Witch's Hunt: Blessed Curse (Sakana x Vivian)

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"Got it. If she's making demands to see cash, she's probably in an open area." William pointed out the central plaza on the map. "Luckily, we're not too far from there. I'm sure that's where she'll be. As for the explosive she made threats about, that will probably be somewhere in the basement, where it can easily disrupt the foundation of the entire mall. How she got access to it is beyond me, but we're safer checking it than we are leaving it as an empty threat."

William looked around and motioned for Lila's attention once he spotted a way to access the basement. "I advise that you do to the underground sector what you did in that tunnel. She might have left more than a single bomb down there." After warning Lila, William left her to do her part. Now all he had to worry about was keeping this rebellious witch's attention long enough for Lila to do her thing.

Just as he'd expected, the perpetrator was standing in the center of the announcement booth. It turned out that she didn't need to hack the intercom system at all. Taking it over was as simple as knocking out whoever was on duty and taking it over. 'Was she really the one that took down the anti-fields?' It was a questionable hypothesis, but it mattered little right now. He took a few deep breaths. There was no being sure of this girl's power. She couldn't be anymore than 15, but that didn't say anything against her having a power that could kill him in an instant. All he could do was trust in his own power at this point.

Before he approached, the noticed that several store owners were coming out with bags, filled with what he guessed was money. 'So they did listen,' he thought, almost a moment too soon.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, little girl?!" One of the store owners, a rather gruff looking male, had approached her, swinging his fist at her. "Like hell you'll do anything! I worked my ass off to make this money, and I'm not about to hand it over to some half-pint!"

The young girl, clearly annoyed, gave her fingers a snap and opened her palm. An orb of energy formed in her hand, which eventually solidified itself. There was no doubt in William's mind what the girl planned on doing to the now stumbling store owner. He didn't like that he had to find out this way, but there was no longer any question about her power.

"Stop!" he yelled out, catching the girl's attention before she could toss her weapon away.

"You? You're the one from the train, aren't you? Looks like your fuckin' girlfriend ain't here." The girl stood up on top of the announcement counter and pointed a finger at William. "I'm guessing she left you, so now you think you gotta play a hero to get 'er back, right? HA!" Almost as soon as the question left her mouth, she hurled the spherical object in her hand at William.

'Shit!' He looked towards the side, teleporting himself out of what he assumed was the weapon's blast radius. It wasn't a very large explosion. 'Of course... Can't afford to blow up the mall.'

"Tsk. I'm not in the mood to play any fuckin' games, old man." The girl hopped down from the counter, another orb beginning to take shape in her hand.

William lifted his wrist and pressed a button. "Hello, this is the Witch's Association. May I ask the purpose of your call, Mr. Schelt?"

"Can I get an ID on a young girl with red hair that can generate bombs?"

"One moment, please." There was a pause for some time, and William had to quickly dodge another attack from the girl. He cursed himself, having been too close to the store behind him. He could only hope that no one was inside, as it'd been blown to smithereens in a single blow. "Young girl with red hair? Kagari Masuda, 15 years old. Has a contract with a demon named Xavier. Will that be all?"

'Kagari, huh?' William frowned in response to the respondent's last question. "No. Get someone over to this damn mall!"
 
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Lila waved the information he gave her off, her eyes scanning over the area once more only to notice an abandoned food stall, small and wedged into the corner next to an unfamiliar brand name store, but her attention was quickly taken back "I advise that you do to the underground sector what you did in that tunnel. She might have left more than a single bomb down there." she nodded blankly and watched William disappear, off on his quest. Once no longer confident he was gone she turned around making a quick jog over to the food stall.

What are you doing!? The voice shrieked, unable to stop Lila who was looting the churros and a bags of zebra popcorn.

"Well," she started in a voice that almost seemed proud "I have rent to pay, and their register is locked, so this is basically my dinner," it was a faint sound, but it was definitely a groan, but it wasn't as clear as words. Lila didn't question it just yet. Instead, she shoved her 'dinner' in her bag and returned to her previous location and entered the basement. It was faint, but she could detect magic, and given the situation she was in it was unnerving. 'I don't wanna do this; this is a giant fuck you from life' she thought, hovering at the entrance.

What are you waiting for? Get in there and do some magic!

"What the hell, it's creepy down there, what if I get blown up?"

If I can get shot in the heart by an angry kid and at the same time commit suicide, you can handle a few cobwebs. She made a point to ignore the fact Lila could get blown up, and cut the girl off whenever she tried to mention it. Realizing it was futile Lila dropped the subject and let go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. It was different from the train incident, after all, it was magic against magic. Like ripping a bandaid Lila released a similar, and still as sudden burst of magic, although instead of things slowing to a halt they stopped abruptly. She was already feeling woozy from the use of her magic. I really shouldn't be using it this much, she thought trying to stop a spinning room, taken aback by the new symptom.

I see! No wonder you're such an 'under the radar' kinda witch. Is that the saying?

Lila didn't have the endurance to question what she meant, nor did she have the patience. With a small sigh she felt the railings, gripping them for dear life as she made her way down the basement and laying herself on the floor. The most stability she could get.
 
BOOM!

