Chapter 25.1: The Seeker of the Door to All

Much thanks to knol, Loki and Ding
-

Taylor skidded back, bringing the Keyblade up in a desperate guard as her opponent struck from above. Leaping down with both hands.

There was a clang as the two weapons met. She could feel the noise travelling up her arms and down her body, tiny vibrations of pressure.

For one second, the world went quiet as the sound carried out into the distance, the gulls cries quieted, the noise from the street dimmed and even her own heartbeat seemed to skip for that one second.

Taylor gritted her teeth and pushed, her Melody humming.

The pressure vanished suddenly and Taylor stumbled forward as her foe was suddenly gone.

Her mind snapped to her side, an awareness of something she couldn't see with her eyes.

Leaping back, Taylor tried to make some space between her and the swiping sword coming after her. Rolling to one side, she almost flew off the roof in her haste.

Taylor felt the presence in her mind fly towards her. An aura that was rapidly closing in.

With a push of her legs she rushed forward, clashing against the blade again with everything she had but no matter how much she pushed, her Keyblade met solid resistance. After a few seconds, she felt herself gain some ground against her opponent. Her own strength surprising her.

She supposed fighting people like Lung and Hookwolf gave her a skewed perspective on human strength.

Then her world titled as her legs were swept from under her and she fell hard, her hood softening what would otherwise be a painful landing.

Taylor stared up at the lovely day as her back her muscles cramped a little.

A slight poke at her chest from Ifrit's Fang made her shift her gaze to Mouse Protector. She was, of course, grinning cheerfully.

"Not bad, apprentice! You're making progress," she complimented, sticking her hand out to her.

Taylor blew out a sigh and accepted the help to her feet. The red blade in Mouse's hand glowed slightly, the light was followed by deep cackling.

Mouse tapped it against the ground.

"Don't be a dick, she's learning," Mouse said somewhat strictly and Taylor blinked at them.

The odd weapon seemed to be at odds with the comical appearance of Mouse Protector. The dark red colour, almost blood like combined with the black hilt just screamed danger.

"I'm also not allowed to use magic," Taylor said, feeling the need to at least protest her chain of defeats.

Mouse stretched and seemed to look a lot less worked up than before. Like she just took a really hot bath.

"You're good at fighting but from what I can see, you depend too much on magic when a simple whack on the head will do just dandy," Mouse said, walking over to a small duffel bag where she retrieved two bottles of water.

"Besides, if you want magic, I can always hit up Myrddin? I heard he's been wanting to meet you through the grapevine," Mouse offered and Taylor shook her head.

"I have enough trouble with important people in Brockton as it is. Panacea agreed to another session at the hospital later, Armsmaster asked if I'd be up for some scans and if Mog would like to talk shop. Some of the Wards want to patrol around my area, Ingrid wants more modelling sets done, we're sparring and Ifrit wants more action soon as well."

Taylor took a deep breath and jumped a little when Mouse's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Keynote...you do understand it's okay to say no, right?" she asked softly and Taylor shrugged.

"If she doesn't, I do," Sabah called from the side, where she had been sketching in the sun, her mask slightly to one side as she scanned her drawing for flaws. Boco laid behind her, letting Sabah use him as a cushion.

Taylor flushed as Mouse stroked her chin.

"Glueing you both together would be fun but impractical. Keynote, these people, Arms, Amy, Ifrit, Ingrid...they'd all understand if you explained that you are feeling a little weighed down with tasks. I have a feeling you can tell any ass to shut it but you still seem to be trying too hard for people you like," she said and slid her sword into a cheap leather sheath.

Taylor let go of the Keyblade and it broke apart into countless tiny petals, each one a red shine in the sun before they faded away like tiny red gems in the wind.

"I know, but I like being around all of them, helping where I can, and I want to do the best I can," she sighed and chilled her water, the tiny white crystals frosting her bottle to the touch.

Mouse's grinned went full force and she excitedly held out her water bottle.

Taylor let a small smile leak out and she put a finger to the plastic, letting the liquid inside dip in temperature.

Mouse drank deeply and sighed in pleasure.

"Wanting to be around people shouldn't mean you let them have you at their beck and call. I was mostly the same with PRT and now they don't own me." She said and went to examine Sabah's drawings. Boco opened one eye and watched her approach.

"They don't?" Taylor asked confused and Mouse nodded, petting Boco under the beak, the bird closing his eyes in obvious pleasure.

"I'm technically an independent these days. I get a lot more leeway and access to PRT stuff because of my history and relationship with Legend but they don't pay me or have any command over me the same way they do Missy or Arms. So...I don't guard mayors or politicians when asked, why would I when I can spend that time guarding men or women from their abusive partners or kids from monsters. I know deep down that if a politician or government person gets gunned down, it causes massive problems but I can't ignore the people who don't have anyone either."

Mouse's voice trailed off and then she smiled, a little more softly.

"Key, there is no right way to have friends and no right way to be a hero. A paragon of sainthood is nice but some people can't live that way and being a wise cracking, ass kicking, role model can be a strain when things don't go well in your life. So...just decide on the here and now, choose what really appeals to you and follow that. I really wanted to help Paige, so I pushed and pushed until Dragon got me in touch with the right people and boom, there I was," the older woman smiled and Taylor felt the idea roll around in her head.

