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Abigail paused, a deep frown coming to her face as she processed what just happened. She brought a hand up to her two toned nose, brows creasing up in confusion. The three feline-hound hybrids were already in the kitchen by time she recovered. She quickly walked into the kitchen to catch up, sitting by the window as the boys ate. She felt a tugging at her own stomach, seeing their jaws moving.

Kharma watched her from across the room, the large witch gently stirring some blue liquid in a small cauldron over the stove. An amused noise left her lips as she sprinkled something into the swirling mix.

"If you three eat any faster, you'll bite your tongues off. Relax, no one is going to take it from you." She chuckled in amusement. Seth's tail flicked to and fro as he looked up at her, tilting his head to the side. "But...we haven't eaten anything decent in so long" He pouted. He bristled and hissed when Dean stole a piece of chicken off of his plate. Kharma hummed and pulled some drumsticks out of the oven, setting it on the stovetop. All three men perked, eyeing the pan hungrily. Kharma nearly snorted at the drool running down Dean's chin.

"This whole thing isn't for you three greedy children. I made enough for everyone in the house. We've worked hard." She scolded them before moving her cauldron from the heat, pouring the contents into a glass bottle. She counted down in her head, waiting for the whining.

"C'mon Kharma! I jumped from a helicopter!" Seth pouted, the tip of his tail wiggling to and fro.

"You try getting punched in the face by a war god. That shit is not fun." Dean grumbled.

Roman didn't say anything, but Kharma felt his gaze on her as she moved around the stove and oven, taking out a pan of rice to go with the drumsticks. "I've done both. And much more. You three will get more food. When everyone else does."

Abigail couldn't help but to smile as the rest of the members of the Authority poured into the room, the noise level rising as they came. She remained seated by the window, as she didn't need to eat.

Natalya looked over at her before pushing away from the table, walking over and gently tapping her shoulder to get her attention. Abigail looked up and tilted her head. "Yes?" She inquired. Natalya motioned to the table. "Go ahead. There's space. You're one of us. There's no need to sit by the window." She cooed, voice soothing and motherly. Abigail looked towards the table before hesitantly standing and making her way to the group, feet padding against the cold tiles. She shuffled into the spot between Roman and Randy, placing her hands in her lap as she listened to the group.

John was telling some story while Randy rolled his eyes beside him. She felt that tugging in her stomach again as the scent of Kharma's cooking wafted into her nose. She startled when a napkin was brought to her lips, gently dabbing the corner of her mouth. Her eyeless gaze shifted up to Roman, who seemed to be the only one at the rowdy table paying attention to her. He sent her a kind look, lowering the napkin.

"You were drooling. Are you hungry?" He inquired. Abigail's lips parted in confusion before she looked from the napkin, to him, and back again.

"I...I don't know." she muttered, voice barely above a whisper. Roman sent her an understanding look-did he know something she didn't?-before wrapping a brotherly arm around her shoulders. She allowed herself to be pulled to his side, listening to Dean boast about something that clearly made Seth embarrassed.

Quietly, Abby gently took a piece of Roman's chicken, bringing it to her two toned lips before nibbling meekly.

(WM)

"Hey, uh...it's me again. How are you guys?" Bayley inquired, fidgeting with her hands. She was once again standing before the healing tubes that held the members of Delta Team, a deep frown on her face. She chewed on her lip and sat on the bench across from them, the green glow of the fluid illuminating her face in the otherwise dark room.

"It's been kinda crazy on our side. Lord Bray...he's not the same. He's losing it, y'know?" she whispered, looking down at her hands. They were trembling. The brunette let out a laugh and pulled the hair tie off of her wrist, fiddling with the colorful item. "I think he's...really lost track after Alexa brought Abigail back. And she told him she never wanted to see him again, basically. I don't think he took that well at all. There's a storm coming, and it's gonna be ugly…"

"And Seth...he's different from how I imagined him. We all knew he was strong, but his strength...it's something else entirely. It's inspiring really. He's stronger than I ever imagined him. Maybe because I can see the emotion he puts in. I'm used to us killing without question or remorse. The humans are bad, we must liberate ourselves, right?" she laughed, fingers tugging the small band.

