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Mystic was tired.She had finally presented her Dramaturgy presentation, she had her second day of rehearsal for "Macbeth," and she'd still been going through roommate drama. Her life was certainly not easy, and she felt like hope was out of reach."I just.....I just want to be as charismatic and beautiful and talented as my best friend."Mystic knew her best friend cared about her, but it was difficult for Mystic because her best friend seemed to always be one step ahead in terms of......just about everything, it seemed. She was not only tired physically, but also mentally and emotionally. 
I can help you, you know that.
Mystic merely sighed. She was used to him by now. It was her that had let him gain access to the other writers' mind. 
You have something on your mind, my sweet. What about Lyra?

She said someone told her you have plans for her as well.

Oh, yes. Yes, indeed. I have plans for each of the writers I have invaded. Yours is marriage to me, of course. You already know Stella's; however, I was thinking of actually making her into a songbird, as in a bird that will sing on command.

And Lyra?
There was a moment of silence.
I wish to see how a servant can function under a hypnotic trance.

So you're going to hypnotize her?!

You make it sound like such a terrible thing. She will not feel pain. On the contrary, the trance will submerge her true self into a state of tranquility and bliss, while her servant personality takes over.

I'd rather die.

I'll not let you. Remember the last time you tried to kill yourself? I can do it again.

Set them all free! I don't want this! I DON'T WANT ANY OF THIS!

Now, now, calm down, my precious. You don't even know what I'm offering. Let me show you what's in store for you when you become my bride. 
Before she could respond, Mystic's mind went black and everything went silent.

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The sounds of bells. That was the first thing Mystic heard when she awoke. But part of her didn't want to wake up. Her bed was so soft.
Wait a second.
Her bed felt too soft. Shooting up, she found herself in a white bed covered by a canopy. To her left was a mirror. Getting out of bed, she put on her glasses and went over to the mirror, only to be shocked at what she saw. No, nothing had changed at all. At least, not physically. That much Mystic could tell. But there was something else. Something that made her stare. She felt......beautiful. As beautiful as she saw her best friend to be. "What the hell?" she gasped."What's going on?"

I have given you sight.

Sight? What are you talking about?

Your college friends, the theatre major friends, your best friends, your family, this is how they see you, you know. They think you're beautiful as you are. I have given you the sight to see that.

Hearing this, Mystic was puzzled. She thought that the Cursed God was trying to make her life miserable, but here he was, showing her what, apparently, her friends saw in her. They saw beauty in her? How was that possible?
No, this feels wrong. Isn't that something I should find in myself?

Why? I have shown you it to be true.

Yes, but......this doesn't feel right. Shouldn't it be something I find out on my own?

Well, now you don't need to. Come, there is more to see.

Following the entity, Mystic found herself outside in a beautiful garden. One that was exactly like the one she wanted to someday have.
What is this?

This is the Garden of Hope. Where weary souls go to rejuvenate.

All of a sudden, she felt a strange, cooling sensation in her left arm. Looking down, she noticed that the bruise was gone.
What the hell?

Why do you hurt yourself?

It's stress relief. Besides, it's better than hurting others.

But doesn't it hurt them to see you inflict pain upon yourself?

He did have a point. Her best friend had said so herself.
Why are you being so kind to me? What's the catch?

There is none. I just wish to show you how much better your life could be if you were to be my bride. I do want you to agree willingly, of course.

Mystic took a few moments to let this sink in. Why was he showing her all of this beauty? There HAD to be a catch.
I mean, this IS beautiful.

Ahh, but we've barely just begun to scratch the surface and explore eternity. Let's keep going, shall we?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Strolling through the castle, Mystic felt astonished at what she was seeing. 
All of this? It can't be. There MUST be a catch.

I can assure you, my love, there is no catch. Have I not given you the ability to see how your loved ones see you, something you've been trying to see for years and years?

Well, yes, but----

It's them, isn't it? They think I'm trying to trap you, don't they?

Sighing Mystic nodded.
They think you don't really love me.

THEY THINK I DON'T LOVE YOU?

Pure fury radiated from his voice.

AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE? AFTER ALL OF THE THINGS YOU'VE BEEN WRITING DOWN ABOUT WHAT I'VE SHOWN YOU, THEY DARE TO CLAIM THAT I DON'T TRULY LOVE YOU?

By this time, Mystic was trembling.

Please don't be afraid, my dearest. It's not you that I'm angry at. It's them. They're lying to you.

He took a deep breath.

Here, let me prove it to them, to you. I have something to show you.

They walked along for sometime before coming to a stop in an open field. A meadow, to be precise.
What are we doing here?

I've been told you've wanted to see a blue rose. Well, look down by your feet.

Glancing below, sure enough, there was a pure blue rose.
It.....It's beautiful.

Ah, but that's not all, my love.

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of hooves. Looking up, she gasped to see, right in front of her, in white.
A.....a unicorn?

Yes, indeed. It only approaches those with a pure heart.

The unicorn stopped at Mystic before gracefully landing his head on her lap. Mystic pet him lovingly, tears filling her eyes.
This.....this is unbelievable! I can't remember when I've felt this happy.

And that's not all. Whenever you are ready, I have more to show you, my sweet.

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After some time, he told Mystic that he had to quickly complete some things.Teleporting to his throne room, he saw several familiar faces. "Nicholas," he greeted. "Kerrie, Sally, what is it you have come to tell me?"The three of them glanced at each other, unsure of where to begin. "I'll start," Kerrie sighed."Is this good?""Indeed, my lord," she confirmed. "Within Eris Rose's castle, I found a tear. It's a small one, but you can see her typing through it."Hearing this the Cursed God smiled triumphantly."Excellent," he huffed."And she's SOOOOO cute!" Sally squealed. "Almost as cute as Little Orphan Annie.""And Nicholas?""This.....is actually rather inconvenient news," he sighed. "The other writers they, uh, they're trying to get her to turn against you.""After EVERYTHING I've done, all for her?" the Cursed God chuckled. "She's nearly in my grasp.""Are you actually going to give it all to her?" Nicholas wondered."Of course," he nodded. "Absolutely. Why would I not want to thank the one who released me from my prison?""But wasn't it Taylor who---?" Kerrie wondered."DO NOT MENTION THAT DISGUSTING NAME!" he roared. "That witch will meet her undoing soon enough. I would have been able to have set up my palace at Paramount Ranch if it weren't for her.""So you DON'T want to marry her?""Were she the last on earth, I would burn her to a crisp than be betrothed to her, burn her as she did my home.""So what makes Mystic so special?""Ah, THAT," he chuckled. "Is extensive. In short, her mind is full of creativity. Her innocence opens her mind to many possibilities. And, of course, she was the one who helped me to access the minds of those writers in the first place. But it seems they're beginning to step out of line. We need to put them under the spell a bit more quickly. Once her series is finished, so will everything I have prepared.""Should we send out more mind molders tonight?" Kerrie wondered."Hmm," he pondered. "Yes, BUT also send out a few sanity scorchers as well to a few......unlucky ones.""So the ones who were responsible for----""Make sure that witch gets both a mind molder and a sanity scorcher! She'll pay for what she's done."

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After a few moments, Luke arrived with two tanks filled with vicious spiritual parasites."Who exactly are we sending these to?" he wondered."Everyone who was responsible for what happened at Paramount Ranch, for one," the Cursed God growled."That would include........HER. She orchestrated the whole thing, after all. The mastermind behind it. In fact, send her 2 of each.""Wasn't Nora there as well?" Kerrie asked. "Yes," he agreed in a venomous hiss. "Yes, she was. In fact she was the one who lit the first match. However, I'm working on breaking her. She feels so guilty about killing them off. She's no better than I am, at least that's what I want her to think. Besides, she has been praising my works in those 'novelizations'. She'll make an excellent propaganda producer once she's completely under my thumb. As a matter of fact, send her a Mind Molder with instructions to produce and post a story or two praising and worshipping me.""Noted," Luke nodded."What about Lyra? And that Genevieve chick?""Hmm. We need to get Genevieve to remember her days before she used her talents for good. Remind her how satisfying it was to hypnotize those unsuspecting victims. Indeed she'll be an excellent hypnotist for my army. As for Lyra, make her Genevieve's first victim of very deep hypnosis; I want to see if, while her true personality is stuck in a state of tranquility, she'll still be able to function with a servant personality implanted in her mind.""Okay, what about Stella?"The Cursed God smirked."Oh, I've decided on a better plan than breaking her; make her Genevieve's second victim of very deep hypnosis. She'll become a true songbird whenever I or my bride commands her.""Got it. Who else?""Let's see;"Lucy, make her believe she's Nicholas's daughter. "Arya, clone them and turn them into my MINION ARMY!"Caelan, well, there's this thing in the future called Pokemon and there's a Pokemon with that prefix. Make them into an obedient Pokemon."Alice, hmm, I've always been rather fond of the story of Alice in Wonderland. Make her Genevieve's third victim; she'll believe she's Alice from Alice in Wonderland. "Tristen, turn them into an obedient android. "Dooper, make them into an obedient Pokemon as well, I guess. "Harlow, make them an obedient agent for our side. "Briar, turn them into an obedient dragon. "Ciel, make them believe they are Cinderella, but just the obedient servant part of Cinderella. "Rene, another propaganda producer. "Parris, inject them with that special mixture I made. It will make them grow fresh, juicy, magical blueberries from their body for all of eternity. Oh, and hypnotize them as well. "Sunny, inject them with the other special mixture to make them grow fresh, flavorful, magical gum for all of eternity. "Sequoia, inject them with the third special mixture and make them produce gold coins. They'll be our personal bank."Kasey, make them feel nothing but total allegiance and obedience to us. "Shiloh, turn them into an obedient wolf."Celeste, inject her with the fourth mixture and hypnotize her. She'll personally create constellations for us. And if she's good, I'll create a dark queen Safiya for her to marry. "Cedar, I dunno, make them a poet or something.""Is that everyone?" Luke asked as the other clowns sent out the customized parasites.The Cursed God thought for a moment."No," he answered."Send that special spiritual bug to my bride.""The innocence insect?" Sally gasped."Yes," the Cursed God replied."Her innocence is one of the reasons I'm so fond of her. Why not make her even more so? Oh, and make sure the bug is sweet and gentle to her. Send a sleeper as well, just in case. She'll wake up feeling reborn. And she'll be so sweet and kind and cute and gentle. Speaking of cute, Sally, I'm going to need you to get Rosanna as well. She'll be the perfect companion for my bride."And what that, every single spiritual parasite had been sent out to their unaware hosts.

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The Cursed God sat contently upon his throne as the parasites were delivered to each unlucky recipient. He felt rather content with himself. Not only would this world fall to chaos, but he would have someone by his side to watch it all go to shit."Um, your majesty?" Luke squeaked.
"We seem to have a problem. Those who received their parasites already are fighting hard.""Let them fight," he declared.
"They'll exhaust themselves eventually.""That, however, includes fair Mystic."This took him by surprise."Well," he chuckled.
"She's more strong-willed than I anticipated.""Um, your majesty," Nicholas coughed.
"I hope you don't mind, but....I've been lonely for a while myself. Maybe when all of this goes to shit, I could, you know, have a bride of my own. Or groom."The Cursed God cackled loudly."Why didn't you just ask sooner?" he hooted.
"Did you have someone in mind?""Um, well, yeah," he sighed.
"I've, uh, I've kinda got my eyes on.......what's her name? Nora, I think. Her influence could, uh, could help people see the light in the dark and then....then they'd default to us."The Cursed God, weighing this possibility, made a few pondering noises."I suppose her influence could be good for someone. She could be my propaganda creator by day, your wife by night. What the hell? Go ahead. Luke, send her a Love Lock, with a bit of Nicholas's hair embedded into it.""Noted.""BUT.......also send one to Morticia. Have 'em battle one another for Nicholas.""Noted.""Oh! Maybe I could have someone?" Kerrie exclaimed.
"I was thinking, maybe, that Dooper dude or Lyra. I think maybe an extra clown could help us out.""Go with Lyra after her real self falls into the trance. She'll definitely fall into the psychotic clown persona, once Genevieve falls into our clutches.""I'll note that as well.""Anyone you would like, Sally?""I just wanna cuddle with Mystic and Annie.""What about us?" three voice spat.Boots clomping the three witches strutted inside."We helped you as well," Debra scoffed."Yeah," Sandra added.
"We were the ones who sucked up Maria's youth. How about you give one to ME to suck the youth out of.""One for me," Debra piped up.
"To turn into a minion puppet.""And one for me," Belle contributed.
"I dunno. Just someone for me to mess around with.""And ME!" a voice squealed.Running in with a growling demon dog by her side is Lucy, the Carnival Master's daughter, giggling maniacally."Give ME someone to crazify.""Sweetheart, daddy's a little busy," Nicholas sighed."Please, daddy," she cried.
"Please get me a playmate to turn crazy! OH, and one for Humphrey. I don't care what he does with them. I just want him to have one too.""ENOUGH!" the Cursed God exclaimed.
"THIS is how it will work; I shall have Mystic. Nicholas will have Nora and Morticia fight for his affections. Kerrie, you'll get Lyra once we get Genevieve under our control. Sally, you can cuddle with Mystic once in a while, but you can take Little Orphan Annie. Sandra, I'll give you.....Arya. Debra, you'll get........uh........Sunny. Belle, you can mess around with our little Alice who's traveling deeper into Wonderland. Lucy, you'll get the writer Lucy. And Humphrey.......I dunno, take Kasey. Is everyone happy now?""Wait," a voice called out.Willie walks inside."I want a crazy person to help me run the funhouse.""Dooper," the Cursed God replied without hesitation.
"You'll get Dooper. As for anyone else who wants their own writer to corrupt, take one from the pile. Now is EVERYONE satisfied?"A general murmur of agreement rippled throughout the room."Good. Luke, did you get all those name?""Yeah.""Okay, everyone who hasn't assigned a purpose to their writer, talk to Luke and he'll send the appropriate parasite."The others gathered around him as the Cursed God huffed in relief. "Um, I don't mean to be a bother," Willie squeaked.
"But I think I overheard Luke saying that Mystic is fighting her parasite.""Yes, I know. I'll be back."And with that, he disappeared.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Cursed God returned to the meadow only to find Mystic lying on the ground, shaking and weeping in agony"My love," he gasped as he knelt down beside her."What's wrong?"There was no reply for a few moments as she tried to gather herself together."There......there are.....bugs in my head, trying to......make me innocent. Make me sleep. I'm frightened. I want to go home."He took ahold of her back and without lifting a finger, she felt them leave her. At least she hoped they left. She felt a hand on her head, slowly and gently caressing her."There, there, my sweet," he coaxed her."They won't bother you again.""You promise?" she whimpered, looking up at him timidly, like a small child.He nodded.

"I promise."

She sniffled a bit more and tried to wipe away her tears, still shivering. With the snap of his fingers, a blanket appeared over her and a pillow appeared beside her.

"All of that fighting looked as though it wore you down, didn't it?"

Softly, she nodded.

"It's made you rather tired, hasn't it?"

She nodded again, her eyes fluttering as he caressed her head, slowly and gently bringing her to the ground.

"All you need is to rest for a while, my dear."

She began to feel her mind fog up. She was rather tired at this point. Maybe a little shut-eye would do her some good. Suddenly she heard something in her head, a rather quiet voice, a rather familiar voice.
i'll get to do my job. papa will be so happy.
Her eyes widened in fright and she quickly stood up, backing away from the Cursed God."What's wrong, love?" The Cursed God wondered."You look as if you've seen a ghost."He reached out for her, but she backed away. "There's no need to be afraid," he tried to coax her."Stay back," Mystic gasped angrily."Leave me alone."

