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Chapter Text

Gillion wasn’t exactly sure if he was ready for somebody new.

Even though he was the second oldest of his siblings, he was most recently adopted; with him being 12 when he joined and now 15. Will and Peter were both younger than him but were adopted earlier, both adopted in the same year at the age of 9 and standing at 14. Flippa has always been there, and Gillion never knew about Bra’ad. Nobody asked about him.

He was always new. But now he wouldn’t be.

Charlie (Gillion liked to call him Charlie, it felt more tangible than just the title of Dad) had decided to pick up the new kid by himself. So, Gillion paced back and forth behind the couch, Prezel (his beloved pink frogtopus plushie, filled with dried lavender) held tightly in his arms. Flippa was watching Bluey on the TV, Will was in his room, Peter was reading in the living room, and Bra’ad was still out of town at college.

So, in short, he was essentially left alone with his thoughts. What if this new person wasn’t nice? What if Charlie got into a car accident, and that was why it was taking him so long to come home? What if-

Almost as if his mind was being read, Peter piped up from his book.

“Dad’s gonna be fine. He takes the new kid out for a haircut after, remember?”

“Well they’ve gotta be doing a dye job if he’s taking that long,” Flippa said, “only other time it took this long was with Gill.”

Gillion was just about to protest, but the garage door sounded.

“PAPA’S HOME!!”

With that, Flippa sprung up from the couch and bolted toward the door, not even bothering to pause the TV. Gillion quickly turned it off, running upstairs to get Will.

Not bothering to knock, Gillion burst into the door, starting Will from his place on his bed.

“AAAAUG-fuck, you scared me!”

“Charlie’s home with the new person!”, Gillion replied, running down the stairs before Will could protest.

When he got downstairs, the first thing Gillion heard was Flippa, as anybody did when entering a room with her, followed by Charlie’s laughter. The man had her lifted up, her slightly lanky arms wrapped around his neck. Behind Charlie was Peter, attempting to make his way past the two as he carried in an iridescent purple suitcase.

Gillion laughed at Charlie and Flippa and looked around, trying to find the new person. He found them sitting on the couch, their eyes on the floor.

They seemed to be around 16, but something in their eyes looked forever 10; and their face looked like it’s been growing up too fast. Their hair was in a fresh pixie cut, a bright periwinkle (likely what took Charlie so long to get back) and one of their eyes was a deep black-brown, the other a blinded light blue with a scar running through it. Both eyes were framed by deep set bags and long eyelashes. As far as their clothes went, they seemed fairly ordinary, likely straight out of wherever they were fostered. They wore a white shirt with an open lavender zip up over it, and black jeans with red converse.

“Hello!”

They whipped their head around at Gillion’s greeting, likely not expecting it. A scared look formed in their eyes, but quickly softened; but not all the way.

“Hello,” they responded, “it’s very nice to meet you.”

Gillion recognized their formality, the rigid posture in their back, and the way it didn’t seem voluntary; muscle memory at its best.

Now he knows what the others saw then he came back. Fresh dye, street clothes, and muscle memory to damn him.

It was like looking into a mirror of him.

They must have realized that too, looking at him like seeing a different version of them.

A reflection looking at a reflection.

Charlie had finally gotten Flippa off his neck, and squeezed Gillion’s shoulder as he beamed at the two of them.

“Gillion this is Xiv, Xiv this is Gillion.”

“We were just exchanging greetings,” Gillion said, turning to Xiv, “it’s truly a pleasure to meet you.”

“I knew the two of you would get along,” Charlie beamed, “because the two of you have to be sharing a room.” The statement was more directed at Xiv, seeing as Gillion already knew and had prepared another bed in his room days before.

Flippa made what sounded like a small jeer at them, to which Xiv stuck their tongue out at her.

“We can’t keep moving houses, so I figured I’d have the two of you in your room, it’s probably big enough for the two of you. Sound good?” Charlie ranted, picking up Flippa again.

Gillion and Xiv nodded, and Charlie smiled at them.

“Perfect, now Peter, can you give Gillion Xiv’s suitcase? Gillion, you can show Xiv to your room. Hope it’s clean!”

Of course, that was a joke. Gillion’s room was always clean.

He took Xiv’s suitcase and slung it over his shoulder by the short handle. It was fairly light.

When Gillion reached the top of the stairs, he found that the tell-tale echo of his footsteps and stopped, and he turned around to see if Xiv was alright.

They were looking at an old family photo, with Mariana still in it. Gillion’s hair was more black and less green (he hadn’t allowed himself to dye that much), William looked like he hadn’t slept, Peter was barely smiling, and Flippa’s hair was too short to put in braids. Charlie didn’t look as happy as he did now. Maybe everything was for the better.

“Is that you?”, they asked, pointing to Gillion, “and who’s that?”

“Yes, that is me. The other person is Charlie’s ex.”

“Charlie?”, they echoed, “wouldn’t you call him dad?”

“Charlie feels…better. Just better.”

Shrugging that comment off, Xiv continued up the stairs, following Gillion down the hallway and into his room.

Light from the half open window refracted into multiple suncatchers, all in varying moon shapes and iridescent colors. The walls were a deep turquoise, and a perfectly made twin sized bed with a teal comforter and black sheets was tucked into the corner. On the opposite side was another twin sized bed, its comforter a light purple and its sheets a blush pink. Between the two beds was a dresser holding a record player and a jewelry tree.

Gillion’s side of the room was crowded with posters of bands, one of them reading “GILLION AND THE TIDESTRIDERS” in electric blue with a red haired girl on it, sinking into the water of a community pool. There were a few other posters, as well as a few record shelves lining the wall. Above the bed hung a turquoise dream catcher, with a dark colored wood for the frame and beige twine for the netting; turquoise beads and brown spotted feathers dangling from the ring.

Against the wall at the foot of Gillion’s bed was a purple and blue electric guitar, covered in stickers. On the floor was a blue and lavender knit rug, the lavender side toward Gillion’s bed and the blue side towards Xiv’s bed.

Speaking of Xiv, they simply stood in the doorway as Gillion set their suitcase at the door of their bed, the other dusting his hands off and putting them on his hips.

“Your room is very nice,” they commented, walking over to poke the sun catchers that hung in the window, “where do you even find these?”

“Flea markets, thrift stores, random places. I did make one of them, actually.”

“Oh, which one did you make?” they asked, tilting their head to the side.

“This one,” Gillion replied. The one in question was a triple goddess formation, with one full moon and two crescent ones on the side. The middle one was turquoise,
and the side ones were red and orange. He’d made it with Chip and Jay.

Xiv nodded along shifting their attention to Pretzel, who was still sitting in Gillion’s arms.

“Who’s that?”. Another head tilt from them.

“This is Pretzel. She’s very lovely and helps keep me calm.”

“May I shake her hand?”

Gillion smiled, and offered them a tentacle.

“You may.”

Xiv took the tentacle and shook it gently, bowing their head a little bit.

“It’s a pleasure to meet her.”

“She appreciates it,” Gillion replied, “in fact, I have a gift for you!”

“Oooo, what is it?” Xiv asked, a bright look in their eyes.