"Were we all so hurt in our own little worlds that we never questioned why we were killing all of them? Humans are humans, so they're bad. We kill them all, so we're good, right? That's how we always lived by…" Bayley trailed off and swallowed thickly, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"But that's not how this is, is it? We...we messed up. Pretty bad. But we can still change the world. M-maybe? Our methods will just have to change. I hope...I hope we don't lose anyone else, like Alexa." she stood, breathing shallow as she headed to the door. "I'd like to talk to Seth. Face to face. Actually, I think all of us should talk to the Authority. They...they want the same as us. They've been doing this liberation the right way all along. I think...I think if we sat down and talked, really long about what we wanted to do and the best ways to do it, we could actually achieve our goal. Without us fighting each other, I mean. Our kind wouldn't have to live in fear or oppression anymore." She mused as she walked before stopping at the door. Bayley cast one last look over her shoulder. "Please get better. Sorry for rambling to you guys all the time. You're the only ones I feel I won't stress out...y'know?" she smiled softly and closed the door.

In the tube, Charlotte's finger twitched, ever so slightly.

(Later)

Abigail shivered as she phased out of Seth's mind. She was roused from her slumber by that annoying tugging in her stomach again. 'Hunger', as Roman called it. She hugged her stomach, a frown coming to her face as she finally heard an audible growl come from her abdomen. She swallowed thickly, the tugging getting aggressive as she heard moans in her head.

A lot of moans.

Ghastly, loud, needy, aggressive.

Abigail looked towards the window, out into the night. Over the trees, she could see it, a swirling fire that was an alluring shade of blue. She licked her lips unconsciously, and headed out to the balcony, phasing right through the wall. Luna looked up from her dog bed and looked towards her mistress. She sat up, shaking out her fur before padding over to the railing that Abigail was holding onto. The hound bumped her knee before hopping clean over the railing, turning into her full size, landing gracefully on her feet.

Abby leaped right over the railing as well, landing on Luna's back with an audible thump. The demonic canine gruffawed before straightening up and bounding towards the trees without being told to do so. She knew what Abigail wanted-what she needed.

Her paws crunched against the leaves as she made her way through the forest that separated the Dynasty from where the town used to be before Bray and the Wyatts burned it down. A trail of smoke was in her wake, her paws naturally scorching when in this form.

Once she cleared the forest, Luna came to a slow stop, padding up to the cliff overlooking the town. Abigail perked, mouth agape as she looked over the decimated town.

She could see the souls of the slaughtered wandering around, moaning in pain. She could feel her stomach growl again, and she swallowed thickly, nodding towards the town. "Luna...take me there." she whispered. Luna looked back at her with her crimson eyes before nodding, backing up before rushing towards the cliff, jumping off. Both females plummeted, the wind whipping around them before Luna landed, creating a small crater. She shook herself out when Abigail stepped off of her, sitting obediently as the small goddess walked further into the remains of the town.

Abigail heard the voices that always haunted her in her head, except the voices weren't screaming. They were whispering to her. Instructing her.

"Hunger. Eat. Hunger. Eat."

Abby frowned, wiping the corner of her lips. She was drooling again. She felt something bump into her, and when she looked down, saw a faceless spirit looking up at her. She felt a sharp pinch in her stomach and reached for the spirit, startling when it turned into a small, shifting ball of energy in her onyx palm.

"Eat. Hunger. Eat. Hunger."

Something snapped and Abigail took a bite of the wiggling mass. A gasp left her lips as an explosion of flavor entered her mouth. She took another bite, a mewl leaving her mouth as she devoured it whole. After she was done, she looked for another, excited.

Luna watched with half lidded eyes as Abigail sat down cross-legged, eating all the small plumes of souls that came to her. The hound looked up as Kharma walked up to her side, a hand on her hip as she watched along.

"I was wondering when she would finally eat. It's a wonder how she managed to get into all of those battles without feeding." she mused before looking down at the crimson-eyed hellhound. "You knew, didn't you? That she was suppressing herself?" She inquired. Luna let out a loud yawn before looking over at the goddess.

"Abigail, is a good child. She does not yet realize that she does not necessarily harm a soul by eating it. She knows not that she is the gateway to the Underworld, and thus to a soul, solace." Luna hums, tail wagging slowly. Kharma hummed and crossed her arms.