The only time she snapped to a choice was when people were in danger when the consequence of not rushing to a decision was more dangerous than standing still.

To choose where and how to apply herself was stillnew, a luxury that she wasn't sure how she felt about.

Sabah shuffled her papers together and stood, Boco lazily climbing to his feet as well.

"She isn't wrong. I'm not saying being impulsive all the time is a good idea but relaxing and just doing something that you want to do can be good for the soul," she said, adjusting her mask.

Taylor looked out over the roof edge and felt a slight breeze cool her hot skin.

Do what she wanted?

The idea sounded nice but she felt better when she was actively doing her part, being a hero.

But she had enjoyed healing with Amy…

The modelling, even after her experience, still felt like Taylor trying to act a little vain. Armsmaster's lab was an unknown and letting Mog near that amount of tech was just making her imagine the Moogle and Armsmaster walking away into the sunset on some giant robot dragon thing…

"Mouse, thanks for the practise. You up for tomorrow?" Taylor asked, turning to see the woman on top of Boco, arms wide and her cape billowing wildly.

"To crime my noble steed!" she cried and Boco cheered and hopped once. Sabah, without looking up, grabbed a hold of Boco's tail feathers.

"No." The tone was absolute and Mouse deflated.

"Around the roof?" she tried and Sabah let go of the giant bird go and nodded.

"If you kidnap my friend, I will find you," she promised and Mouse smiled.

Boco heartily walked around the small roof. Taylor nudged Sabah once Mouse was out of earshot.

"You know Boco can handle himself, why not let her take him for a run? I think he's bored," she said lightly and Sabah huffed.

"And you think giving him to Mouse Protector is going to result in anything less than half the city blowing up? The city would have better luck with a spontaneous dragon attack," Sabah said dryly and Taylor grinned.

Boco suddenly let loose an excited warble and shot off the roof, his wings flapping wildly as he flew to the next roof.

Taylor blinked as Mouse held on to his neck in surprise.

"I think...Boco just kidnapped Mouse," she pointed out and Sabah shook her head.

"I threatened the wrong birdbrain, didn't I? I...give them an hour and then I'll phone Mouse Protector. I guess that makes me in charge of Paige until she gets back," Sabah a little happier and Taylor doubted it.

If Mouse hadn't tagged Paige, then she'd eat Mog.

Still, Sabah liked Paige. This was her second morning working at the Dollhouse and the woman was quickly shaping up to be someone that was just pleasant to be around.

Sabah, in particular, seemed to take some time to just talk to her and walk the woman through the shop life.

Taylor was glad, Paige seemed to part Sabah's outer defences like a curtain. Taylor even spotted the two laughing over something.

Ingrid shot her an amused look when she caught Taylor smiling at them.

"I'm sure you two will go into the office and talk outfits for rock stars or something," Taylor said, and Sabah made an offended noise.

"We talk about the impression that a good outfit sends subliminally to fans which could influence the trends to come, it's hardly talking about outfits," Sabah said snootily before laughing a little.

"But we do read magazines and rate some of the hottest new fashion. I loved this piece that a cape down in Dallas wore. It was a real star inspired outfit and I think I could-"

She carried on talking and Taylor smiled softly, the jargon of fabric material and sewing techniques went over her head.

In the distance, Mouse Protector's loud cries of joy followed them down the stairs.

"Jess, there you are," Taylor rushed over, her costume making the public passing the Dollhouse stared.

Jess, in a leather jacket and ponytail, baggy jeans made her...him seem...solid.

"Key," he greeted, his voice deeper than anything Taylor had heard before.

"You look...rough," Taylor pointed out casually and Jess rubbed his eyes.

"Hangover, I saw some serious shit the last few nights, so I fell back to my second most fucking bad habit, drinking," he said and leaned in.

"The Undies are back together, you free later tonight? The girl of the night wants to thank you herself and Coil...you won't believe it until you see it," Jess said and Taylor looked at her warily.

"What...happened?" she asked and Jess looked around and moved towards the Dollhouse entrance.

"He got a downsize and is going to be needing a hand to do...anything," he told her and Taylor stared at him.

"You crippled him? You didn't torture him, did you?" Taylor asked a little shocked at the length Jess might have gone to.

Lisa needed help but for Jess to be willing to do that to another human being was not how Taylor wanted it done.

It was no good to rescue one person and lose another to bloodshed or sleepless nights full of regret.

Jess shrugged and slapped a wandering tentacle sneaking out his sleeve, which quickly retreated.

"He's alive, it's more than he deserved but there was no torture" Jess yawned, walking towards the door.

"Where does she want to meet?" Taylor asked and Jess waved a hand in the air.

"Their place, when you're free, I don't think Lisa is in any hurry to jump back into the frying pan," he said and opened the door as people walking past began to slowed down, wondering what the cape was doing talking to a random blond guy.

"Can't say I blame her, being stir fry once is enough for anyone, she was just lucky she got away before she got chopped up for soup, uwe hee hee," came a cackle from inside Jess' unzipped jacket. Two large crimson eyes appearing briefly as if shining from a dark murky depth before they vanished.

"Ult has a point, don't expect Lisa to be able to shift the entire Undies towards a better direction in one night, cut her some slack until we know what to do. The dick ran a lot of things from behind the scenes. So expect a lot of shit to hit the fan real quick now that's he's a girl's worst enemy," Jess said before he walked inside.

