Miles away from the joy of Discorama, a panicked man was alone in a derelict building situated within Bremerton, to the northwest of Tacoma across a bridge.

"Now, how do you feel about telling me what I wanna know?" Asked a man with a comical and upbeat voice.

The person he was talking to had all of their limbs torn off, scattered around them, and was pinned to the ground by large hunting knives.

"Eat shit, Anarch scum!"

"Aw that's not really nice. After I did my best to make this a private conversation!" He gestured to the rest of the floor they were on, littered with staked, decapitated, and drained Kindred. "No one would even know!"

"You have no idea the depths of our Princes knowledge, nor our loyalty to her!" They stammered out.

"Her, huh? See, you're already giving me just what I wanna hear! Y'know it's not normal, even among the Camarilla, to keep that all so hush hush. Doesn't she want the prestige?" The man knelt down, casually dangling another knife, as the fluorescent lights gleamed off the blade and his sunglasses.

"We do our best work in the shadows."

"Hmm. Lasombra, then? Or Hecata?"

The other figure was shocked. "Given your penchant for theatrics over silence, I'll guess Hecata. Did I get it right?" He asked in nearly juvenile excitement. But, he then got a phone call.

Standing up, he answered within seconds. "Hey girl hey! I'm a lil busy Martha sweetie, can it wait?"

The woman on the other end talked a bit, and his tone became more serious. "And you're sure that's what they said? And it seemed real?"

Some louder words were exchanged.

"No, no, you're right, you wouldn't. Alright, I'll be there in a jiff. Yeah, I'm about wrapped up. When you got a second,"

His grin grew wide and sharp, as piercing as his blade. "Get me a list of all active Hecata families in the area."

Back in the waiting room, Fitri was finishing his third order of food, and was licking the plate clean. "God, I forgot how good it feels to EAT!"

"Yeesh, you eat like you haven't had a good meal in...nevermind." Mackenzie began, remembering his new friends circumstances.

"Don't eat so much you get sick. We're stuck here until this Gervais guy shows up." Layla reminded, picking at her own food.

"Hey...while we have time...should we...plan?" Mackenzie asked quietly, looking around for any bugs or microphones.

"Oh oh, hang on, lemme see if I caaaaan-" Myeong-Suk put down her soda and strained her mind, contorting her face as she did so.

All of a sudden, the three heard her in their own minds. "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3!?"

"Woah!" "Wow" "Hell yeah!" The thoughts of the others intermingled.

"This way we can plan without anyone hearing us! But, I still think you're being a Debby Downer, Mackenzie!"

"I'm not saying we have to do it, but planning is a good thing!" Mackenzie thought, struggling to leave their thoughts unvoiced.

"Ain't it simple? They get all evil and kidnappy, I slug 'em like I did freaky-fangs, and we book it!" Fitri summarized.

"Don't forget, this guy is Teddy's brother. Y'know, the one who just filleted a bunch of vampires like it was nothing? I don't know how sluggable this guy is gonna be..." Layla responded.

"So, Fitri can distract him, maybe pin him around, while you use your rot touch?" Mackenzie added in.

"I don't even think I can rot living...un-living? Ugh, organic material! Like, compare this fry to, I don't know, this coaster." Layla thought, holding up a french fry and a thin drink coaster. As she focused, neither object appeared to change.

The three all leaned in closer, waiting for something to happen, as the silence stretched out.

"I can't use my rot touch." Layla said out loud, calm and flat.

"Hmm?" Mackenzie emoted with a painted-on smile.

Everyone looked towards the paperboard coaster, seeing it whole and untarnished, save for a circle of moisture.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T USE IT!?" Mackenzie shouted, giving up the psychic conversation, his panic redoubled, re-quintupled even!

"I DUNNO MAN I DON'T HAVE A MANUAL!" She shouted back, as the other two began to stress as well.

"Okay, okay, okay, clearly there's something more to this, I m-mean, Myeong-Suk can still do her mind stuff! And I still feel a bit of an energy in me! So m-maybe it's a mentality thing?" Fitri tried to make sense of things.