Another explosion barely avoided. William was growing tiresome with this "Dodge the Bomb" game, and it was becoming evident that Kagari was as well. 'I can't hold out too much longer. I'm certain she'll eventually stop playing with me and just start targeting civilians.' Luckily, most of them already left the area, but others remained, almost as though frozen in fear. 'Move, dammit!'

"You gonna stop running around soon? I'm gettin' pretty sick of playing silly fuckin' games like this!" Kagari launched another explosive towards William, which he quickly teleported out of range from.

"I'm not enjoying it anymore than you are, I assure you. Now why don't you just stop with the explosives. There's no need for all this." William motioned for her to lower offense, which she simply responded to with another avoided explosion.

"No need?!" the girl exclaimed, this time generating two bombs instead of one. "This is what there's no need for? THIS?!" Kagari hurled one of the orbs at him.

'A feint...' He looked to one side, then quickly to the other and teleported away. Sure enough, the second orb was tossed in the direction he'd looked in first. 'She's getting more desperate.'

Kagari groaned, and angered expression monopolizing her face. She paused her onslaught for a moment to catch her breath, then came to a realization. "Ahahahaha! That's it! She's down there, isn't she?" Opening a pouch attached to her hip, Kagari pulled out a small remote, pressing a button labeled "1". As soon as she did, an explosion sounded somewhere below them. "You're not ruining things for me! Not today!"

'Lila...! Dammit!' Forsaking his passive approach, William charged towards Kagari. 'If I close the distance this way, she shouldn't be able to use any bombs to attack me...'

His adversary frowned and held out her free hand, yet another orb coming into place above her palm. "Fuckin' seriously?" she asked, before launching the projectile at a civilian.

William's heart sank as soon as he realized his fatal mistake. He turned towards the bomb's destination and teleported in an instance to the civilian's side. "Just enough...!" William grabbed the man and teleported away, almost less than a second too late. He paused to catch his breath, teleporting in such quick succession having taken it's toll on him. 'I won't be able to hold out like this...' Looking around for something, anything that could make things a little easier for him, he noticed the announcement board that rested above center plaza. On it were the numbers "18:09" and it was gradually counting down. 'That must be how much time is left... I can only hope that Lila's alright...'

"Boom," Kagari exclaimed, pressing the button labeled "2" on her remote. "There's seven left, old man."
 
Lila flinched, noting two bombs had tried to detonate within the time pause. It was no surprise that she blacked moments after the explosions, unable to handle the stress on her body, but time didn't resume as normal. It remained frozen.


Leidia's eyes fluttered open as if she had just woken up from a pleasant nap; her body was uncomfortably warm, but that was quickly adjusting itself. "Honestly, this girl is such an amateur," she sighed, standing up and dusting herself off. Leidia was impressed by how much more efficient this body was than her own body was, capable of picking out any witch or demon in the crowd within a matter of seconds, but dawdling in this body would inevitably destroy its owner's soul. Leidia wasted no more time and quickly expanded the range of her magic, carefully skipping the girl she knew as Marry, but saved her energy when it came to William, he did after all still have a strand of hair from the train.

The magic almost worked instantly, things naturally slowing to a stop and color seeming to drain from whatever the time pause touched. Leidia remained in the basement for a while longer, hunting down the origins of the earlier explosion. "Oh dear..." she said in a whisper as if someone would hear here unravel a grand plan. It wasn't a massive bomb, just large enough to be hidden beneath a jacket if you were willing to look a little overweight in public. She stared at the object for a bit before deciding what she would do with it. Ripping the explosive off the wall and shoving it in Lila's bag she continued her hunt, finding the other who was set to detonate a bit farther down. It met the same fate, torn off the wall, and shoved into a now full bag. With a click of her tongue, Leidia threw up the bag of Zebra popcorn that had taken up space, showing disdain for carrying around stolen goods.

Spending no more time in the basement Leidia hurried back upstairs, startled by how large the mall was and the amount of people that occupied it. Just like the shopping district back home! She thought, a small wave of nostalgia hitting her, but it was gone as quickly as it came, a bit unsettled by the frozen expressions of fear and panic. Leidia shook it off and began her search for William in hopes of advice on what to do with the unfamiliar explosives.
 
After several minutes of teleporting away from explosions and saving citizens that were too frozen to move, William looked to check the timer. 'Closing in on 14 minutes... Is she alive down there?'

Kagari seemed to be growing increasingly tired from her continuous onslaught, but also increasingly pissed. William was starting to believe Lila was actually wiped out by one of the earlier bombs. "I'm done playing around now. I'm gonna get rid o' both you, and your fuckin' helper." Kagari lifted up her remote, but instead of letting her do anything before he could get to her, William teleported over and grabbed the arm holding the remote.

"You can't do anything without this, can you?" William asked her. Before he could take it away from her, she pressed the buttons labeled "3", "6", and "9" with the hand holding it, then dropped it to the ground and attempted to kick him. William teleported away, worried that the whole tunnel was going to come crashing down on Lila due to his inability to react fast enough.

Much to the surprise of both him and Kagari, no explosion sounded. It was then that Kagari realized exactly what was going on. "Time, huh? WELL, THAT'S JUST FUCKIN' LOVELY! I'LL JUST BLOW THIS WHOLE FUCKIN' MALL THEN!" Giving up on her "hostages", Kagari launched another bomb at William and made a run towards the nearest exit.