Gillion smiled back at them and opened the closet, retrieving something from the top storage area.

“I’d give you a purple one, but they were all out, sadly.”

With that, he took out a large brown toad plushie, with bulging eyes and a smug grin on its face.

Xiv gasped loudly and excitedly grabbed it from Gillion’s outstretched arms, squeezing it hard as they let out a small squeal.

They held it out in front of them, stars practically in their eyes.

“THIS IS AMAZING!!! I’m gonna name you Mudthew!!” they yelled, squeezing him tight in their arms, “Thank you so much!!!”

Xiv threw their arms around Gillion, hugging him with surprising strength when compared to their stature.

“A good name for a good man. Frog. Thing,” Gillion stated, “he will be a good protector.”

“Thank you!!”, Xiv grinned, detaching themselves from Gillion. He could see now that they were pretty tall, nearly a head taller than him.

“May I ask, how old are you?” Gillion questioned, sitting on his bed.

“Fourteen.”

“I will say, you do look much older than fourteen,” Gillion said.

“I get that a lot,” Xiv replied, “I think I was forced to be…older.”

“I can understand,” Gillion said sagely, “I was like that before I came here.”

“Does it help? Being here?”

“Every last second helps.”

——————————————————————

It was the one-year anniversary of Xiv being there.

And Xiv never felt better.

After the celebrations and a few rounds of Just Dance, they went to bed, falling asleep to the sound of Gillion softly snoring. Well, not so softly, but they learned to wear earplugs to sleep.

Their peaceful, dreamless (thank the gods) slumber was interrupted by a certain little girl.

They woke up to Juanaflippa shaking their sprawled body, tears streaming down her face.

“XIV!!! XIV!! Wake up please, WAKE UP!!!”

Charlie rushed into the room (they had to agree with Gillion, Charlie felt better than just dad), and grabbed her, picking her up.

Xiv could’ve sworn it was a trick of the light; perhaps moonlight streaming through Gillion’s sun catchers; but something was off. Like, really off.

Anxious neon green energy seemed to emanate and arch off of Flippa and Charlie, both of their eyes glowing that neon green. Xiv’s surroundings glitched and moved as Flippa squirmed in Charlie’s arms. Gillion didn’t budge from his sprawled out position, near halfway off the bed. He was always a heavy sleeper.

“They’re fine!!! See?! Flippa, they woke up,” Charlie coddled, setting the girl down and kneeling next to her, “cmon, deep breath in, deep breath out, deep breath in…”

Flippa followed his instructions; the green energy surrounding the pair dimming down. Eventually, Charlie’s eyes dimmed to a blue-green; Flippa’s dimming to a brighter hazel.

This was weird.

Xiv swung their legs off the bed, standing up.

Something felt off downstairs.

They walked past Charlie and Flippa, and started walking down the hall to the stairs.

The feeling persisted, but stronger.

Their walk turned to a pace, then to a jog. When they made it down the stairs, they heard somebody yell.

It was coming from the street outside, so they sprinted to the door and threw it open.

Out in the street were two figures.

One was in a black hoodie, the other in a sky blue crewneck sweatshirt with a design of colorful cartoon figures on it, holding hands. The one in the black hoodie stood over the other, a hand around their neck. Xiv stood near behind the hooded figure, making out the blond hair (with white streaks) that the one on the floor had.

Xiv decided to do as any sane, normal person would do.

They ran to go beat the living shit out of the hooded figure.

As they ran out the house, they forgot to put on any shoes; making sneaking up on the hooded figure loads easier. They grabbed their shoulder, making them face Xiv.

The person had white hair, cut in bangs in front of their face; the rest of it hanging loosely, around shoulder length. A snarl formed on their face, and their eyes were a glowing, ghostly green.

Xiv took a swing at the pale figure, and they let out a yelp. They managed to hit them square in the nose, knocking them to the side.

“You’re really gonna do this,” they yelled, “you really gonna fight?”

“Uh, yeah,” Xiv replied, “thought you’d figure that out by now.

With that, Xiv went for left hook, which the other dodged; going directly into a right hook.

Fake left, hook right. Easy one.

“You’ll pay for that,” the figure spat, clutching a bleeding nose and retreating into the shadows and vanishing into them.

“I literally hit you twice- oh, and they’re gone. Cool.”

The figure on the floor groaned, staggering up.

“Thanks for that man,” he said, “could’ve been fucked.”

Charlie ran out of the house. It took him around fifteen seconds to get to Xiv’s position, which was weird, seeing as it took three for them to run to that same spot.

“Xiv! What are you doing-“, he asked, glancing at the blond figure, his eyes resting on him, “…out…”

“Ch-Charlie?” the other stammered, “this your kid?”

“Yeah,” Charlie replied, “what happened?”

No response.

“Tom?” he asked.

The blond figure, Tom, looked around worryingly.

“Not here,” he said, “which one’s your house again?”

——————————————————————

When they got back, Charlie told Xiv to go back to sleep, but instead of closing their door, they closed a nearby bathroom door, hoping it’d sound similar. Charlie bought it, and they sat next to the open doorframe.

“What’s one of Niklaus’ minions doing here?”, Charlie asked.

“Don’t know,” Tom replied, “was walking to you when they got me.”

“Why were you coming?”

“Listeners told me to,” Tom said, “said that they needed to talk to you.”

“Listen man, I don’t deal with Listeners. I’m on my own.”

“They’re worried about you. After the council. After Lostfield.”

No response from Charlie.

“The cardinals need you. You can’t hide forever.”

“I’m not hiding,” Charlie replied, “I’m planning.”

“That’s what Sneeg’s been saying. I don’t buy it.”

“You should.”

“Any of your kids cardinals? Just asking.”

“Why would they be?”

“Heard that it can be inherited.”

“Only biologically,” Charlie replied.

“Ah. Flippa then?”

“Yeah. Been teaching her.”

A chuckle from Tom.

“Phil tried to teach me. Look how I turned out,” Tom said, “didn’t inherit it anyway. He felt bad.”

A chuckle from Charlie.

As Xiv shifted closer to the door to listen better, the floor creaked.

“Somebody’s up there,” Tom said.

Footsteps up the stairs.

Xiv froze.

They had no clue how Tom was able to hear that, but they were still fucked.

Tom walked into the room, looking around. It took him a moment, but his eyes fell on Xiv.

“Uh, Charlie? I don’t think it’s just biological.”

“The fuck do you mean?”, was Charlie’s reply, now heading up the stairs.

“Check this shit out,” Tom said, gesturing to Xiv.

Charlie furrowed his brows.

“Xiv,” he said gently, “do you know what you’re doing?”

“…hiding…?”

Tom snorted a laugh at that.

“Look at your hands,” Charlie said.

Xiv looked down at their hands.

A purple electricity cackled from them, the insides white and the border a pink.

They panicked.

“WHAT THE FU-“

“Hey, hey. Calm down. You’re fine.”

“I DON’T THINK THIS IS FINE.”

“You’re gonna wake up Gill,” Charlie shushed, putting his hands on top of Xiv’s.

“Gill’s literally slept through an illegal firework show, he’ll be fine.”