"Yeah, yeah! W-We still aren't defenseless if we wanna break out of here!" Myeong-Suk proudly said.

"Break out of here? Ah man, but I just got here!" Said a new voice entering the room.

The man was very striking, from his red plaid shirt to his stark white, short, and fluffy hair, to his seemingly chic sunglasses. But what was most striking was his rich bronze body, riddled with scars of all kinds.

"Oh, sorry, was this a private conversation? I'll give y'all a minute." He quickly backed out of the room, closing the door.

There was a beat of disbelief.

"HEY WAIT A SECOND Y'ALL'RE TALKING ABOUT BEATING ME UP!?" The door slammed back open, and shouts were tossed from one side to the other, making some of the club goers down the hall question what was going on. But, the workers were able to get them away and back onto the dance floor without much difficulty.

"Okay, okay, let's take this all from the beginning," the striking man said, pulling up a stool to sit opposite the four of them, who were currently backed against the far wall in preparation. "My name is Gervais, and I'm Teddy's older brother! Pleasure to meet you four! It seemed like y'all've been through a lot, so I ain't gonna ask for blanket trust right now, but nothing's going to happen so long as I'm here."

"And so long as we don't beat you up?" Fitri questioned.

"I mean, that'd be preferable, but y'all wouldn't get far if ya tried." Gervais said with a cocky scoff.

The four of them looked to each other, and settled down a bit. Slowly, they sat back down on the comfortable lounge couch set up in the room.

"So, how about you all tell me what's happened?"

The four of them took turns detailing all of what occurred over the last two days and change, leaving out some personal information and the exact specifics of their powers. They did, however, add in as much information as they could about the eerie man and his lackeys.

At the end of it all, Gervais took off his luxury shades, and looked at them all with honest and bright hazel eyes. There was a pause, and an inhale, as if something heartfelt and profound would follow it.

"Shit. That all fuckin' sucks! I'm real sorry you guys had to deal with all of that!" The basic reaction made all four of them wear faces of mild shock and disappointment. Thankfully for their expectations, Gervais wasn't finished.

"After all that, yeah y'all're owed some answers. So, yeah, Teddy and I are vampires, we call each other Kindred, but we keep our secrets pretty hush-hush so, sorry but I gotta keep those details on the DL. What I can tell you is that the crew y'all unfortunately got mixed up with are some real nasty pieces of work called the Circulatory System. The skinny is, they're human traffickers and experimenters for the express purpose of shuttling around high-price blood to rich vampires across the country." He explained casually, but definitely skirting around the in depth details one would fill a wiki article with.

"Nastier, as opposed to other blood suckers and killers that are apparently real?" Layla snarked back.

"Ay, simmer down a bit gloomy. Sure, vamps need blood, but we do try to keep it humane and messless. For the less empathetic, it's to keep us secret, for peeps like me and Teddy, it's cause we just don't wanna hurt those we don't gotta. The System is still one of the most inhumane you'll find around here, and that's why we've been trying to smoke 'em out and burn 'em down. But,"

"They're craftier than you expected." Layla cut in. "That's why Teddy got jailed, and they knew something we didn't, didn't they?"

"Bingo. We're still scoping exactly how, but you four are somethin' we that work in the night call Awakened. Don't know too much else beyond the name, but it means y'all're magic now!" Gervais added on, flicking back on his sunglasses.

"Hell yeah, we got Woke Magic now!" Fitri exclaimed.

"We are not calling it that, I'd start sounding like my bum-ass uncle." Mackenzie side-eyed.

"So, what does that...mean?" Myeong-Suk asked, after having been rather quiet and thoughtful since Gervais arrived.

"Well, I don't got the long-and-short of it myself. I know some people got it, and they can do some crazy shit with it! But, y'all're in luck! There's a lovely little lady who's been working with our little secret society here for a bit now who is an Awakened herself, and I already filled her in on the basic deets! One of my guys should be bringing her here soon to pick y'all up!"