"Wherefore on earth are you acting like this? You must be more tired than I thought. Let me help you fall asleep."

All of a sudden, a ticking clock began to click in her mind. She began to find him reminiscent of the Gotham Mad Hatter. She tried to fight against it, but it was beginning to wear her down. "I should've known better," she groaned as she clasped the sides of her head."Than to trust you.""It would be best if you do," he growled advancing on her."I don't want to use force, but I shall if necessary."She stumbled back as a group of pixies began to surround her, trying to hold her captive and giggling in her ear. The ticking grew louder and she swatted at the pixies. Once she found an opening in the pixies' defense, she sprinted off.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It must have been hours before she came to a halt in a clearing. Skidding to a stop, she tried to catch her breath. That was when she noticed the ticking again. It grew and grew, driving her mad, until she screamed. All of a sudden, she felt a cloth cover her mouth. Fearing the worst, she struggled against her attacker."Shh!" a voice shushed."Are you ETNMystic?""Yeah, why?"In her struggle, she saw a whip of raven-black, hair or sleeve; to be honest, she wasn't sure. She briefly stopped and whirled around to see her apprehender who pulled down the black hood of their cloak."Safiya?" she exclaimed."What are you---?""Shh! Not here. It's too dangerous."Putting an arm over her shoulder, covering her with large, black, cloth bat wings, Safiya quickly lead her through brush and hedges. It seemed like hours before she spoke."I know the Cursed God sent out those parasites," she informed Mystic quietly as they ran."That's why I had to gather everyone before it affected them. We're working to pull Alice out of her Wonderland trance, but for the most part, I'd say we're doing alright.""Who's we?" Mystic asked softly."You'll see. We're nearly there. Is that ticking sound still in your head?"Mystic nodded, but could just hear a slight ticking."It's quieter, though.""This cloak can block out the majority of mental auditory transmissions to the point where they're barely noticeable. We'll need to get you into the detox chamber the very second you come out from the cloak."After a few minutes, they came to a stop at a brick wall. Safiya, using her left hand, took out a strange pen-stick combo and traced strange inscriptions into it until it opened up to reveal a secret hideout. "Safiya!" a blonde-haired girl gasped as they stepped through, the wall closing behind them. "You found her!""Yeah. Is the detox chamber ready, Justine?""Andrea just finished setting it up.""Good. Let's get going, Mystic."Still covered by the cloak, Mystic was lead to a bunker, down several flights of stairs to a laboratory where she was surprised to find Matthew Patrick finishing up with something. Hearing their footsteps, he whirled around to face them and smiled."Hey!" he gasped."You got her back safe!""Is the detox chamber available?""Yup!" a voice from within an antechamber called. Peeking up from beneath a wall, Andrea Brooks waved through a window before standing up and exiting the room. "Sorry about that, Saf," she apologized."I just had to make a few last minute adjustments.""It's fine."Before Mystic could ask anything, Saf pulled her in close."Okay, here's the deal. In a second, I'm going to lift up the cloak. When I do, you need to get into the chamber immediately. Understood?"Mystic nodded nervously and Saf rubbed her back."It's gonna be okay. On three. 1, 2, 3!"Safiya moved away and Mystic dashed inside. Andrea shut and locked the door behind her as Safiya grabbed a lab coat and a pair of goggles, causing Mystic to feel a bit of concern."Uh, should I be wearing protective gear as well?" she asked through the room."Aside from the gloves behind you, you're fine," Safiya assured her as Andrea and Matt followed suit."There's nothing inside of us that needs to be killed, meaning that if we were to be hit with this, we would be changed drastically. This is gonna kill the parasites and the ticking noise that you've been affected with."She went over to a control panel flipping several switches and pushing several buttons as Mystic pulled on the gloves. The second she did, she felt herself being pulled back against the wall; soon her hands were pinned down and she couldn't lift them."Uh, is this supposed to happen?" she questioned."Yes," Safiya confirmed."That parasite's gonna tell you to cover your ears and that lowers the effectiveness of the frequency. The gloves are a precaution."Nervous, Mystic gulped as Safiya finished up with the controls."Okay, now this might hurt a bit, but the pain will be from the parasites struggling. Everyone ready?""Yep," Andrea nodded."Yeah," Matt agreed."Not even in the slightest," Mystic squeaked fearfully. Safiya pressed a button and a high-pitched frequency began to emit. Something inside of her mind began to writhe in agony. 
Plug your ears. I have to do my job.

No. Even if I wanted to, I can't.

Pull away. My papa needs you as his bride. 
The ticking sound began to speed up and Mystic winced in agony. "Hang in there, Mystic," Safiya encouraged her."I'm gonna turn up the frequency."The pitch became louder and faster. Mystic swore she could hear the parasites cry out in pain, causing her to tense up and shut her eyes. It felt like years were passing by, but the ticking and parasites were beginning to die out. She felt something fall out of each of her ears and onto the floor. The ticking was almost gone as well.All of a sudden, a siren rang out as a violet laser bounced around the room."Andrea?" Safiya gasped."What the hell happened?""I don't know," Andrea squawked in a panic."I think I slipped up against it.""Saf, you need to turn off the magnet," Matt exclaimed."I can't. It's stuck!"More lasers began to shoot out and the room became pandemonium. All of a sudden, Mystic felt several of them hit her at once. Looking down and opening her eyes, she saw herself glowing.....violet? No, a sort-of blueish-violet...Oh shit, she thought.Is this it? Am I gonna die?By this point, the ticking was gone, but Mystic didn't care. She just wanted to get the hell out of here before things got worse. "The emergency breaker panel!" Safiya exclaimed."Hit the breaker! Quick!" Like lightning, Matt dashed over and opened up a panel before hitting a button. The lasers shut off before the last hit against either Mystic or the wall and the gloves dropped off. Mystic felt incredibly dizzy. In response, Safiya dashed inside and took ahold of her."Wha....what......was that?" Mystic groaned breathily."Andrea, what was that?" Safiya exclaimed firmly as she carried Mystic out of the chamber.The Fixer took some time to think about this before it came to her."I remember. I was trying out a supernatural power laser device, and I think I may have accidentally crossed the wires of that with the wires of the power shut-off button.""How do you confuse those two?" Matt chuckled."They look very similar.""Guys," Mystic began wearily."I.....um.......I.......I don't......feel....so....good."With that Mystic's head dropped to her chest and the world turned silent and dark.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Floating......

Mist all around me.......

As far as the eye can see.
 
Calm.

Peace.

But dark.

Shadow.
 
Where is Safiya?

Matt?

Andrea?

Have they left?
 
Shadow.

It approaches me.

It's him!
 
He reaches out.

I try to fight.

My body won't move. 
 
He caresses my head.

Encircles it with smoke.

It settles on my head.
 
I begin to change.

Mind grows darker.

Knowledge fades.
 
I'm being rewritten.

Rewritten.

I feel a ring appear.

Something's wrong.

Something's wrong.

Something's wrong.

But oh so right.
 
Fear is foreign now.

Sadness does not exist.

Cynicism is not within me.

Only innocence.

Innocence.

Innocence.
 
He is not cruel.

He is loving.

He is kind.

He is my world.

I must stay innocent.

Stay pure.

For him.

Stay pure.

Stay like a child.

He'll protect me.

He'll protect me.

I shall love him for eternity.
 
Eternity...........

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"No! No! No! Get me out of this!"Mystic shot awake in a canopied bed, shrieking in fright, her eyes still closed. All of a sudden, the door burst open. Pairs of feet ran inside, and she could vaguely make out words, but she was too paralyzed with fear to fully hear any of them. Out of nowhere, she felt her feet being pinned down and she began to fight."No! Let go of me! I won't let you change me, you bastard!" Mystic was frantic and screeching like a harpy as more sets of hands began to pin down hers. "Get the fuck away from me!""Mystic!" a voice exclaimed."It's me, Safiya!"It took them a few minutes, but eventually Mystic managed to tire herself out. Opening her eyes, blinking to adjust her vision, she saw Matt and Safiya, but also three new faces. One was a woman with dark red hair. Another was a woman in olive green. And the final was a cute, short brunette. "Is this her, Safiya?" the brunette wondered as Mystic trembled. Safiya nodded."This is ETNMystic.""Poor girl. What happened?"Mystic was reluctant to open up. She felt almost catatonic. The tears were welling up, but the floodgates seemed strong. She was supposed to be strong. She HAD to be strong. All of a sudden, she felt Safiya rub her back. The second Saf laid her hand on her back, Mystic couldn't contain herself. She wept in terror. Immediately the brunette went over to her."Do you want a hug?" she asked sweetly.Mystic nodded and felt the girl's warm embrace. One thing she noticed was that the girl smelled of gingerbread. She continued to cry and whimper, trying to find the right words to express what exactly happened. "I was floating....alone," she mumbled weakly."And he......approached me. He......changed me. I'm scared! I don't want him to find me. I don't want to feel isolated.""Shh," the brunette hushed her gently."It's okay. We'll make sure he doesn't. You're safe with us.""You won't feel isolated anymore," Matt assured her kindly."You have us.""We'll do our utmost to protect you," the red-haired woman agreed."But he's powerful!" Mystic retaliated."We don't stand a chance when he finds us.""IF he finds us," the woman in olive-green corrected her. "This sanctuary is contained inside of a lock that only resistance members can access. To civilians, and evil, it's nonexistent.""But...but the brick wall---""That's what resistance members see," the red-haired woman told her."To everyone else, it doesn't exist. The only way he'd be able to get in is if a resistance member were to let him in.""Wha...what is the resistance?""Our group," Safiya informed her."Dedicated to undoing the damage from the siege of darkness and taking down the Cursed God for good. It's made up of those who've been allied with the Society Against Evil. And, hopefully soon, those like you.""What do you mean 'like me'?""The writers," the brunette clarified."Alice, Kasey, Stella, Nora, you, Dooper, Lyra, you get the gist. Those who've added stories and poetry to the fandom.""I mean," Matt piped up."It's not exactly a fandom anymore, now that it's begun to seep over into reality.""We've been sending out agents to find and retrieve you all," Safiya added."I was tasked with finding you. Gabbie just went out to get Nora.""Who else is here?" Mystic wondered."We've retrieved Alice," the red-haired woman began."But the spell on her is exceptionally powerful. I sent out Liza to retrieve Dooper. Nikita should be back with Lyra and Genevieve soon. Colleen should be back with Stella soon."Who was the first?""Alice. You're our second. You would've been first, but Alice's spell is rather fast-acting. We've really only recently set up some sort of base camp. I'm Alison, by the way. This is Calliope."She indicated to the woman in olive-green."And I believe you know Rosanna."The cute brunette waved hello."So THAT'S why you smelled like gingerbread," Mystic gasped.Ro nodded."I was making some gingerbread cookies cuz it's almost the holidays."All of a sudden, the door upstairs burst open. Soon enough came Gabbie, dressed in black, along with a woman with dark hair."I got Nora," she replied triumphantly."It was a close call. We almost got caught by some of those clown bitches, but we took a shortcut and lost them.""Good," Safiya told her."Get her to detox. Andrea should've fixed the wire mishap.""Wait," Nora exclaimed in shock."Mystic? Is that you?"Mystic nodded."We better hurry," Gabbie informed her."The sooner we can get rid of those parasites, the better.""Can I see the others afterwards?""Sure. Knock yourself out."And away they went."But I don't understand," Mystic rambled."Why am I HIS target?""We don't have the answer to that right now," Alison sighed."But in the meantime, I think you should get some rest."Hearing this, Mystic shook her head furiously."I'm too scared to sleep after what just happened.""Would you feel better if someone were to stay with you?"Mystic nodded vigorously."I'll stay," Ro and Safiya volunteered at the same time."Um, can I stay as well?" Matt piped up."She seems like someone who I can nerd out with afterwards.""I'll go check on Nora's detox," Calliope informed them."I'll go see if it's safe to send more agents," Alison told the others.Both of them exited the room.(KEEP AN EYE ON THIS CHAPTER CUZ I'LL PROBABLY ADD MORE LATER, BUT I'M TIRED AND I WANT CHOCOLATE AND ICE CREAM)