Another snort from Tom.

“That’s my Xiv,” Charlie smiled, “you better?”

Xiv’s hands were no longer covered in that purple electricity, so probably.

“I…think so.”

“Want me to call up one of the cardinals?”, Tom asked, “I think Niki’d love to work with this one. Maybe Cleo.”

“Cleo scares me,” Charlie replied, “and Niki hasn’t talked to anybody besides Ranboo for ages.”

“Maybe she’ll talk to you if you bring the kid.”

——————————————————————

A week after that night, somebody knocked on the door that afternoon.

Tal, Rai, and Klip were over, trying to do homework and failing. Coincidentally, Gillion had Chip and Jay over to also attempt to do homework.

Gillion was more successful in their common goal.

Chip and Tal started arm wrestling, and Jay left ten minutes earlier because she was apparently “too busy for this bullshit”. Xiv, and Klip started arguing over the morals of pigeon carriers, and Rai fell asleep.

So, when there was a knock at the door, Xiv took a break from their riveting debate to answer it.

At the door was Tom, standing behind a woman.

She was close to middle age, likely a few years younger than Charlie, but her grey eyes were worn. Her hair was split dyed into blonde and brown, and she had quite a few facial piercings, including a snakebite piercing on her lips and a septum piercing. She was wearing a red biker jacket and black jeans, with a pair of platform boots. Despite the boots, she was fairly short.

“Hey,” she said, “you’re Charlie’s kid right?”

“Yeah,” Xiv replied, “why?”

“Tom said one of you guys had some…special…difficulties…”

“Great wording Niki,” Tom commented.

She shot him a glare, and he recoiled back.

“Holy shit, Niki is that you?”

Xiv looked back to see Charlie standing behind them, leaning on the doorframe.

“In the flesh,” she grinned, “how’ve you been?”

“Decent,” Charlie replied, “how’s Ran doing?”

“They’re doing alright,” Niki shrugged, “pretty much the same.”

“That’s good.”

A beat up pickup truck pulled up to the house, Lizzie, Chip’s sister getting out.

“Chip! Lizzie’s here!”

Some grumbling came, followed by Chip pushing past Xiv and out the door. He went into the car, and Lizzie got back in, pulling out the driveway.

“Can I come in?”, Niki asked.

“Course,” Charlie replied.

The four of them ended up in Charlie’s office, Niki leaning against a wall as Charlie sat in his chair, Xiv sat on Charlie’s desk, and Tom stood with his arms crossed.

Charlie explained the situation, and Niki nodded.

“I see. Survival based?”

“Yeah,” Charlie replied, “that’s why we wanted to call you.”

“Interesting. Think fast.”

Niki threw a coin at Xiv. Before they could flinch away, purple electricity arced off their shoulder and zapped it, the coin crumbling into dust.

Tom whistled at the display, and Niki smiled.

“Interesting. It’s survival, like mine, but it’s destructive. It’s…kind of similar to Scott’s in that way.”

“Sneeg’s leg will heal before he uses that again,” Tom scoffed, “anyway, last time he did anything with being a cardinal was rescuing Cleo.”

“How do you even know what his is?”, Niki asked, “you aren’t a cardinal.”

“Listeners told me.”

Niki rolled her eyes, and focused her attention to Xiv.

“I wouldn’t worry about controlling your power too much. It’s natural, so it’ll be easy.”

“Are we going to ignore the fact that I have literal magic powers?!”, Xiv asked, their voice strained.

Also, what the hell is a cardinal? Who the hell is Sneeg? Or Ran? Or Scott? And who were the Listeners? Why was Tom with them?

“Long story,” Charlie said, “plus it takes way too much time to explain.”

“Give me at least a diagram,” they replied.

“I’ll do you one better,” he replied, pulling out a manila folder, “I have an inconspicuous looking folder.”

Chapter Text

THIS SET OF DOCUMENTS IS ONLY FOR THE VIEWING OF AUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS

IF ANY UNAUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS VIEW THESE DOCUMENTS, SERIOUS PUNISHMENT WILL OCCUR

DOCUMENT 1

FOLKTALE OF THE [REDACTED] PEOPLE, TOLD BY [REDACTED].

Long, long ago, there were three groups that ruled The Universe.

But before these groups, The Universe was empty.

It was simply her and Chaos.

The Universe was tired of Chaos, so tired of all his inconsistency and grandeur without a goal.

So, she, much to Chaos’ displeasure, for he did not want a brother, created Life.

Life took her hand in his and promised as her brother to fulfill her witness.

So, Life created The Watchers, The Listeners, and The Council.

The Watchers founded the universe; plucking out their eyes and throwing them into space. This created realms, the places where planets resided. They cut their hands and let them bleed into the void, the boiling blood reacting to itself and becoming fiery. This created stars.

The Listeners built up the universe inside the realms; coloring in the lines that The Watchers had made, placing stars together to create galaxies and filling the planets with water, ice, and stone.

The Council consisted of four lead members and six Cardinals, the first ten mortals, made gods by The Watchers.

But to give each planet Life as The Universe wished, Life would have to sacrifice himself.

So, The Universe took apart Life’s soul and sent the lead members of The Council to fill the planets with Life, blessing each one with a part of his soul.

The Cardinals made sure the beings on the planets were in order, ensuring that they did not dare betray the beings that gave them life.

And for a long, long time; The Universe was in order. Nobody had loss, everybody lived life to their fullest until they passed peacefully and quietly.

But that was until two gods rose up.

The Blood God and Death.

Created by Chaos, The Blood God traveled between realms and planets of the universe, causing chaos and permanent damage.

Created by The Universe, Death took the people affected by The Blood God into her own safe corner of The Universe, a secret realm outside the reach of The Watchers. Before this, the passed would become a part of The Universe, where they came from. The reason for this was that The Universe hated how The Watchers acted; they acted as small children that thoughts they were better than everybody. She wanted change.

The reason why some planets don’t have any life is because The Blood God ravaged it, killing everything that resided.

That is why some say that Death’s realm is the most beautiful of all, because she holds all the life that The Blood God took.

The Blood God was too powerful, and killed the Cardinals, leaving the leaders of The Council forced to tell The Watchers.

The Watchers were furious, and as the Leader of The Watchers was about to kill the leaders of the council to send them to the realm they had ignored, the Youngest Listener stopped him.

“You can’t kill them,” he said, “they’re innocent! The Blood God is too powerful to be defeated, please, let them live!”

Having pity for The Council and a soft spot for the youngest Listener, the lead Watcher let The Council live, exiling them to a single realm.

The Watchers sent The Listeners to defeat The Blood God, but he simply killed them as well.

That is why there are much fewer Listeners than Watchers.

As The Listeners fruitlessly tried to destroy The Blood God; to make him go back to The Universe, he did something nobody expected.

He destroyed a realm.

Realms are made from the eyes of Watchers, and in destroying the realm, he partially blinded The Watchers.

And he didn’t stop at one realm.

Eventually, the Leader of the Watchers became tired of The Blood God’s chaos, and descended down to a planet he was in the middle of destroying.

“Oh self-titled Blood God, why must you destroy this?”, he asked The Blood God, “Why must you betray your creators?”