Leaving Taylor standing there, confused.

Coil was...a girl's worst enemy? The hell did that mean? Taylor was thinking of chasing Jess down but decided that Jess was enjoying being a vague ass.

One day, she would get a friend that didn't answer vaguely and just said what she thought.

Oddly enough, Rachel popped into her head. Taylor shook her head. She wasn't ready for that kind of friend just yet.

It was then that the Blunt Claw appeared in her hand with a low rumble, almost a growl.

Taylor glared at it, wondering where her Melody mindset had wandered off to.

"We are not friends!" she told it sternly but it didn't answer back, unsurprisingly. The chain just jiggled back and forward merrily.

Taylor shook it.

"You don't decide who my friends are, I am person with free will, I will not be subjected to your manipulative friendship goals," she shook it and then looked around at the staring crowd.

"Oh God, Mouse is infecting me," she whispered and hurried off, her run taking on a rather hurried pace.

She had to find a friend that wasn't vague, crazy, an alien and/or a bird.

There had to be one!

"Aisha, I'll be back tonight. I left you money for food if you want to eat in," Brian said as Aisha channel surfed.

"Oh no, don't leave. I'll die without you," she said in a sarcastic soft voice and Brian shot her a look.

"Go, I'll be here or over there or even under there but I'll be here," Aisha grumbled and Brian patted her on the head like a child.

"Don't get into trouble, please?" Brian asked and Aisha sat up from the couch to look at him.

"Bro, bro, broooo, do I ever, like ever, get into trouble?" she asked and Brian pointed to the giant hole in the kitchen door.

Aisha shrugged.

"Okay, once or twice but I'll do everything this time to avoid trouble, honest," she said and Brian narrowed his eyes.

"I'll call you later," he half promised, half warned.

Aisha beamed at him.

"I'll be waiting!" she said and Brian was gone.

Aisha counted slowly in her head.

About forty seconds or so later, strangely enough, the same amount of time it would take Brian to leave the apartment building and be on his way, she sighed aloud to no one.

"I did everything I could to stop myself but I failed, I just...wasn't strong enough, oh well. Dishonour on me for failing my family, dishonour on my curiosity and dishonour on my favourite pet, if I had one." she whistled as she grabbed her jacket and locked the door behind her.

Brian would kill her but only if he found out.

If.

'If' was a good word.

Aisha walked down the road and grinned.

There was a girl out there who thought she could tell her what to do.

Fuck that noise.

Aisha wasn't going to cause trouble or start a fight but she had to admit that she really wanted to see what else that girl would do if Aisha ignored her warning.

She liked pushing people.

She was pretty sure that she would love pushing this one.

"So, I pull back the curtain and it's the same guy that Vicky was sure she missed last week. Apparently, the guy was so high on drugs he never noticed his sprained wrist and when he couldn't move his hand, he finally decided to turn himself in," Amy said, her voice exasperated.

Taylor sipped at her cheap tea from the vending machine.

Amy idly stirred a cold coffee and rolled her eyes.

"I detoxed him and he started screaming his head off about me killing him," she said and Taylor snorted into her tea.

"Yeah, sure, the great Panacea breaks her oath for one mugger," Taylor said dramatically and instead of laughter, Amy looked away.

"Yeah, imagine that," she said a little quietly, her somewhat positive attitude from the last few hours of working together shifting to a new tone.

"Amy, did I say something wrong?" Taylor asked and Amy shook her head, an odd smile fixed in place.

"No, everything is fine," she said casually and the elevator dinged behind Taylor but she ignored it.

"Amy, if there is anything wrong, I'll listen, I'm not great at it but I can try?" Taylor tried but Amy was staring past her, mouth open.

Confused, Taylor turned and her mind went blank.

Boco, Mog, Ifrit, Paige and Mouse were all squished into one elevator.

"Out, out! If one more person steps on me, I swear by Titan's craggy valley that I will set someone's hair on fire!" Ifrit yelled and with effort pulled himself free of the tangle of feathers and arms.

"What...are you guys all doing here?" Taylor asked bluntly and Ifrit brushed himself off and scaled Taylor as the rest of the ragtag group pulled themselves free.

Ifrit puffed himself up and looked like he was preparing a speech before Mouse flopped down next to them onto a chair.

"We got bored," she said with enthusiasm, Amy stared at her in horror as Ifrit deflated and then pointed to Boco, who had strayed over to a trash can, looking extremely happy.

"How did you get him in here?" she half hissed and Mouse put her hands on her hips.

"I told them he was my giant seeing-eye bird, they didn't seem to believe me but I explained to them severity of leaving Boco downstairs would not only break my heart but also make me burst out in song and dance...and that I was here at the request of Keynote…" she mumbled that last part and Taylor heard a crunching noise and looked down to see her dripping paper cup crushed in her grip.

"Okay, but why did you come here, here?" Taylor asked again and Mouse opened her mouth and then frowned.

Mog stared at the vending machine before floating around the back.

Paige sat in the remaining seat, with far more grace than Mouse.

"Ifrit felt insulted you left him behind to see, uh, Panp- cea and Boco, I think, offered him a lift, Mouse jumped on as they left and since I have to be with her, I followed suit," Paige explained and Taylor stood and without taking her eye off Paige, snatched Mog neatly from behind the machine.