"Pick us up? You're not...keeping us here?" Layla doubted.

"Why would I do that? Y'all just went through some seriously fucked up shit and need help from someone in the know!" Gervais answered.

"I mean...you just mentioned your secret society?" Mackenzie detailed.

"OH, yeah, you can't really go blabbing about that, but like, you're a part of our hidden side too now! We don't gotta cut and divide us supernatural peeps, especially when y'all were just victimized by other Kindred, even if they were the lowest among us."

"But...that's it?" Myeong-Suk asked.

"Well, yeah? Unless you wanna come back? Thursdays is ladies night~!"

"What are we going to do about the Circulatory System?" The bubbles had popped in her voice, and there was just worry.

"They're still out there! Still targeting people, they could still target us! Are you saying we aren't going to stop them? That we aren't going to crush them!? If they're really so inhumane, they can't keep being allowed to do this!" Everyone in the room was overtaken by a wave of anxiety and stress that made their hearts beat faster, even Gervais whose heart was usually as still as the sky.

As she heard everyone's hyperventilation begin, she realized her effect, and did her best to reign it back in.

"Whew, THAT felt weird after all these years!" Gervais said once the aura receded. "But, if you can trust anything I say, trust that we are going to deal with the Circulatory System. They've given a lot of us reasons to hate them, so we aren't going to let them keep going on willy-nilly. But, they're vampires, and therefore, our problem. I ain't gonna force y'all to help us, especially after what you've been through."

His goofiness faded away to a serious, and strangely empathetic tone.

"But what if we want to?" Fitri said, catching his attention. "Those goons that bagged me, they were going after someone else first. I got a lotta people I care about who ain't got safe places to stay, they could be dragged and drained off the street and no one would give a damn, hell a lot of people would be glad for it! I for one ain't gonna be able to sit easy if I can't do nothin'."

"Me neither. They got me at the bus stop, main road too! I got little siblings and friends who could be next for all I know." Mackenzie added on.

"And if I got the power to stop them, then I'm going to pay them back for whatever they did to us." Layla agreed.

Gervais smiled at the four of them. "Then all the power to you! But these guys are serious threats. Y'all should get to know your powers and, if you really wanna buck, train them up first. Once we find Teddy, we'll keep y'all in touch. Sound good?"

They each had their reservations, but mostly looked towards Myeong-Suk, who seemed most affected in the moment. "If it means we can stop people from being kidnapped and used by them, it works for me."

On Gervais' belt, a pager buzzed. "Oh! Great timing kids, your ride is here!"

Suddenly, from down the hall, a hurried clacking accompanied two pairs of footsteps, as a very pink pair were gestured into the room. The first seemed to be one of Gervais' people given how they greeted each other, a tall, young looking person with tightly coiled pink hair tied into a bun and a similarly pink leather outfit. The second was a shorter woman with long, straight, softer pink hair, and a cute pink dress with a yellow hoodie over the top, also wearing really dark sunglasses, who was pushing through the two.

"Oh my gosh, you four are the new ones, right? A-Are you all okay?" She looked forward, but not at any of them in particular.

"Uh, yeah I think so! Are you one of the wake ups like us?" Fitri asked, causing the girl to giggle in a way similar to a wind chime.

"Yes, I am an Awakened too! Thank goodness you four are alright. My name is Evie, and I'm gonna get you guys somewhere safe to really rest up, and go over the gist of things! Mr. Wen, are we alright to go?"

"Yep! You four got fed and such yeah?"

"Thank you again for that! I'll certainly be back again~!" Myeong-Suk said, standing up with renewed pep.

"Mx. Colt, I hope you don't mind if I ask for your driving skills again?" Evie asked in a gentle, polite way.

"Hell yeah, Evie! I'll get y'all back lickity split!"

"Where are you taking us, exactly?" Layla asked, with intense reservations.

"Oh, back to my apartment! It's not the biggest but there's enough space for you all to stay for now, and my roommate is out of town for a few days." Evie explained.