“You and Life are not my creators,” The Blood God snarled, “I am born from Chaos and will die by my father’s hand, not the hand of authority.”

“Without The Watchers, you wouldn’t have anything to destroy,” the Leader of the Watchers said, “it would simply be The Universe.”

“That is not true,” The Blood God retorted, “Life could have created the realms without you children. The Universe and Chaos created Death and I to make you come to your senses, do you hear yourself?”

“You are a fool,” the Leader of The Watchers replied.

With that, The Blood God raised his sword at the Leader of The Watchers to attack.

But the blow never came.

The Leader of The Watchers looked to see the leader of The Council, Charlie, holding his sword.

The Council escaped exile.

“You have no place here,” Charlie said, “and you will go back to Chaos.”

With that, Charlie killed The Blood God with a single grab of his throat, taking the piece of Chaos’ soul that was given to him instead of Life’s. The Blood God’s form collapsed as he joined his sister, Death.

“Thank you, Charlie.” the Leader of The Watchers said, “say, how come you were able to defeat him and not The Listeners? They instilled Life, did they not?”

The Listeners did not in fact instill Life. The Leader of The Watchers had always thought lowly of The Council, and never amounted them to anything.

“The Blood God is made of Chaos,” Charlie replied, “not Life. My father was made by the hands of Chaos, so I am made of Chaos as well. I have been traveling into realms, taking Chaos back into me. One day, I shall return my pieces of Chaos to The Universe.”

“You were created from Chaos!”, the Leader of The Watchers exclaimed, “I shall not allow you to stay a member of The Council, even in your exile. You are a disgrace to The Universe’s name, trying to return your grandfather to her.”

Charlie nodded in defeat, and went back to The Council’s exile.

The Council was furious at this, and disbanded.

Now, it was just The Watchers and The Listeners to keep the realms in order, and the exile of Charlie was the first time The Watchers would underestimate The Universe.

That was until new Cardinals started appearing.

These Cardinals were not created to keep order in the realms, but created as conduits for the pure power that The Universe had. Some used the power for good, some for bad. As well, the number of these cardinals sometimes became more than the original six, or dipping below the original number. The Universe did not seem to care for the carefully curated order that Life has instilled when he created The Original Council.

This was the second time that The Watchers had underestimated The Universe.

So, the Leader of The Watchers, His Right Hand, and His Knight destroyed themselves to be reincarnated. The Leader of The Watchers told the Leader of The Listeners and His Right Hand (the Youngest Listener, the only other one not killed by The Blood God) to destroy themselves in solidarity; to which they had no choice to accept.

Chaos saw this and decided to turn them into Cardinals, knowing that this would infuriate The Universe.

With their power of The Universe, these Unfair Cardinals began their rise to control.

The Universe was furious that the power-hungry Watchers would attempt such a thing (as well as looping in The Listeners), so she took away their power as Cardinals, taking away their impact on the realms and resorting them to Watchers and Listeners. As well, she reincarnated all the other Watchers as mortals so The Watchers would be near as small in number as The Listeners.

It is said that there will be another attempt of power by The Watchers, this time with The Listeners fighting against them.

A third and last time that they will test The Universe’s love.

DOCUMENT 2

DIARY ENTRY OF [REDACTED], CURRENT CARDINAL UNDER THE TITLE OF THE SURVIVOR

june 4

I got discharged from the hospital today. Turns out my wound can be mostly healed on its own, seeing as the bullet had grazed my organs and was only embedded in skin (I think that’s what they said)

But I don’t feel good.

I’m one of the few that escaped Showfall, but I feel horrible for those who didn’t.

their names:

Vinny
Austin
Ethan
rats (idk their names)
The Puzzler
all the workers

I think The Puzzler didn’t want to kill us. Maybe he was under them too.

THEY ARE WATCHING THEY ARE ALWAYS WATCHING I CAN’T LIVE LIKE THIS

june 12

Sometimes I can feel Showfall watching me. Charlie says it’s normal to feel that way after getting out of their grasp.

On a plus side, his old friends who know more about this bullshit than I do have been helping us!!!! I’ve been working with Condi on my weird glitch portal things, he already told me that I can make a portal inside somebody’s ribcage and pull their heart out!!! I’m very exited for that :)

I think that’s all, bye!!

DOCUMENT 3

AUDIO LOG/CALL BETWEEN [REDACTED] AND [UNKNOWN]

[REDACTED] Hey man, why are you calling me? I told you to stay out of this.

[UNKNOWN] You can’t hide forever. We both know that.

[REDACTED] Yeah, but I can still hide now to keep them safe. I’m not even a Cardinal, why are you so focused on keeping me safe? Shouldn’t you be working on actually finding the Cardinals?

[UNKNOWN] You’re the only uncorrupted entity still directly born of The Universe. I think that’s worth protecting.

[REDACTED] Well if you don’t get your Council back together, I’m not gonna be the only uncorrupted one.

[UNKNOWN] Is that a threat?

[REDACTED] No. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t be putting so much effort im to me.

[UNKNOWN] I’ll see if [UNKNOWN] wants that. Your mother is thinking of bringing [ERROR] back.

[REDACTED] …

[UNKNOWN] You there?

[REDACTED] Stop him. He can’t come back.

[UNKNOWN] You sure? I thought he was your broth-

[REDACTED] He’s no brother of mine. Stop him.

[UNKNOWN] But you’ll never see him agai-

[REDACTED] CAN YOU SHUT UP?!?!!

[UNKNOWN] Y̷̘͐̚o̵̡̿̋u̴̼̯̟̖͛̽͗ ̵͈̒̃͋̋͘ŵ̷̺̗̼̤i̸̥̽̑͝ļ̴̬̔̀̾̾̏l̶̢̡̙̻̽ ̴͙̬̄͛̿͊͜n̷̜̂̄̎͂̕o̴̖͎̹͈̼̕t̴̪͓̾̕ ̶̢̬̞͖̠̇t̸͎̪̘̝̐͌̏͗̃͜ä̴̯͍͉́̾̃l̶̛̹̤̝̈́͑k̷͉̳̟͖̒͜ ̸̛̫̙̗̳̚̚t̶͖͎͂̈́̒̊͒o̴̬̫͊̾̃͝ ̸̡̢̻͌͜m̴̮̹̩͂̅̋͌e̶̞̣̎́̄̾̑ ̸̬͆̆́͠t̶̤̮̰̝͔̉́͌͂h̶̹̭͎̊̌̌̈́̊a̵̜̱̘̤̅̎̏̂͘t̵̟̳́̿͂ ̴͇͉̰̽̀w̶̡̄ą̸̤̀̊̽̔̚y̸̦̱̙̒̔̊.̵̠̏̀̆͑͝

[REDACTED] …

[UNKNOWN] I’m sorry. I-

[REDACTED] I’m hanging up.