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The Cursed God had tried to run after Mystic, but she'd been too persistent. He'd almost caught up with her at the clearing when he saw a figure in black jump out of the bushes and take her. With this, he summoned a dose of psychic magic and did a mental scan on the villain. "Morticia," he hissed furiously. "You're lucky Nicholas might still want you, or else you'd be toast for stealing my bride."Safiya had been a thorn in his side for a while now, especially after she and the others joined the society. She was dangerously intelligent. Were she not with the Society, he might consider her a valuable asset to his army. It was also likely that she'd designed the cloaking system for the Society's sanctuary. He'd tried for weeks to locate it, but his venture had been fruitless; every search led him nowhere. And now that the Society had Mystic held captive, even more was at stake for him to find her."Looks like I'll need some backup," he growled.Without hesitation, he summoned some more psychic magic, he teleported away, vowing to find the hideout. And the second he found Mystic and took her back to the palace, he'd make sure they'd be married and crowned immediately. Returning to the throne room, he consulted his current army; the clowns, Cindy, Benjamin, Wilmer, Veronica, the Twin Dolls, Willie, the Witch sisters, Lucy and her dog, and Nicholas. "The Society has her and the others held captive," he informed them. "If we're going to find and infiltrate, then we must do it together.""How the hell are we supposed to find it if YOU weren't able to?" the female Twin Doll asked. "I mean, you're the one with the magic, after all. My brother and I just have knives.""And dolls," her brother added."That too.""I could possibly bring the Psychedelic Swirl," Willie suggested. "That would surely bring some of them over to our side. They'd become too mad to be able to distinguish right from wrong. They might even kill some of the Society for us.""I mean, then if Willie here's bringing one of his toys," the female Twin Doll shrugged. "Then I could probably bring the cursed Monkey Doll.""You mean the one whose cymbals turn people into puppets?" her male counterpart asked."Yeah, that one.""I could probably bite a few of them," Cindy volunteered. "My venom's pretty potent and painful.""And my arms could probably grab your bride and bring her to you," Benjamin added. "Babe and I could definitely take out a few of them with my.......big, strong demon arm," Wilmer growled as he flexed his arm. "If daddy will let me have the collar, I could put it on one of them and turn them into a puppet," Lucy cackled. "And Humphrey could tear some of them to shreds!""I could possibly entrance a few of them with my magic," Belle suggested."I'll suck the youth out of a few of those women," Sandra contributed."And I can seduce the men into fighting for us," Darla piped up proudly only to remember one minor detail. "Except for the gay guys. It....it doesn't work on gay guys. But it DOES work on lesbians. And a few bisexuals. And pansexuals.""Trying to get the entire spectrum in there, aren't you?" Sandra scoffed. "What if they're asexual?""Then it doesn't work on them. And demisexuals are a bit of a gamble. Like, if they've seen you before, there's a better chance it'll work, but I don't really care if I know them.""Well, that's all fine and dandy," Kerrie piped up. "But how the hell are we gonna find the hideout in the first place?"The villain squad sat around for a bit and gave this some thought. And it was Lucy who was first to speak."I'm pretty sure they're sending out Society members to retrieve the writers. If we can catch one on their way back, I could snag them with the collar and they'd be ours to control. They'd even let us in because they have the inscription keys with them! And once we're inside......chaos!""But if it's just us," Luke groaned. "I don't feel like it'll be enough chaos. If we can create a rip in the fabric of time and space, we can travel through it and collect the villains from the other times. I mean, they have the guests from the other times, so it'll only be fair.""That's true," Sally remarked. "Wait," Nicholas wondered. "Kerrie, didn't you say you saw a rip in Eris Rose's castle? If we can get to it and then open it more, we can travel to the other times.""Did you fools forget," the Cursed God chuckled. "That I extend through ALL of the time periods and that I made deals with EVERY main villain? I can simply bring them here!"With a snap of his fingers, Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin appeared followed by the Ungodly Creature, Madison, her sisters, and Calvin. With a second snap of his fingers, soon appeared the Sorceress, the vampires, Jorogumo, Cash and the leader of the Dark Army, the Gingerbread Woman, the Ice Witch, the Prometheans, the werewolves, and the Devourer. All of them looked ready for a fight."You called, my lord?" The Sorceress asked with a lustful look in her eyes."The Society has kidnapped my new bride. I don't assume you know who I mean, do you?""I certainly wish I did," Calvin hummed. "A girl who is lucky enough to be chosen by you must certainly be something special.""Indeed," the Cursed God agreed. "Now we need to find their hideout, but it seems to be cloaked. So listen carefully while I tell you our plan."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After Calliope and Alison left, keeping to their word, Matt, Ro, and Safiya stayed with Mystic, making sure that she was okay. But Mystic still had bits of the nightmare replaying in her mind. So that even when trying to sleep, she'd still wake up screaming and crying. "I'm so sorry," she squeaked to the three of them after the seventh time this happened, as tears rolled down her face."I really am. I'm just so terrified that he'll find me again.""We know," Safiya assured her bringing her in close and rubbing her head gently as she rocked her softly."We know.""I thought something like this would make me feel excited," she whimpered."Like, I've always considered myself someone who loves the thrill of the chase and the idea that a villain wants to marry me would mean that someone actually cares about me and likes me for me for once in my life."This made Safiya, Matt, and Ro's blood run cold."What?" Ro gasped, shocked and heartbroken at what she just heard."I......I.....I don't wanna talk about it right now," Mystic stammered quickly."I just didn't expect that I'd be so scared. I don't even know if he truly loves me or is just extremely obsessed with me."After a few moments of silence, save for Mystic's crying and sniffling, she felt a soft and gentle nudge on her face. And then another. Looking up, she saw Ro smiling sweetly and holding a purple stuffed puppy."Woof, woof," she barked softly."This is Blueberry. He wanted to come cheer you up.""Oh shoot!" Matt exclaimed."I left Blanche in my room! It could've been even cuter.""Matt," Ro chastised him playfully."With Mystic here, bringing in Blanche would just make the room explode with cuteness."Hearing this, Mystic blushed and tried to hide her face."I'm not cute," she grumbled, her face flushing. "No," Ro replied."You're absolutely adorable.""Look who's talking," Mystic scoffed."You are, like, the epitome of adorable, Ro!"Ro brought her hands to her cheeks to try and hide them."I probably shouldn't have worn blush," she giggled."But you ARE adorable, Mystic.""But you're actually adorable. So many people love you," Mystic argued."I'm trash.""Hey!" Ro chastised her playfully."If you talk badly about yourself again, I'll have to have Saf tickle you.""What?" Safiya exclaimed."Why me?"Ro shrugged."I mean, I'd help."Giggling, Mystic turned to Matt."Hey, Matt. Have you ever played the game Food Fantasy?"He shook his head."You should, cuz I have a theory; I feel like each Food Soul is representative of who battle mental illness, trauma. Like one of the things one of the characters says when you tap them on the main screen is something along the lines of "Please. Don't toy with me." Like, that's kind of a strange thing for a character to say, especially because this character looks and sounds like a little girl.""Huh," Matt exclaimed."That's pretty interesting, actually."All of a sudden, Liza dashed inside with Dooper in tow."Safiya!" she nearly screamed; she had several cuts on her black uniform."Oh my God!" Safiya exclaimed in shock."Liza, are you okay?""I got ambushed," she explained."They're trying to find the sanctuary."Mystic's eye grew wide and she began to hyperventilate. Sensing this, Ro wrapped her in a tight hug."I mean, if it's just those clowns, I think we're fine," Matt shrugged."Oh hon, it's not just the clowns!" Colleen gasped as she dragged Stella down with her."It's everyone from the Ungodly Creature to the zombies. It's every villain from every season.""Every villain?" Mystic stammered."You're fucking kidding me.""I think they're trying to find the sanctuary."Safiya suddenly shot up out of the bed."Colleen, after you detox Stella, you contact Roanoke and Katsumi. They'll get us through to Jael and Ryu. After that take the writers we've gotten so far and take them further down in the bunker," she ordered sharply."Liza, get Dooper into the other detox chamber. Then inform the others. Matt, you and Ro get Mystic somewhere safe. We need to put the sanctuary on lockdown.""Wait," Liza gasped."Nikita's still out there. And Calliope just sent out Manny to get Montana."Safiya huffed in frustration."I mean, we can probably wait if it's just them," Ro suggested."Oh, it's not just them," Liza shook her head before counting out the new missions sent out."Sierra was just sent out to find Caelan. Justine's out to get Harlow. Joey's going after Sequoia. Jetpack Girl's out searching for Taylor. JC's retrieving Tristen. Roi's after Celeste. Andrea Russett's out to find Lucy. Andrea Brooks's on the hunt for Kasey. Tana's looking for Arya. Lauren and Alex are finding Parris and Sunny. And Tyler's going out to find Rene."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Are you kidding me?" Safiya exclaimed as Liza rushed Stella and Dooper to the detox chambers."That's too many to put us on lockdown! What's worse, if they get ahold of one of us, they can get inside.""So then what do we do?" Colleen retaliated."We can't just call everyone back! We're on a time restraint.""We just might have to," she sighed."I know it's risky, but agents have the inscription keys to get inside. If the Cursed God uses the psychedelic swirl or the Collar of Control, that group could easily gain access and then Mystic would be in their hands. Right now protecting her is our number one priority. If the Cursed God gets his hands on her and marries her, all of time and space are doomed.""Wait, what?" Mystic nearly screamed in disbelief."You're telling me that if this dude marries me, then the world's fucked?""Not just the world," Colleen confessed regretfully."Time and space, even history, would become pure chaos if you two were married.""But why?" she stammered confused as fuck."I'm just a twenty year old autistic writer! How the hell would us getting married cause all of time and space to fall to shit?""It's complicated," Safiya sighed."Try me," Mystic rebounded, tired of having things shrugged off like that."I think I can do this," Matt volunteered."Saf, you and Colleen decide if we should call the agents back.""Very well," she sighed as she power-walked out with Colleen.Once they were gone, Matt shut the door, went over to the bureau nearby, opened a drawer, and took out a touchpad and stylus. He motioned for Ro and Mystic to come over. With a few taps of the stylus, a hologram of Mystic was displayed upon the screen."Oh my God," Mystic gasped."Is this real?""Which? This hologram or the predicament you're in? The answer to both is yes," Matt told her."Okay, so what the hell does me marrying this Cursed God have to do with the fate of time and space?"Matt took the stylus and zoomed in on her body. On the inside were bones, organs, and blood vessels; all of them were glowing that same bluish-violet she saw herself glowing back in that detox chamber right after things went to shit."Wait," Mystic gasped."Is that----?""Remains of the laser you were hit with in the detox chamber," Matt confirmed nodding."See, before you were hit with the lasers, it wasn't AS big of a deal if you got captured, but still pretty major. Once you made that deal with the Cursed God, you created pathways to the other writers, but your influence and his method of intrapersonal travel were limited to the virtual world. But even with that, the Cursed God was open to travel to and corrupt just about anyone, since the internet is so widely used. "But after you came into contact with that laser, I did a scan of your body; we discovered that that laser gave you several types of magic, and one of those was being able to sever bonds between reality and fantasy and even merge the two together. Have you wondered why the Cursed God had been treating you so well?"Mystic nodded."It's because the power can be used by anyone you're close with, but only with your consent. If he gains your trust, you're more likely to be lenient in him using that power.""Is that why he said he wants me to agree willingly to marry him?""Exactly; even if he were to hypnotize you, it wouldn't work unless you had some degree of trust in him prior to the hypnosis.""But I didn't have this beforehand," she argued."Why would he treat me nicely even if he thought I didn't have it?""That's a bit of a tricky one," Matt sighed."But my hypothesis has to do with the parasites he sent you. If you were made completely innocent, he could persuade you to obtain that sort of power and because you would already have trust in him, it'd be easy for him to convince you to let him use it.""But wouldn't he then just kill me afterwards?" Mystic scoffed."If I separated the bond between reality and fantasy, he'd have no need for me, right?""That's what we originally thought," Ro sighed."But Matt discovered that, in order for it to remain, you'd have to be alive. Once that barrier is broken, you'd become the source of power needed to sustain his reign of chaos. If you were to die, everything up to before the magic was used would be undone. It's why he stopped you when you tried to kill yourself.""And if I were to try even after," Mystic realized."He'd stop me again."Ro and Matt nodded regretfully."But why me? Anyone else would be just as good of a candidate, if not better! In fact, why didn't he pick Nora? She has a shit-ton of influence, way more than I do!""Well, you made the deal with him, which allowed him to gain access to you and obtain a pathway into the virtual world," Matt told her."No, I mean why was he targeting me? How did he find out about me?""What do you mean?" Ro asked.Mystic sighed."When I was finishing one of my stories, he just randomly offered the deal to me. As far as I know, he never reached out to me until then, meaning he probably didn't know me too well, if at all. So then how did he come to pick ME as a target?""That's another tricky question," Matt admitted."When we found out about his plan to use one of you to sever the bonds between reality and fantasy, we thought he WOULD choose Nora, since she also has influence on YouTube, so it came as a surprise when we found out you were his target. No offense.""None taken," she shrugged somberly.But suddenly, something came to her mind."Do you think that maybe there's something that Nora might know about this that we don't? I mean, he had to have at least approached her at some point or another. What if we made a case file that allowed everyone to record their encounters? Then we'd be able to piece together the puzzle and find some answers.""That'd be risky," Matt shook his head."If you'd do it on the internet, he'd be able to access the information and then use it against you.""So am I basically screwed?" Mystic whimpered.Matt gave this some thought, trying to figure out how to tell her without discouraging her. Then there was something he remembered. There was indeed a way to stop the Cursed God, but it was extremely risky and gave them slim chances of success, but at this point, they were desperate. Even if the chances were small, it'd be better than no chance.""No, I don't think you're basically screwed. I mean, there's a high chance you're screwed, but there's also a chance we can stop him.""What would give us that chance?""The Tokens of Everlock."

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"The what of who?" Mystic asked in shock."The Tokens of Everlock," Matt informed her."They bind the Cursed God to Everlock, allow him to control the environment. If we can break them all at once, they'd weaken his connection enough for him to be destroyed.""So then why'd you say it's a slim chance?""The Tokens are difficult to find," Matt exclaimed."Rumor has it that they've been lost for years, hundreds or even thousands.""Does anyone know anything about these?""Calliope told us what she knows," Ro answered."Which, unfortunately, even she said isn't much to go off of."All of a sudden, two pairs of footsteps rush down into the bunker and in enter Jetpack Girl with another writer and Safiya."Hey!" Mystic gasped."Is that---?""Get Taylor to detox," Safiya exclaimed to Jetpack Girl."Now!"Jetpack Girl runs off and Safiya re-enters the room."How are you holding up?" she asked Mystic kindly."Fine, I guess. Except now there's this whole thing with some tokens or something.""You told her about the tokens?" Safiya asked them in disbelief."Look, trying to find the tokens will give us a better chance than if we just stood around and did nothing," Matt argued."First things first; we need to talk to Nora and Liza. In fact, we should probably get some info from each of the writers we've detoxed so far."All of a sudden, Mystic felt a bit dizzy and fell to the floor. Ro dashed and picked her up."Are you okay?" she exclaimed concerned."Not really," Mystic groaned."I feel like I've pulled an all-nighter.""You need rest," Safiya told her."I'm scared to sleep, though," she whimpered."What if the nightmare comes back?""We'll stay in the room with you," Matt assured her.Ro and Safiya agreed and Mystic stumbled over to the bed. "We should still go talk to Nora," Mystic groaned."I feel like she'd know something we don't.""We can bring her here," Safiya assured her."But after you get some rest."Mystic tried to shut her eyes and go to sleep, but the fear of the returning nightmare made it difficult. Even the very thought of going back with the Cursed God was enough to make Mystic shiver in fright. What the hell did she do to attract his attention? That was the question that she asked herself every single day, ever since she let this Cursed God roam free about the online archive. But no matter how many times she asked, Mystic felt like she was never going to get an answer. What seemed like days later, she awoke from her slumber, still trembling in fright. “Are you okay?” Ro asked her concerned.“Not really,” Mystic sighed.“I think I had another nightmare.”“You think?” Matt exclaimed confused.“You mean, you’re not sure if it was a nightmare?”“No, I’m not,” she shook her head.“Part of me kinda liked it. I think I’m going crazy.”“Maybe you’re just confused,” Ro suggested kindly.“Everything’s been getting crazy with all of this anyway, so it’s probably not surprising."Hearing this, Mystic huddled into a ball and trembled."This is real" she gasped."This is real, and it's all my fault.""It's not your fault," Safiya assured her."You didn't know what you were getting yourself in to.""But I should have!" Mystic snapped angry at herself."I'm not as naive as people claim I am. It would be better if you'd just left me in the forest for the Cursed God to take me. I mean, it seems like I'm the only one he wants. If you sacrifice me, I won't be a burden to you. I'll be his problem.""Where is all of this negative talk about yourself coming from?" Matt asked sadly."It's true. Admit it! I'm the burden. If I was more careful, none of this would've happened!""You're not a burden," Ro assured her, giving her a hug and rubbing her back."Please, don't ever tell yourself otherwise.""We need you," Safiya told her."Especially after the mishap with the laser. If you fall into the Cursed God's hands, then none of us are safe."That's when Mystic remembered."Nora. Liza. We need to talk to them," she gasped."They might know something we don't."She turned to Safiya and begged with her eyes."C'mon, I had some rest like you asked. Please?"She gave her best doe eyes. Safiya sighed. They kind of reminded her of Ro."Okay, I'll get them."A few moments went by after Safiya had gone out to retrieve Nora and Liza. Nora had finished her detox, so she was free from the parasites, which had fallen out of the victims' head and retrieved by Matthew Haag in the hopes of creating a sort of vaccine to protect against the parasites.Finally she returned with the two in question."How are you holding up?" Liza asked Mystic kindly as they entered the room."Not really sure," Mystic groaned."Kinda feel like I'm going insane.""I don't understand why you guys need me," Nora laughed awkwardly."I mean, I write fanfiction and makes videos.""So do I," Mystic countered matter-of-factly."We're even. I figured that maybe you might've been visited by the Cursed God before. Perhaps he had made any sort of advances on you like he's been doing with me.""Advances?" Nora exclaimed confused, before shaking her head."Thankfully, no. Unfortunately, he pushed me into a state of guilt because of the novelization of season 3. Writing their deaths have been taking a toll on me.""I would imagine so," Mystic replied bitterly.It wasn't fair. Why her? Why not someone better-known? She was just a girl who happened to get into this fandom and come up with this idea. Nora was one of the top in the fandom. And yet she wasn't being targeted to be married to the primary villain of this damn story!"So was that ALL he did to you?""He wanted me to write some things for him. He didn't say what.""How terrible," Mystic sighed apathetically, rolling her eyes."Look," Nora replied firmly."If the only reason you wanted me in here was to belittle my struggle---""Yes, because YOU'RE the one struggling SO MUCH," Mystic snapped back."You're struggling over writer's guilt. Big fucking deal! Be thankful that's all he's done to you.""Like you have it worse--!""Actually, I fucking do! You're not the one who's being pursued by his dark ass. I even tried committing suicide to escape him, but he's not gonna let me die!""ENOUGH!" Safiya snapped."Both of you! This isn't the time to argue.""Um," Liza piped up."About that. I, uh, kinda have some good news and some bad news."Everyone turned towards Liza who was looking down at the floor anxiously."What's the good news?" Matt wondered."Well, the good news is that when I was out getting my writer, I found out some information after a run-in with the Cursed God and his crew.""And the bad news?" Nora gulped.Twiddling with her fingers, Liza tried to figure out how to phrase it. "That's.......kinda what the info is about. See, uh, Nicholas.......you know, that Carnival Master dude.......he........kinda, sorta, maybe.......possibly.......wants to......marry Nora."

