been doing drugs?" John asked as he got close, "I can- I can get you some help, Sharon." However, John heard some small footsteps behind him as he turned around and noticed a little girl, about nine or eight years old wearing blue PJs and had red hair. She wiped her eyes off as she said, "Mommy, daddy? What's going on?" John's heart sank as he knelt and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "Bláthnat," He said, "Go back to sleep, it's okay..." While this was going on Amy snuck by them and went upstairs and John sighed as he picked his daughter up. He carried her upstairs in his arms and placed her right back to sleep right into her bed and sighed. Before John went back to sleep himself... however, he kept his eye on Amy for the next while. He never let her out of his sight - and soon enough she stopped disappearing at night. Until a few months later when John woke up in the dead of the night. Amy was gone and John shook his head - he was going to get answers now. He immediately hopped out of bed as he forced a Recollection to occur. Amy got out of bed and walked into Bláthnat's room and picked him up. That was when the Recollection ended. John's heart sank as he immediately threw on his jeans (or his "Dad jeans" as Sharon called them) along with his tan boots and ran out the door of his house. The first he was assaulted by was the winter snow... Montana was beautiful when it snowed, except it was the same sight that John has seen his entire life so it wasn't all that special or peculiar. He floated up into the air and focused... And suddenly a blue line appeared from himself into the woods. He flew through the air at lightning speeds following after this pathfinder - until it leads him to the mountain. He's been here quite a few times in the past but why is Amy taking Bláthnat here..? He sped up as he approached the entrance and kept following the pathways fast as he could... until he made it to the place where he had his final confrontation with the final Awakened and where that abomination - the Glutton - was sealed. Right in the middle of the room, John saw Amy facing the orange demon behind the white shield, but her back was to him and there was something in her hands. "Amy!" John shouted and Amy turned around and she had Bláthnat with a knife to her throat. His jaw dropped as he saw Amy with glowing orange eyes. "Oh good, you're here!" Amy shouted, "You're here to see our God released?" "Amy... oh my God," John said as he came closer, "... What has gotten into you?" "My eyes are opened, John!" Amy said, "All my life there was something very wrong here! Now I understand it!" "Amy... let Bláthnat go..." "No, John," Amy said, then she grinned "... She's our sacrifice." "Dadd-" Bláthnat tried to say before her throat was slashed and her blood was sprayed all over the place. "Bláthnat!" John said as he ran over to her... he knelt and cradled her body as Amy walked over to the barrier. She laughed as he placed her hand against it and a white light pulsed down her arm. There was a loud crash as cracks formed on the barrier. "Awaken!" She laughed louder and louder before she felt a wave of intense pain overcome her. It was something she felt before, like being set on fire but not. She immediately dropped to her knees but kept her hand on the barrier as more cracks formed. The light of the Glutton glows brighter and brighter... And John had no choice... he fired a beam at Amy and it pierced her directly through the heart. Almost immediately she fell over. Then John fell on his knees with his face in his hands. [hr] A few years later Amy and Bláthnat were buried in the Reid farmhouse. That just left Sharon and John... he knelt over their graves, crying yet again that he failed. He was about to give all of this up. He sighed. "Dad..." John heard Sharon's voice as he turned around to see his daughter wearing a leather jacket with her hands in her pockets. "Yes, honey?" John said with a singsong. "It's been years, Dad," Sharon said. "I know..." "What happened to Mom and Bláthnat?" Sharon said as she narrowed her eyes. John Reid was silent as he stared at her wordlessly. "Fine," Sharon said, "I'll just find out myself!" She said before she took off in a different direction and John, briefly, was unsure of whether or not he should follow her. Before he shook his head and activated his pathfinder abstraction. It leads him on the exact path that Sharon took... which lead him to Hillview High. He walked inside and came across the room... the room where Amy Reid found her targets. There were dozens of pictures names and other notes all over the walls with some crossed off. Sharon was mortified as she looked around... when John walked in, she turned around as she said. "... Are you the one that has been killing people in Farmer Hill?" For a second John paused, his mouth opened almost on reflex. Before he closed his eyes and admitted. "... Yes." "... Wh-why?" "To protect us," John said, "This is what it means to be the guardian of Farmer Hill." [i]I have to protect Amy Reid's name.[/i] "... Did you kill mom?" John didn't say anything and in a fit of rage, Amy slapped him as she let out a hellish shriek. She stormed out of the room and John couldn't blame her. If it meant protecting Amy Reid, he'd take the brunt of anything. He sighed. It'd all work out in the end. [hr] "... So that's what happened to Jordan." However, everything faded away in time until it was two people standing in a dark void. Everything that just played out was one long Recollection between two people. One, Jordan's recently resurrected cousin, Madison Brown, being showed what happened by the other Kimberly Walton. Who was clutching her camera with both hands and had it hanging at her crotch-level. "Yeah... I thought you deserved to know," Kimberly said. "I don't know what I'm going to do with this... information," Madison said as she looked at Kimberly, before averting her gaze and staring into the dark void which she found oddly beautiful. "Does... I... this isn't the way this should be." "Huh, funny," Kimberly said with her hands in her pockets. "That's what Jordan said..." "I don't think I can change things so I am going to live for her, and her sacrifice. I'm going to make [i]every[/i] day about Jordan" Madison said, "Tha... thank you for showing me this, Kimberly." Kimberly nodded her head... before they both vanished. [hr][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWEekmQcpho[/youtube][hr] Without the Godforce to draw people to Farmer Hill, in time, the town effectively died. After the destruction, there was barely anything left. Almost every house and major business had collapsed in on itself, and any businesses moved out elsewhere. The farming community that kept the town running was completely gone, and the elders that would have likely stayed there until they died got their wish. Most of their homes were destroyed and the ones that weren't were barely habitable. Farmer Hill ended up a ghost town as it was decided that it was not worth rebuilding. All that was left were the buildings that were destroyed that told a story. The sad, sad, tale of Farmer Hill. The birthplace of something new. Thousands of new tales and adventures, all over the world, have popped up. "And roll credits." [hr] [i]Wha... what's going on?[/i] All she saw was blackness... and she didn't know how or why she even got here. She looked down and saw that she was completely naked in this dark void. Gee. Great. The girl wondered what in God's name was going on here. However, in the distance, she saw a black wolf with red eyes approaching her... the Hound? The Hound casually walked to her side and stopped. "Bláthnat Reid..." The Hound started. "You're getting another chance." [hr] "Ahahahahahahahaha... So they think they've won..." In the darkest corners of the universe, where the Child, nor the Hound, nor the Awakened could touch. There was a light. A light in the endless void of screaming and horrors. It was a light that forced all the other horrors away as if it was the greater horror. The nightmare to nightmares, and like many nightmares this one keeps coming back. "... I knew you'd have a plan, master," The Speaker said as they floated in the darkness, cupping a small ball of orange light in their hand the size of a marble. However, they affectionately stared at it. The Speaker caressed the... infantile form of the Glutton and felt pleasure like never before. "Let them fear us... let them hate us..." The Herald's eyes glowed with an unholy color as they lost form... seemingly transforming into a mass of glowing sparks and embers. "... [i]They will never kill us.[/i]"