"Not a chance!" William exclaimed, teleporting out of the bomb's range and then towards Kagari. By the time he stopped beside her, she was completely frozen. It took a second before William wrapped his head around what'd happened. Upon observing that everything in the mall now appeared to be frozen, he thought for a moment that perhaps Lila had frozen the entire mall. 'No. There's no way that's the case. There's probably someone form the WA outside that's behind this.'

That was what he wanted to believe, but, reaching into his pocket, he found that he still had the strand of hair from earlier. He doubted that anyone outside would go to the trouble of not freezing him, seeing as how if the WA was here, his role was already over. 'How...?' he pondered. That wasn't important now though. She managed to put a stop to Kagari's attack, and she was probably getting rid of the main bomb right now. Not only did they manage to stop the attack, but they managed to catch the criminal behind it. William released a sigh of relief, glad that it was all over. Or so he thought.

In a sudden burst of energy, a small section of the wall nearest him and Kagari blew up. Through the hole left behind entered a tanned individual with a slender frame and long, black hair. 'I'm not going to have much time here... I'm sorry, Kagari...' The man approached William, picked up Kagari's frozen body, then looked at William, who was telling him to drop her. "Sorry. I can't do that." With a single whack, William was left unconscious on the floor. Xavier, as he was called, disappeared through the hole in the wall, taking Kagari, who became unfrozen as soon as she was outside, along with him. "Deactivate it," he told her.

"Excuse me?! There's no way in hell I'd do that! I'm taking all of those fuckers ou-" Kagari stopped abruptly when Xavier dropped her.

"KAGARI!" he yelled at her, an annoyed expression on his face. "There's nothing to gain from killing all those people, and I don't want to see their blood on your hands. Please, deactivate it."

Kagari looked at the male, her face still bearing an angered expression. "This was supposed to set us..." she told him, her expression shifting from that of anger to one of somber disappointment. Kagari reluctantly snapped her fingers and looked at Xavier with a pout. "You happy?"

"Very," he replied, a smile on his face. He patted the girl's head and turned towards the roads. "The police and WA agents will definitely show up. We need to get out of here."

"Yeah, yeah," Kagari scoffed, following the male as he led the way. 'Forgive me, momma...'
 
Leidia looked surprised, noticing someone had managed to go in and out of the time pause without getting caught up in it. Quite a speedy one, isn't he? She noticed the brief energy of a demon, but it was gone within seconds along with the witch who had caused the uproar. "William!" She called out, looking around the area only to find him laying unconscious on the ground. "William?!" this time his name was said a bit more frantically, Leidia rushed over and stopped abruptly, realizing she didn't have the faintest clue as to what to do, he was immune to the time pause, so she could just hold out until he woke up, then again she didn't want him to remain on the floor unconscious.

Slap him. Lila ordered, Leidia herself suppressing a small giggle, amazed at how quickly she caught on to the thought projection but knew she wouldn't remember any of it when she returned her body. Slap him really hard, it's what they always do in the movies, and it'll work without fail. Leidia raised a hand as instructed, but didn't bring it down on Williams' face.

"I mean, is violence really the answer, Lila?"

No, but it works right now. Now do it, you body snatching bitch. And like that, a cord was struck, Leidia put her hand down and attempted at picking William up, managing to stand him on his feet with her body acting as a support. Lila groaned at the sight, knowing she would have to get her revenge later. Lila was not much stronger than Leidia was when she was alive, so the man's weight on her was a considerable burden, but with a will, there was a way, and eventually she had managed to set him down on a bench in a bit of an uncomfortable looking position. "Marry was it?" Leidia giggled, removing the bombs and setting them down beside William, hoping he would tend to them when he woke up.

"I think a little get away would be a wonderful idea for someone who seems as high strung as yourself,"

DO NOT! Lila shrieked, her voice sounding unnaturally higher than usual and was enough to make anyone cringe, but it didn't stop Leidia from returning to the bathroom where Marry was camping out, unaware of the time pause going on outside. A small spark of pride hit Leidia, glad to see she was still capable of selectively choosing who the magic would apply to.

"Lila-" Marry asked tentatively, but before she could speak any further Leidia had cut her off and had taken her hands giving them a small squeeze.

"That trip you mentioned on the train? I would love to go! I've already contacted my guardian, and he gave me the OK," she gave her a warm smile as Marry seemed to be happy, before Marry could express how happy she was to have company Leidia added onto her statement in a voice that seemed a bit happier than before "I also hope you'll catch me," Of course what Leidia said would confuse anyone, but she didn't give Marry any time to try and figure out what that meant. Her knees gave up, and the girl collapsed falling unconscious, Marry just barely grabbing the girl before her head hit the floor, alarmed by the suddeness of it.
 
Police swarmed into the mall, guns drawn. Those who'd been hostages only moments ago rushed outside. It was hard to wrap one's head around what just happened. First, they were all being threatened with bombs. All anyone could remember was a suited male teleporting around, drawing the girl's attention away from them. No one had time to express any sort of gratitude though. No one except a little girl that rushed up to where William had been set down and tugged on his suit.

The male woke up, feeling a bit rougher for wear than usual. He wasn't used to using his power that much, or being suddenly knocked unconscious. Before he could even attempt to ponder how he ended up on a bench, the little girl gleamed at him, a large smile plastered on her face. "Thanks again, mister!"