Layla went to demand to be taken to her own home, but her mental connection with Myeong-Suk was formed once more. "If we go to her place, they won't know your address. Plus, I've been reading her thoughts, she's on the up-and-up!" Myeong-Suk mentally explained, winning over Layla with an appeal to safety.

With a sigh, and internal compressing of anxieties, Layla shrugged her shoulders and agreed, following after the pink duo.

"Oh, before we go," Fitri began. "Gerry, have you heard from Teddy at all?"

"Not yet, but he's a resourceful son of a gun! Me and our sis will be looking for him by the crack of dusk, prommy!" Gervais said, clasping Fitri in a hearty dude handshake followed by the appropriate hug and back pat.

"Alright, alright, this whole crazy event is almost at the end." Mackenzie began, whispering to himself. "Now, to just take a nice, relaxing car ride with the pastel magic lady, and we'll all be-"

"NICE BLINKER ASSHOLE!" The leather-clad pink driver shouted out the window as the large car sped down the street, going easily 20 miles over the speed limit and making very close calls with other cars, all while Mackenzie gripped themselves tighter and shivered hard enough to begin twitching.

Luckily, the speed meant the car ride was done much sooner than anticipated, as the five Awakened were dropped off outside of a historic brick apartment building in downtown Tacoma, near the large Tacoma General Hospital.

There was a moment of silence as they all stepped out of the car, and watched it speed off into the distance.

"Dude, you can exhale now." Layla said, tapping Mackenzie with her elbow, followed by the young man letting out a raspy, distressed wheeze.

Walking carefully upstairs, the four of them were almost distressingly at ease. Fitri and Myeong-Suk were reveling in it, glad to be away from their captors, from vampires, from all the stressful situations that had surrounded them over the past couple days. Layla and Mackenzie, meanwhile, were wondering if it was too good to be true.

But, as they reached the third floor of the building, and Evie fumbled with a veritable cat-o-nine-tails worth of keys, the scent of cinnamon and lavender entered the air, and it seemed like it was true after all.

The apartment had dim lighting, flowing and changing between oranges, reds, purples, and pinks. Soft beanbags and various eclectic chairs filled the supposed living and dining rooms, and a kitschy clutter of knick-knacks, prints, and string lights filled the walls. Just when they couldn't think it could get cozier, an incredibly fluffy calico cat came out of one of the bedrooms, meowing sweetly and brushing against Layla's leg.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, holding back tears of relief, as she had already taken enough hits to her casual, disaffected image.

"Soupy! I hope you didn't miss mama too much!" Evie picked up the cat and gave it a nice snuggle, before gesturing the others towards the living room.

"Oh my god their name is soupy..." Layla whispered.

"Yep! Short for Three Bean Soup, see!" Evie held up one of the cats paws, showing a variety of colors on their pads.

Layla went entirely rigid to avoid expressing any emotion, as Mackenzie gently ushered her towards the mass of beanbags in the living room. On her own volition, Soupy jumped from Evie's arms to Layla's lap as she sat down, twirling in a circle and nestling in close.

"Evie. Your cat is trying to murder me."

"Aw, she's a real empathetic baby, so she probably just figured you'd need the comfort! Speaking of, can I get you guys anything? I got all sorts of juices, teas, coffees, no alcohol though, sorry!"

"Ah man I just filled up at the bar, but y'know-" Fitri began.

"Please, what we really want right now is answers!" Mackenzie stressed, although he did his best to keep his actual voice down.

"What are we? What are these powers? How did this happen? What's going on in the city that there are fuckin' vampires!?" He listed, his eyebrows knitting closer with each question.

"Of course, of course, I'll do my best to explain everything. I don't want to make you all explain what happened over again, so I could read it from your thoughts, if you don't mind?"

"You got my permission!" Myeong-Suk said, flopping onto the largest bean bag and nearly falling into the center of it.

"I don't mind none. Just, uh, stay out of the music folder, I've got a lot of songs stuck in my head." Fitri seconded.