"Kupo! I almost had a restocking function fixed into the system," he complained and Taylor looked down at him.

"Do not break the universe for unlimited coffee," she said and Mog sighed.

"Kupo, it isn't a hard thing, just a matter reconstruction of base materials based on an existing example-" Mog began and Taylor gave her phone to him.

"Here, mess with this, It, at least, belongs to me," she threw it onto the waiting lounge couch and Mog zipped after with a cheer.

Boco pulled his head out the rubbish with a confused wark.

"Boco, buy food like the rest of us," Taylor instructed and threw him some notes for the vending machine. Boco snatched them from the air like a predator and skulked over to the snack machine with hungry eyes.

"And you," Taylor settled her gaze on Ifrit.

"I am ready for your worst," he promised and Taylor smirked.

"Nurse Panpan is being depressing again, care to help me find out why?" she asked and Amy recoiled.

"Don't call me that," she said and Ifrit cackled.

"Ohh or what? You'll use the pink band-aids?" she poked and Amy stared down at him with thin lips.

"I'll throw you into the children's ward and watch as they bury you in a mountain of glue and glitter," she promised and Ifrit yawned.

"Scary, but seriously? Don't talk if you don't want to, me forcing you to spill the beans will only make things worse," Ifrit said and hopped into her arms.

He tapped her chin.

"Secrets are tricky things, some just need time and friends to make them easier to bear, right?" he teased and Amy dropped him on the floor and rolled her eyes.

"Corny and sickening, I'm fine, stick to making inspirational cards," Amy said and Ifrit picked himself up with a grumble.

"I am a God on some worlds, I deserve some damn respect around here," he complained and Paige picked him up.

"I think you're cute," she tried and Ifrit stared at her.

"I'll take it," he said happily and Taylor sighed.

"You're so damn easy to please. If you aren't a seven foot tall buff demon man stroking your own giant ego, you're a two foot doll with twice the ego. Paige, he's a horn dog, don't let him snuggle too closely," Taylor warned and Paige just smiled.

"He's warm, I don't mind," she said and Mouse looked at Ifrit with interest.

"What's it like being a God?" she asked and Ifrit blinked at her.

"You're powerful beyond belief but so very lonely, so it all feels a bit meaningless at times," he said and Mouse seemed to go quiet at this for a few seconds.

"Sounds sucky, I'd rather be a hero," she decided and Ifrit closed his eyes.

"I tend to agree, even if I don't always get a choice," he muttered and Taylor knew him well enough to know that Ifrit was going to change the subject and decided to help him out.

"So, why did Mog come?" she asked and everyone looked at her before staring at Mog who was disassembling the phone into its component parts.

"He said he wanted to suggest trying something, while Panpan was here," Ifrit said and Mog looked up at the sudden conversation change.

A loose wire was wrapped around his pom for safe keeping.

"I finally got enough things together to create potions, kupo. The Sylkis green that Lord Alexander sent had enough surviving seeds for me to grow basic ingredients which I then just cloned, kupo," he said and Taylor stiffened at the mention of the vile evil vegetable.

"I thought Boco ate that?" Ifrit wondered and Mog nodded.

"He's been looking after some of the nests around here, crows, wood birds and such, he feeds them when their parents are late, I managed to salvage the seeds from one nest," Mog explained and Boco chirped, a pile of candy and snacks on the floor in front of him.

Taylor narrowed her gaze.

"I only gave you a ten, how do you have so much?" she asked and Boco looked at her innocently.

"He pulled at the case and popped the lock, he's strong, he's just been closing the case every time you're about to look over" Amy said and Taylor turned to stare at her.

"You didn't stop him?" she asked and Amy gave her a look.

"I would find it easier to kick a puppy. Plus, he's a giant raptor-like bird, I like having hair and skin," she pointed out and Taylor pointed her Keyblade at the machine.

A thin laser beam shot out and the machine gave a purposeful click.

Boco nudged at the side but the door remained closed, he let out a little cry and buried his beak into his candy pile.

Mouse was at his side in an instant.

"Don't worry, faithful stead, we shall gain sweet loot with the power of legal tender, huzzah!" she said and pulled out a camo style wallet.

Mouse pulled out a twenty and Boco jabbed his claw at a particular bag of chips.

"I don't even know why I try," Taylor grumbled and then paused.

That was an odd wallet for Mouse…

-
"I'm sorry for this, it's the rules…" the red faced security guard apologised as Miss Militia stood before the door to the PRT headquarters, unable to supply her security card to gain access to the Wards HQ.

In fact, she had been unable to find her wallet at all.

"Aegis is on his way up, he said he won't be long," the guard added and Miss Militia nodded, silent.

In her hand was a grenade launcher pointing down at the ground.

It was filled with rubber bullets and her finger traced the trigger with great deep desire.

It was a little immature but the long pipe of the launcher had vague mouse shape with crossed-out eyes.

"I knew she was hugging me too tightly…" she whispered and the guard fled back to his post.

"The Director will understand," she told herself, already picking the perfect position.

Mouse paused and looked skywards.

"I'm forgetting something," she muttered but then shrugged and slid another twenty into the machine.

Taylor wrenched her attention away from the insanity going on and focused on Mog.