"Again?" he asked, trying to seat himself comfortably, having been set down in a rather unpleasant position. It took him a moment, but he recognized her as the girl that he rescued a number of weeks ago. From what he could see, it looked like she'd already been taken in by who looked to be her grandmother.

The old woman holding the little girl's hand offered a smile. "I want to personally thank you for saving me and my daughter, young man. This is the second time, isn't it? How can I every repay you?"

William shook his head in declination. "I can't accept anything. I only led her to the police station before, and I wasn't the one who stopped the criminal. There's someone else to thank for that." After seeing the two off, William looked to his side, having noticed a bag there earlier. Opening it, he almost jumped back. 'She'd seriously drop this thing right next to me?!' William paused to recollect himself, wondering where she could've run off to. 'Probably to get Marry...'

"Agent William Schelt, yes?" a voice interrupted his thoughts.

William turned, noticing a man wearing the typical outfit worn by those employed in the WA Special Forces. "Y-Yes, sir." William stood up and bowed in greeting the man.

"No need for formalities," he told him. "John Norvik, captain of the WA Special Forces, second squad. You called us in mentioning Kagari Masuda, but it looks like you've already settled things...?" John looked around, trying to locate where their supposed suspect was. "Where is she though?"

"Ah... Sorry about that, sir. I was in pursuit of her when someone came in, grabbed her, and knocked me out. My guess is that he was a demon. Tan skin, long, black hair."

John sighed, then nodded, making note of this new suspect's details. "We'll be sure to look for them. They couldn't have gotten far. We'll also be taking that evidence." He was pointing towards the bomb, which William hurriedly handed over. John was shocked to find that it was just a normal bomb. "She must've had magical influence over it, for automatic detonation in case something went awry. She's pretty smart, despite being young. What went down here? How'd you manage to stop her?"


Marry carried Lila out of the restroom as best she could and seated her on a bench, allowing her to lean on her instead of the cold wood. The mall was mostly empty by now. There was no doubt the police would clear the building until they could conduct a full investigation. Lila earned some rest though. "You're amazing, Lila." She wondered if Lila could hear her or not, but she figured she'd say it anyway. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure that you and Mr. William saved the mall together."

Along with pulling off someone as miraculous as that, she even came back and accepted her offer to attend the trip she was planning, although her speech pattern was a bit unusual. Part of her wondered if Lila was in her right mind, while the other part didn't really care. "Witches can be scary, but some of them are genuinely good, aren't they?" Marry smiled and relaxed herself, having become quite worked up over the whole ordeal.


"So, this Lillian Ackerman was the one to stop her in the end?" John asked, motioning for a nearby tech guy to search for her in the database.

"Lillian Ackerman, 19. Rank B."

"Rank B, huh? Update her rank to Rank A, please. Anyone capable of freezing an entire mall and defusing a situation like this has certainly earned at least that much. Do you know where this Lillian is right now?"

"Assuming she went where I think she went, she should be by the restrooms."

"Care to show the way?" John asked, motioning for him to lead the way.

William nodded, and they were off. Upon arriving, however, Lila was unconscious, resting against Marry's shoulder. Marry greeted William with a wave, but gave a befuddled look to the rest in the group.

"Looks like she'll be napping for a while. Can't say I'm surprised. We'll be returning," John told his squad. "Thanks for your work here and tell the same to Lillian. Don't forget to file a report of your own."

"Yes, sir," William replied, seeing the group off with a bow. Once the male was gone, William turned around and looked at Lila. "They're gone now."
 
Lila had remained asleep during the duration of the conversation, muttering ineligible words in her sleep agitated by the mess of voices, even more agitated by the annoying voice made its way back into Lila's head. Look at that! You're getting praised, for my work. Leidia chimed, making no effort to hide her glee and arrogance. Just as her words were spoken a loud ringing sound filled her head that sounding like an alarm clock but put at least 50 times worse. You've had a good nap, now get UP! Leidia demanded, the noise becoming more and more unbearable. Lila jolted away, gripping Marry's arm as a kneejerk reaction as she frantically looked around for the source of the now gone noise in her half away state.

She blinked away her confusion, still gripping Marry's arm as William addressed her, noticing the empty mall. "We finished?" Lila slurred, staggering to her feet and releasing Marry's arm as she did. Her head was spinning, trying to remember when the mall was 'saved' and how, but she could recollect small fragments of her memory, like the girl who said she would die if she stepped into the basement, and that she somehow got Daniel's approval for Marry's planned trip.

Her.

"There was another wish," Lila said, struggling with some words and even mispronouncing witch she was convinced the death-seer was who put her to sleep taking her prediction as more of a threat, but she couldn't focus well enough to see if she were still in the area, although it was highly unlikely she was. Suddenly feeling weak in the knees Lila collapsed back onto the bench, gripping the edges feeling as though she would fall off if she didn't.
 
Marry was startled by how suddenly Lila jolted awake and gripped her arm. "A-Are you alright?" Marry stood up as Lila did, noticing that the girl still seemed a bit woozy.

"Yes. You didn't miss much. The WA agents finally showed up. They've already left tho-" Before William could finish, Lila collapsed back onto the bench. Marry went down with her and gave her support so she wouldn't fall off.

