As Finn’s consciousness faded, the figure over Oros’ shoulder came into focus. Their black body, their white face, their red eyes. It was … … … Finn looked at a clock. It was a neon pink wall clock. Among the roman numerals was the silhouette of a bat swarm. Rather than having hands, the clock rotated bats around its axis to point out the time. It made a light ticking sound as the seconds passed by. But it didn’t take Finn long to realize that he couldn’t remember when he started looking at this clock. What had Finn done? How did he end up here? He had no recollection. Though it did seem to be late, far past his bedtime. His parents would likely worry about him. Upon looking around, Finn would discover he was in a bedroom. One that had to belong to a girl going through her goth phase. Everything in the room was either pink or black, and was morbid and cute in design. A light on the nightstand used a human ribcage as a shade, but the bulb was a pink heart. There were a few decorative spiders placed around the room, but they all had big smiley faces painted onto them. Anything that might have been scary seemed less so if it was examined for any length of time. Before Finn could find an exit, he heard someone chewing something. He hadn’t watched nearly enough ASMR muckbangs to know what it was, but it sounded… crunchy. His ears would guide him to the bed. It was hard to tell [i]what[/i] the girl was supposed to be. She had horns like a demon, but fangs like a vampire. Her revealing clothing invited the eyes, but her spiky accessories warned not to touch. She said nothing as she reached into a bowl of vegetables and stuck a piece of broccoli into her mouth. Once she was done chewing, she stared at Finn for a moment. [b]”You call him Chernabog, right?”[/b] She shrugged her shoulders. [b]”You wanted to know what he can do? Welp, this ain’t even half of it.”[/b] The boy tilted his head at the stranger in confusion. [color=7F2A3C]”Well he hasn’t exactly [i]graced me[/i] with a proper introduction.”[/color] He finally spoke. [color=7F2A3C]”Mind humoring me instead, since you apparently know of him? Miss…?”[/color] [b]”Amanda works, I guess. We both know none of this is real.”[/b] She sat upright. [b]”And I do mind, actually. You became a Gemini agent, and I’m pretty sure that means you’re at war with us. He’d kill me if I gave them his name.”[/b] [color=7F2A3C]”Charming considering he already implied siding with the Mavericks wasn’t a good idea earlier.”[/color] Finn rose a brow. [color=7F2A3C]”And if I wasn’t there with them, Justin would’ve survived. [i]Someone[/i] had to distract Betty. And who else but the one she wanted dead the most, right?”[/color] He solemnly glanced aside. Yeah, she said she didn’t actually hate him, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. [color=7F2A3C]”But that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna suddenly become some murder-bot or whatever, I’m working on common sense here!”[/color] [b]”Yes, you have a complex situation. I can barely keep up with it.”[/b] Amanda chucked her bowl of broccoli at the wall, but it just sort of phased through it without making any noise. [b]”I’m not going to keep you totally in the dark. I wanted to show you something, but I wasn’t expecting you to drop by while I was setting up.”[/b] After humming a bit, she fell backwards onto her hands. [b]”Actually, if you’re here, I guess we can talk a little bit. Chernabog wouldn’t approve of me throwing his name around, but they are kind of interested in you. He can’t figure out what your deal is, you know?”[/b] [color=7F2A3C]”[i]Why[/i] though? Why [i]me?[/i] There are other, more powerful Espers out there, out of every one in Pax why did he settle for some- some-”[/color] [b]”Let’s see…”[/b] Amanda brought her hands in front of her and fell all the way on her back. She kicked her legs in the air while counting off her fingers. [b]”You’re as cute as a button, you take on some of the most dangerous jobs, you went from nobody freelancer to town hero [i]really[/i] quick, all while having significantly less experience, power, and-”[/b] After looking at her next finger for a moment, Amanda shrugged before folding her hands over her stomach. [b]”It’s all [i]very[/i] curious. I should also mention that Chernabog doesn’t like most espers. So you know, it’s expected that he would have me harass you a bit.”[/b] Finn blinked. [i]The demon[/i] thought he was cute??? [color=7F2A3C]”So I’m like, an exception to that? The ‘town hero’ part was never intentional, I was just doing what I thought was right. People just…catch on quick, so to speak.”[/color] [b]”There’s not a lot to be optimistic about, I suppose.”[/b] She grinned. [b]”You’re taking this all very well. I thought you might freak out, but it seems I was wrong.”[/b] The boy shrugged in response. [color=7F2A3C]”It’s just good to finally get some sort of explanation.”[/color] He did freak out at first, he’ll admit. But he quickly understood this was something he was going to be stuck with for a while. Much to his annoyance. Amanda studied Finn for a moment before folding her hands behind her head. [b]”Tell you what? We’ve gone about as far as we can here, I’m going to see about setting up a meeting between you and the big guy. Expect a message from us in a few days. Obviously, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about it.”[/b] [color=7F2A3C][i]They probably wouldn’t believe me either way. And if Oros is gonna keep trying to kill me, I’ll need whatever help I can get.[/i][/color] Finn thought about it for a moment, then looked back at Amanda with a nod and a zipping motion to his lips. ... ... ... Bleh. Sand. Finn slowly woke back up, pushing himself off the weird pile of sand up to a sitting position. He may have been untransformed, but at least his legs were still intact. He dusted his face off and glanced around. He looked like he was expecting Oros to pop up out of nowhere and try again. [color=7F2A3C]"I-Is she gone?"[/color]