"Mog, potions. Talk," Taylor said with great restraint and Mog floated over to Boco and yanked a bottle of blue liquid from the deep ruffles of the giant bird.

Boco didn't seem to notice as he devoured another snack.

He brought it over to the table and sat it gently on the table.

"This is a potion!" Mog declared and Amy studied it.

"A potion of...what?" she asked and Mog quirked his head.

"It's just a potion, kupo" he said slowly and Amy picked it up and frowned.

"Yeah but of what?" she repeated and Mog scratched his pom.

"A potion of healing," he added and Amy squinted at him.

"What's its name?" she asked and Mog put his hands on hips.

"Potion!" he repeated and Amy went a little red.

"It can't just be called 'potion', that doesn't tell the user anything!" she argued and Mog shook his head.

"It's not strong enough to be a Hi-potion and not diverse enough for a Mega-potion, so it's just a potion, kupo," he explained and Amy flapped her arms as him as she seemed to struggle to form words.

"You can't just add adjectives onto the word, that doesn't make it any better! What about an elixir or restorative draught?" she argued and Mog shook his head again stubbornly.

"An elixir is a totally different item and confusing the two is just embarrassing, kupo, and a restorative draught is so un-catchy, it will never sell to-" Mog went on but Taylor stood and plucked the potion out of Amy's hand.

"What does the healing potion do, Mog? Besides the obvious answer," she said the urge to repeatedly knock their heads together stronger than she wanted to admit.

"It's a substance that encourages regeneration of dead cells back to a healthy state, the ingredients have a faint magical trait, this allows the potion to haste the body's healing while providing the materials and energy via magic as not to tax the body further or cause aging...kupo," Mog said clearly and practically.

Amy swallowed her words so loudly she almost sounded like was trying to croak.

"If you made it with bottles and plants, then is it magic?" she instead managed.

Mog looked at her and Taylor felt the sheer incredulity in the stare he gave her.

"Of course, kupo, you humans make the miracle of life and create wonders every day. The hard, logical facts do not diminish the beauty and the wonder of magic, it only ever enhances it," Mog said and there was something old about the Moogle as he spoke.

Amy clutched at her cup.

"I don't believe in magic. It's all just energy going from one place to another, the circle of life," Amy said, almost to herself.

Mog looked at her and Taylor thought, even though his mouth was a thread stitched into the fabric, that he was smiling.

"Amy, kupo, magic doesn't care if you believe in it, it will happen to you and you can't stop it, even with all the criticism and logic in the world. It might already be happening, kupo," Mog said and picked up the potion from Taylor's hand.

He unscrewed the bottle cap and held it out to her.

"Believe," he said softly and Taylor watched transfixed at the scene.

Amy stared at the slightly glowing blue liquid.

"I...don't-" she began but Mog moved closer.

"Use your gift, kupo, touch the liquid," he pushed and Amy hesitated but then let her finger dip into the bottle.

"I don't think this is sanitar- Oh," her voice suddenly changed and her eyes grew distance.

"Amy?" Taylor stood, ready to pull the other girls fingers out the bottle at the first sign of trouble.

"Plant life, such a beautiful strain, I don't understand it, I haven't seen it before," Amy said, looking ahead but her focus had turned inward.

"Look deeper, kupo, there is a more to it than you think," Mog said and Amy laughed, the sound so unexpected that Taylor jumped.

"It tickles, what is that?" she asked, her voice so quiet as if she was afraid she'd spook the potion. Amy's smile turned into a gasp of awe.

"That light, there is a light, it's warm," she said and Mog pulled her fingers out.

"What do you think?" he asked and Amy shuddered.

"It wasn't organic but it was natural, it belonged there, as if it were to be removed, life shouldn't exist," she said and then rushed over to the trash can that Boco was picking from earlier and threw up.

Mog floated over to her and patted her back.

"It's hard, kupo, to explain magic to those who've never been blessed, it's hard and a little sad. You saw magic at a basic level, you know what I mean when I say magic exists but you don't understand why. It's scary and I am sorry, kupo but if we're going to be testing a potion today then you need to be aware of this," Mog said and Amy looked up at him bleakly.

"This magic shit is unfair," she rasped and Mog laughed.

"You have no idea, kupo but I can help you," Mog offered his paw to her and Amy took it.

"More help? I'm going to be spoiled at this rate," she said and Taylor breathed a sigh of relief, Mouse sat down slowly and Boco eyed the Moogle sharply before joining Mouse.

Paige smiled at the pair, her eyes soft.

And Ifrit was..

"Paige, where is Ifrit?" Taylor asked and Paige blinked at her empty lap.

"He was here, I was sure of it," she said and looked under the table but the little demon was gone.

Taylor closed her eyes and searched.

Then she saw a flash of what Ifrit saw.

She sat back down.

"It's alright, he's actually not up to any trouble ... for once," Taylor grumbled as Amy threw up again and Boco got his beak stuck in the vending machine. Mouse was leveraging Ifrit's fang into the gap trying to free him.

Paige looked around and Taylor couldn't even guess what was going through her head right now.

"Thank you," Paige said softly and Taylor blinked.

"For what?" she asked a little confused and Paige smiled, her eyes a little red.

"For everything."

