[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ZivsXN1.png[/img][/center]
[hr][center][h3]~1505 | PARIS | FASHION SHOW VENUE[/h3][/center][hr]

[b]"Gotcha!"[/b]

As Edward's skeletons filed back to his position, Siggy's voice echoed in his head, giving the necromancer all he needed.

[b]"Emery's like, totes leading Celeste away from the crowd. Vera said 'Down the other corridor' and is like, zipping over there now! Get to it, Skelly!"[/b]

And with that, the necromancer had to [i]move[/i]. Invisible and intangible, Edward phased through the crowd, skeletons following suit, as he made a beeline back into the building. But as he did, he could see it too, looming behind him like clouds. The departed souls of Paris, converging.

As if drawn by the hubbub below.

As if drawn by Celeste.

...

Empty corridors with flickering lights, empty venues that now catered to no one. Vera could feel a discomforting softness over her shoulders where Lucian's ribs would normally have held firm, but he was a Reaper. Even this was not enough to be fatal for him, and for her, the supermodel's mass wasn't enough to slow down her sprint towards the other end. She passed by a map, the structure of the building simple enough to understand that the path she was on lead not to an emergency exit but rather to a parking lot.

Reapers were fast, but without magic, they could not catch up to a car.

And when Vera and Lucian arrived in the underground parking lot, Edward and his skeletons hot on their heels, they saw Celeste already half-way inside a Toyota Yaris, a gaggle of skeletal monkeys urging, but not forcing her in. No, the one that [i]was[/i] forcing her in was a petite woman, Japanese at a glance. Their argument echoed off of stone walls, while a man, his auburn hair tousled from stress rather than style, sat at the driver's seat, tip-tapping the wheel nervously.

[b]"Megumi, listen! This was the first time I saw ones who actually helped me!"[/b] Celeste said. [b]"They [i]have[/i] to be agents of the Holy Maiden, like I've told you before!"[/b]

The older woman pinched the bridge of her nose. Her hands were gloved. [b]"But they destroyed Emery's dragon. And that electrical problem. You told me they did that too."[/b]

[b]"Well, they did, but there was a bigger monster as well! And one of them's Lucian."[/b]

[b]"Doesn't s-"[/b] She cut herself off. Disparaging the dead was unacceptable, no matter what the situation was. [b]"Celeste, if they're here to help you, they can find you again. For now though, you know how it usually goes, right? It starts with something small, and then becomes something bigger. We [i]need[/i] to go."[/b]

The monkeys tugged at the hems of her dress as well.

Celeste's brow furrowed, indecision crossing her features for the briefest of moments, before her eyes lit up again. [b]"Look, they're here!"[/b]

Megumi looked and, predictably, saw nothing.