[UNKNOWN] Wait, I’m sorr-

DOCUMENT 4

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OF THE COUNCIL REGARDING THE WISH DOCTOR

Name: [REDACTED] [REDACTED]

Aliases: The Wish Doctor, Papa Possibly, Daddy Desire [note: very few refer to him as the last two]

Allies: The Watchers

Enemies: The Council

Half Watchers employed: Rolan Loffin, Ezme Aelinor, Stella [UNKNOWN], “Boss Blossom” [LEGAL NAME UNKNOWN]

Other deal partners: Gillion Tidestrider-Slimecicle, Chip James, Jay Ferin

Chapter Text

“I didn’t know you guys had my diary in there,” Niki said, looking over the documents after Xiv finished reading them, “glad you kept the bit about ripping people’s hearts out of their rib cages though.”

“That’s all we were able to find,” Charlie
replied, “I think we have more, but it’s not on me. The files are split up between The Council.”

“Hold up.”

All eyes turned to Xiv, who was standing with the first document in hand, rereading it.

“Wait…Charlie, is this you?”

Charlie slowly nodded.

“So, you’re telling me that this man,” Xiv said, gesturing to Charlie, “killed a fucking unkillable god of blood?!”

“Removed the soul, but yeah,” Charlie said, “y’know, I bet Ran has a bunch of the documents. He helped Gill out when he became a cardinal.”

“You have another cardinal kid?”, Tom asked, “I thought you said it was only Flippa?!”

“I didn’t want to disclose that information. Never know who’s listening,” Charlie said, gesturing to a necklace Tom was wearing. It had a gold chain, and on it rested a small star.

“I trust them Charlie. Maybe you should too.”

“Let’s not argue,” Niki interrupted, “we should check out Ran’s place. Xiv, stay here.”

“Why should I stay here,” they replied, “also who’s Ran?”

“Old friend of ours,” Charlie replied, “and I have something for you to do. You need to find yourself some people you can trust with this information; somebody you can filter your power into.”

“They’re called Conductors,” Niki inputted, “basically, if you’re trapped somewhere and your power goes off, you filter it through them so a, they aren’t defenseless, and b, you don’t have all the power. You’re harnessing raw power from The Universe, you need something to put it into.”

“I have just the people,” Xiv said, “and they’re in the kitchen. Or should be.”

——————————————————————

After the adults left to visit this Ran guy, Xiv showed the documents to Tal, Klip, and Rai, explaining it.

It took a hot second for them to get it, but they got it eventually. And being the almost adults they are (Klip was the closest to adult between the four of them, he was 17), they made a very mature executive decision on what to do with the power.

They went to fuck around with it in the backyard.

Turns out, it was hard for Xiv to activate it at will, so they decided to flick something at their face to flinch and activate the power.

After they got the hang of activating it, it was all uphill from there.

Rai figured out that he could use it by touching a shared surface with Xiv, and Tal could do it as long as he was in hearing range. Klip didn’t seem to have the same raw power transferred with Rai and Tal, but was able to use it as a boost for any movement ever and almost hit a tree while jumping.

Safe to say they stopped after that.

About two hours after they departed, the adults came back. Charlie was carrying a cardboard box full of files, and Niki and Tom each carried a stack of books.

The files were more documents on people mentioned in the wish doctor document, information on The Showfall Media association, newspapers from as early as the 30s, and more folktales about Watchers and Listeners.

As far as the books went, they were mostly journals and research documents, but some of them seemed to be more than that.

One book that Rai picked up had a symbol etched in silver. It was an incomplete tall rectangle, with dots replacing the upper left and lower right corners. The book itself was a deep purple.

“What’s this one?”, he asked, flipping through the pages.

“We don’t really know that one,” Charlie replied, “I’d give you the opportunity to investigate yourself, but we don’t know what that’s capable of; I’ll hold onto it for now.”

“Would I be allowed to investigate with you here?”, he asked, “it seems…interesting…”

“I’m fine with it,” said a new voice from the door, “or at least Ran is. As long as it gets back to them eventually.”

Standing at the door was what appeared to be a young adult, but they were exceptionally short. They had long, brown hair with a red beanie on top, as well as a red flannel over a black shirt and black jeans, along with beat-up-once-white shoes.

“Thanks for this,” Niki said, “tell Ran we appreciate it.”

“No problem,” they replied, “this the new guy?”

They pointed a casual finger at Xiv, who nodded back.

“Xiv, meet Aimsey,” Charlie said, “they’re a Conductor.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Aimsey said, offering a hand. Xiv took it, and their eyes glinted purple for a second, grinning.

With that, they snapped a finger, purple electricity cackling at the contact.

“That one’s cool,” they grinned, “definitely more interesting visually than Ran’s.”

“Um…thanks?”, Xiv responded, shooting Charlie a “who is this person?” glance.

“Welp, thanks for having me over gang,” Rai said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, “but I’ve got to go.”

“Why are you going?”, Tal asked.

“I’ve got…chess club! Yeah, chess club,” Rai responded nervously, “and this meet’s very important. Goodbye!”

Xiv knew that Rai didn’t have chess club. He’d said on multiple occasions that he wasn’t in the chess club; but Xiv didn’t want to try to stop him leaving.

After he left, Tal and Klip went back home to actually do their homework (and then text the group chat asking for answers), and Tom left the room, saying he had to take a call in the yard. He returned looking disheveled to say the least, but Xiv didn’t comment on it.

It was around six, when they usually had dinner, so Xiv threw in a microwave burrito for themselves and grabbed a Ginger Ale. Aimsey and Charlie each cracked open a Monster as they looked over the evidence, and Niki had an open Celsius in one hand and a book in another. Tom didn’t have any caffeine; the man seemed nervous enough without it and Xiv wouldn’t like to see him with it.

Eventually, Gillion and Flippa came back from their dance classes; Flippa complaining about being starving and throwing herself on the couch as Gillion brought in both of their dance bags. Being the kind older brother he was, Gillion reheated leftover mac n cheese from the other night and gave it to her while she sat on the couch, watching more Bluey.

Xiv took a break from reading a very homoerotic folktale about The Leader of the Watchers and a mortal man to make a pot of rice, Gillion frying some Spam. They took up two slightly shitty rice bowls to Peter and Will, the two doing homework.

“Me and Gill made rice bowls,” they said, opening the door with their foot, “and you’ll eat them.”

The two murmured a thanks and took the bowls, Xiv leaving the two of them to be productive with their life. Nerds.

Gillion had a rice bowl, and Xiv helped themselves to one despite having a microwave burrito earlier. Reading is tiring work.

It was around nine when Aimsey left for the night, saying that their girlfriend would worry if they stayed out too late. Tom left next, giving Charlie a hug and Xiv a pat on the back. He seems to be scared of Niki.

After Tom left, Gillion joined their research, seeing as he had the best reading comprehension out of the four of them. Flippa had gone to bed a few minutes earlier, and the other boys were still upstairs.

“Hey Gill, how’s it going with Chip?”, Xiv asked, “you seem awkward around him, did the two of you get into a fight again?”

“What do you mean by that?”, Gillion answered, “we haven’t fought in a long time.”

“Nothinggg,” Xiv drew out, “just that you seem jumpy around him. Are you scared of him?”

“Why would I be scared of my best friend?”, Gillion asked, averting his attention to a pile of files and reading the top one closely in an attempt to hide his flushed face.