"If it'll help, yeah." Mackenzie continued, and Layla just gave a cautious nod while snuggling Soupy in her arms, rubbing her face slowly against the softness of her fur.

"Alright, this won't take more than a second." Once she said that, Evie hummed slightly, as if mimicking a phone vibration. Eventually, all four of them tuned into the sound she was producing, which was followed by a sudden snap of her fingers.

Each of them jumped a little, and in that unified moment of synapses firing, Evie found the mental bridge to see what had occurred from now back to the moment they got kidnapped, reviewing only what they allowed to be seen.

By the time the sound of the snap and humming faded, Evie had seen all the information, and couldn't help but shed a few tears. "What a horrible way to be awakened to something that should be so beautiful. I'm so sorry." She wiped a few tears from her eyes, taking off her sunglasses for the first time and revealing nearly blank, clouded-over eyes.

"But, now for the answers. Like I said, I'll explain everything to the best of my ability. Bare with me, because it might be a lot. Now, where to begin...I suppose from the base up?" She got herself situated, and put her glasses back on, looking towards the four of them.

"What you all are, and what I am as well, is Awakened. Everyone has the potential to become one, but honestly very few even come close. As for what that means, well, it seems like you guys have already experienced some small ways our powers can manifest. Although, your awakening has been quite unusual."

"That's an understatement, we got experimented on!" Layla interjected.

"Right, but honestly I think that whatever they used on you merely forced your awakening to happen now, you most likely would've gone through it on your own eventually!" Evie tried to comfort. "Those beings you encountered in your dreams, what little I saw of them, they were a representation of your inner magical potential, which we call Avatars. Your dreams were the initial part of your awakening, and the drugs they put on you brought that potential forward! I also think that's why your rot touch stopped working for now, Layla."

"What do you mean? I didn't burn my powers out already, did I?"

"No no! But, I do think the chemicals gave you more inherent energy than what your base level is, and now your magic has gone back down to that standard level. Every Mage, oh uh, that's another way we can refer to ourselves cause, we do magick, oh gosh I need to explain that too...this is getting to be a lot already!"

"So...these aren't like, locked in superpowers?" Mackenzie asked.

"Oh! Not at all! So, okay, when you become an Awakened, you can start doing Awakened Magick, sometimes when writing it people put a K at the end to make it fancy. What that does is essential warp the laws of reality, either in small or big ways. For example, me and Myeong-Suk are able to use magick in a similar way to telepathy to communicate, as well as read thoughts! I personally use it to sense auras and use other peoples vision, since I'm otherwise blind."

"Wait so we can just start reality warping!?" Layla shot up, still carefully cradling Soupy.

"Yes! And...no. There are a lot of factors that can limit what you can do, or increase it, but I'll keep it simple for now. Firstly, every mage awakens with an affinity towards a Sphere, which is like...I guess you could say they're like elements or different classes of magick that do different things? You can train your affinity sphere and branch out into others, but the real hard limits are Consensus and Paradox, and those are really important!"

"How important?" Myeong-Suk tilted her head, already a little lost.

"Very! So, the Consensus is basically the rules of reality. What the majority thinks is and isn't possible, and while we can bend and change reality, it doesn't like being changed. That makes it hard to do magick around large crowds, or in very populated or modernized places, and if you do something too flashy without preparing for it, which we call Vulgar Magick, then you can suffer from Paradox."

"Suffer? Is it like, magic poison?" Mackenzie flinched in his comfortable seat, already looking towards Layla in concern.

"It can be a lot of things, and really depends on what spell you were trying to do. I haven't seen anything too bad happen myself, but I've heard tales of everything from limbs being warped to people having their magic torn out of them. I'm sorry if that sounds scary, but especially when starting out, knowing your limits and not pushing too hard will prevent you from getting too hurt!"

"So like, you bring up spells and elements and all that stuff, how many kinds of magi-kuh are there?" Fitri asked, making sure he pronounced the K for fanciness.