"-For everything, really, I love it," Anne gushed and Ifrit snatched a few grapes and cooked them before eating them.

"No problem, kid. No pain or anything odd happening?" Ifrit asked and Anne rolled up her pajama pants leg to show off her tanned tattooed leg.

"Nope, Mom flipped out when the doctors said the tattoo was almost bone deep," Anne giggled and a nearby nurse looked highly distressed about the little red demon talking to Anne.

"Good, no offence as she is your mother, that woman needs a chill pill," Ifrit said and flipped through a magazine with several pouting boys on the cover.

Anne nodded.

"I know but she's my Mom and I love her so I'll let her hiss and spit for now, it makes her feel better," Anne shrugged and Ifrit yawned as one of the pages show a male flexing his muscles to the camera.

"Psh, I could flex this flop between my fingers if I was at full power," he grumbled and Anne leaned forward.

"I saw the pictures, you were huge at the bank! What's up with that?" she wondered and Ifrit stood and flexed.

"I am a being of ever-changing means, that form is but one of my possible shapes," Ifrit flared his nostrils with pride and Anne clapped with excitement.

The nurse hovered off to the side, pretending to check a chart that was upside down.

"Oh! Show me!" she begged and Ifrit chuckled.

"Calm yourself, I don't boast and don't follow, now feast your eyes and watch," Ifrit said and closed his eyes.

"Oh for God sake, Ifrit, really?" Taylor muttered as she felt part of her magic flow to Ifrit.

Ifrit grew to match Anne's height, his muzzle shrinking to a human nose, his eye rounding out to form mischievous eyes.

His clawed hands rounded out to child-like hands, the nails still long and sharp. His red mane lightened to a reddish blond colour and his horn curled over his head. His feet were still odd little hooves and a kilt grew around his boyish frame. The oddest part was that his skin was still covered in reddish fur.

Ifrit opened his human eyes and light red iris stared out.

There was a thump as the nurse fell to the floor.

Anne looked at her and then laughed.

"You're like me now!" she said and Ifrit stood and helped the nurse into a chair. Anne then grinned.

"You're not as tall," she pointed out and Ifrit waved her off and grinned.

"Ah but does your lanky human frame have these sweet babies?" he asked and from behind his mane unfurled two red wings.

Anne's eyes went wide.

"You can fly?" she whispered and Ifrit puffed out his chest and crossed his arms before chuckling in as manly a fashion as he could.

"I can glide!" he stated and Anne was about to say something before she paused.

"My leg is...it's feeling a bit odd," she said and got out of bed.

Ifrit stared at the slight clawed foot sticking out from Anne's pyjama leg.

"Oops...Well, look at that," Ifrit muttered before he poked it and there was a thin red line of energy as he pulled his finger away.

As he did so the leg returned to normal.

"Sorry about, guess your leg is a bit conductive of magic," Ifrit said and Anne huffed.

"That was cool, can you do it again?" she asked and Ifrit blinked then grinned.

"Want a horn as well?"

Anne was about to say something when the nurse's eyes fluttered open.

"Anne, you should be in bed…" she slurred and then saw Ifrit.

"Sir, you need clothes for this ward," she complained before her eyes rolled to the back of her head again.

"I'm starting to feel bad for her," Ifrit muttered and Anne laughed.

"She's nice, I like her. Ifrit? Can I ask you something?" she said and Ifrit nodded.

"I'm partial to pizza but I wouldn't say no to a good taco," he mused and Anne grinned.

"Can I be someone? Someone special? My Mom has all these ideas and so do my teachers but I...don't know what I want to do. With my new leg, the world's a lot bigger than I ever thought it could be and it's scary," Anne said and Ifrit walked over the nearby window and stared out.

"Kid...Anne, this world is tiny, it's so small it boggles my mind. I've seen a lot worlds, some good, some not so good but there is something I can say with certainty. If you want to be special, in any world, you gotta be willing to risk everything for it but there is also nothing wrong with being a tree in the forest, everyone is a little different. Don't force yourself to be something you aren't just to get away from who someone else wanted you to be," Ifrit told her and Anne frowned.

"I don't understand," she said, bluntly. Ifrit liked that.

"I was created by accident and then people saw the use for me as a weapon, a tool to protect what they loved. I hated it, so to spite them I burned everything they loved. It made me feel good for a while but it didn't last. I went from weapon to monster, it didn't help. Recently, I like what I'm doing a lot more, I'm...helping," Ifrit said slowly, enjoying the word.

Anne stared as she shuffled on the spot.

"So be who I want as long as it isn't to get back at someone and it's alright to be boring if I'm happy?" she repeated and Ifrit gave her a thumbs up.

"Kid, you just understood what a lot of supposedly wise old men struggle to grasp even now, proud of ya. Anyway, I'm going to make like a tree and leave, I'll visit you next time or you can hit me up at the Dollhouse when you strike out on your own, please leave your mother at home," Ifrit said, walking away and he let out a grunt of surprise as Anne's arms came from behind, hugging him tightly.

"Never getting away from that, am I?" he said and Anne let him go.

"Thanks, for the leg and the advice," she said and Ifrit nodded.

"Those are free but a hug like that costs at least a favour or your first born," he pointed out and Anne smiled.

"You would have to fight my mother for that," she said and Ifrit snorted.

