Return and Conviction

John let out a tired groan as their alarms all began to blare at them. With the light from three phones going off, he was just able to make out Aeolia, Vivian, and Beth as they groggily exited sleep.

“How is it that we can get enough sleep going by the clock and still wake up feeling like we didn’t get enough?” John questioned.

“Too early for big thoughts like that,” Beth whined, twisting herself downward to press her face into the mattress.

Aeolia, far more awake than the rest of them, lightly pushed against Beth’s arm. “Come on. We’ve only got an hour to get ready. And you can sleep in the car if you still need your beauty sleep.”

“Waking up at midnight is weird,” Vivian eloquently grumbled, her hair a wild mess.

“Sorry,” John muttered, eyes drifting to a countdown that appeared in the corner of his vision once he was fully awake.

“It’s not your fault,” the redhead reassured him. “We all wanted to plant that seed. Didn’t expect it to grow in less than five days, but well, can’t account for magic.”

“At least not my bullshit,” John joked as he **** himself out of bed. Lighty empowering his wind spirit, he sent it out and turned on the room’s light.

“No, too bright,” Beth groaned, pressing her face further into the mattress.

Aeolia huffed. “Come on, princess. We’ve got work to do. There should be monsters for you to show off what we worked on yesterday.”

“I don’t think falling on my ass is going to be useful,” Beth grumbled as she turned onto her back before sitting up. “Not unless the plan is to use me as bait.”

“We aren’t using you as bait,” Vivian quickly put her foot down on that notion, joke or not. “And I think you’re selling yourself short.”

“I wouldn’t suggest you going in if I thought you’d kill yourself with a sword,” Aeolia affirmed. “But maybe stick to the less dangerous stuff to start with. Work your way up to the big ones.”

“Not exactly looking to repeat the day we met,” Beth said with a shudder.

“We’ll make sure to keep anything like that away from you, princess,” Aeolia teased. “Or maybe one of us can swoop down to save you if it happens. John, you’re last in line. You had the last save.”

“I guess this is my life now,” Beth said in a monotone voice as she flopped back down on the bed.

“Would you prefer being stuck outside the Abyss without us?” John asked, moving to kneel down beside her.

She turned her head to look at him and let out a dramatic sigh, though a smile broke her attempted apathetic display. “Guess it’s better than being locked up in the tower.”

John grinned and delivered a swift kiss to his lazing girlfriend before he stood back up.

‘You sure you want to stay unmanifested?’ John thought to Senka as Beth finally pulled herself from the bed and began to get ready.

‘I’d rather that than yo-yoing back and forth,’ Senka replied. ‘Is there really a reason beyond a short amount of social interaction to do so?’

‘Never thought you’d shy away from that sort of stuff,’ John remarked.

‘We have no idea what awaits us today,’ the spirit intoned. ‘I can sacrifice interacting for a while to ensure we can do so later.’

‘Don’t say it like that.’ John frowned.

“Senka still sticking to her vow of headspace?” Aeolia asked suddenly. “You look like you’re losing the argument.”

“More like she thinks the worst case scenario is going to happen and she’s ready to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure I’ve got full mana to use,” John said in an unhappy tone.

“She does have a point,” Vivian remarked as she slipped in to play the mediator. “Best for all of us to be ready for anything.”

John knew the point; Senka took twenty mana from him to stay manifested. But with at least two hours between getting back to their cars and reaching the barrier, he’d be fully charged, even with Senka draining some of his regen by remaining partially manifested. He also knew she wouldn’t budge in her decision.

He let out a sigh, pushing his frustrations away. He knew Senka took this position for his, and therefore their, benefit, so he couldn’t be too mad about it. A knock on their door let him fully focus on something else. A quick activation of Arcane Sense revealed who was on the other side.

“It’s Kiera,” he quietly revealed before moving to answer the door. He opened it, smiling as the bluenette came into view. He didn’t expect her to come with a platter stacked high with pancakes, coated in syrup. A number of plates sat under the platter and cutlery was tightly grasped in one hand.

“G-good morning,” the shy girl stammered out, her eyes briefly meeting John’s before darting away. “Um, I thought, since you let me join yesterday, I thought I could, you know, make breakfast for you guys.”

Her tone wavered as her face flushed, prompting Senka to coo.

‘Awe, isn’t that adorable,’ the spirit gushed. Kiera must have picked up on Senka’s attention as her face grew more red.

‘Dial it back a bit, you’re going to make her pass out,’ John chided her before saying aloud, “Breakfast sounds awesome. Thanks. Come in.”

