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Outside, Ezra appeared unfazed by the chaos unravelling around him, his “sword” hand unwavering as he continued to burn their unwanted guests with a harsh stare. Inside, as Ezra took in everything around him it felt like there was noxious gas pouring out of a million cranks and valves while a bunch of frantic workers in hazmat suits ran around trying to prevent a total meltdown. Arabelle said others had infiltrated the house via a portal and were walking around invisible. Normally, when the help started saying things like that it was time to put up a wanted ad, but considering the day he was inclined to believe the teacher. Besides, out of everyone else in the room, her contribution to the madness deluge was mild in comparison.

Shane, Justin, and the fake Justin all played a game of volleyball, replacing the ball with a very expensive and soon-to-be very broken chair. Georgie and the fake Tuyen both disappeared into their own respective portals, although Georgie reemerged momentarily. Alexander practiced his magical bondage on the faker while the real Tuyen’s shadow stood up from the ground. Instead of swinging, Ezra hesitated as she approached him—the so-called experts might be partially to blame, but at least they hadn’t been the ones to ruin the upholstery—and tried not to look annoyed as Georgie and Trisha’s mailer-daemon ran by.

Oh, and at some point he had heard what sounded like hell opening up. Suddenly, having the power to overcompensate no longer seemed all that impressive. 

[color=MediumOrchid]“If you would let me past. Unless you want whatever that was to come in here.”[/color]

Well, at least she had courtesy. Ezra didn’t have time to respond before Georgie was already back in the room, heralded by what sounded to be his entrance hall being destroyed. He looked through the threshold but could only see the portal to the Garden. Escaping didn’t sound like a horrible call, but he hated the idea of letting whoever the hell was in their house to stay in their house unchecked. Besides, judging by how quick his brothers were with the chair and the chain he doubted they would follow along with any sort of retreat and retaliate strategy.

Regardless, he wasn’t going to order any of his family to do anything about the intruders. They had [i]people[/i] to take care of that. Ezra let the Configure spell on the knife end, loosely gripping the handle as he began channeling a Masterpiece spell. He turned back towards Tuyen. He really hoped this girl knew how to handle herself, because he really doubted their family would be able to recover from being involved in the death of a young girl—they had power, but they weren’t the Kennedys. 

[color=darkgray]“Georgie, just make sure no more lunatics get in here,”[/color] said Ezra, stepping to the side to let Tuyen pass by. An orange light passed over the knife, whatever microscopic knicks on the blade fixing themselves to form the perfect cutting edge. Ezra sniffed, steadied his breathing, and continued, [color=darkgray]“Guess this is your shot at proving yourself qualified to help my family. Try to avoid doing any more damage to the house. Please, after you.”[/color]

He gestured towards the door, certain his intentions to follow behind her were crystal clear. Again, couldn’t have someone dying in his house. He dropped the Masterpiece spell he had on himself and was washed in a passing orange glow as he cast Prodigy in its place. The knife felt good in his hand. He flipped it and caught it with ease, ignoring the tightness in his chest as he slashed a Z in the air. As Ezra followed after Tuyen he looked over his shoulder, revealing the dark, tired eyes of a man who was at his wit’s end. A pained expression crossed his face as he said to his family, [color=darkgray]“I doubt we can top the last funeral. Just let them handle this and stay safe.”[/color]