"There was... another wish..." Lila muttered, though her voice was slurred and only barely audible.

"Another wish?" William asked, a perplexed expression on his face. 'What the hell happened while she was down there...?' he pondered. His guess was that she meant witch, and that perhaps she collapsed while she was down there and that someone else took care of the bombs and such. "Did someone bring her to you?" he asked Marry.

Marry shook her head. "She came back to me alone, and exclaimed that she'd be happy to go along with me on my trip. She said she already got her guardian's approval."

"Her guardian? Someone other than me?" Even though everything was resolved now, a bunch of unanswered questions were popping up. Lila mentioning another witch, coming back to Marry and ecstatically informing her she'd love to accompany her on her trip, the freezing of the entire mall... While he didn't know what, he knew something was up. 'I'll definitely have to speak to Stella about this. She must know something.'

"Alright, Lila. It's time to head home. The police will handle things from here." William looked around for a moment, and noticed the girl with a bunch of cats from earlier leaving the mall carrying two large bags of cat food. He wasn't sure if she'd stolen them during the hold up or legally purchased them, but all that mattered now was getting everyone back home.


After a long train ride home, Lila and co. finally arrived back in their section of the city. Lila was feeling slightly better by now, but still seemed pretty out of it. William offered Marry farewells for the both of them and walked her home, telling her along the way that she should make sure to get to sleep as soon as they got home.

Marry walked along by herself, smiling all the while. 'I can't believe she agreed to tag along. Tomorrow's going to be so much fun. I can't wait to tell mother.'

While she was making her way home, she spotted a rather peculiar looking male standing on the side of the road. Marry didn't recognize him, but there was something odd about him that made her curious. "Excuse me, mister. Are you alright?" Marry slowly approached him, making sure not to get close enough to be in harm's way.

"Witches are pretty amazing, ain't they?" he asked her, his voice low and coarse. "I was at the mall today too. Pretty cool what those two did."

By those two, Marry assumed that he meant William and Lila. "Y-Yeah..." she replied, beginning to make her way past him. She didn't know what it was, but something was telling her to get away.

"That's a great power, huh? Being able to control time? I'd love to have something like that."

Marry stopped, having finally realized what Lila's power was. 'So that's it? Lila did save the mall... And she exerted herself to exhaustion to do it...'

Before Marry could start walking again, the male grabbed her arm and looked at her with an eerie smile. "Hey. Ya wanna make a contract?"
 
~Episode Three: Kagari, End~​
 
Episode 4: A Day Off​

It wasn't the alarm clock that woke Lila up, but it was Stella, who busted down the door despite having a set of spare keys to it, "Wake up, Lillian!" she yelled, ripping the blankets off the now startled girl. Lila reached for the blanket that was pulled farther away from her in a taunting manner. "You have a date today, ya? Get up," Stella seemed more excited about the arrangement than Lila did herself, how she managed to get Daniel to approve of it in the first place was a mystery that was beyond her. Determined, she pulled the blankets around her tighter as soon as the red headed demon grabbed her sheets. "Oh, alright," she said flatly, letting Lila's blanket go and walked around the apartment, kicking away clothing, boards, anything that hindered her movement. Needless to say, it was a mess. Lila let out a small sigh of relief feeling Stella's almost suffocating presence leave, but her eyes shot open as soon as she heard the shower running and Stella making her way back into the room.

"Go away," Lila said, suppressing her fear as Stella approached her. Instead, the demon grabbed Lila; she was already conveniently wrapped it was only a matter of moving the screaming bundle from Point A to Point B. "You she-devil, put me down! Put me down now! Oh, my god, I'm too high off the ground, I'm going to die," she shrieked, flailing in hopes of being let go, but that only made her grip on her tighten.

"What? You use to love being picked up when you were little," Stella sounding a bit disappointed by Lila's adverse reaction and forced a small amount of heat to her arms that Lila noticed immediately. It was just a small threat, if you don't stop squirming I will literally set you on fire. Just a small threat. Stella kicked open the door to the bathroom whose bathtub was now flooded and dropped Lila in the water, blanket and all. While Lila struggled, kicking off the soaked blanket, Stella folded her arms. Clearly proud of what she did "Get use to it princess, you're going to be spending a bunch of time in the water, maybe you'll even tan a little, you're whiter than glue,"

"What the fuck! You nearly drowned me!"

"A shame I didn't, I'm sure that poor WA worker would've been glad to hear he's off your case,"

"Well, if that's the case I would be pretty damn happy too," Lila grumbled as she unplugged the bathtub and stood up, finally free of the blanket "You're cleaning this up when I'm gone," she said as she dragged the blanket out of the bathroom and tossed it onto the kitchen tile, Stella following behind and keeping a close eye on the girl.

"You have 30 minutes to get ready," she said flopping onto the couch "Better start getting ready now before I set this entire complex on fire," snapping her fingers and a small spark appearing each time she did, it was enough motivation to get anyone moving. Immediately Lila retreated to the bathroom, doing the usual routine of washing her face, brushing her teeth and other small tasks. Just as Stella asked Lila was ready within the 30 minutes, muttering swears, but packed and ready which is all that mattered to her.