"As far as Spheres go, there are nine of them. But, between all our different groups, the different ways of perceiving your own magick, the tools and practices out there, you can do magick any way to some degree! It all depends on what works best for the way you understand your own path."

"Does that have anything to do with our dreams? Cause, like, I had a dream I was like tossed into the air, and I was all dancing and carefree, and since I'm like, in that state 90% of the time, is that why I've been able to still do a lot of mind stuff when Layla has like gone back to basics?" Myeong-Suk asked.

"Oh great, make it sound like I'm in preschool."

"It is something that can be represented by your Avatar! But it doesn't have to be. Although, it is amazing that even after the time that has passed, you seem to have innately gone a step above on your own! You might just be a natural, Myeong-Suk!" Evie said, with the proud Myeong-Suk scratching her head in a faux display of shyness.

"Okay...okay. So, we're magical, and we have something we're already good in, but we have to train to do different kinds of magic. We can't do whatever we want because full on crazy reality warping will get us hurt or killed, but it sounds like we can still do a lot, given what Layla and you two have already been doing?" Mackenzie summarized, gesturing to the three ladies in the room.

"Absolutely! And there are lots of ways Mages have found to work around the limits of the consensus. In fact, you're in one of them right now! Having your own little domain of power makes it easier to cast spells inside of it!" Evie answered, gesturing to her done up apartment.

"But, we haven't had any problems anywhere so far! I mean, back at the warehouse I was making the cages rusty left and right, and back in the bar Myeong-Suk was connecting us all telepathically!" Layla explained.

"I think that was because you were around Kindred, who are also, y'know, not normal people, and have magic and powers of their own! If you were to, say, try and decompose a car downtown, that'd be really difficult to do off the cuff."

"Yo so like, what do we even do? Like, Myo here got tele-power stuff, that's obvious! Lala has something that like, makes stuff old," Fitri began.

"Ugh, no!"

"But me and Kenzie didn't really get to find out, other than that I could act like a bridge for Layla, and Teddy said he smelt clean."

"Weird way to phrase it, bro, but Fitri is right, how do we find out what our affinity is?" Mackenzie asked.

"You're in luck! I have a handy dandy little tester right here!" She fumbled around for a gardening glove, and picked four leaves off of a small plant in her windowsill.

"A friend of mine in the Verbena...uh...one of the big mage groups, she made this herb that's very magick reactive, so we can get a good grasp of your Spheres using them! Each of you take one, and do your best to put your energy in it!"

"How many mage groups are there?" Mackenzie asked, taking a leaf.

"Ugh, so many. I mean, okay, big picture there are three. The Traditions, the Technocracy, and the independents. In so few words, Traditions are the most common, have the most groups, and see magick as, well, Magic, and the different groups within just do it differently. The Technocracy see it as science, and are...well they're complicated and not too friendly with us. Then independents are those who strike out on their own or for one reason or another are separate from either side." She explained this all while the others took their leaves.

"Inside of the traditions, there are nine big orders, one representing each of the Spheres, plus another group called Hollow Ones who are part of the Traditions but not part of any of the groups."

"Isn't that just being independent?" Myeong-Suk asked, as her leaf slowly turned white at the edges, and began to shake as if being tossed by a gentle breeze.

"Yes, and many do think of themselves as so, but the big wigs in the Traditions still see them as a part of it. Also, each group has like, a good amount of inner division because, when you stick a bunch of reality warpers together a lot of people are gonna want to warp reality in their own way! But, you don't have to worry about such distant groups anytime soon."

"I mean, I guess that makes sense. I've seen groups of three torn apart by a messy breakup! Hey what group are you in, Evie?" Fitri said, as his leaf turned multi-colored along the edge, while a lichtenberg pattern appeared on the lamina. "Oh sick, this leaf knows I'm gay too! Hell yeah buddy! Although I think I'm bi. But like, queer yeah? Still the rainbow?" He looked at Mackenzie instinctively, who just gave a shrug in response.