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Silence settled throughout the room for a few moments. Wringing her hands anxiously, Liza stared at the group, worried about how they'd take the news. Finally Nora was the first was to speak up."I'm sorry," she laughed. "I think I misheard you. I thought you said that the Carnival Master wants to marry me.""No, you heard right," Liza assured her regretfully. "That was what one of the parasites was supposed to do to you; make you fall for him.""You're kidding," Nora lamented. "I thought I'd be safe from that!""Oh yeah, another part of the parasite was that Safiya and you would vie for his affections."This time it was Safiya's turn to be personally shocked. "What?""Yeah, I dunno why, but he seems to want you two to duke it out. I think he sent a parasite your way as well.""Is that what I've been feeling in my head?" Safiya mumbled to herself.This caused the group to fall silent again."You had a parasite inside of you this whole time," Matt fumed. "And only now did you decide to bring it up?""I didn't want to worry the rest of you," she asserted. "My priority lies in the safeties of Mystic and the other writers.""Yeah, well, they're not gonna be safe if that parasite is interfering with your brain. It's a good thing you tested for high mental resistance, but I'm worried about how long it'll hold out. You need to get to detox before it takes over, preferably right now!"Liza grabbed Safiya, but she jerked back."I'm fine," she snapped. Shocked, Matt punched a button nearby. Moments later, Calliope, Alison, and other SAE agents had arrived."What's going on?" Katsumi exclaimed."Safiya may have had a parasite in her head for sometime," Matt explained firmly. "She's already showing attempts to resist detox."Meanwhile Calliope had her hands out, palms facing Safiya, her eyes closed."Uh, Calliope, what are you---?" Mystic began."Hush, child," she said softly. "This requires complete concentration."Mystic kept looking back and forth between Safiya and Calliope, wondering just what the hell Calliope was doing. Why weren't any of the agents trying to subdue her? Why wasn't Safiya trying to get away? But moments later, her questions were answered. Safiya dropped to the floor with a thud. Or rather she would have, if Ro hadn't panicked and caught her just before she hit the floor. Gently Ro set her head resting on the metal floor while Roanoke rushed over to her side. Taking out a strange device, he turned on a light and slowly waved it over Safiya's head. All of a sudden, they heard a loud, quick beeping noise. "She's tested positive," he announced. "Thankfully her high mental resistance has kept it at bay; on top of it, the parasite's been in there less than 72 hours.""Then we'll need to get her to detox quickly," Alison nodded. "Katsumi, you and Roanoke get her to the detox quarantine.""Wait!" Mystic gasped as Katsumi and Roanoke carried her out. "She's unconscious. Won't the parasite act faster that way?""No," Alison assured her. "This type of parasite works better when awake.""Then why wasn't I knocked out?" "Your parasites worked opposite," Calliope explained. "They work best when the victim is unconscious.""I'm kinda confused," Mystic admitted after trying to make sense of it. "Don't parasites work, relatively, the same way?"Alison shook her head."The easiest way to tell if the victim needs sedation for detox," she continued. "Is if they demonstrated aggression or not.""Now that I think about it," Nora recalled. "I did feel much angrier after I felt something invade my mind. It led me to resisting Gabbie until she tranquilized me.""Which is exactly what we've trained everyone here to do," Jael said. "If someone displays aggression and resists attempts to rescue or arrest them, the best method is to tranquilize them. That slows down the amount of conscious brain activity that the parasite is fueled by." "On the opposite end of the spectrum," Alison picked up. "Mystic, did you feel any type of aggression when you were infected?"The girl in question pondered over this."Uh, no, actually," she admitted. "On the contrary, I felt blissful, tired, at peace, mostly tired.""Precisely. That type of parasite feeds off of subconscious brain activity. If paired with a sleeper, it's more effective.""Now that I remember, I DID feel like there was more than one bug-like thing inside of my mind.""That was no coincidence. With that new parasite, pairing it with a sleeper drastically speeds up the process of conversion.""Well then, it's good that they got both of them out of me. But now I have to ask, Calliope. What exactly were you doing with Safiya?""Well," Calliope explained. "It's somewhat like mind control, I suppose, is the simplest way to explain it. Once things have calmed down, I can explain it more thoroughly.""Calliope's really good at it," Liza vouched. "She tends to use it on people who are having panic attacks. She says rest relaxes the mind.""Did she ever use it on you?" Nora wondered."A few times," Liza answered.Soon, Katsumi and Roanoke returned."Safiya's safely quarantined and being detoxed," Katsumi announced. "It shouldn't take longer than a few hours. However Roanoke and I will stay with Miss Hanna to monitor her until the parasite falls out of her ear.""Wait," Liza exclaimed. "I heard there's a possibility Ro might have a parasite coming her way.""I don't have to worry too much," she shrugged. "Most parasites are destroyed by the invisible force field surrounding our sanctuary.""Bold move," Liza remarked. "All things considered.""What do you mean?" Mystic wondered."Some parasites are being developed," Matt clarified. "That are more immune to the forcefield.""I usually stay in the bunker," Ro added. "Mostly the kitchen. Though I do like to be in the upper part. I mean, I can always take a detox pill if it's like a party or something.""But what if they hear us?" Mystic gasped."Sound-proof," Matt piped up. "The forcefield is mostly sound proof."The rest of the society left to do whatever and Mystic began to think that maybe things would turn out alright.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Days later, most of the writers had been collected and detoxed. The sanctuary was staying strong. Ro had gone through an emergency prevention detox, as there was one that did slip through the forcefield and into her mind. Mystic was also starting to feel more at ease, now hopeful that things would die down soon.

In her new bedroom in the bunker, she rested and read, singing a little tune as she did. It was a Friday afternoon and that night, there was to be a party, to celebrate the agents retrieving the last of the known ETN writers, with a talent show. On a whim, she'd signed up to sing.

"Why do I do this to myself?" she sang angry at herself for even picking up the pen.

She'd tried to take her name off of the list, but either because of several people having heard her in passing or perhaps it was coincidence, whenever she tried to take her name off, someone would "just happen" to be there and pull her away from it to do some arbitrary task of some sort. Rosanna, Safiya after her detox, Matt, Liza, Colleen, Gabbie, even Nora who she was surprised even heard her sing. Their rooms weren't too close together.

"I don't know why I signed up," she sang. "I'm not gonna stack up to the likes of Rosanna Pansino and Colleen Ballinger and Matthew Patrick and Safiya Nygaard and Gabbie Hanna. Especially Colleen Ballinger. Because that bitch studied vocal performance in college. And Rosanna Pansino's been trained in opera."

Generally, she thought she was just an okay singer, but people kept saying she was better than that. Possibly, somewhere deep in her mind, she thought she was as good of a singer as everyone said and perhaps that's she why she kept signing up for shit like this.

"Or perhaps I just subconsciously really like to sabotage myself," she sang. "Perhaps I am just a self-sabotaging lil bitch."

Angrily she threw her book on the floor, before apologizing to it, slowly turned to look at her trashcan, and pointed at it.

"Me," she said dryly.

Then she turned onto her stomach and pressed her face into the covers of her bed before taking an arm, raising it above her, and pointing to her head.

"This is a big fucking mood," she exclaimed, her voice muffled through the covers.

After lying there for several hours, she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Hey," Safiya exclaimed. "You ready for the party?"

"I'm not gonna go," she groaned through the sheets.

"Why?" Ro's voice gasped concerned. "Are you sick? Are you hurt?"

"My voice is hoarse."

"You know, we can literally hear you talk, right?" Safiya sighed in a "are-you-that-fucking-stupid" kind of way. "And you're talking just fine."

"Yeah, you know, I tried to spend the past few hours coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't go, but I basically just gave up after I took a nap."

"So then why can't you go to the party?" Ro wondered.

"I mean, I CAN. I just REALLY don't wanna go."

"Are you nervous about the talent show?"

Mystic gave this some consideration.

"I mean, that's a part of it. Like, 100% of it. And an additional 100% of it is because I'm an introvert who can't make small talk to save her life."

"That's 200%," Safiya pointed out.

"I'm twice the nervous, anxious, self-depricating wreck any human will ever be!"

"If you don't stand up and let us help you get ready for the party," Safiya warned. "Ro and I are gonna have to tickle you."

"That'll end well," Mystic scoffed sarcastically.

All of a sudden, she felt two pairs of hands tickling her sides. Biting her tongue, she tried to squirm away, but the two girls had a strong grip.

"Are we gonna have to chase you around for this?" Safiya groaned.

"Probably," Ro giggled.

When Mystic finally broke loose, she dashed out of her room and through the bunker as Safiya and Ro were on her trail, a la Benny Hill style.

"I am not in good shape," she huffed after running for about two minutes.

Suddenly, she heard their footsteps closing in and she whirled around for a hiding place. Spotting an open door she ducked inside and quietly shut it. After hearing their footsteps pass, she turned around and breathed a sigh of relief until she locked eyes with Matthew Patrick, who had been waiting expectantly for her.

"You're not planning to skip out the talent show, are you?" he asked, smirking knowingly.

"Oh," she gasped as she felt behind her back for the doorknob. "See, like, I would go, except I just remembered that I......have.....to.....run."

She dashed out the room as Matt tried to grab her. He fell to the floor with a thud.

"Ro! Saf!" he giggled as she scrambled on out. "I found her!"

Mystic picked up her speed and kept running from the iconic trio, when she spied another open room. Part of her mind thought safety and the other part of her mind thought don't be a fucking idiot sandwich it's a trap. For some reason, the second part of her mind sounded like Gordon Ramsay. And Gordon Ramsay was generally a reliable source for most things. Except pineapple on pizza. She didn't give a shit if he thought it was bad. It's her fucking pizza, Gordon! You can go police your own!

"Oh hell no," she huffed. "I am NOT falling for that twice."

"Aw, c'mon!" Liza exclaimed disappointedly, peeking out. "I had a whole thing planned out to say."

"My name Jeff," Jeff exclaimed peeking out.

"Yello!" Helga exclaimed with a goat.

"Nope!" Mystic shouted as the group was catching up.

Dashing off like lightning, Mystic remembered that there was a U-turn coming up. She decided she was gonna go one way, take that U-turn, and then dash back around.

Darting to the left, she ran for sometime until she came to the U-turn. Hiding behind there, she waited for the group to pass by. She continued on when she saw the bottom of a faux fur coat. Stopping herself, knowing that it was Colleen, she quietly backtracked and raced back.

"There she is!" Helga yelled.

"MY NAME JEFF!" Jeff cried.

Hearing this, Colleen sprinted out from the U-turn and joined the group. Mystic noped on forward when she saw a stairwell. Without hesitation, she bolted down the stairwell, only to see Gabbie lock eyes with her from the bottom.

"Going somewhere?" she smirked knowingly with her arms folded.

"Hell, probably," Mystic answered quickly as her eyes darted around the stairwell.

"You're NOT getting out of this so easily. I'm gonna make sure you sing in that talent show," Gabbie scoffed.

"Try me, bitch!" Mystic exclaimed as she booked it back up the stairs.

Gabbie immediately followed and Mystic knew that she fucked up, as Gabbie worked out pretty regularly, so who knows how good of a runner she is?

Luckily the others had passed her. So Mystic ran back to the place where she thought they wouldn't look. The place where you'd have to be pretty bold to go back to. The place where the chase began.

Mystic slid into her room, locked the door, and dove into her dark closet.

"Phew," she breathed a sigh of relief as she stared straight ahead at the closed closet door. "I think I lost them."

[this next conversation is quick in response and both sound serious, like a serious-sounding Abbott and Costello routine with some inflection, but not too dynamic. Both of them stare straight at the closet door in front of them the entire conversation]

"Lost who?" another voice asked seriously.

"These YouTubers, and these two weird characters, and a goat," Mystic replied seriously like a secret agent. "They're trying to get me to sing in a talent show tonight."

"Why?"

Mystic: "I signed up and they kept me from taking my name off."

"So then why are you running away from them?"

Mystic: "Because I regret everything."

"Mood."

Mystic: "Same."

"How many of them are there?"

Mystic: "Safiya, Ro, Matt, Liza, Jeff, Helga, her goat, Colleen, and Gabbie. Though there's another."

"Really?"

Mystic: "Yeah. Nora. She tried to stop me from taking my name off as well, but I haven't seen her."

Nora: "What if I told you that I'm Nora?"

Mystic: "You're Nora?"

Nora: "Yes, I'm Nora."

Mystic: "You mean, you're Nora and you're sitting next to me?"

Nora: "I'm Nora and I'm sitting next to you."

Mystic: "You're Nora and you're sitting next to me in my closet?"

Nora: "I'm Nora and I'm sitting next to you in your closet."

Mystic "In my dark closet?"

Nora: "In your dark closet."

Mystic: "I was wondering when I was gonna see you."

Nora: "Me too."

Mystic: "It is pretty dark in here, isn't it?"

Nora: "Yeah, it's pretty dark in here."

Mystic: "When did you get in my closet?"

Nora: "I got into your closet when Ro and Saf came to get you."

Mystic: "So you all had this whole thing planned out?"

Nora: "Yes, we all had this whole thing planned out."

Mystic: "When did you start planning this?"

Nora: "We started planning this when you first tried to take your name off of the list."

Mystic: "So about five days ago?"

Nora: "Yes, about five days ago."

Mystic: "Did you get anyone else in on this?"

Nora: "Yes, we got Nikita, Manny, Teala, Roi, Joey, Justine, Sierra, Matt Haag, Lele, Calliope, Lauren, Alex, Alison, Tana, Jetpack Girl, and Andrea Russett in on this."

Mystic: "That's a lot of people."

Nora: "Yes, that is a lot of people."

Mystic: "Why did they agree to help with this?"

Nora: "They agreed to help with this because Ro and Safiya told them about how amazing you sound when you sing."

Mystic: "I sound subpar."

Nora: "They beg to differ."

Mystic: "Where are they hiding?"
Nora: "Nikita and Manny are sweeping the corridors down here, Joey and Justine are covering the upper-bunker, Sierra and Matt Haag are in the detox lab, Lele and Calliope are guarding the front door, Lauren and Alex are taking the dining hall, Alison and Tana are in the recovery room, and Jetpack Girl and Andrea Russett are taking the infirmary."Mystic: "What about Teala and Roi?"Nora: "Teala and Roi are making out in the bathoom."Mystic: "Is anyone surprised about that?"Nora: "No one's surprised about that." 
Mystic: "So are you gonna chase me now?"

Nora: "Yes, I'm gonna chase you now."

Mystic: "Will you give me a head start?"

Nora: "I'll give you a ten-second head start."

Mystic: "Okay. Thanks."

Nora: "No problem."

(I MIGHT ADD MORE TO THIS CHAPTER SO KEEP AN EYE OUT BUT I'M KINDA TIRED RN AND I DON'T WANNA LOSE THIS AND I WANT ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE AND A SHOWER).