"Salt water is going to get in my eyes, and it's going to burn like the devil in church," she said as she was dragged out of the apartment and sat down at the steps of the apartment complex, Stella's hand holding onto Lila's shoulder firmly to ensure she didn't try and run away with her magic or be dumb enough to try and run without it.

"That's actually a very bad comparison since I've been in church multiple times and the only thing that burned was the building, not me,"
 
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Birds were chirping outside and the sun was shining brightly. It couldn't help but put a smile on one's face, when the day someone made plans turned out to be perfect for their intents. Such was Marry's case, having plans to venture to the beach with her friend, more or less. She'd already packed her things, and would be on her way to Lila's residence as soon as she was finished brushing her hair.

"Are you all ready, dear?" a female voice asked from below.

"Yes, mother," Marry replied, a smile spread across her face. Placing her brush down, Marry grabbed her things and made her way downstairs. With a hug and a wave in farewell to her mother, she set off.

Dodence City was a generally nice place, and had little room for any parts of it to be called a "ghetto". Marry lived in an apartment complex with her mother and siblings, consisting of two floors, where the first floor was the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, and the top floor was the bedrooms. Her neighborhood was well off, despite them living in such a building, as the city made it a goal to keep all areas looking nice and spiffy.

The route between hers and Lila's places were filled with dozens of street stores and the like, tons of familiar faces lining the streets to sell their homemade goods. Marry had to remind herself not to purchase anything so as to save money for when they arrived at the beach. She wasn't afforded a chance to go out with a friend all the time, and she didn't want to make any mistakes.

It wasn't long before she found herself at Lila's residence, as they didn't live very far apart. Though she was excited, the mall incident was only a day behind them. She couldn't help but wonder if less than 24 hours of rest would be sufficient for Lila to enjoy herself, even if she seemed so adamant about going.

William was waiting outside the complex, and waved in greeting to her. "I'm sure she's just finishing up," he informed her.

Marry nodded and climbed the steps. Once she was in front of Lila's door, she gently knocked twice, waiting for the girl's response.
 
"Stella, do not!"

"Stella, do so!" The redhead replied as she avoided Lila who lunged herself at her, missing by just an inch and knocking over a bookcase that was overrun with a variety of abandoned art projects, the bottom of the cabinet covered in books a majority looking more handmade. Lila shrieked as she cowered away from the shelf as it fell down, a loud boom echoing throughout the room and just loud enough to be heard from the room below and the people outside. Lila took a sharp breath as the person below her began slamming what she assumed to be a broom against the roof.

"Shut the fuck up!" The stranger snarled yelling a string of words in what may have been Spanish.

"I-I'm sorry!" Lila stammered, patting the ground nervously unsure of what to do. She couldn't get reported to the landlord again. Not after her noodle incident. While Lila was occupied with the neighbor below her Stella flung open the door, wrapping her arms around Marry and bringing her into a sudden bear hug.

"By Gabriel's name you're absolutely adorable," She squeaked tightening her grip on the poor girl "But, why in the heavens would you be associating yourself with Lila?" her grip loosened as her gold colored eyes glazed over to Lila who was still arguing with the neighbor. Letting out her string of swears in the demon's cryptic language. And didn't Lila say this girl was just an ordinary human? Stella though, suspicion creeping into her thoughts. It was only a few seconds after Stella's suspicions that Lila looked up to see Marry, her eyes narrowing at the girl a bit confused by her presence.

"Oh, hey," Lila greeted her as she got up from her spot on the floor and picking up the backpack that was packed for their arranged trip "You've done anything weird lately?" her question was a weak conversation starter. She stepped over the busted bookcase and the couch to approach the pair. Lila had picked up on Marry's new unique presence as soon as she had been aware of the situation, Lila waved Stella away making her let her go out of her hug. The two were tempted to ask what power she had contracted with but found it best to keep to themselves.

It wasn't in Lila's interest to dig around in Marry's private life, and it would only take a few minutes for Stella to find the demon who had formed the contract. "Should we get going? I think we'd miss the bus if we stick around any longer." Lila motioned towards the door, deciding it would be best for Marry to avoid Stella and her death hugs.
 
"Ah... Not particularly..." Marry responded, unsure of whether or not to divulge what little she could remember of the previous night's events. From what she could recall, nothing strange had happened, and she hadn't noticed anything different about herself. What was perplexing her more than anything was the amount of commotion Lila and her guest had made. It left her questioning what type of person Lila really was, that she was involved with such...eccentric people.

"Yes, it would be best to hurry," Marry mumbled, barely able to speak as Lila rushed her outside. Whoever this guest was, it didn't seem like anyone Lila wanted her getting involved with. She took it as concern for her well-being and left it at that, seeing no reason to involve herself with those her friend viewed her as possessing no need to.

Smiling, she waved to William as they passed him down the stairs, bag in hand. William replied with a weak wave and a glance towards Lila, giving off a look of sternness. "Make sure to be friendly," he told her, knowing how she could get at times. Despite his "order", he knew she would be much more well-behaved around Marry, unless she tried to corrupt her. That was his biggest worry. That was insignificant right now though, and could be dealt with when the time came.

Heading up the stairs, William stopped to discover Stella locking the door of Lila's apartment. "William Schelt," he offered, giving a curt bow. It was a purely instinctual act, as he knew Stella offered little on the front of formalities. "Lila said we would speak about her upcoming trip?" Reaching into a pocket inside his suit, William removed the napkin which Lila had scribbled on a number of weeks ago. "Care to find a more comfortable place to chat?"
 