"Oh, I'm a part of the Cult of Ecstasy! Technically the faction I'm in is called the Cult of Acceptance, but, semantics~!"

There was an uneasy silence in the room.

"The what of what?" The four of them asked in unison in various tones, while Layla's leaf turned black and then withered away. "Oh, that's back."

Evie looked at them in confusion, tilting her head, before suddenly realizing what might have sounded so strange, while her face turned bright red. "OH NO NO NO! N-NOT LIKE W-WEIRD B-BRAINWASH CULT! L-LIKE, LIKE OLD GOD CULTS! D-DIONYSIAN RITUALS, MYSTERY C-CULTS, STUFF LIKE THAT!" She panicked to defend the name, her hands flailing wildly in a desperate illustration of innocence.

"Ay, just lemme know if we gotta get you out of it girl, I once had to break a friend out of a weird kool-aid lookin cult. She just signed up for it cause they ran the shelter, but she got in deep!" Fitri narrated.

"Augh! It's not like thaaat!" She wailed a bit. "I-It's just the name! Anyways, our group is all about sort of freeing yourself from the woes and worries of life and doing magick by getting into a heightened state and uniting together!"

"I dunno still sounds like it could be culty, just the kind you sucker a white soccer mom into." Mackenzie said with a snicker, getting a higher blush from the panicking mentor, while his leaf glowed a vibrant green, and grew into a full small branch.

"Okay you all can tease about names later!" She regained her composure and took some deep breaths, with Soupy returning to aid her mama.

"Myeong-Suk! Your affinity is to the Sphere of Mind! Layla, yours is to the Sphere of Entropy! Fitri, yours is for the Sphere of Prime! Mackenzie, your affinity is for the Sphere of Life!" She said in order, pointing at them from left to right.

"Entropy? Like the death of the universe Entropy?"

"Prime? Ain't that the weird drink I keep hearing about on youtube?"

"For Layla, yes and no, it's a little about fate, little about death, little about luck. For Fitri, no! Prime is the Sphere that is all about Quintessence, the magical energy that fuels spells. Essentially, your affinity is towards pure magickal energy."

"Oooh, that makes sense! That's why I was able to be a bridge for your magi-kuh!"

"Fate, death, luck. Choices, endings, misfortune. Heh, sounds about right." Layla muttered to herself, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I think for a quick 101 course, that's about everything! We can go into fine details and such later, when you all have been able to define your own paths better." Evie said, fully calming down.

"So, what now?" Myeong-Suk asked, but she partially answered her own question with an enormous yawn.

Evie's windchime giggle returned. "For now, I think you four are long overdue for some real sleep. I got some futons we can bring out, and I'll grab the spare blankets!"

"You're okay keeping us here for the night? We did get kidnapped by crazy vampires after all." Layla questioned, more for her own sake than for Evie's.

"Don't worry, Layla. No one can ever sneak up on me. Plus, if anything, I have a wonderful guard kitty!" She gave the passing Soupy a quick scratch on the head. "Fitri, mind helping me move some stuff?"

"On it Sylveon!"

"Sylveon?" Evie questioned.

"Well cause your name is Evie and that sounds like Eev-" He began to explain, while the other three took in the calm of the apartment and helped move away the bean bag chairs to make room.

It didn't take long for it all to be set up, and Evie had a veritable dragons hoard of comfortable blankets. While they didn't have a change of clothes, something that would be despratley needed the coming day, they could rest easily and, most importantly, safely.

But, not all of them could get to sleep quickly. Mackenzie, for his wont, always struggled with insomnia and anxiety, but was finding solace in Fitri's embrace at the moment. Layla, however, being held onto by the softly snoring Myeong-Suk, was having more topical worries.

"My power has done nothing but decay so far. If this Entropy business has to deal with fate...then do I bring the end closer? Am I...going to ruin them all? Or will they ruin me?" She looked at her newly fire-forged friends. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Might as well enjoy it as it lasts. Here's to being magic, everyone."