"She can keep your spawn, I know when to pick my fights," he said and walked away, grumbling.

Kids were weird but some weren't bad.

"Ifrit, Mog blew up the vending machine and Boco! Mouse is covered in soot! And Paige and Amy are just laughing at it! Well...when Amy isn't throwing up! Why do you have wings?" Taylor asked, looking more than a little haggard and confused.

Amy opened her mouth and then shut it again, looking a bit green.

Ifrit stared at the chaos and shook his head.

"Just showing someone what it is to be happy," he said, smirking.

Merchants weren't exactly easy to find.

This was surprising to Aisha. Honestly, they seemed to turn up whenever you didn't want them to,

"Crack house number five, plenty of crack heads, no troll…" she said and sighed.

This was getting to be a little boring and this was the last thing Aisha expected from this.

She had info to go off. A man with a giant robot body, a giant troll and a girl travelling in a pack, how hard could it be to find them?

Aisha scowled and headed closer to the docks, her search mostly looking for places where not even the graffiti had any energy in it.

Merchants made a living off drugs and hobo fights, or at least, that was Aisha heard at school.

It wasn't like she had much to worry about since she seemed to blend right in with the run down people on the street. Her usual ripped jeans and tight tops being replaced with more dulgreysys and jogging pants.

Her skin, while not usually a useful trait of use in life, helped here. A rich healthy looking white guy would be fresh meat here in seconds but trailer trash and ghetto kids fit right in.

Not that there was any trailers in Brockton bay, but you could spot kids from certain streets a mile away and Aisha used them as camouflage to move about.

That was one of the words the survival guys used a lot on the discovery channel.

Blending in, hunting, and trapping.

Aisha had watched two episodes, so she considered herself to be an expert hunter.

Not that Smartass and her posse were easy targets to find. The girl's words rang in her head.

"You're one of us... No... Not yet."

She had sounded so damn sure and it dug at Aisha.

When did Smartass even begin to think she understood her?

That confident tone and her barbed words.

"You know nothing"

It pulsed in her head, driving her deeper into the Merch haunts.

Aisha knew what she knew, it wasn't as much as the smart people in her classes or on TV but it was something.

Aisha would find Smartass and make her understand why Aisha Laborn was not some schmuck you could just ignore.

"So, the potion worked? Huh, good for Mog. What's his business plan?" Jess asked and Taylor slid costume on when they were near the Undersiders building.

"Hospital's first and once they've been tested, other places," Taylor grunted and Jess scoffed.

"What's to stop some hot shot scientist or tinker stealing his work and passing it off their own?" she asked and Taylor tried to recall what Mog said.

"Something about, 'having the fuse but no way to spark it, kupo'," Taylor repeated and Jess grinned as Ultros placed Jess's new hat on his head.

"Getting deja vu. Reminds me of a captain I use to serve, grouchy guy but did he play the pipe organ like a pro," Ultros muttered and then grinned.

"The seas in that world were feisty," he drooled and Jess adjusted the hat and smiled.

"You get around," Jess said, sounding impressed. Taylor wondered how many worlds had human ships on them that Ultros could serve under…

"Come on, I don't want to stay here too long," Taylor urged and Jess lead the way into the building where it was mostly quiet.

"Brian and Lisa are around here right now, as for the other two I have no idea," Jess said and as if summoned, Lisa walked down the stairs.

Taylor winced. She looked terrible. Pale skin, flat hair and odd gait to her walk as if it pained her.

She had a wet cloth over her eyes.

"Alright, is the key away?" she asked.

"Yeah, you alright?" Taylor asked as Lisa lowered the cloth and Lisa smirked.

"Bank heist, kidnapped, lightly tortured, rescued by cannon and had a twelve-hour nap, good to see you Key," she said and headed towards the living room.

It was then Taylor noticed that she had something wrapped in a white towel under her arms.

"I heard that you hacked some pretty serious databases to help me out, I never knew you cared," Lisa said, placing the towel on the small table between the two couches.

"I didn't but Jess did, he vouched for you," Taylor began coolly. Lisa shrugged.

"Getting to play hero was pretty nice too, no?" she teased and Taylor didn't answer.

Lisa yawned.

"Right, no mind games, Jess made me promise to try and behave and speaking of Jess, do you know your hat has a purple thing crawling out from it?" she pointed out and Taylor watched as a grinning Ultros crawled down the back of the couch, stealing the hat.

Jess looked unbothered.

Taylor squinted at them.

"You know each other?" she asked, feeling a little confused.

"Sort of, we've been plotting against Coil, so we took some risks and gambled with our fake identities to build some friendly trust," Jess smiled and put an arm around Taylor.

"The large amount of flirting and backing-stabbing was fun," Lisa said, frowning at her nails.

Ultros slid out from under the couch.

"Uwe hee hee! Jess, you little dog, you left that out. Ohh tell me the saucy details!" Ultros cried and Jess lifted the Esper with one foot and with an elegant flick sent him sailing across the room, where he landed in a bin of unwashed mens clothes.

"A man does not kiss and tell his space alien, magical, octopus who lives inside his body the very next day, it just isn't done," Jess tsked and Lisa smiled.

"I can't look at him, it hurts but he sounds like a hoot," Lisa said and Ultros scuttled back over to Lisa.