"She is changing. Something I haven't seen in a long time. Watch over her with the boys. I'm sure this whole process will be startling and hard to adjust to." she informed. Luna didn't respond, instead she stood and let out a small keen before walking over to her mistress once there were no more souls.

Abigail panted, feeling satiated. The voices had quieted, and her stomach was no longer growling at her. She looked down at her hands, brows furrowing.

"I...I ate souls….I a-ate them-"

"You did what you are meant to do. It is not a negative thing."

Abigail looked up, seeing Kharma looking at her with her hand on her hips. The girl's lips drew into a straight line as she swallowed thickly, looking down at her hands. "But….I ate them. T-those were once people. It's bad enough my brother killed them all, but then I come and eat them?!" She held her head, mismatched hands trembling. Kharma knelt down, wrapping her arms around the girl while Luna watched on quietly.

"You create a way for them to to reach the afterlife. You are the goddess of nightmares, the princess of the Underworld, by eating souls, you simply send them off to where they belong. Otherwise, they would stay here and remain restless." The witch hummed, petting Abby's head. The ghost girl shook in her arms before Kharma suddenly felt an absence. She hardly batted an eye as Abby disappeared in a twinkling mist.

She surveyed the area. For the first time in years, the town was absolutely silent.

(Next Morning)

Seth yawned loudly when he awoke the next morning, feeling more rested than he had felt in a long time. He rubbed his eye with his palm, looking out of the window when he saw the sunbeam streaming in steadily. With a smile, he shuffled out of the bed, careful not to knee Roman or Dean on the way as he leaned against the balcony, watching the sun creep its way over the horizon. There was a small gust, a shuffle of fabric, and Abby was by his side, sitting on the railing, bare feet dangling over the edge.

"Did you sleep last night?" He inquired, looking up at her. Her head remained fixed in the direction of the sun, a slight orange glow to her two toned skin. "I did not. But I didn't need to. I quieted the voices." She hummed. Seth arched a brow, turning to her fully. "You quieted them? How did you do that?"

Abby gripped the railing a little harder, brows pinching up. "I...I ate." She whispered. Seth blinked owlishly. "You...ate?" He parroted. She nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth. "T-The souls. The souls of the people from the town over the trees." She replied, voice low, guilty. Seth looked out at the treeline, unsure as to what he should say.

"Did...did they taste good?" He questioned hesitantly. Abby's lips formed a tight line and she sighed before disappearing in a mist. Seth cringed internally and sighed, tail jerking behind him as he stood up straighter.

"Wow. You really blew that one, huh?"

Seth jolted, hissing before he turned, looking up as Roman made his way onto the balcony. "Y-You scared me." He pouted. Roman chuckled and leaned down to kiss him before wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I was listening to you two. I knew something's been up with Abby. Ever since she faced off with Bray, she's been changing." He stated, gently petting Seth's head. Two toned ears twitched and Seth frowned.

"Changing?"

"It seems she's starting to let herself fit in finally. Branch out to more than just us. She's finally starting to stop blaming herself for Bray's actions." Roman clarified, grey eyes scanned the horizon. Seth's ears drooped and he swallowed thickly, shuffling.

"I'm sorry."

Roman looked down at him, one brow raised in silent questioning. Seth looked away. "I...I was part of the reason why Bray started doing this. I used to attack people just like he did. Just like the whole Family did. He's only so powerful because I stole the Necronomicon. Even more after he slipped past us and killed Taker." He whined. Roman could see tears bead up in his eyes and he sighed, lifting his face before they could fall fully, wiping his cheeks.

"Stop it. You were hurt. We've all done some catastrophic things when hurt. When Dean and I lost Brad, we both went on a rampage. It was John and Randy that got us to finally regain some sense of conscious and stop destroying ourselves and everyone around us. Don't give up. I don't know if Bray can still be saved, but if you can get the majority of the Family to see it our way, we'll have some pretty powerful allies." Roman hummed. Seth pressed against his side, eyes closing as he inhaled the scent of the the flowers coming from Natalya's orchid being carried off with the wind.

"I hope you're right, Ro."