Kiera let out a light eep and awkwardly walked into the room, like her legs weren’t expecting to have to cross the threshold. Like she was expecting to not be invited in.

John frowned at that idea as it crossed his mind, something Senka picked up on.

‘We’ll have to dissuade her of such notions,’ she quietly thought, trying to veil her emotions. Kiera didn’t seem to have any reaction so they presumed it succeeded.

‘I think we’re already on that path,’ John replied as Vivian moved to relieve Kiera of her burden.

“These look heavenly,” the redhead said to the bluenette as she took the platter. A concerned expression crossed her face. “You got enough sleep, right?”

Kiera shrank a bit from Vivian, her hands clenched together. “Y-yeah. I think I was asleep before everyone. A-and I’ve only been awake for about an hour. And, I figured you’d need some food, and since I was up, I f-figured I could make some food. I mean, that’s about all I can do, so it’s not like it’s a big deal, but I thought…”

“Woah, take a breath,” Aeolia interjected before Kiera’s words could become any more breathier than they already were. “Don’t want you to pass out before you get to see us enjoy your cooking.”

“They’re nothing special,” Kiera muttered, her head bowed to avoid looking at them.

“I mean, the ones you made on autopilot were good,” Beth said as she took a plate from Vivian and loaded her plate. “Can’t see how these’ll be worse.”

“T-that was just me subconsciously using Bren-, I mean, Mrs. Newman's knowledge,” Kiera frantically downplayed her actions. “It was her skills, not mine. And it was with familiar ingredients. I don’t know how these’ll stack up. I mean, I tried one and it wasn’t bad, but I was never a picky eater and…”

Beth cut her off as she took a big bite of pancake and let out a pleased moan.

“S’good,” she said through her full mouth.

“R-really?” Kiera asked, surprise evident in her tone.

Beth nodded before shoving another chunk of pancake into her mouth, a thin line of syrup dripping down her lips towards her chin.

“I get you’re trying to show your appreciation of the food, but you don’t have to inhale it, princess,” Aeolia jabbed as she took her own portion of breakfast and ripped a piece off with her fork and took a bite. “Even if it is this good.”

Kiera stared at Aeolia with disbelieving eyes and John could guess what was going through her mind right now.

‘Something along the lines of ‘how can she say something nice about me?’ most likely,’ Senka supplied, a note of indignation coloring her words. ‘She can’t believe that Aeolia could forgive what she sees as her transgressions.’

‘I’m not sure Aeolia has exactly forgiven her,’ John thought as he took his own plate. ‘But she’s not really putting the blame on her for what Phantom Reach did. We really need to have a talk about everything that’s happened since Sunday.’

‘Things really just kept coming,’ Senka intoned. 'We blatantly ignored it right afterwards, and everything snowballed from there. And it doesn’t look like things are going to calm down anytime soon.’

‘We’ll have to make time,’ John declared seriously. ‘Knowing our luck, though, the only time might be while we’re fighting whatever’s going to show up today.’

‘That would be an interesting discussion.’ Senka laughed. ‘I can totally see Aeolia opening up about how she feels about Kiera staying close to us while cutting through whatever’s going to try and kill us today.’

John’s eyes drifted to where Kiera stood, the bluenette still seemingly dumbstruck by their acceptance of her.

‘We’re going to have to figure that part out too,’ John thought to himself, pondering just what exactly they were going to do with Kiera. ‘I don’t think any of us have a problem with her staying with us, and Mom definitely doesn’t. But does she want to? What if she wants to just run away from all of this?’

Again, these were questions that would require actual time to discuss. At least they were all getting along. John figured these talks would be a lot harder if Kiera wasn’t comfortable with them. She was still stiff as she mechanically began to eat at Vivian’s insistence, but she wasn’t looking as uncomfortable as she was yesterday, even managing a small smile.

‘Maybe we can lay the groundwork on the way back?’ John mused. ‘Throw out some small talk to plant the seeds. Huh, kind of an appropriate way to word it, given what’s about to happen.’

---

‘Ok, probably should have realized trying to do important talks while on the go in the middle of the night was not going to work,’ John thought as he, along with everyone else, followed Argent Echo to their HQ in the city. Between Barbara’s sound manipulation and, after an offer to assist, Vivian’s light manipulation, they were able to swiftly navigate the empty streets. With two abilities able to cover their tracks, they made it in record time.

“Well, better late than never, but welcome to Argent Echo’s Detreye base,” Aria cheerfully declared as she led them into an unassuming little building. The interior was sparse, with only a few tables, folding chairs and steamer trunks strewn about.

“Looks homely,” Aeolia said in a deadpan.