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After that enthralling conversation in the closet, Mystic nearly broke both doors as she bolted out of her room, counting to ten in her head. All of a sudden, a flash of neon pink sprung towards her. Mystic reacted quickly, yeeting her back against the wall as Nikita Dragun fell to the floor."Manny!" Nikita called as she scrambled to grab at Mystic's feet."I found her! Hurry.""I'm coming, bitch!" he yelled.Nikita nearly had her hands on Mystic's feet. A thought crossed her mind."Sorry, Nikita," Mystic whimpered before taking her foot and stomping down on Nikita's fingers."FUCK!" Nikita screamed as she retracted her hand.Mystic dodged off and around the corner towards another stairwell that led upwards AND downwards. If Nora was telling the truth, then she knew Justine and Joey would be in the upper bunker. But she was pretty sure she could take them. However she'd have to try to avoid Lele and Calliope. Who the fuck knew if she could actually take them on?As she rushed upstairs, Mystic went over where each place was that Magic had mentioned. 
Let's see. Teala and Roi could be in any bathroom. No doubt I'll probably find Stella hanging around there. The dining hall is on the lower floor. I was just on the floor that the detox room was on. And the infirmary and recovery room are right next to each other. 
The second she reached the top of the stairs, she came face to face with Justine. "Going somewhere?" Justine asked innocently, tilting her head as Mystic tried to sidestep her."Hell, probably," Mystic replied.Justine tried to grab ahold of her, but Mystic slid out of the way as Justine fell to the ground. "Joey, grab her!" she yelled. Joey ran ahead of Justine as Mystic darted around a corner to find an elevator at the end of a hall. Dashing towards it, she quickly smashed a button multiple times and the elevator door opened up. Luckily it was empty, so she rolled right in and began to press the button for the basement. "Not so fast!" Joey called out as he rounded the corner.
Shit.
Panicking, Mystic quickly and repeatedly slammed her finger on the button. The doors were beginning to close slowly. Joey was nearing her, but thank her lucky stars the door was closing. Just as they shut, she heard a thud as Joey's face planted into the door. As she rode down, she heard elevator music playing. Swaying along with it, she felt relieved that she had a few moments to catch her breath. Mystic felt like she had done more running in these past five to ten minutes than she had in her whole life. 
I had BETTER be a few pounds lighter by the time I'm done with all of it. 
Once the elevator opened to the basement, she knew she was safe for a bit. That is, if the rest of them didn't find her first. The dining was a little ways away from the elevator. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps come down the stairs. "Mystic?" Safiya called in a sing-song voice."I know you're here somewhere." As quietly as she could, Mystic rushed off towards the dining hall. But she ended up tripping and hitting the metal floor with a bang.
Shit!
Just as she feared, Safiya had heard the noise and darted around the corner. Mystic hurried to get to her feet, but Safiya grabbed her by the ankle."Just give it up, Mystic," Safiya told her."You're outnumbered.""That's what you think!" she exclaimed determined to get out of this.Kicking at Safiya, she managed to scramble loose and bring herself back up to a standing position before running off into the dining hall."There she is!" Lauren exclaimed. Without even thinking, Mystic darted over tables, trying to get to the other exit. Just as she reached it, Alex got ahold of her and she slumped, going boneless."No, don't you go boneless on me!" he laughed."Don't you go boneless on me!"He was about to pick her up when she swooped out of his hands and out the door. With Lauren, Safiya, AND Alex on her trail downstairs along with Magic, Ro, Nikita, Liza, Colleen, Helga, Jeff, a goat (for some reason), Manny, Gabbie, Joey, AND Justine trying to find her on the upper floor, she WAS outnumbered, but she wasn't about give up just yet. That is, until Alex got a firm grip on her. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed joyfully as Safiya and Lauren caught up to him."No getting out of this."Sighing, Mystic bowed her head."You're right."Leading them to the elevator, Safiya pressed the button to go up as Alex let go of her. Just as the door was about to close, though...."Sike!" Mystic laughed as she slid out of the elevator."It's a fake-out. You were fooled! HA HA HA HA!"The three of them tried to scramble out, but Mystic had slid out of there just before it closed. Thinking quickly, Mystic scrambled up a stairwell on the other side of the bunker. "There she is!" Ro squealed.This was automatic now, running from them. So she blasted off towards the detox lab with everyone else behind her. As soon as she ducked inside, she locked the door and slid down to the floor, waiting for the group to pass her. Once they did, she let out a sigh of relief. That is, until she turned around to find Matt Haag and Sierra waiting for her."Look who came to dinner," Matt sniffed."That doesn't even make sense," Mystic exclaimed; her mind was confusion. (WHY IS THIS ONE KANSAS BUT THIS ONE IS NOT ARKANSAS? AMERICA EXPLAIN EXPLAIN WHAT DO YOU MEAN ARKANSAS?)"Liza thought it up, okay? The point is, you're not getting away from us," Sierra argued."Yeah, no I actually am."Mystic's hand reached for the lock behind her. Flipping it open, she yeeted herself out and slammed it behind her before running off like a cheetah. Stupidly though, she ran into the recovery room. And there was a connecting door between the infirmary and recovery room."Well," Alison smirked."We were expecting you, Mystic.""Look, just cut out the fucking chase already," Tana sighed."Why are you having them run all over?""Because one, I regret everything," Mystic explained."And two, I like the adrenaline and thrill of the chase.""Yeah, but it's tiring," Andrea Russett exclaimed as she and Jetpack Girl came in from the infirmary."Bitch," Mystic scoffed."You haven't done any running yet.""Well, how about you save us the running and just sing?" Jetpack Girl suggested."How about no?" Mystic exclaimed as she whooshed out the door. Mystic, deciding 'fuck it,' opted to finally tackle the front door. She tried to jet through it, but soon Lele and Calliope had a hold on her unzipped jacket."You're NOT getting out of this one," Lele told her."That's what you think," Mystic scoffed as Calliope prepared to raise her hands like she did with Safiya. Wiggling out of the jacket, Mystic ran for her life around the bunker and then through a back door. There was one more place she could try. Going back to the dining room, she wriggled into and down the trash pipe. Falling into a, thankfully-clean, dumpster, Mystic found she was not alone, but rather in the company of the queen of trash."I think I did more running in those last twenty minutes than I did in my life before this," she huffed as she looked at the queen of trash."Can't relate," Shane Dawson replied dryly as he munched on a five-day old Taco Bell burrito.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Why are you so scared to sing anyway?" Shane asked Mystic after they sat for a while.Mystic shrugged."I dunno."With this Shane gave her an incredulous look and she sighed."It's this weird fear I have of someone kidnapping me, putting me in a cage, and forcing me to sing like a canary."It took Shane a little time to process all of that."That is.......an incredibly specific fear," he remarked."I know. And I've had friends who have joked with me about it; you know saying that they would kidnap me. Though one did look up my address, so I'm not sure if she was joking or not.""I mean, you're not in a cage now, are you?""No, but someone else is coming after me. Oh, and the Cursed God is as well.""Who's the other someone else?""All of those people chasing after me. Safiya, Matt, Ro, you know?""Oh. Right. Say, where are they anyway?""I dunno. I guess they don't see me as trash, but like."She gestured around the dumpster."Me," she and Shane said at the same time."Oh my God. Wait. Are we like trash soulmates in this world?" Shane gasped. "I dunno, maybe. Do you live in here?""Not necessarily," he shrugged."Only after they clean it out.""But then what are you when you're not in the dumpster?""Trash without a home.""That's a fucking mood if I ever---"All of a sudden, she was cut off by a high-pitched scream getting closer."Listen," she gasped."I think it's coming from the trash pipe."Sure enough, a few moments later, a cute brunette hit the floor of the dumpster."Ro?" Shane asked as she crawled to the side."What are you doing here?""It's not just me," she remarked.Mystic, sensing there was more trouble, slowly started sliding towards the door.Soon they heard another yell and then out came Matpat. "Is that all?" Shane asked."Not quite," Matt answered as he scooted over next to Ro who had, by this point, situated herself next to Mystic to keep her from escaping.Another scream echoed through the pipe and soon Safiya appeared. She crawled over to Mystic's right and sat beside her."Okay, WHAT are you three doing here?" Shane asked."We're guarding Mystic to make sure she doesn't run while everyone else makes preparations," Safiya answered.Mystic tried to yeet herself out of the dumpster, but Safiya and Ro grabbed onto her before she could open the lid."Let go of me!" she struggled, clawing at the air and hissing. "You signed up for this," Matt reminded her."I was gonna take my name off, but you guys kept me from doing that.""There's a reason for that," Safiya told her.All of a sudden, they heard two more yells and out came Gabbie and Colleen. "Oh great," Mystic groaned."Do you guys REALLY want me to make everyone's ears bleed this badly?""Ears bleed?" Colleen exclaimed confused."Girl, I've heard you sing, and everyone else needs to as well.""You're kidding me," Mystic fumed, getting angrier at herself by the second, tears forming in her eyes."No one wants to hear me screech. Not when they've got two people who've trained in opera, a pop sensation, a guy who's an angel of musical theatre, and a woman who, let's be honest, just hearing her talk is enough to entrance everyone. I'll never be able to compare to the likes of any of you!"Curling up into a ball, Mystic tried to hold the tears back, but it was fruitless, a word which here means "there was little to no hope of her succeeding." For as Mystic tried to keep the waterworks at bay, Safiya and Ro reached out and each put a hand on her shoulder. And that was all it took for her to lose her composure. Sensing the tension, Matt joined in, putting a hand on her back. Sometimes when tragedy strikes a loved one, such as when they lose a beloved family member or discover that their house was destroyed in a seemingly-spontaneous fire, they will experience an outburst of emotion, which can shock those around them, and those around them are often left speechless, not because they don't care to say anything. They simply are unsure of what to say. In this instance, it was not tragedy that struck Mystic, at least not yet, but rather her own insecurities had caught up to her once again. And as with sudden outbursts of emotion, Gabbie, Shane, Colleen, Matt, Rosanna, and Safiya were all unsure of what they could say to Mystic to make her feel better. That is, until Colleen had a thought. Or rather a phrase, comprised of three words, which led the rest of them to follow forth with trying to convince Mystic that she was, in fact, good enough to perform."Beauty is subjective."It was Gabbie who took the next step, following up her point."Colleen's right. You probably think you sound terrible because you've spent so much time around your voice. So while you may think you're just okay, the rest of us think you sound lovely.""After a while, you'll get tired of it," Mystic mumbled."I doubt it," Safiya assured her."And anyway, one performance will not make us hate your voice. And as for comparing to us, you don't need to meet our standards. Meet your own. Do it for yourself."Trembling, Mystic looked up, giving Safiya the doe eyes. "Really?" Safiya nodded."And if you're still nervous," Matt assured her."We'll be there to support you.""Promise?""Promise," all six of them agreed.After a few more minutes of gather her bearings, Mystic stood up and climbed up the dumpster, ready to take it head on.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