"Oh, just close your eyes, it's funnier!" he giggled and Lisa pulled a large gun from under the pillows and loaded it very slowly.

"Oh but if I close my eyes, I might not be able to see where I'm aiming," Lisa said innocently and Ultros waved his tentacles with a weak cackle.

"Feisty I like it, no worries Babe, Ultros respects a no!" he said and jumped into Jess's leg, vanishing completely.

"My life is weird but Coil is dealt with so I'll take the pervert invertebrate over the snake," Lisa stretched and Taylor latched onto that before things got weird.

"What happened to him, Jess won't say and I don't see Gilgamesh anywhere," Taylor asked and Lisa looked about the room.

"Bitch and Gil are feeding the dogs. Gil really likes animals so he and Bitch get on pretty well but Coil? Why don't you see for yourself?" Lisa smiled darkly and leaned forward.

She unwrapped the white towel.

Taylor watched with bated breath as the cotton material was pulled back to reveal a handheld mirror.

Taylor stared at the two snakes encircling the mirror, devouring each other's tails, the entire frame and handle a smooth white material.

"I don't get it," Taylor said and Lisa picked up the mirror and held it at an angle so that Taylor could see the glass.

"Oh Mirror mirror in my hand, who is the sexiest in the land?" Lisa sang out and Taylor watched at the glass turned completely black.

Then a weedy looking man, almost skeletal appeared in the mirror.

"Go to hell," Thomas Calvert spat at Lisa.

Lisa tutted and traced the frame with one finger.

"That's not the right answer," she said, in a fake sad tone and then turned to Taylor.

"Meet my new assistant, I call him asshole, dick, douchebag or Tommy," she said and Calvert shook with rage in the mirror.

"...Please define 'land' so I may be more useful in your hand," Calvert said through clenched teeth.

Lisa made a thinking motion, finger tapping on chin.

"Using my rhyme is bad taste, America, how about that?" she said and Calvert's image shifted to show a stunning woman in a red dress, standing on a balcony, sipping wine.

Taylor had to admit this woman was beautiful, even to her.

Jess whistled and Ultros flopped out of his body in shock.

"Uweeeee hheeeeeeee! Who's that babe!" Ultros demanded and Calvert screamed in terror.

"It has come, the demon! please, I must be dreaming!" Calvert moaned and Lisa covered him up with the towel.

"Okay, before you get excited, this mirror isn't that useful, not for what we need," Lisa said and Taylor's mouth moved up and down but nothing came out.

"First, the closer a person is to our immediate future the harder it is to see them. So, I knew you were coming and basically got static, Jess was a bit clearer but I couldn't see much. Two, my questions don't have to match the answers he gives. What he might find beautiful isn't necessarily what I find beautiful. If I ever wanted to perv on someone, it'd be someone with an afternoon shadow. Third, the more alien the thing is from a human, the worse the image. Fourth, it has trouble breaking through dimensional distortions or heavily altered physics. I tried to spy on Faultline but that girl she has, Labyrinth was messing with the area and it messed the image up badly," Lisa said and Jess blinked.

"Oh, but you have a talking mirror that shows you anything you want within those restrictions?" he said sarcastically and Lisa smiled.

"You can be jealous, I won't hold it against you," Lisa said and Jess sulked.

"Can't you use this to find out capes real identities?" Taylor finally managed to asked and Lisa shook her head.

"An annoying habit of my new friend, besides his new rapping, is that names are finicky. I could ask for Kaiser's house and get a dozen safe houses. I could ask for Tattletales room and get the last five places I slept in costume or get the base here," she complained and Taylor nodded slowly.

"So for heroes who only wear costumes at their HQ…"

"Would only show the HQ, which is still awesome. Did you know the Wards have a little base under the PRT HQ? I can see them go in there but there's something odd about the place and there's too many routes that lead me to interacting with them these days, most of them a blur, not something I'm enjoying much," Lisa said and Brian walked in with some cups of coffee and tea.

"If the PRT gets ahold of this mirror and learn the activation phrase then no villain is safe. No safe house will be safe, no job would work out, big brother PRT is watching," he said gruffly and Taylor winced and stared at the towel.

"Who did this?" she asked and everyone looked at everyone else.

Jess drank her hot coffee in one gulp.

"Imagine Yoda but scary, like really scary," Jess said and Taylor blinked.

"Yoda isn't scary," she pointed out and Brian shivered.

"The Judge was. I've been sleeping with the lamp on, the shadows are making me panic," he said and Lisa winced and closed her eyes.

Jess stared off in the distance, at a stone bell on top of the fridge.

"I got drunk and tried to forget it," he said and Taylor looked between them and swallowed hard.

"That bad?" she asked and Brian stared at the mirror.

"Worse."

Lisa stood and picked up the mirror.

"But we came out the top and we can only go up from here. Coil left a dynasty and I want to use it and he's going to help me," Lisa said and held the mirror up.

"Mirror, mirror, around my fingers, curl, who is the greatest threat in the world?" she asked and the mirror flickered showing a snowy storm of static.

Everyone stared and Taylor thought she saw something very briefly before.

Yellow eyes?

Or was a flash of gold?

It was gone before she could see with any detail.

The mirror went black and Taylor felt cold.

The fact the mirror could answer that question, even slightly and claim one thing was the greatest threat…

It scared her terribly.