“You keep answering my questions with questions,” Xiv pointed out, “and your face is really red. Sunburn?”

“Yep, you know how that sun is,” Gillion hastily replied, “always…burning.”

Xiv shot Charlie a knowing look, who grinned at Gillion. Niki seemed amused, taking a break from the 80s newspaper she was reading to look at the other three.

A heavy silence fell on the group.

“Anything you wanna say there man?”, Charlie asked, putting his file down, “you’re being suspiciously quiet right now.”

“What do you mean,” Gillion replied, “I’m always this quiet!”

“You’re not even quiet when you sleep,” Xiv added, “I have to wear earplugs to get some semblance of a decent rest.”

“Remind me when you go to sleep?”, Gillion asked, gaining no response. “That’s what I thought.”

The group let that conversation die down, continuing to sift through files. Unfortunately, their collective neurodivergence ignored the passing time until William came downstairs, half asleep.

“What are you guys doing up? It’s like one in the morning,” he asked, grabbing a package of sliced cheese from the refrigerator. He sat on top of the counter and opened the package, grabbing a slice of cheese and eating it.

“Oh no! I should definitely go home now, thanks for having me!” Niki said, slinging her tote bag over her shoulder and dashing out the house.

Xiv yawned and started to head upstairs, Gillion in suit. Charlie followed the pair, asking William if he wanted the lights off, to which the other responded with a yes. They’ve probably done that song and dance before.

Not bothering to brush their teeth, Xiv flopped straight into their bed (they always change into pajamas the second they get home), lying face down. After a few minutes, Gillion came into the room.

“If you’re going to sleep, you should at least get under the covers,” he said, slinging Xiv over his shoulder like they weighed nothing. He pulled back the covers and the sheets, setting Xiv down and putting the covers back on top of them.

“You don’t have to tuck me in,” Xiv said as the other got into his own bed.

“I know. But I figured I could help.”

“Thanks man. You’re a great brother.”

“I can only try my best,” Gillion replied, a smile evident in his voice, “and you’re a great sibling.”

The two of them eventually fell asleep, Xiv not even noticing the other’s snoring.

Outside, the moon is full.

Two cloaked men walk down the street, in the direction of Rai’s house.

One of them stops to look at Xiv’s house.

“Cmon B,” the other says, “we’re burning moonlight.”

“Why are we doing this?”

The other is silent.

“If the kid really is powerful enough,” B goes on, “why can’t we hand him over to Her? She can train him. This isn’t our business.”

“He’s one of us,” the other replies, “another that She stole. Niklaus can get him in order once we get everything taken care of.”

“This is wrong. We’re gonna break the poor kid’s heart.”

“He’s strong willed, he’ll be fi-“

“I’m talking about Charlie’s kid,” B snaps, “they’ve gone through enough already. We’re gonna break them.”

“Then so be it.”

Chapter Text

Everything was gone.

It was simply void, no sun, no stars, no moon.

A woman stood before Gillion.

The woman’s body seemed to be made of nebulae and galaxies; stars creating freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her eyes shone a bright white, but not coldly.

“Hello, Cardinal of the Seas,” she said to him.

“Who are you?”, Gillion demanded, “And where are we?”

The woman simply smiled, and offered her hand. Hesitantly, Gillion took it.

They weren’t standing in void anymore. Now they were in front of Gillion’s old home. Where he was before Charlie.

Where he was during the hardest time of his life.

The woman was now a normal-looking person, with tanned-near-burnt skin and orange hair. She had a rather uncanny resemblance to Jay, right down to the way she tilted her head in analysis.

“I…do not wish to be here…”, Gillion said, looking at the manor. It was the kind you’d see in the deep South, with tall pillars and white walls. Gardens surrounded it.

“Then so be it,” the woman replied.

Now they stood in front of Rai’s apartment door. Rai had been shifted through foster homes for years, and according to Xiv, this was the first one that officially adopted him. The woman opened the door, and Gillion entered.

He’d never truly been inside; he’d only walked Xiv up to the door when he dropped them off. The inside was fairly normal, with a small dinner table and mismatched chairs in the middle. The kitchen was normal, with photos of Rai and what Gillion presumed to be his adopted father hung up on it. However, one of the pictures wasn’t of Rai; it was of Rai’s father, Charlie, Jay’s Uncle Condi, and another man who Charlie didn’t recognize. The four of them grinned at the camera, standing on a cliff at a place Gillion recognized as Yosemite National Park. Waterfalls flowed in the background, and they seemed much younger.

Gillion looked back at the woman, and found she’d moved onto the living room. The couch was a navy blue, with a few pillows and blankets tossed onto it haphazardly.

Just as the woman was about to say something, the door opened.

It was two men, both having deep purple cloaks on with the hood off. The taller one had a second pair of eyes underneath his eyes, a symbol of an incomplete rectangle with dots in the upper left and lower right corners inside the purple irises; replacing pupils. A pair of wings sprouted from in front of where his ears may be, and the same eyes with the same symbol were on them. His hair was black and tightly coiled, as well as having a well kept beard.

The other was shorter, with dirty blond hair cut into bangs and the beginning of what may be a mullet. His purple wings covered his eyes, seeming blind. Both of them wore a clasped cloak, with the taller wearing shorts under a pair of sheer purple pants, and the shorter having a purple dress, cut off at the sides around the knee area and continuing until his shins in the front.

“What are you doing here?”, the taller asked, worry in his face as he looked at Gillion, “And what is he doing?”

“What are the two of you doing in the house of an innocent,” the woman asked, venom laced in her previously motherly tone, “he is of no business to you.”

“He is a half watcher,” the shorter argued, “it is in our right to train him.”

“You’ve ruined the lives of far too many,” the woman snapped, “you will not ruin this one.”

“Make me,” the shorter declared, starting to step towards the woman, not shooting Gillion a single glance.

Then, Gillion woke up, his alarm ringing.

He decided not to analyze this dream, shrugging it off and untangling his legs from his sheets. Xiv would always joke that when he slept, he looked like he was spooning somebody. Maybe that’s how he was meant to sleep.

Standing up from his bed, he found that Xiv must’ve already gotten up, seeing as their bed was empty and made. He stopped his alarm on his phone, and headed into the bathroom to wash up.

Xiv was already there, doing their skincare.

“Morning,” they said, applying moisturizer, “did you rest well?”

“Pretty well,” Gillion replied, turning on the water at the other sink. After he washed his face, he headed to him and Xiv’s room to pull out his clothes for the day.

As he looked through his section of the closet, he found a hoodie he didn’t recognize. It was a dark red, with the design of an inky black skull on the back.

“Xiv, do you know who’s hoodie this is?”, he asked the other, who was lying on their phone.

“Looks like Chip’s,” they replied, “he probably left it and I put it in your closet on accident.”

Gillion nodded, taking it out. He would give it to Chip today. Or, he could wear it on his way to school and give it to Chip. He’d decide on that later, seeing as the familiar yell of Flippa calling for breakfast came through the house.

Xiv and Gillion headed downstairs, sitting down at the table. Charlie had made a pan of scrambled eggs, and Gillion grabbed himself a yogurt from the fridge.