"Stella Grey," She replied as the door made a click signifying it was locked "Fancy meeting you again. Guessing that suit is a daily thing?" Compared to earlier Stella seemed much more calm, almost tired. Her eyes looked over the napkin, and she scoffed not needing to examine it anymore once her eyes saw the terrible penmanship. "And here I thought I was done with parent-teacher conferences once the kid got outta high school. Care to suggest a place? Anywhere I hang around would probably eat you alive."

Lila let out a sigh of relief once they were in what could be considered a 'safe zone' from William and Stella, forgetting to warn her that William might want to talk to her about the trip. To their luck, the bus pulled up just as they made it to the stop. "Well," Lila began, her voice trailing as she tried to think of a conversation to abolish any awkward silence that may occur. "Guess I'm just over thinking things." Lila gave Marry a suspicious glance before she boarded the bus just a bit bothered by her odd behavior, but declared it to be Stella's fault.
 
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William seated himself, looking over the food he'd ordered from the local eatery that they'd agreed to discuss things at. Stella was sitting across from him, her plate filled with food. He wanted to be surprised at how much the female could down, but he was quick to remind himself that she was a demon. Then again, they didn't need for such sustenance, so why...?

"The trip she mentioned..." William started, picking up a fork. "Where is she going exactly? Somewhere that would eat me alive?" That was the most important factor to determine. Though her recent actions made her one worthy of trust, it was still his duty to see to it that he kept an eye on her. If wherever it was that this trip would take place was inaccessible to him... Though, why would it? "And if it is such a place, might I ask why Lila is any different?"


The bus ride wasn't long, as they didn't live so far from the beach. Marry looked on in excitement, hardly able to believe she was there with a friend. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, grabbing her things in preparation to get off the bus. They hadn't spoken much on the bus, Lila having kept mostly to herself with her music. Marry spent the trip looking at the available scenery.

Once they were off the bus, the girl removed her sandals, placed them in her bag, and rushed through the sand. Neat as she was, she still enjoyed the warm feeling of sand underneath her feet. A sunhat on her head, along with the sunscreen she began applying, would keep her skin from becoming bacon. After covering herself, she offered the bottle to Lila, unsure of whether or not her companion had packed her own.
 
Stella rested her chin on her hand and listened to William who voiced what could be considered concerns to their planned trip. "Well," she began finishing off a sandwich thinking of what to say carefully, knowing she was walking on thin ice "When you wrap yourself in a familiar scent, a dog won't notice you if it's familiar with it. Applying this to Lila and this trip we would have to wrap her in this 'scent', and the 'dogs' wouldn't notice her. Aside from that, she's no different than you, but the place she's going would rip you both limb from limb, neither wouldn't have a chance at survival without proper help!" Stella laughed, amused by how dedicated William seemed to his job.

Stella flagged down a waiter and handed off her now empty plate, and to the waiters, shock ordered more food. "Any more questions?" she asked giving William an almost reassuring smile.

--------

As soon as Lila stepped off the bus, she felt her skin burn. Her eyes would've too if it weren't for the baseball cap that shielded them. "Do we have an Umbrella?" she muttered rummaging through the backpack that Stella packed for her. She was hopeful for a brief moment when she saw the bottle of sunscreen but quickly became bitter when she saw a note taped to it, written in handwriting worse than her own, but it was legible enough to make out the words 'tan pasty bitch.' Lila discovered the bottle to be empty after giving it a squeeze.

To her luck, Marry was an angel sent from the heavens and offered Lila some sunscreen. She gave her a curt nod and took the bottle, visible grateful for her help. After applying her share of sunscreen, Lila removed her shorts to reveal she was wearing a bikini bottom underneath. From there Lila wandered aimlessly around the beach with eyes locked on the ground "Wanna help me dig a hole?"
 
William listened, gathering what he could from Stella's analogy. However secretive she may have been trying to keep things, it became almost instantly apparent where she was going with all of this. There was only one place it could be going.

"Yes, in fact. I don't know if you were trying to beat around the bush with your metaphor, but it made things pretty obvious." Porcelain reached his lips as he took a quick sip of the hot beverage he'd ordered. "I didn't care so much about her usual shenanigans, but this seems a little much. What reason could a witch like Lila have in going to where your kind resides? You claimed you needed to mask her scent, so I find it highly unlikely that this is any sort of official business. I'm sure you're already aware that the demon world is explicitly off limits to witches."


Marry shook her head in response to Lila's asking about an umbrella, but it wasn't as though they'd go without one. Dodence Beach was pretty popular, and a number of chairs and umbrellas were afforded for visitors. While Lila began wandering aimlessly, Marry reserved a nearby setup for them and placed their things down.

"A hole...?" Marry asked, looking at Lila inquisitively. She couldn't really see any need for a hole, but she brushed it off as any one of Lila's dark-humored jokes. After undressing and revealing her own bathing suit, a pure one-piece, light red in color, Marry knelt down in the sand, looking towards the ocean. She wouldn't stare for long, as, much to her surprise, a goat walked through her line of sight, followed by a short, stocky man with a beard.