Roman ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head before pulling him towards the room. "C'mon, Hunter wanted to question that Dixie woman about Bischoff." His voice was even although he clearly was ready to spend all day interrogating the woman, if necessary. Seth sent him a crooked smile and nodded, rolling his neck.

"Let's find out all Bischoff's dirty little secrets, then."

(Detroit, MI)

Bischoff growled as he paced around his office, cursing under his breath. "That bitch. She's going to ruin everything." He snarled, eyes narrowed. Garrett watched him quietly, knowing better than to say anything with his father angry like this. Eric scrubbed his hands down his face and let out a tight sigh.

"Get everything you can and meet me in the lobby. It's taken me years to get this operation going. I won't let Hunter and his misfits ruin this." He spat. Garrett nodded and stood, his lumbering body moving surprisingly quickly across the tile floor. Eric did his best not to let out a growl of disgust at the mere sight of his son.

Instead, he turned and walked back to his desk, picking up the phone, punching in a few numbers before waiting. It rang twice before being picked up, a gravely, unfocused 'hello?' coming from the other end. Bischoff rolled his eyes and gripped the phone firmly.

"Wake up, Taz. We're going through with the aggression plan. Get as many subjects as you can, and make sure we have a container strong enough to hold the target." He instructed. Taz hummed from the other end before yawning obnoxiously.

"Whatever you say. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't question-" Eric growled when he was interrupted by the tell-tale sound of Taz hanging up on him. His lip curled up for a moment before he looked down at the files on his desk, moving them around before picking up a photo. He grinned and rubbed his chin, eyes narrowed on the mystic two toned face of the small woman.

"You're going to make things a lot easier for me, aren't you?" He chuckled darkly, tossing the picture back to the desk before walking out. He had things to get done.

(HD)

"Now, let's go over this one more time, Dixie." Hunter grunted, head propped up on his hand. Dixie sat uncomfortably at the other end of the table, feeling every member of the Authority's eyes on her. She swallowed thickly, letting out a shaky breath.

"Eric intends to create an army of hybrids by making them into biologically mutated weapons of mass destruction. There are several world leaders backing him up, but for now, he is the only one with the serum. He has facilities all over America that test on hybrids, making them into our weapons. He intends to start all-out war" She mumbled. There was chatter amongst the Authority before Hunter raised his hand to silence them.

"And you partook in this plan of his. You willingly participated in a plan that targeted literally two thirds of the world's population. You do realize we outnumber you, don't you?" He growled, clearly getting more and more angry. Dixie looked down, playing with her fingers. "He told me he would kill me if I didn't help-"

"You smell like lies." Abby muttered quietly, leaning against a wall. Dixie sent her a look and Abby walked over quietly, leaning down so they were face to face. Blue eyes widened as Dixie stared into the endless void of Abby's empty sockets, a violent shudder going through her body. Abby spoke, but Dixie couldn't hear her over the rush in her ears, screams and malicious whispers crawling through her mind.

'Hunger. Eat. Hunger. Eat.'

Dixie jolted and all but flung herself from her chair, scurrying to the opposite side of the room screaming in terror. "K-keep her away from me!" She shrieked. Abby simply crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side. "Stop lying and tell us everything you know. You can either do it willingly, or I can go in your mind and rip it out with my own hands. I promise, it won't be pleasant."

Dixie shook slightly and looked towards Hunter. "I...I was aware of the destruction he would cause. I...I'm sorry. Please, I can tell you where his main base is! Just...protect me. He'll definitely kill me." She whimpered. Dean scoffed from his spot at the table. "Is this what we're doing now? Protecting scumbags that want to kill us off? That's not what we are. I thought we fought for justice. Why are we siding with the enemy?!" He barked. Hunter rubbed his temples.

"You think I want to side with someone who worked for that man? I've hated him for much longer than you have. Sometimes we have to choose the lesser of two evils. We can't keep going into these battles blind. It's amazing how we keep coming out of it unscathed." He grunted. Natalya bristled.

"We lost three of my girls on the Taker mission."

"To be fair, Layla was a traitor. You lost two."