“It’s perfectly glamorous for the life of a smuggler,” Aria shot back with a grin. “The set up for the return trip is down stairs. No point in chit chatting with your timetable, right?”

“Indeed,” Martius said. The gnome pulled a pocket watch into view, the cloak he wore over his usual lab attire billowing as he moved his arms. “We made good time. Assuming the trip to Earth goes as it should, we should be able to reach the site with time to spare.”

“Actually,” John interjected, “if we have plenty of time when we get back in the general area, I was thinking we could collect some gear back at our places. And quickly change into more appropriate clothes.”

Martius nodded. “With the time we saved getting here, and your knowledge of the area, I think that’s doable.”

“We’d get there faster if we weren’t wasting time in this lovely entrance way,” Lynn sarcastically remarked.

“Right,” Aria said. “Then we should get this show on the road. Barbara?”

The grumpy sound mage let out a small sigh and stomped towards a door at the far side of the room. She threw open the door and proceeded down the stairs, everyone else following her down. The room was empty except for a ring of tuning fork like spikes that formed a wide circle embedded into the floor.

“So, we stand in there and, poof, back to the barrier with the cars, right?” Vivian asked as they filed into the chamber.

“Bingo,” Aria said with a wink. “It is a bit more work to go back, but with more helping hands, we’ll manage it fine. Especially since there isn’t going to be any interference this time.”

“I’ll be sure to throw everything I have into this,” Piper grumbled, awkwardly rubbing her arm.

“Good,” Barbara muttered sourly as she got into the circle and began to flick the spikes, filling the room with a low hum. The air in the room began to waver as magic began to build, a section between two of the spikes darkening.

“Got our exit,” Aria said. “Let’s get back to good old terra firma.”

Everyone gathered near the rippling dark spot and, like before, began to pool their magic into it. Pressure built up around them, like they had been dropped into deep water. Then, they all lurched forward.

The somewhat musty air of the basement was replaced with the pleasant scent of the deep woods as everyone stumbled into the dark clearing.

“Well, that wasn’t as unpleasant as I thought it might be,” Martius remarked as he fixed his cloak. “Does anyone have a light?”

“Hold on a sec,” Lynn responded before a hum cut through the silent air as her car started, the driving lights flooding the clearing with light.

“Ah, much better,” the gnome said.

“Another happy landing,” Aria quipped, drawing John’s attention. She caught his eyes and winked knowingly. “Now we just have to pop their barrier and be on our way. Still need our services to get back, Martius?”

“I will indeed, but our plans are fluid, so I can’t give an exact time,” Martius explained.

“Not a problem,” Aria waved his concern away. “We could use a break. Gives us some time to get the newbie up to speed.”

“Oh joy,” Piper fake cheered. “Orientation.”

---

They were returned to Earth proper after only a few minutes and were on their way back to Springfield, driving quickly through the early morning roads. Much to Beth’s chagrin, she was **** to ride with Lynn, Martius and Harker. The idea of needing more casual attire was the only thing keeping her from full on pouting.

The empty roads made the trip back to town pass far faster than John had anticipated and they reached Vivian’s place with more than an hour to spare. While Aeolia and Vivian went in to change and gather some of the gear they had left there, John glanced back to Kiera.

“You ok with following us into this?” he asked, causing her to jump at his sudden question. “It’s kind of a bit much to throw all this on you, after, you know.”

“I d-don’t mind helping,” Kiera stammered out.

“You’re not just saying that out of a sense of debt, are you?” John asked, relaying the question from Senka.

“N-no,” the bluenette quickly denied. Too quickly for John and Senka’s tastes, which Kiera seemed to pick up on. “I mean, I do want to help you like you helped me. And this whole tree thing is a big deal, so it sounds like you could use some extra hands, and…”

She clamped her mouth shut, realizing she was rambling. Her hands gripped the hem of her shirt.

“I don’t want to just sit back anymore,” she whispered out a moment later. “I didn’t do anything to stop the others, and it makes me sick. Made me sick back then, but I couldn’t say anything about that.”

Kiera took a breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were glowing with an inner fire. “I’m done with just letting things happen.”

‘Can’t argue with that conviction,’ Senka thought.

‘No, we can’t,’ John responded before saying aloud, “Welcome to the team, then. Though, that probably happened when I invited you to the party. Ah, whatever.”

“We’re back,” Vivian’s voice sounded from outside before she opened her door, Aeolia flying in before she slid into the seat, both back in their usual fighting outfits. “Hit your place then we go to the barrier, right?”

“Right,” John said, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror, catching Kiera’s gaze in the reflection. “One more stop then we get to work.”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.