If you've ever gone to a dance or ever read a fairytale about a princess, you've probably come across an expression, and that expression is "the belle of the ball." It means that someone is the most beautiful person at a dance, specifically a royal dance where there's likely a prince or princess waiting to marry this lovely person. I use this phrase because that is the only phrase that can describe just what Safiya, Colleen, Gabbie, Rosanna, Nikita, Lauren, and Manny had in mind for Mystic, hoping that highlighting the beauties they see in her would help her feel more confident when it was her turn to perform."Okay, sweetie pie," Nikita smiled, a bit too widely."Let's make you the belle of the ball."Sufficed to say, Nikita was still a bit peeved about Mystic stomping on her fingers and she could sense it."I'm sorry for stomping on your fingers, Nikita, but it was in the heat of the moment and I felt like I had no choice."Nikita, while considering her inner muse to be a strong-willed dragon, was not immune to Mystic's doe eyes after she made her apology."You are so lucky you are adorable," she whispered harshly as they led her into the bathroom. "The bitch is right, though," Manny assured her."Making you the belle of the ball would really help your confidence.""Can you make me skinnier?" Mystic hoped."I'm like a Lego figure. I have width on both sides.""Girl, you're a thicc bish," Nikita told her."And thicc is sexy.""I don't think making her sexy is going to be so helpful," Colleen piped up."Making her look ethereal and more beautiful might.""But plus-sized women are often portrayed as outspoken and sexy, as opposed to cute and quiet," Mystic pointed out."And yet I don't have the face for outspoken and sexy.""You can be plus-sized and beautiful and cute," Ro reminded her."You're petite, though.""Yes, and while that means I'm easier to pick up and twirl around, you being plus-sized means there's more of you to hug!"As she said this, Ro wrapped her arms around Mystic, enveloping her in a hug. "I think someone can be plus-sized and adorable," Lauren told her."I mean, you're living proof of that."At this, Mystic's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "I agree, and I'm pretty sure everyone else here does as well," Gabbie spoke up, followed by the group nodding in agreement."But if we wanna make her look even more beautiful, we'll need to start now." By the time they were finished with Mystic's transformation, which in their time took roughly an hour or so but takes no time at all when one is reading about it, the party was just getting warmed up in the tent they had set up in the outdoor portion of the sanctuary. While most YouTubers are normally ones to take on the "casual Friday" look, meaning that they would usually sit around wearing sweat pants or casual clothes with regular makeup, tonight they all agreed to don a more formal look. For it was a special occasion; saving these writers had been their first successful mission and while there were still more agents heading back, a Friday night was agreed upon to be the perfect night for a formal event.Tables had been set out inside of the tent, circular ones with chairs for people to sit at and conversate (I think it's converse. what? just say talk) with one another. Another table had been set up at the back of the tent where a variety of snacks, treats, drinks, and dishes were waiting to be taken, masticated, a word which here means "chewed upon until they were a pile of broken pieces inside of one's mouth," and then digested by the fellow agents and writers. Outside of the tent, there was a campfire, which Jesse Wellens was just about finished with setting up once the first few guests had arrived. The plan was to roast marshmallows as a fun little activity just after the talent show, which was slated to take place at the halfway point of their party. As a little surprise, the Society Against Evil had decided to hop between times and retrieve a few YouTubers who specialized in music to help liven up their get-together. At the very front of the tent was a fair-sized impromptu stage set up for the talent show. The Society had also recruited agents who were skilled with technical equipment, as well as many who weren't, to set up the microphones, speakers, music players and lights. Just below that was a small dance floor where the agents and writers could get their groove on. Once everything was nearly finished, the guests began to arrive. The first to show up was Matthew Patrick, who had decided to ditch his theory wear for one evening and try on a snazzy inverted tuxedo; inverted is a word which here means "the color scheme was reversed, so instead of a tuxedo that was mostly black with some white, it was a tuxedo that was mostly white with some black." But he was not here earlier because he wanted to be early. He had another reason for being there so early, for instead of going to the dance floor or grabbing some food, Matt made a beeline for Calliope and Alison who was standing near the far side of the tent. "Is everything alright?" Alison asked him quietly as he approached, as his face was contorted with uncertainty."I'm not sure," he sighed as he shook his head."There's this feeling that I've been trying to shake off. I've had it all day. I thought that helping to convince Mystic to sing would help, but I fear that I may have made things worse.""How so?" Calliope wondered."What kind of feeling is it?""I don't know," he whispered."I just have the strangest feeling that something bad might happen tonight.""I've had that feeling all day as well," Alison gasped somberly."And so has Calliope. That's why we've asked extra agents to hang about the party.""I didn't see any agents. All I saw were Very Finely-Dressed people that I didn't recognize.""Exactly," Alison replied."We don't want to arouse any anxieties just yet, which is why we're having them blend in with the other guests.""Do you think he could break in?""If he took control of any of the agents still out there," Calliope sighed regretfully."If so, they would almost surely---""Shh!" Alison shushed.Whirling around Matt saw that other guests were arriving. "If anyone brings them up," Alison told them."You need to pretend that you don't know who they are or why they're here. If anyone gets too curious, one of you will have to create a Vafrous Febrifuge Distraction so that the panic will wane.""That almost sounds like an oxymoron," Matt remarked."But you understand what you need to do, correct?"Nodding, Matt gave a small salute as he sat down at a table, trying to shake away the feeling of dread that was gripping the inside of his stomach and chest.Fifteen minutes later, most of the guests had shown up. Matt was now at a table with several of the writers, including Nora and Stella, who were barraging him with Various Fastigiate Debates, such as which character was most robbed and which ship was the best. Under normal circumstances, these conversations wouldn't feel as pointless, as Matthew had an interest with internet culture and the debates surrounding Various Fandom Discourse. But the anxiety in his stomach was too much for him to bare under the current circumstances, and it wasn't just because of the possibility of something terrible happening, but also because Ro, Safiya, Nikita, Manny, Gabbie, Lauren, Colleen, and Mystic were still not there. So as Stella and Nora argued over Mattny and Roila, Matt tentatively tapped the tips of his fingers on the tabletop, as he waited for what seemed to be hours, until finally Manny arrived in a spiffing emerald tuxedo. "Where are the rest of them?" he whispered to Manny when he approached Matt."They're almost here," Manny assured him."It took a bit of time with all of us."As Manny promised, Nikita, Gabbie, Lauren, and Colleen entered the tent all wearing fancy and quite lovely dresses. Soon following were his two best friends, Ro and Safiya, also wearing stunning gowns. All of a sudden, Lindsay Sterling switched the song she had been playing on her violin to something more graceful and elegant. And there was a good reason for that change.Mystic almost seemed to glide inside of the tent in a stunning white princess gown with long, but flexible sleeves that flowed on the very ends. Her hair had been curled and done in a royal up-do and a tiara sat gently upon her head. The tent almost seemed to light up as she emerged from the waning sunset into the glow of the tent-light. In spite of all of the beauty, Mystic still felt rather shy, and tried to keep her head down. But Nikita reached under her chin and gently pulled it back up."Keep your head up, princess," she reminded her with a kind smile."Your tiara is falling.""Thank you," she beamed."No, I mean your tiara's really falling and that one's very expensive and fragile.""Oh!" Mystic gasped as she readjusted the crown."Sorry."The phrase "incognito" is a rather odd one, and it describes someone who has concealed their identity for a certain purpose, such as to hide one's true feelings or to disguise their identity because they are on the run from the authorities who are pursuing them for a murder that they did not commit. Going incognito can often work to one's advantage. But sometimes when someone has had experience with being deceived by others, going incognito won't help because they'll often find out that you are not what you present yourself to be. Likewise Mystic, while having some trouble reading others, had also been deceived by others before, which had left an impression on her. So when she and her friends were walking by the Very Finely-Dressed people to sit with Matt, Nora, Stella, and Manny, she felt a certain discomfort inside of her."I don't think we should be here," she whispered to Safiya."I have a feeling some people are here incognito.""You mean those Very Finely-Dressed people?" Safiya whispered in return."Yeah. I think something's wrong.""Hey!" Matt bursted in on their conversation."Whatcha talkin' about?"Mystic did not usually like to lie. Her philosophy was that lies were like fires; you need to keep feeding it for it to stay believable, if you feed it too much it will grow, and when in the hands of the wrong person, they can become deadly. But she also knew that sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. In this case, fight distraction with falsehood."Nothing much," she shrugged."Mostly just about how our Very Fancy Dresses turned out. Say, Ro. You wanna come with me and Safiya to get some food?""But I'm--" she began.In response, Mystic made a signal with her hand, indicating that this was an emergency."concerned that there won't be enough for everyone else.""It's okay," Matt encouraged Ro."You made them, so you should get first pick."Safiya, Ro, and Mystic stood up and went over to the food table where they huddled and informed Ro of Mystic's suspicions."I feel like those Very Finely-Dressed people that we don't recognize are incognito," Mystic voiced quietly."Something's wrong, very wrong." "Well, how can they be incognito if we don't know them?" Ro wondered."A lot of people you don't know can be incognito. All they have to do is present something other than themselves. They could be spies from the Cursed God.""But Alison and Calliope said that evil can't get inside," Safiya assured her."Unless they took control of one of our agents. It's possible that someone here is acting as a spy because the Cursed God hypnotized them.""Who might it be?""It would have to be someone who recently returned from their mission. Tyler came back without Rene because they're apparently in a different universe. Manny and Nikita also recently returned. So did Alex and Lauren.""There are a lot of people who've recently returned from a mission," Ro whispered."And there's no way the Cursed God can take control of them all, so for all we know, we could be worrying over nothing.""Just one agent is enough for him to sneak inside," Mystic reminded her."We have to warn everyone."While they were discussing this, Matt had been listening from a distance, but when Mystic said that, he thought it was time to spill the beans, a phrase which here means "share the anxieties that he, Calliope, and Alison had been having.""Hey," he greeted them as he swaggered up to them."Can I talk to you three outside for a moment?" With this interruption, Mystic managed to connect the two. Frustrated, she stepped forward and confronted the detective."Who are those people?" she whispered harshly."What are they doing here?""Why are you asking me? I don't know who they are.""You were listening in on me and Safiya's conversation and interrupted us just a minute ago. Now we're discussing about warning the rest of the agents and writers and you 'coincidently' pop up out of nowhere to interrupt our conversation yet again. It's clear that you know something we don't, so I'll ask you once again; who are they?" "Not here," he whispered."We'll need to talk outside."He led the three of them outside and a little ways from the tent."They're other Society agents," he told them."Calliope, Alison, and I have all been feeling that something terrible is going to happen, but we can't say for sure, so they're incognito as a precaution. We don't want to raise any alarm.""But why wouldn't we want to be prepared for an ambush of some kind?""Because this is our first big accomplishment. We've been stressed for weeks; the last thing we want is to cause unnecessary panic at a party. Please, just drop it for now.""Agents and Writers," Joey called from a microphone."Please take your seats. The talent show is about to begin!"Without waiting for a response, Matt dashed back inside, hearing Joey's call. Ro and Safiya followed him. Mystic, meanwhile, could not simply drop it, as Matt had begged her. Something told her that there was a bigger reason they were here. She snuck off past the bunker and to one of the lookout towers. Throwing open the door, she climbed the stairs and up to the observation deck. Grabbing a spyglass, she opened it up and looked out towards the entrance of the agency. Scanning the area, at first, proved fruitless, as she thought that it was simply her anxiety getting the best of her. After about fifteen minutes, she was about to put away the spyglass and go back to the party when suddenly, she saw a smoky shadow in the glass. It wasn't far from the entrance and it made her shiver. Turning a dial, she zoomed in and turned on the light to discreetly illuminate her target. And what she saw made her face pale. 
"And that was Roi playing 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' on the beer bottles."
Mystic rushed into the tent, her heart beating at the rate of a hummingbird's just as Roi stepped off of the stage. "And now," Joey announced."We have Mystic singing a song from The Phantom of---""I'm not singing!" Mystic announced in a panic."This party is over.""Oh great," Nikita groaned."She's already having her diva fit.""This party needs to be over! We're all in terrible danger!"Gasps and whispers rippled throughout the party until one agent spoke up."Don't be silly," he laughed, dressed in a regular tuxedo.Mystic felt that there was something familiar about this man, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it."This sanctuary is the safest it's ever been. Nothing can get in without a key!""Trust me, what's coming is more than capable enough to make its way inside.""Oh, poor little girl," the agent cooed as he stepped up to her slowly."Her naive little mind has let her anxiety run away with her.""I'm not naive," she growled."I'm being serious. They're closing in!" "Who?" another agent asked."Yes, that's a very enthralling story," the agent interrupted as he closed in on her."But it's time for you to sing. I've even installed a special microphone for you.""I told you already. I'm not singing," she whispered harshly."I strongly suggest you do," he hissed maliciously."Leave her alone," Matt snapped as he, Safiya, and Ro stood up."Why would a Society agent act like this?" Ro wondered fearfully.All of a sudden, there was a loud boom."Well," he laughed."I see that another agent has returned. I'd say this calls for a toast, but first,"Smirking, the agent turned around and pointed at a random agent."You," he said, pointing to Liza."Go wait for them."Shrugging, Liza stood up and headed towards the exit."Liza, no!" Mystic exclaimed as Liza headed towards the door.Confused and afraid, Mystic turned back to the agent."You're going to put us all in danger. Don't you realize that?"To her horror, he took out a remote and pressed a button. The other agents dropped their heads for a few seconds before facing the five of them. Mystic hadn't gotten a good look of the agents' faces before, but now she met their gaze only to realize that they were not human. The agent chuckled triumphantly and maliciously."Oh," Calvin oozed as his mannequins approached."I am WELL. AWARE of it, your majesty."There is a phrase that best describes what you will read in just a few brief moments. That phrase is "trouble in paradise," meaning that there is stress, discontent, or tension in a blissful, happy, or peaceful situation. You might describe "trouble in paradise" when you go to the beach and find the perfect spot to sit and read a nice book in, only to find that the spot you sat in just so happens to be near the beachgoer who shakes the sand off of their towel in your direction every ten minutes. Or "trouble in paradise" might be when you're on your honeymoon in the beautiful, sunny beaches of Florida and discover one morning that your fiancé has left the hotel with only a note admitting that they only married you for your inheritance and now that they've got your credit card, they plan to withdraw every single monetary note you earned, whether it was from your allowance as a kid or from the various odd jobs that you took the summer you stayed in a small town working for a farmer in the fields where the sun beats down the hottest no matter what time of day it is. In this instance and these circumstances, "trouble in paradise" was likely the last phrase you'd think to describe the situation Mystic and the others were in as you were reading about this party. But, as you and Mystic just saw, I regret to inform you that this phrase strongly applies, for as Liza stood by the entrance, waiting to greet the agent coming back with their writer, what she was greeted with instead was a distant-looking Andrea Brooks."Andrea?" she asked concerned."Are you okay?"Andrea didn't answer. Instead she gestured for someone to enter, or rather, it was for a rather large army. Smoke slithered through the entrance along with Various Frightening Demons.Inside of the tent, the rest of the party heard a loud roar of a monster, yelling "Where is she?" And there was, indeed, trouble in paradise.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Panic is a strange emotion because of its root cause. Sometimes you may feel panic because you have an exam coming up or because you're waiting at the doctor's office. Or you may feel panic because the police have found your hideout and you're now trying to hide from their wandering and sharp gazes. On the other hand, you may also feel panic, but are unable to discern the reason for your panic; if it's constant, you may have generalized anxiety. And while Mystic had this anxiety disorder, in this particular moment, she knew the reason for her panic; the Cursed God and his army had managed to take control of one of the agents and thus managed to gain access inside of the sanctuary. Luckily for Mystic, she was often a quick reactor. So when Calvin reached out to take a hold of her wrist, she jumped back, inches from Rosanna, Matt, and Safiya, the last taking ahold of her upper-arms. "Run," the four of them gasped as they turned and ran. Gunshots rang out as the clowns entered, cackling menacingly, as the four of them ran and hid in the nearby bushes."Mystic?" Sally Slaughter cackled."Where are you, cutie pie?"The other agents had already begun to run out, taking a writer with them. The Society agents, the real ones, were already fighting tooth-and-nail with the armies. But Nicholas, meanwhile, had other plans. He approached Gabbie Hanna and pushed her out of the way. Nora, the writer she was attempting to guide to safety, let out a piercing scream and tried to run, causing Mystic to try to run forward. Thankfully Safiya managed to keep her from running forward."Why are we just standing here?" Mystic screamed quietly."Everyone's in trouble.""Yes, we know," Safiya told her."But right now, it's most important that we get you to safety. Once we get inside of the bunker, we'll need to change, pack quickly, and head through a secret passage.""Dooper!" Nikita and Manny screamed as Killer Kerrie grabbed ahold of him by the ankle. Dooper tried kicking against Kerrie, and soon managed to get a kick to her knees, causing her to topple forward and down. Standing up, he dashed back towards Nikita and Manny, but Sally Slaughter blocked his path, clubbing him with her bat and sending him to the ground. Fortunately, Dooper was persistent and pulled himself back up. All of a sudden, dark, purple smoke slithered inside, giving Mystic the chills and causing tears to form in her eyes. "No," she squeaked.Safiya gave her a tight squeeze to let her know they were still there."We'd better get to the bunker," Matt whispered. All of a sudden, the smoke gathered, spiraling upward until it dissipated to reveal a tall, dark, and handsome-looking man carrying a staff. Using his staff, he pointed it at Liza and pulled her over."Where is she?" he hissed slowly. "Uh," Liza hesitated anxiously."That depends on, uh, who you mean by she."Angrily, he pulled back his staff, jerking Liza closer."You know who I mean.""No, I really don't.""Liar!"With a mere flick, he threw Liza across the sanctuary and to the ground. Mystic began to feel fury rising in her veins, but Safiya still had a tight grip on her."He can't keep doing this," she whispered through her burning tears."This is inhumane!""I know," Safiya assured her."But it's not worth risking your safety. If he gets his hands on you, the world is doomed."All of a sudden, the Cursed God approached the bushes where the group was concealed and Safiya put her hand on Mystic's mouth. Pointing his staff in their direction, a simple, smooth, flick of the wrist (look at the flicka da wrist (the wrist) look at the flicka da wrist (the wrist) look at the flicka da wrist (hoo!)) was all it took to send them flying out of the bushes and onto the ground. "Well, fuck," Mystic grumbled under her breath as the Cursed God approached them.Another flick of the wrist put them standing as Safiya still held onto Mystic. "How long has it been, my sweet?" he asked reaching out and caressing her cheek, causing her to flinch."Far too long that we have been playing hide-and-seek. But playtime's over."Instinctively, Matt and Ro also grabbed onto Mystic. The determination in the eyes of all three of them indicated that not even an army of thousands would take Mystic from them as long as the Cursed God still existed."Look around you, my love," he scoffed as other agents approached."This primitive patch of land? The measly Society agents still alive? It's simply unbecoming for a queen of eternity. What can these peasants give you that I cannot?"Love, friendship, truth, happiness, life, Mystic listed off her head."Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I can give you everything you've ever wanted. I can make everyone who abused you pay the price. I can make you a queen, doused in luxury and bathed in innocence. I can take away all of the pain, make you anew, give you true happiness. Isn't that what you've wanted for so long? To truly be happy?"She hesitated once he said that. It was true that she did want to be happy for such a long time, but something told her that the Cursed God was not going to be the one who gave it to her. "All I ask for is your hand in marriage. That's all. It's no burden, my dearest. It really isn't. You will never have to worry about a single thing. You will have a life of luxury and power. And best of all, a loving husband who would stop time for you.""Stop......time.....?" Mystic faltered."Indeed, my love," he confirmed, holding out his hand."All I ask is to make you my queen."Shivers ran through Mystic as she contemplated this. On one hand, she'd been through more than the average person throughout their life; a life where she wouldn't have to worry and she'd be happy would be amazing. But she also remembered what Safiya and the others had said. But before she could answer, the trio started running away with her in tow. "Bring my bride back!" he ordered harshly."I'm not finished yet.""Yeah, but we are!" Safiya yelled in response.The Cursed God pointed his staff at them, trying to bring them back, but the three of them ran like comets into the bunker, slamming the door and setting the commands so that only lucid agents could access the bunker. "You didn't even--" Mystic began."The answer had to be no," Safiya finished."There wasn't a need for you to give a response."As they set locks on the bunker so that only certain people could access it, Mystic thought about how that wasn't it at all. Because a small part of her mind had wanted her to say yes. And she feared that that part was growing. Was the Cursed God right? Could he truly be her only chance to never have to suffer ever again?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Mystic, in spite of being inside the bunker, could still hear the screams and cries of the war going on outside. Tried as she might to block them out, it was useless.“Do we really have to go?” she panicked as Safiya handed her a set of black clothes.“If we want to get you out safely, yes,” she replied.“But people could be dying out there. Fucking dying! And it’ll be all my fucking fault.”“It’s not your fault,” Ro assured her kindly.“Is it?” she scoffed as she went down the corridor to get changed.