Hunter rolled his eyes as a pillar of fire rose from Natalya's side of the table, a roar of anger leaving her lips as she leered at Sheamus. "Bite your tongue before I remove it!" She snarled. Michelle was standing beside her, rapier drawn and glowing white as she glared at him. "You aren't allowed to talk about that." She hissed. He scoffed, ignoring her to look Natalya dead in the eyes.

"I think I am. Especially since you brought one of Taker's followers home as a pet." He spat. Aksana stiffened, while Faust curled up on her head, all eight heads hissing in anger. Hunter stood before the situation could escalate even more, slamming his hand on the table and cracking it straight in half (again).

"Enough. I'm glad you all have some energy left. Take it out on Bischoff and whoever the hell else wants this war between humans and hybrids. But you won't fight amongst yourselves. Go regroup. We'll head out to Michigan tomorrow. Dixie, you'll go with Kharma. I need to keep watch of you to make sure you don't stab us in the back. Dismissed."

Natalya glared daggers as she made her way over to the other side of the table before Sheamus could even get up, slamming a scorching hand down onto the splintered wood.

"You'd do well to tread carefully from now on. I don't take lightly to anyone talking about my Divas. You got something to say about them, you might as well come straight to me. And I promise you, it won't end well for you." She growled, sending him one last warning look before walking out of the room, fists clenched at her sides.

All of her Divas were waiting outside the room for her and she sighed, some of her anger ebbing away, being replaced with sadness. All of the girls were still raw over the loss of Eva, Cameron, and Layla. JoJo still had night terrors about having to kill Eva, Naomi would often burst into tears when she was deep in conversation and would look over for Cameron's opinion, only to remember she would never be able to contribute ever again. Michelle would stare off into the distance, tears rolling out of her eye as she cursed Layla's name into the wind.

JoJo was the first one to move, pressing her face into the crook of Nattie's neck. "I...I didn't want to kill her. S-She told me I h-had to. I...I…"She shook, breaking down right there. Nattie let out a tight breath and picked her up bridal style, silently heading towards the direction of her room. "Come, girls. It's okay. None of you did anything wrong. Aksana, come." She added the last part loud enough for the ice snake to hear, knowing Aksana hadn't moved from her spot. Natalya still had trouble getting the woman to feel like she fit in, and Sheamus only made things worse.

Oh, he'd better hope Natalya didn't get her hands on him.

(WM)

"Hey...I think we all need to seriously consider what we're going to do with our situation." Paige started, looking around at everyone that had gathered. She and Corey had gathered the "Team Captains" of each team to quietly discuss their future plans. Adam, Lana, Bo, Sami, and Leighla stood around in the empty room Bray often used for Family meetings, speaking in whispers.

"Lord Bray has strayed far from his own path. I think our best plan of action is to go with the Authority and assist them any way we know how." Leighla suggested. Corey crossed his arms and nodded quietly, while Bo frowned slightly.

"He's my brother. You want me to just leave him? He's put his whole life into this. We all have, haven't we?" He inquired, sounding like someone had kicked him in the side. Adam shook his head, a strawberry lollipop making his cheek puff out.

"You heard your sister. Bray has lost his mind. We all let ourselves get carried away with this. We need to find a more organized way of fighting. As it is now, we're playing up our roles just like guys like Bischoff want us to. They want to show the world that we're mindless killers, and then people will support them even more. No, we need to find the sources directly and combat them directly." He stated, boot tapping on the cold tile floor. Lana hummed from beside him.

"Bray is much too far gone to listen to reason. The only thing we can do is leave quietly and hope it doesn't cause too much of a conflict after he realizes we're gone. Perhaps he won't even notice. He's been holed up in his own little world anyway." She mused. Bo sighed, shuffling and nodding. Sami also nodded from his spot against the wall. "I just want this to be over. We should be able to settle down and handle this in a more diplomatic way after Bischoff and whoever is creating this mutant serum is taken care of, right?" He questioned, sounding more than a little bit tired.

Everyone in the room nodded, seemingly coming to an agreement. Paige smiled. "It's settled then. We can tell the other team members and leave by the end of the week, right?" She looked around the table to see if there were any complaints. She let out a sound of approval when there were none, changing the topic to how they would go about eliminating the mutant serum.


Luke silently pushed himself off of the wall outside the room, blank eyes lingering on the door for a moment before quietly making his way down the dark hall, undetected.