“Hi Gilly!!”

Gillion looked down to see Flippa smiling at him, offering him a spoon.

“Why thank you,” he replied, picking her up with one arm. She shrieked in joy, holding onto him.

“Gill, you’ve gotta stop doing that,” Charlie commented as he packed Flippa’s lunch, “you’re gonna pull something.”

Gillion set Flippa down, sitting down in his own chair. Across the table from him, William groggily ate his eggs, typing on his phone. A message dinged, and his eyes widened a bit.

“Who are you texting there Will?”, Charlie asked.

“Nobody. Just Vyncent.” William replied.

Gillion smirked to himself and shot Xiv a knowing glance, which they reciprocated. His social understandings were…to be improved on, but he’d always been good at reading body language.

He finished his breakfast and went up to the bathroom to brush his teeth, Xiv behind him. After he finished brushing his teeth, he and Xiv bolted to the room, trying to get there first so they could change. Xiv managed to scramble into the door first, so Gillion went back into the bathroom to brush out his hair.

Xiv finished in their room and headed into the bathroom to do their hair, so Gillion headed in to change. He decided to wear Chip’s hoodie over to school and to give it to him, along with a pair of black jeans and a navy blue long sleeve shirt.

After he finished changing, Gillion went into the bathroom to fix his hair and put on a black headband, pushing his hair out of his face.

“Wearing your boyfriend’s hoodie I see,” Xiv commented, spraying their hair with water to brush it back, “how scandalous.”

“Wha- he’s not my boyfriend!”, Gillion exclaimed, “why would you say that?!”

“First off, the two of you look at each other longingly; second off, Jay told me the two of you eat lunch together a lot; third off, you’re wearing his hoodie; fourth off, he likes your muscles and fancy hair, I’ve seen his journal.” Xiv listed on their fingers.

“He thinks it’s fancy?”

Xiv shrugged, opening their eyeliner and applying it. He didn’t want to distract them during this critical moment of getting ready, so he left.

When he got down the stairs, Charlie and Flippa had already driven off to her school, so Gillion grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He checked the time, seeing that it was 7:45.

“I’m heading to pick up Chip and Jay,” he yelled upstairs, “call me if you need me!”

With that, he headed out the front door and locked it behind him, walking to the apartment complex that Chip lived in.

The walk took around 15 minutes; with Gillion waving to some of Flippa’s friends and their parents on the way. He walked up the stairs of a old apartment building to Chip’s apartment on the 3rd floor.

Gillion knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, a winded Chip answered.

“Hey Gill!”

With that, Chip bolted down the hall, followed by a very angry Lizzie sticking her head out the door.

“HEY!! GET YOUR OWN EYELINER,” she yelled at him, “weirdo.”

Sometimes Gillion didn’t get how Chip and Lizzie didn’t get along; he’d always gotten along with his siblings. Even he and Edyn got along when he lived back…there.

Setting that aside, he followed Chip down the hall to the elevator.

“Anyway, how’s it going man?”, Chip asked, hitting the first floor button a few times until it lit up.

“It’s been good,” Gillion responded, “we just saw each other yesterday.”

“Fair. Wait, isn’t that my hoodie?” the other asked, gesturing to Gillion. He felt his face flush, and glanced down to the floor.

“Well,” Gillion mumbled, “I figured you’d want it back, so I figured I’d wear it to meet you and then give it to you.”

“You’re good,” Chip laughed, “you can keep it if you want. Arlin says I have a hoodie problem, so you’d help with that.”

Gillion have him a smile, and the rest of the elevator ride was silent.

Then, the two of them headed into the nicest neighborhood within 40 miles of them to pick up Jay. She was having knee issues as of recent, so she was the last person to be picked up so she wouldn’t strain her knees too much.

“Hey idiots,” she called, heading down the steps of her house, “let’s go fuck shit up.”

It was around 8:20 now, and school started at 8:45, so they weren’t too late. On their way, they passed La Alma and Clorten, two old friends, walking as well.

“Hey Clorten, hey La Alma!” Gillion called to them across the street.

Clorten, the taller of the two, waved with La Alma in suit. After that, the two of them went back to holding hands and talking about whatever they were talking about.

“I think they’re gay,” Jay commented, “like for each other.”

“Where’d you get that from?” Chip asked.

“They always hold hands and talk to each other all whispery and shit,” she replied, “also, have you seen the way they look at each other when they watch each other’s games?”

Clorten played indoor volleyball for Spruce Man’s Peak High School, or SMP High. La Alma was the captain of the school’s award-winning wrestling team; and the two of them would frequent each other’s games and matches.

“How would I know, I never go to the games!” Chip replied, “I bet you go because Lizzie goes to see Caspian in volleyball.”

“I’m supporting our school’s sports program Mr. ‘Too Cool to Go to Most Football Games,’” Jay shot back.

“I go to the games!!”

“Only because Lizzie does Song and Tastrius plays!”

“Of course you’d know Lizzie does Song, you weirdo stalker.”

“Wha-Chip, the two of us are on the same dance team anyway!”

“We all are on the same dance team,” Gillion deadpanned.

Gillion watched the other two bicker until the three of them got to school, and then proceeded to get nearly hit by Xiv, whizzing past on a bike that was likely not theirs. His theory was confirmed by Tal sprinting after them, calling for his bike back.

After Gillion got into the school building, he and Jay split off with Chip. Jay and Gillion had English first period, and Chip had P.E. first period, which had to suck.

As the pair walked in, their teacher, Mr S. Lab, gave them a wave from behind his geeky looking book on computers. He ran the computer science club alongside Mr. Tek, the freshman Bio teacher, and Ms. Moon, who taught ceramics.

English went by fairly fast; they just read and took notes on their book, Fahrenheit 451. Chip liked that book, perhaps it had to do with the use of fire. Who knows.

Next was P.E., which he shared with Caspian and John. They were running the mile and Gillion got a new personal record of six minutes twenty-two seconds, beating John by five seconds. Caspian was never a runner and took around eleven minutes, but he and John waited for the other before going to the fields to play soccer until Mr Sv called everybody in to change back into their clothes.

After P.E. was lunch, and Gillion sat at his usual spot on the grass with John and Caspian. After a bit, Chip and Jay came over to collect Gillion so the three of them could go to the library and see if any books were put back or added. Jay and Gillion didn’t find anything, but Chip found a collection of fairy tales called Uprooted: Dimwits of the Dimwood. Apparently Ollie wanted it for a while, but they didn’t carry it at his elementary school library.

“You sure you getting that for Ollie?” Jay asked, “Looks kinda scary. Big bugs n shit.”

“So you were lying the entire time we watched Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind?!”, Gillion exclaimed, “That had a lot of bugs! I thought you liked that movie!!”

“Oi,” commented Mr Cub, the librarian, “quiet down over there. This is a library, not a bowling alley.”

“I liked it,” Chip piped in, “I thought the bugs were cool.”

Then there was his favorite class; drama. The school was doing a production of Alice in Wonderland, and they were finished with it and just practicing before the shows in a week. As far as leads went, Jay was Alice, Rumi was the White Rabbit, Vyncent was the Mad Hatter, and Lizzie was the Queen of Hearts. Gillion played the slightly smaller role of the March Hare, but he didn’t really mind it.