"Wha...?" Her eyes wide with bewilderment, Marry watched in awe as the goat passed her by. She found herself questioning if goats were even allowed at the beach. More importantly, why was someone walking around with a goat at all?

Noticing her staring, the man turned towards her and grunted. "What's wrong, missy? Ain't never seen a goat before?"
 
Stella couldn't help but blurt out laughing at his assumption and in the more serious direction he choose to take the conversation in. Propping her chin on the palm of her hand and she waved William's statement away as if he were nothing more than a frightened child.

"I had no intention of hiding the location of where we were going from you," She yawned, apparently not taking the situation as seriously as William would have liked "We also don't have a formal rule forbidding you from visiting our world. It's the issue of guaranteeing your safety s'all." Stella paused for a moment collecting her thoughts being careful not to get any words mixed up as she usually did with such tedious conversations."You may or may not have noticed Lila doesn't seem to be very physically capable, the girl can barely run a mile without collapsing and nearly being hospitalised, but walking is just fine. Her family tree has nothing to do with her frailty." Once again Stella paused for a moment going over her explanation once more, making sure she didn't revile anything that would cost her her head. "When Lila was dragged out of the car wreckage, her body was put in a bad enough state that forced Daniel to form a contract with her, and his magic is potent and can sometimes be toxic to the person signing the contract. Thankfully her 'wish' upon establishing a contract was do-able and virtually saved her life at a price. She builds up magic at a terribly fast rate that deteriorates her body. In our world, this isn't unheard of and in the past has happened to certain witches who made a contract under adverse circumstances, but because of it being such a minority here there isn't anyone who practices handling the magic build up correctly that we can trust. Sad to say I practically consider Lila my daughter and I feel safest taking her to doctors in my world who deal with this almost daily." Stella sighed and leaned back in her seat, bothered by the few lies in her statement, but it was credible.

-----
Lila looked up from the hole she was digging with the sound of a bell being the one to take her attention, the sand cupped in her hands spilling out from the cracks between her fingers. A goat only inches away from her face with a rather disinterested stare and a monotonous bleat coming from it. Hesitantly Lila scanned the beach trying to find Daniel only to turn up empty handed. "Well," she began placing a hand on the goat's head, still suspicious of it "You're real I guess." Lila caught a glimpse of Marry who seemed to be talking to a strange man, most likely the goat owner.

Getting off her knees and dusting off the sand Lila began to make her way towards her friend until she was dragged back down. The goat was now chewing on her t-shirt. Aggravated Lila tried to yank the cloth from its mouth only to jerk the goat's head in the direction she pulled, but its grip on the shirt didn't loosen. "Let go. What the fuck?" she grumbled pulling on the shirt harder, quick to pick up on the animal who was becoming more aggravated as she tried to free herself. A pit formed in her stomach, and immediately she removed the shirt awkwardly and a bit frantically, thankful that she even had the black bikini top that matched the bottom.

Just as she had freed herself, the goat bleated once more, this time, it clearly sounded angry. Frantically Lila scrambled to her feet as soon as the goat let go of the shirt. "M-Marry?" Lila stammered taking a step back once more her feet and glancing at the girl. The goat charged at Lila and she screamed, both struggling to run in the sand, but the goat clearly had the upper hand. "Marry!" Lila shrieked running towards her utterly terrified of the animal.
 
William wanted to believe that what Stella was saying was the truth, but she wasn't really someone he viewed as entirely trustworthy. If this was the type of person that Lila got her mannerisms from, there was no doubt that she was as sneaky (or liked to believe she was) as Lila. She did admit to where they were going, however. There was also a vague tidbit of information on file regarding a car wreck in Lila's youth, though the cause and such were still unknown to the WA. While he still had her hostage, he figured he may as well fill in the gaps of his knowledge. Make this whole exchange worthwhile, and then ready a report for the WA.

"This car wreck you mentioned..." William started. "We have a little information about it in our records, but there's nothing recorded as to what caused the crash. You mentioned that this Daniel person, whom I'd like to meet at his earliest convenience, made a contract with Lila to save her life. If her body was damaged enough to be life-threatening, he obviously couldn't have been very far away. Is there any chance that you might know what caused the crash?"


Marry watched in awe at Lila's scuffle with the goat, knowing full well that there was likely nothing she could do. She looked towards the gruff man standing beside her, hoping he'd call the goat off of her friend. The man seemed to be enjoying the site though. "She's takin' a likin' to ya, she has!" Or rather, it probably was until Lila forcefully yanked herself away.

The goat quickly took to chasing the girl, who retreated behind Marry. Not being one to be foiled by a single girl, the goat charged forward. Marry let out a shriek, and the man suddenly jumped in the goat's path and lifted her up into the air. Despite his small, bulky frame, he was still able to lift the goat as though it were a pillow. "Now that's enough, Lacey. No need to go getting all riled up." After the goat was calm once more, the man put her down and turned towards the pair. "Sorry 'bout that. She can get a lil' loopy sometimes 'round strangers. Name's Billy McGruff." His introduction given, the man offered his hand.

Reluctantly, Marry reached out and shook it, her face still bearing a nervous expression. "I-It's nice to meet you, Billy... And you too, Lacey." Marry looked towards the goat and tried to offer a smile, which the goat mostly ignored to go chew on what little grass peeked up through the sand. "My name is Marry."
 
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