“Because, last time I checked, the Cursed God’s been pursuing me for a good damn while now!”With that she found the elevator and went downstairs to her room.“Not my fault,” she grumbled as she removed her makeup.
“Yeah right. Likely story. Like, can I just have a little peace and quiet? A little fun without some Cursed God trying to hypnotize me every five seconds? IS THAT TOO FUCKING MUCH TO ASK FOR?”Groaning she flew off her dress, quickly hopped in the shower to wash out the hairspray and shit, and then put on her suit. When she came back to her bedroom, there was a note on her bed. All it took was one look of the signature for her to nope on out.“Guys, I think the Cursed God got into my room,” she panted as she skidded to a halt at the entrance, her hands on her knees.
“I found a note from him on my bed.”“Then all the better that we get out, quick!” Safiya responded.All of a sudden, they heard a knock on the bunker door. Mystic peeked through the small circular window and saw two figures.“Hey. That’s Alice and Envy. Oh shit. Alice looks pretty wounded. She needs help! Wait. Are those……daggers in her chest?”“What are they doing?” Matt asked.“They’re trying to get in,” Mystic noted in confusion.
“Wait, Saf. I thought you’d only made it so that lucid agents could get inside.”“I did,” she replied in surprise.“So then why can’t they……?”Her eyes grew wide as she saw the blank glaze in Envy’s eyes.
Shit.
“We need to go,” Mystic told them with an overt sense of urgency.
“Now!”Without another word, the four of them bolted for the detox room until Ro remembered.“Wait. I have to set something up.”She rushed into the infirmary, Mystic following her closely. Ro put three flat projectors on the bed before pressing a button nearby. Three holograms appeared showing her, Saf, and Matt pretty badly wounded, lying on the bed. Mystic figured it was to throw off suspicion.“Sorry I don’t have one for you,” she apologized sheepishly.“It’s fine. Let’s just go.”As Saf led them to the detox room, Mystic couldn’t help but think about how she felt around the Cursed God. Why did her heart get so fluttery that time? Are her feelings about him changing that much? No, it’s not possible. He’s evil. She’s not. They didn’t belong together. Right? Right?Meanwhile, they entered the detox room where Safiya went to the back wall and pulled out a panel. It opened to a dark underground hall.“This is the safest way out,” she assured Mystic.
“And the quickest. We should be on our way to getting those crystals in no time.”They were about to step through when all of a sudden, a voice screamed, with the occasional voice crack, as they ran downstairs.“Dooper!” Safiya exclaimed.
“What’s going on?”He stopped screaming for a second and shrugged.“I dunno. I kinda like panicking when everyone else is. It makes me feel like I’m a part of something. Oh, also it’s not safe to go out that way yet. The clowns are guarding the exit.”“Wait, how did you--?”“I have my secrets,” he shrugged.
“But you four need to stay here until things calm down.”Soon enough Nikita and Manny followed suit and Mystic shook her head.“Fuck this,” she groaned as she tried to step inside.
“I’m just gonna go by myself.”“No!” all of them shouted.Ro and Saf pulled her back inside.“What the hell?” she snapped.
“I’m not incapable of holding my ground!”“We know,” Safiya assured her.
“But even for a capable person, those clowns are extremely versatile and dangerous. We need to get things to cool down first.”“That could take weeks, though," Dooper sighed.Suddenly, Colleen and Gabbie busted in, carrying Alice and Envy.“Guys, what the fuck?” Mystic hissed as they were about to turn around, realizing they missed the infirmary.
“How did they get in here? They’re not lucid.”“Oh, I turned off the locks,” Colleen admitted.If looks could kill, Mystic would’ve been charged with murder the way she was glaring at Colleen.“That was put there for a fucking reason!” she growled as Safiya sealed the wall back up.“But Alice’s mortally wounded.”“But Envy’s not lucid! I saw the glaze in their eyes.”Envy began to stir and Mystic tried to deck them unconscious, but Gabbie stopped her fist.“What……” Envy groaned before opening their eyes.
“What’s going on?”“We need to get you to the infirmary,” Colleen told them before she and Gabbie rushed off.Groaning, Mystic trudged back to the trio plus Dooper.“How long do you think we’ll have to wait this out?” she sighed.“Who knows?” he replied with a shrug.
“It could be a few hours, days, or even weeks.”“We don’t have that kind of time, though. We need to get rid of this bastard now!”Huffing she kicked her foot against the leg of the control panel before realizing that it’s solid metal, which hurts like a motherfucker.“Look, I know you’re impatient,” Matt empathized.
“But we do need to make sure the conditions we’re taking off in are relatively safe before going. I think we need to rest.”“But that war---“ Mystic began.“Don’t worry about it too much, honey,” Manny assured.
“They know what they’ve signed up for, and so did we.”All of a sudden, they heard a scream erupt from the infirmary."What the hell was that?" Nikita exclaimed.“Oh, right,” Ro blushed as she headed towards the door.
“I’m gonna go turn those off. Mystic, if you’re not comfortable sleeping in your room, you can sleep in mine.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A few hours ended up turning into a few days and then a few weeks with no sign of safety for them to exit and find the tokens. Mystic was growing restless and irritable.And then another invasion ensued.This one at the fault of whoever should’ve been in charge of detoxing Andrea Brooks. They were right in the middle of the battle, pandemonium everywhere, when she felt a hook hand tap her shoulder.“Oh hey,” Willie replied with his smiling face.“I’m supposed to take you to the Cursed God.”“Get away from her!” Matt yelled charging at Willie.All of a sudden, Willie pulled out his angry face.“I don’t like your tone, Mr. Detective!” he growled as he let go of Mystic before shanking the Detective, who gave a yell as he collapsed to the ground. To her horror, Mystic noticed that the stab wound was right by the lungs, any closer would’ve been fatal. She ran towards him when Andrea Russett pulled her out of the way.“You go and hide with Safiya and Ro,” she urged her.“I’ll get Matt to the infirmary.”“But---““Just go!”Immediately Safiya and Ro motioned to her from the bushes. Reluctantly sighing, Mystic leaped inside.“I’m sorry!” she whimpered.“It’s not your fault,” Safiya told her.“Matt knew what he was signing up for.”“So you’re saying he deserved to get stabbed?”“Not at all!” Ro exclaimed.“But all of us were informed of the risks we were going to face with this. Putting our lives on the line---““I found you!” a voice growled.Before either of them could react, Nicholas went for Mystic who was pushed back by Safiya. Nicholas then grabbed Safiya and slammed her against a nearby watch tower, one hand on her neck and another crushing her chest. Mystic heard her choke and before Ro could stop her, she ran outside and punched Nicholas, just as Safiya’s face was turning a deep blue from lack of oxygen.“Get the fuck away from her!” she snapped.Whirling around he grinned evilly, holding out Safiya, who was close to death, before Nikita and Manny popped out of nowhere, pushing him to the ground. He lost his grip on Safiya, who rolled out of harm’s reach, desperately gasping for air. Mystic noticed just how close she was to death as Nikita and Manny dragged her to the bunker. That was another close call.Meanwhile, Ro jumped out and grabbed her as the Killer Clown Leader pointed her gun at her.“Just give her up already,” she snarled.“You’re outnumbered.”“Never!” Ro barked back defensively.“I’d sooner die than let her get taken away.”“That can be arranged!”There was a click, a boom, and a shriek. Ro dropped to the ground, holding her chest in pain. Mystic ran over to her, seeing the pink bullet. It was a mere inch from her heart.“Time to go home,” the Killer Clown Leader growled as she hovered above Mystic.“To your husband.”“Like that’ll happen, you shit-eating clown cunt!” Mystic struck at her with venom.She kicked just below her knees, causing the clown to drop to the ground, losing her grip on her gun. Before she could react, Mystic snatched up her gun and fired a few bullets into her legs. Not enough to kill her, but just enough to render her unable to fight. Tossing the gun just out of her reach, Mystic ran away from the clown over to Ro, but Justine had reached her first.“We need to get you two to safety,” she told Mystic.Before she could say anything, Justine snatched her up and brought her over and into the bunker.“But Ro---,” Mystic began.“I’ll get her to the infirmary,” Justine assured her before running off.Feeling powerless, Mystic ran off to her room. Following the weeks after the battle had been quelled due to fatigue on both sides, Andrea Brooks was immediately detoxed twice. Matt, Safiya, and Ro stayed in the infirmary for about two to three weeks. Matt and Ro had to recover from their wounds and blood loss, while Safiya’s lungs had taken copious amounts of damage and she had to be given oxygen daily in order for them to heal and fully fill with air.For those two weeks, Mystic had stayed in her room, only drinking water and eating small granola bars. Otherwise she had almost no appetite. Her hair began to become greasy from lack of showering. People had tried to get her to come out, but they usually wouldn’t get an answer. Nearly a month after, she’d tried to kill herself. Were it not for Ro, Safiya, and Matt, she would’ve likely gone through with it.Once saved from death, Mystic was closely watched by the agency. In fact, up to the point of annoyance. She was more anxious to get moving now. But how the hell could she do that when everyone was watching her like a hawk?She decided to take advantage of this watchfulness to gather some answers. How had she known Envy’s name? Did more people know of this strange entity? She had to know the truth. And who better to give her information than the Society?So when it was Calliope’s turn to watch over her, she decided to question her on the matter.“Calliope, do you know of a guy named Envy?”She looked up at Mystic with confusion.“Who?”This took her by surprise.“Envy. He was helping Alice inside.”“I have never heard of anyone named Envy. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”“Then who was helping Alice to the bunker during the first invasion?”“I don’t know. She seemed to be floating.”“She wasn’t floating. She couldn’t have been. Someone was carrying her! I swear I saw him, and his name was Envy!”Calliope reached her hand out and touched her forehead.“I am not feverish!” she growled as she pushed it away.“I know what I saw, and what I saw was a person carrying Alice. There is a possibility that you just don’t know. But there must be a Society member who does.”“Not to my knowledge,” Calliope sighed.“Do any of us know one who goes by the name of Envy. You’ve been detoxed, right?”“YES!” she snapped before slowly drawing back.“I’m sorry. It’s just…..I need answers. I KNOW what I saw. I just don’t know WHY I knew his name.”They were silent for the rest of the time. Mystic ruminated in her troubles as Calliope practiced some sort of psychic art. Who was this Envy? Why was he here? And more importantly, why didn’t the Society know him?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Weeks went by where Mystic was still under constant watch. Nearly every second of every hour of every day, someone was watching her to make sure she was safe.And it was getting really fucking annoying!It’d been nearly two months since she’d tried to kill herself, in which time more writers had been recovered, and she’d used that time to try to talk to every single member of the Society, but none of them knew who Envy was. On top of it all, they weren’t any closer to recovering the tokens of Everlock than when she first arrived!But then something changed.It started with Andrea Brooks, again. That girl really needs to be protected. And apparently that was the thought Andrea was having about Mystic because she kept following Mystic around with a smile on her face. As in a wide-ass smile. Whenever Mystic even tripped on her own feet, Andrea acted as though she’d fallen on a cobra’s fangs, that is to say, as if she was dying.But the strangest thing of all, the thing that creeped Mystic out the most, was that all of the pigment in her skin, eyes, lips, all of it had disappeared overnight. She was as white as a sheet of paper. Around that time, their water filter seemed to have mysteriously malfunctioned overnight. Mystic figured that these two seemed to have a connection. She had to get an analysis of this and figure out how to reverse it.Except there was one problem. Andrea Brooks would NOT leave her alone. No matter what. And because she didn’t leave her alone, Mystic couldn’t come up with a plan with someone else. So she decided to improvise.One morning, she led Andrea into the broom closet where Matt had hidden to capture her for the talent show two months prior. She had grabbed a steel-armed broom beforehand. As soon as Andrea was inside, Mystic dashed out, slammed, and barred the door. She could hear Andrea struggling against the barrier, even becoming rabid with a need to watch over and protect Mystic.Quick as a flash, the latter rushed off to the lab. Shutting and locking the door with Matt, Ro, and Safiya, who thankfully had saved their filtered water, Mystic grabbed a beaker and started filling it with water.“Mystic? What’s wrong?” Safiya asked with urgency.“It’s Andrea Brooks,” she explained as she went over to the analysis station and grabbed an eye dropper.“She seems to have been infected with something, and I think it may be in the tap water.”“Why is it always Andrea Brooks?” Matt asked.“I have no clue,” Mystic groaned as she placed a droplet of water on a piece of parasitic, viral, and bacterial indication paper. The second the droplet hit the paper, it turned blood red. Mystic studied the color chart to determine the signs.“’Blood-red indicates a high-quantity presence of an unknown parasite.’ Shit, that’s gotta be it.”“What are we supposed to do?” Safiya exclaimed.“We won’t have a working filter until Saturday.”All of a sudden, the door opened slowly and in stepped Envy, the same shade of white as Andrea and giving a wide smile. Matt, Ro, and Safiya gathered around Mystic.“He’s transparent to us,” Safiya exclaimed.“Is that who you were talking about? Is that Envy?”Mystic nodded.“Protect……Protect…..Protect….” he droned monotonously.“We have to get out of here,” Mystic shivered as he approached slowly.They tried to sneak away, but he seemed to have a keen sense of location. For as they tried to leave, he turned rabid, frothing at the mouth as he lunged at the trio, who broke into a run with Mystic in the middle.“Is it just him and Andrea?” Safiya asked.“I think so,” Mystic replied.But that was shot down really quickly. As they turned the corner, swarms of the YouTubers, all with the same symptoms lunging at them.“It’s not safe here,” Safiya gasped as she tried to fight off Colleen.“Where can we go?” Ro asked as she grabbed an emergency fire extinguisher on the walls, spraying it in an attempt to subdue Envy whose eyes had now turned blood red.“Anywhere but here.”“But I think that’s what the Cursed God wants,” Mystic shivered.“It’s either we run from here and find an antidote or we get mauled to death,” Matt yelled.Suddenly Ro spotted an opening in Envy’s offenses. Grabbing the others, she dashed past him and led them into the detox lab. Shutting and barricading the door, she grabbed the black agent suits they had on two months prior, as well as four backpacks filled with gadgets and food.“Get these on, quickly!” she told them.“We probably won’t be able to hold them off for too long, but we could probably hold them off long enough for us to get out.”In a flash, Mystic slipped into her suit.“You’re here too?” a voice gasped.Whirling around, Mystic spied Nora, Dooper, and the other writers.“How the hell did you guys get here?” Mystic asked.“We took shelter as soon as we saw them being infected,” a writer named Ines panted in fear.“Even a single drop of infected saliva on an open wound can transmit the parasite.”“All of you, head into the storage chamber and grab suits and bags,” Ro ordered them.“But what about Alice?” Nora exclaimed as she grabbed her bag and suit.“She’s still in the hospital wing.”“It’s too late,” Mystic replied in fear as the horde approached.“If we try to get her now, we’ll only risk infection.”“Guys? Are you there?” a weak voice emerged from the walkie-talkies.Mystic, without hesitation, grabbed and answered.“Alice? How did you--?”“They have emergency supplies in the hospital wing. Listen, I don’t have time to barricade the doors, but I can try to make it there.”“Don’t,” Mystic told her.“We’ve been compromised. The group’s headed to the detox room.”“I know, but I found a secret hatch in the hospital wing. It’s lead me into a series of tunnels in a sewer. Just grab me a bag and a suit and I can meet up with you.”“But the stab wounds---“ Dooper exclaimed.“I’ve had two months to heal,” she replied.“I’ll be fine. You all just worried about getting yourselves out. I’m heading your way.”There was a click and a pounding.“Hurry!” Ro yelled.“Get the suits on and go!”Matt, hurriedly, opened the hatch, leading to the sewer system. Nora and the others jumped out first, after grabbing a spare suit. Then Matt and Mystic waited for Ro to put on her suit while Safiya held the doors and the horde at bay.“They’re too strong,” Safiya panted as she held against the barrier Ro had made.“We’re not gonna be able to hold out much longer.”“Then we’d better get going,” Ro resolved as she jumped down into the sewer with the others.Matt and Mystic followed suit and Safiya jumped inside just as the barrier collapsed and the horde burst inside. Quickly Safiya grabbed the hatch and shut it on their faces before taking out a specialized padlock and locking it onto the handle.“This should buy us some time,” she assured them.“The padlock will emit a frequency that will cause them to pass out for a few hours. But it’s gonna activate in thirty seconds and we need to be at least 100 feet away. Go!”She jumped down from the ladder as the timer counted down. The group ran off and just as they reached 100 feet away, they heard a beep and the rabid horde went silent.“They’re not……dead, right?” Dooper asked, worried.“No,” Safiya assured them.“Just unconscious. We’d better find Alice and then get going, not only to find an antidote to this parasite, but also the tokens of Everlock.”Finally! Mystic thought as the group ran off to meet up with Alice.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They ran for several minutes before Mystic nearly stumbled. In spite of how much running she’d done recently, she was still easily winded. And the smell down in the sewers. Oh God!It wasn’t rancid. It wasn’t disgusting. It was simply…………powerful and intoxicating, but in the worst way. She felt…..lightheaded. And it was becoming thicker. But why weren’t the rest of them affected?
Ah. Here we are again. I do so miss these conversations.