“OFF WITH THEIR-“, Lizzie yelled (in character), swinging her scepter back and hitting Caspian, the King of Hearts, square in the nose; on accident of course.

“SHIT-“, Caspian yelped just as he got clocked, tripping and falling back.

Lizzie immediately stopped and kneeled down next to him, frantically asking if he was ok; which he was. He seemed fine and found it funny, but not as funny Chip did, who was absolutely losing it. Chip was in ensemble, and was currently a royal card on the stage.

Xiv was also in the theater program as a flower in the play, and they played rock paper scissors with Gillion in the wings (both of them almost missed their cues multiple times but it was fine). Ms Eret only snapped at the two of them once.

And just like that, the school day was over.

Gillion and Chip dropped Jay off at her house, and Chip dashed into his apartment building before Lizzie could reach it on her bike.

The walk back home was under a bright blue sky sprinkled with clouds; a break in the usual May gloom. A couple of kids ran races in the street under the watchful eyes of two fathers leaning back in lawn chairs.

“Gill,” called one of them that wore a red headband, Roier, “Charlie’s doing good?”

“Much better,” Gillion replied, “are you and Cellbit still down for sending Bobby over tomorrow? Charlie wanted me to ask you guys and Jaiden.”

“Course man! Jaiden seemed down for it, no worries!”

Gillion gave him a thanks and continued down the street, waving to the kids playing as he walked by.

After a few more minutes he made it to his house, where Flippa was running around in her favorite yellow swimsuit with a pink skirt under the garden hose, Charlie sitting on a lawn chair nearby with the hose in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Hey Gill! How was school?”, Charlie asked, putting his phone on the armrest of his chair.

“Pretty good! Xiv’s with Tal today, right?”

“Yep,” Charlie replied, “study’s at his house today. Speaking of study, are Jay and Chip coming over later?”

“I don’t think so, Jay said she has another fancy event to go to and Chip said that Arlin might take him and Lizzie boating today with the weather warming up. I see you and Flippa were enjoying the weather,” Gillion said, motioning to Flippa running.

“Yeah, you can join if you want!”

“I’m good,” Gillion chuckled, “I’ll probably just get ready for dance. Stella needs all hands on deck with the assistants; recital’s coming up.”

With that Gillion headed inside, heading upstairs and dropping his bag near his desk. He went through his dresser drawer and found a pair of dark blue dance pants and a black tank top, setting them out for later. Then, he walked downstairs to make himself a bagel with cream cheese for a snack.

He finished getting ready for dance, grabbing his dance bag and heading into his car to go to the studio. It was around 20 minutes away, more downtown than the house.

Assisting classes went alright, he just had to do the fairly easy recital dance and make sure kids weren’t talking. After assisting, he had his solo with Shelby, and it went fairly decent for an endurance run.

He got back home at around 5:30, pulling up to find Xiv walking home from Tal’s house. The two exchanged nods, walking into the house.

The rest of the evening went well, Gillion did homework until dinner, then he showered and did some more homework until he went to bed.

His dreams tonight weren’t any less weird than last night.

Gillion stood inside what seemed to be a courtroom in a cave. He sat in a finely decorated spruce chair, and the others at the table looked like elves from a fantasy movie like Lord of the Rings.

At the head of the table was the previous Cardinal of the Snow, Scott (Gillion was pretty sure that he quit and passed the title on to the current Cardinal of Power, but minds can always be changed). He was also an elf dressed in blue and white robes with golden accents, and his blue eyes were icier than Gillion remembered seeing when he came over to discuss with Charlie.

“My council members,” Scott started, “I have gathered you here today to discuss an issue I know all of you are facing. The Red Death is slowly growing out of control, and according to our allies in the Ocean Empire, it’s not looking good.”

Scott turned to look at Gillion.

“Tidestrider. You do not have as much time as you think you do. Watch out for the one with the Book of the Watchers. Do not let the sea swallow him. We do not know what she will do if she figures it out.”

With that, Gillion found himself at the foot of a very tall woman, whose appearance was more like that of an axolotl humanoid, her skin blue and hair pink. She wore dark blue coral armor over a flowing white dress, and her eyes shone bright white. They both stood on a sea shore, with the woman in the water and Gillion on the sand.

The woman kneeled down so she was at level with Gillion, and spoke in a low, echoing voice.

“We are inevitable, Gillion. We will always triumph. Join the sea. Become who you have always been.”

Gillion now stood in what looked to be one of those metaphysical shops, with crystals and herbs lining the walls. Sun catchers drifted lazily in the window, and wind chimes sang outside. Vines hung from the ceiling, and he saw that the shop was lining the coast.

Another woman stood behind the counter, shuffling a deck of what Gillion presumed to be tarot cards. Her hair was dyed pink, with the brown roots showing through, and her eyes were a very light blue. She wore a white shawl over a teal dress, and wore many silver earrings and silver necklaces with purple crystals on them.

She looked up at Gillion, eyes wide. Looking back down at the deck, she pulled out a card and held it towards him, who stepped closer to see.

“Five of wands,” she said, “conflict. Impending battles. Tension, arguments. Let us take him. He will drown for those who watch, but you must aid the sea. Take him for us. Join those who feel, do not aid not those who watch.”

Finally, Gillion now stood at the Las Nevadas memorial bridge that sat over Prime River. The bridge was constructed in honor of the city of Las Nevadas that had been burned down in its entirety around 15 years ago. A lot of the residents in Spruce Man’s Peak came from Las Nevadas seeking refuge, and had become a part of the community ever since.

Rai stood at the bridge, leaning on his elbows on the railing of the bridge. His eyes were tired. The sky was foggy and a light gray, and Rai was simply looking into the water.

A woman stood opposite of Gillion on the bridge.

She was younger, in her late teens to early 20s. Her hair was straight and blonde, and it hung in front of her face in strands. Half of her face was covered by what seemed to be a white comedy mask with the features etched in gold; it was the kind Gillion would see in theatre logos. The uncovered half of her face was set grimly, bags under her stormy blue eyes. As far as clothes went, she wore a yellow varsity jacket and brown corduroy pants, with sky blue sneakers that had little pink and white beads on the laces.

“Gilllion.”

Her voice had a british accent, and it sounded weary.

“Yes…that’s me,” Gillion responded warily, “who…who are you?”

“Call me Molly.”

“Alright…Molly…why exactly am I here? Everybody else had some sort of message. Why is he here?”

Gillion gestured to Rai, who was still looking blankly into the water.

“We’re seeing what’s going to happen. Tragedy has overtaken him. This is what the others are telling you about. He is about to sacrifice himself for those who wish to watch. Those who represent the river want you to take him.”

Molly looks at Rai and her eyes grow distant.

“Keep an eye on him for me, will you? Prevent this from happening in the first place. Please. For Xiv, for The Council, and for Us.”

She turned around to walk off her side of the bridge. Her hair was pushed to the side, so Gillion could see what the back of her varsity jacket read.

It said “COMEDY” in gold lettering.