It's you! Get out of my head!

I see you’ve found my specialized perfume. Do not worry, my dearest. It only works in the cloud. Make it out of the fog and I’ll be gone. That is, if you can make it before you collapse. If not, the fog shall take you right to me where you belong.
Mystic tried to call out for help, but her throat felt tight. Now why would I let you speak to them? Your voice is meant for my ears and mine alone in this fog.   “Mystic?”She could just make out Stella’s voice.“Holy shit! She’s collapsing.”From outside the fog, Nora burst through, grabbing and dragging Mystic through the thick cloud. She felt as though she was swimming in tar.
Kyrie Elison.
It seemed to fill her lungs.
Kyrie Elison.
She felt her throat close up.
Kyrie Elison.
“Hold on, Mystic!” Nora yelled.Was this the end?No. Why would the Cursed God try to kill her? He wouldn’t let her kill herself. Pushing herself up, Mystic followed Nora against the tar, now pulling her back.
Play fair!
Some of the other writers had grabbed onto Nora. Lyra ran into the fog and grabbed ahold of Mystic.“Just take it a bit at a time,” Lyra told her.Mystic coughed out a cloud. Would this fog never come to an end?No. She saw the cloud’s end. Energy threaded itself through her veins and she dashed on out, hearing an eardrum-shattering roar of fury. Ro screamed and grabbed onto Matt. “What the hell was that?” Dooper gasped.“He expected this,” Mystic panted as she caught her breath.“There may be more traps up ahead.”“Guys?” a voice up ahead called out.Running towards them was Alice with another figure following suit. “Oh thank God!” she cried out as she neared them.“I thought I’d never find you guys. Where’s Envy?”Mystic glanced over at Safiya regretfully, before turning back to Alice.“I’m so sorry,” Mystic sighed ruefully.“He became infected.”Alice's face turned pale with fear.“Infected?” the other figure asked seriously in a proper voice, which had a high British dialect. Emerging from the dark was a woman that Mystic thought was too familiar.“Genevieve?” Lyra gasped.“What the hell are you doing here?”“I heard rumors about the parasite, so I came down here to investigate when Alice ran my way.” “It’s true,” Mystic reported.“It’s infected just about every single agent.”“I suspected as much,” she sighed.“It’s prevalent in the water system down here. Don’t be afraid of catching it, however. It’s not an airborne parasite like he normally sends out. You can only be infected if you drink infected water or are bitten by someone who is already infected.”“Why did he send it out?”“Mystic, my dear, I know you’re much smarter than this. You put it together yourself.” She thought about all of the connections; her suicide, Envy’s sudden appearance, the watchful agents. “I get it,” she gasped.“He wanted me to feel smothered in the agency because he knew that would make me want to leave.”“Precisely.”“But how did the parasite get inside the agency in the first place?” Ines wondered.“Can the water filtration be accessed by outsiders?” Genevieve exclaimed.Ines shook her head.“The water filtration system can only be accessed from inside of the sanctuary,” Cedar explained.“If the filter were there, it would’ve most certainly detected and eliminated any parasites that came across it.”A streak of panic came across Genevieve’s face.“That’s what I was most afraid of,” she whimpered.“What? Why?” Dooper exclaimed confused.Genevieve took a deep breath.“It’s quite possible,” she declared.“That we may have a traitor amongst us.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“A traitor?” Mystic squeaked.Genevieve nodded.“One sent by the Cursed God to go undercover and sabotage us in any way possible.”“It’s probably Andrea Brooks,” Nora scoffed.“That girl’s always getting herself possessed.”“Maybe it’s Teala,” Hazel suggested.Hearing this Stella gave a wail of fright.“Maybe,” they clarified.“Maybe’s basically the same thing as yes,” Stella cried.“If it’s true, then Roila’s going to sink for sure!”“Seriously?” Dooper scoffed.“The universe is at stake and all you care about is Roila?”“They give me reason to live, dingus!”“Both of you, enough!” Genevieve snapped.“Start this triviality again, and I’ll have to hypnotize you into silence.”“We discussed this, Genevieve!” Lyra whispered through her teeth.“Oh, we did?” she asked sarcastically."Well, desperate times call for desperate measures."“Wait,” Ines piped up.“What if the detox didn’t work on one of US?”The rest of them simply stared at her.“Us?” Mystic asked.“Yeah,” she nodded.“One of us writers. What if one of US is the traitor?”A murmur of anxiety rippled amongst the rest of them.“It’s probably Alice,” Hazel said.“She’s kept herself separate from the rest of us.”“That’s because I’ve been injured!” she snapped.“If anyone’s the traitor, it’s probably Stella. She was so easily turned into her darkness persona early on.”“Why would I want to see my OTP fall to a parasite?” she spattered.“It’s likely that Nora's the traitor. She’s the biggest influence in this fandom!”“I feel guilty just WRITING DEATHS,” Nora stammered.“Do you actually think I’d have the guts to infect my favorites? What about Sunny or Kasey? They haven’t even spoken yet.”“Don’t you dare come for us!” they spat simultaneously.“ENOUGH!” Mystic yelled.“All of you. This isn’t the time to argue about who’s the traitor. Besides Genevieve said that it’s only POSSIBLE. She never said it was truth.”The writers glanced over at each other.“You know, Mystic,” Ines wondered.“It’s quite possible YOU took out that filter. Maybe YOU'RE the traitor."She was taken aback.“M…me?” she gasped in shock.“Why the hell would I do that?”“I don’t know. Perhaps you wanted the attention.”"Do you think I'd go THAT FAR to get attention?" she snapped."I don't know," Ines sniffed."Perhaps all of what we know about you is a lie. Maybe you knowingly let the Cursed God into this fandom!"“You do realize, Ines,” Genevieve coughed.“That you’re making YOURSELF look rather suspicious. After all, you’re the one who brought up the possibility of one of the writers being the traitor.”“Plus, me being the traitor is completely illogical,” Mystic explained.“The Cursed God wanted to use the parasite to force me to leave the sanctuary. It’d be pointless for him to send me out to infect them.”“That does make sense,” Lyra agreed.“Look,” Safiya piped up.“We still don’t know for sure if a traitor is amongst our ranks. But if we don’t get moving now, the Cursed God will catch up with us. Alice, put on your suit and then we’ll go.”After she put on the suit, Alice and the rest headed on forward. But the possibility that a traitor was amongst them stung their minds. These writers, they thought they knew each other. But was all of what they knew……..a bunch of lies?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After what seemed like hours of walking, they made it to the end of the sewers and out into the world. But all the while, Mystic thought back to that invasion two months ago.“Hey,” she asked Safiya.“I know you’ve been supervising the reverse engineering of that microphone Calvin said he set up for me. Did you ever figure out what it did?”“Oh, yeah,” she nodded.“It’s a device that manipulates the voice and modifies it to reach hypnotic frequencies. Basically if you had sung into that, we would’ve all become servants to the Cursed God.”Hearing this, Mystic shivered.“I still don’t understand why he picked me,” she sighed.“There are much better alternatives to me.”“Not really,” Alice argued. “If anyone’s gotta take the burden, why not have it be the one who released him?”“It was a total accident,” Mystic hissed. “Do you want me to suffer?”“No, but I could never forgive myself if I got someone else to take your place.”“So what you’re saying is you’d rather have me suffer?”“Of course not!”Mystic huffed frustrated.“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I just don’t understand why he would—““Hey, guys?” Cedar called out. “Anyone recognize this name?”They all crowded around them to read the name, carved into a tree.“’Lydia Waverly.’”“Who the hell is that?” Nora asked.“I suspect this may have been written by a certain dark entity,” Ines sniffed. “Guess you’re not as special as you thought, Mystic.”“You do know we could’ve thrown you straight to the horde of the infected,” Mystic growled. “A little respect would go a long way. Unless you want to just outright admit that YOU’RE the traitor.”“Oh, not THIS again,” Genevieve groaned.“I’m NOT the traitor,” Ines defended.“Then how do you know so much about all of this?” Mystic questioned.“I do a lot of research.”“Okay, can you both please shut the hell up?” Nora asked tiredly. “I’m sure that neither of you are the traitor. In fact, I don’t think there really IS a traitor amongst us. If there was, we would’ve found them out by now.”“Traitors can hide pretty easily,” Stella reminded her.“Yeah,” Mystic agreed regretfully. “I didn’t even realize Mortimer was gonna be a traitor.”“Okay, but to be fair,” Nora argued. “Who even saw that coming?”All of a sudden, Mystic’s walkie-talkie beeped.
“Mystic?”
It was Jael. She snatched it out and pressed the button.
“Talk to me.”
“I’m here, Jael.”
“If the infection rumor is true, I do hope you’ve made it to safety.”
“Confirmed.”
“Is anyone else with you?”
“Uh yeah, actually. Nora, Stella, Dooper, Safiya, Genevieve, Matt, Rosanna, Cedar, Alice, Ines, Kasey, Sunny, Ciel, and a few others. I dunno; I'm having trouble keeping track of names. Point is, we've got a lot.”"Your fellow disaster lesbian's here too," Celeste chimed in.
“Good. And thank you, Celeste, for your own personal confirmation."
"How did you know off the bat that it was me?!"
"I can recognize your voice, for one. Two, your crush on Safiya isn't as well-hidden as you might like to believe."
"Her what?" Safiya asked in surprise."Nothing important," Celeste said quickly, her heart pounding, sweat beading on her forehead."But--"“Hey! Quick question; Any idea how the infection could’ve gotten into the agency?”There was a moment of static as everyone’s hearts pounded, waiting for the response.
“We think, unfortunately, someone inside of the agency tampered with the filtration system. However the good news is that we’ve managed to get a sample of the infected water. We’re currently working on an antidote and cure. If things go smoothly, we should be able to cure everyone within a matter of days."
Mystic heard Alice sigh in deep relief, a tear coming down her face."Great, but are you saying that one of us did this?”
“That’s the most likely possibility. And what’s worse is that we think it may be someone within the ranks of the writers.”
“Is there any way to tell who the traitor is?” Ines wondered.
“As of now, only by careful observations.”
“Hey, quick question,” Alice piped up. “What exactly IS this parasite?”
“We currently don’t have a name for it, but we do know it’s genetically engineered from a pre-existing parasite, one that hijacks the brain. The Cursed God modified it so that those who ingested it had a severe and never-ending compulsion to protect Mystic specifically.”
"Of course they did," Ines huffed. "It's always Mystic.""Cut it out, Ness," Hazel piped up. "Now's not the time to get salty.""I'm just saying."“Why did they get all pasty and pale and whatnot?” Dooper asked.
“We’re not entirely sure. We’re thinking it could be a side effect of one of the symptoms. Our current hypothesis is that, in exchange for melanin, the infected become almost superhuman; super strength, speed, and stamina specifically. But due to their low levels of melanin, they’re extremely sensitive to sunlight, some even to the point of death.”
“What about the blood-redness of their eyes?” Nora asked.
“That’s another one we don’t know. On our clones, we’ve observed some crying blood once their eyes turned red. We’re currently believing that it could be an increase in blood flow to the vessels located in the eye, but we still are uncertain of the reasoning.”
“So you can confirm that one of us may, in fact, be a traitor working for the Cursed God?” Mystic asked hesitantly.
“It’s a hypothesis with a 95% certainty. I need to go help with the antidote. Stay safe.”
And the walkie-talkie clicked.“So there really is a traitor amongst us?” Ciel shivered."Who would it be, though?" Cedar asked, glancing around. "Would any of us even have a reason to work for him?""I mean, I'd like to think that most of us are against him doing....whatever the heck he plans to do," Celeste said."So do I," Hazel sighed. "But it's like Jael said; the chances of it being one of us are high.""There's still that 5% chance of it not being one of us," Tristen pointed out, fidgeting with her hands."I admire your optimism, dear." Genevieve put a gentle hand on Tristen. "But I'm afraid it's bordering on naiveté.""It does still exist, though," Alice pointed out. "So we can't exactly discount the possibility that the traitor is outside of this group.""If there is," Stella piped up. "Nora's still a likely candidate." She turned to the writer in question. "I mean, you have to admit; you are the biggest influence in the fandom."Hearing this Nora gulped."I mean.....yeah....but that doesn't necessarily mean I am a traitor.""Yeah, but most of us have minor or no influence," Arya spoke up. "Why would the Cursed God choose someone with little-to-no influence to cause something so drastic?""Well, it is the least-likely possibility, which makes it the most-likely possibility," Celeste exclaimed. "So it could be Lacey. Or Wynter. Or Kasey."“Don’t look at me,” Kasey said putting their hands up. “I hate that SOB. Why would I spy for him?”“Moving away from the traitor point,” Mystic declared. “Matt, where’s the first token?”He gave this some thought.“I believe it’s located back in the main hub of Everlock. Unfortunately, this means that we’ll have to walk for a couple of days.”“Fair enough,” Mystic sighed. “Let’s get moving.”“Wait,” Ines questioned. “Who made you in charge of this expedition?”“No one, but someone’s gotta step up. And besides, we can confirm with 99% certainty that I am NOT the traitor, meaning it’d be best for me to lead you all to the right path.”Ines rolled her eyes.“Whatever,” she scoffed.“Like I said,” Mystic huffed. "A little respect goes a long way.”As they walked off, Mystic couldn’t help but eye Ines. Something was up with that girl. She seemed to have an agenda against Mystic or at the very least wasn’t particularly fond of her. This lead Mystic to wonder.
Is SHE the traitor?