ATM Rewrite: B2 — 15. Kari's Recovery

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1. Sora Moore (Our fox girl is on the rise!)

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Sora moved to one of the empty couches and dropped into it as everyone in the conference room mumbled to one another.  Kari was rising up through the elevator to get to them, so she could summon the demon to see what the crap was happening.

Wendy leaned over in the armchair next to her and flicked her ear.  “Psst.”

Frowning and glancing up, Sora sighed.  “What’s up?”

“Is Zen sleeping?”

Sending the desire, a shimmering image of the boy’s room appeared to spy on him.  “Mmm, looks like it,” she whispered upon seeing him curled up on his bed.

“Aww,” Wendy cooed, sinking into her chair.  “He’s sleeping as a bunny again; so cute.”

Sora swept it away with a short snicker at the glare her sister gave her.  “Don’t you worry; you’ll be able to do all the deviant spying you want soon enough.”

“What does that—”  a short yawn from the girl made Sora frown.

“Tired?”

“A little…  It’s been an emotional day, and I don’t have magic restoration powers.  My mana is crazy right now, too.”

“Oops… maybe attuning your mana better would cause a physical strain,” Sora mumbled, glancing off to the side and spotting Devlin and Vondoom still talking to one another about a mole.  “Maybe you should get some sleep?  Sorry for—Wendy?”

She hopped up to hug her.  “Thanks for thinking about me.”

“You’re not mad…  What’s wrong?”

Pulling away, Sora’s ears fell back a little as Wendy smoothed out her bangs and looked a little melancholy.

“I know you’re doing your best, Sora.  I think I will need to g—get some rest,” she yawned again, shoulders sagging.  “I really wanted to be here and help you, but my eyes keep closing on me.  Could you give me a magical hit?  Where even is Kari; I thought she was supposed to be here?”

“Umm.”  Glancing at the entire opposite side of the building, she heard the frustrated wolf exit the elevator.  “Kari’s still figuring out the layout, and I think me using magic to spike you got you into this stupor.  No, no, go get some sleep!  I’ll be fine!” Sora urged, realizing this was exactly what she needed to launch ‘Project Make Wendy Grow A Cute Brunette Tail.’

“Are you sure?”  Wendy asked, brown eyes a little red and watering.

“Go before Kari gets here!”

“Haha.  Okay…  Check on your mom?”

“Our mom, and of course.”

One more hug and Wendy was off to bed to join Zen and the twins in the world of dreams.  Sora turned her attention back to those that remained, preparing for what was likely to come.  She had such a big friend group now and so many things to solve, but solve them she would.

Vondoom was discussing timelines with the White Rabbits and triplets, going over every detail that they all knew to discover some hidden plot within the Foundation.  Sora wasn’t too interested in that, though.  They could handle their Occult World Order and Foundation drama.

The fae were on the up now that she’d opened up Miami, and she expected the king and queens would be setting up their own stuff.  Devlin was doing a lot of thumb work on his phone, making plans to keep things moving.

Zen and the twins were knocked out, her new sister was off to bed, and Eyia was working things out with Jin.  Howie and Daisy were a lovey-dovey couple.  Everyone at school was now living a totally normal life, thanks to her mother’s hand, and, speaking about her mother, she and her father were together again, needing time to sort through their own issues.

Overall, she’d done a pretty decent job, she had to say, considering everything that had been thrown at her.  Eric was in stasis mode, Jenny was dealt with, and Devin… she had no clue what was happening with him, but screw the wolfwere.  Diane had some red flags; the witch was gone, though, off on her hunt for her teacher, and Sora wasn’t missing the creepy French woman’s company.

She’d stopped the end of the world with the 72 Pillars’ scary artifact.  She’d saved a Moon Wizard.  She’d stopped a creepy yandere AI girl from taking over the world.  And now, she was the savior of the fae by ‘kind of’ stopping an Unseelie plot.

Sure, there was some Unseelie Harald, or something or other, that was plotting who knew what in the background, but that was for another day.  The Lemegeton were today’s problem.

Sora waved her tail as Kari came storming through the hallway at a brisk walk.  “Welcome home.”

“Why do you need four elevators?!  I keep getting lost in this place,” she snarled, amber eyes darting around to see how empty things had gotten.

Kari’s mouth tightened, and Sora could see her being annoyed that so few people were up in arms about Aiden disappearing; her flicking tail and twitching ears more than gave away what her iron-clad aura hid.  The wolf was a softy underneath all that bluster, and she could see her worried about the Firebird.

“We didn’t have four elevators,” Sora laughed, stretching out with a groan.  “When the Foundation tripled our living space, they just kind of came with the territory.  Anyway, take a seat and calm down—it’s gonna be okay.”

The wolf’s crossed arms tightened under her bust.  “I’m not worried about Aiden.  Whatever took him will likely be after me, as well.”

Sora pulled her unbound hair over the armrest and motioned for her to sit in the chair Wendy left.  “Heh, sure, whatever helps you save face.”

“Why did I even bother?”  Kari snarled, tail swinging to the right as she went for the elevator.  “It’s not like you care about anything other than your own friends or family.”

A sly tilt came to Sora’s mouth as she spun her finger in the air, temporarily taking the elevator offline.  “Oh, that one’s broken!”

“Wha—then I’ll go to the next one!”

“Nope!  Those just broke, too,” Sora giggled.

“Sora!”

Legs swinging off the couch, Sora got up and walked over to the fuming black-haired girl, purse floating beside her.  “Let’s take a deep breath.  And look at this—I have the card to summon a demon right here.  Just come over here… and take a seat,” she prompted, moving around to guide her into it.

“I can walk on my own!”

“Geez,” Tamil giggled.  “Woof, talk about an untrained doggy!  Tamila, don’t—eek!”

The triplet hopped over the couch to hide at Kari’s murderous glare.  “Are you mocking me?!”

“Chill!  Chill!  Down, girl,” Sora sighed, finally getting her to sit.  However, Kari’s tail broke the left side of the armbar.  “I thought a walk would cool you off a bit, but you’re as wound up as ever!  Eyia’s not here—you’re good!”

Kari’s puffing chest would put the Big Bad Wolf to shame as her glowing amber eyes drilled into her, but Sora knew better than to back down after learning the wolf was actually a sheep underneath her sharp fangs.

“That’s it—breathe…  Haaa.  Kari—no, Kari, look at me…  It’s okay!  No one is going to snatch you up while I’m here.  It’s okay.  We’ll get Aiden back.”

Red face cooling off, Kari let her bristly tail hang off the side.  By her short shiver, Sora figured she was forcefully keeping it still as now she refused to make eye contact.  “I’m not scared someone will take me; I can take care of myself.”

Sora rolled her eyes.  Kari was hot and cold.  At first, Aiden got taken because of her and they’re after her, then the wolf was saying she didn’t care about anyone other than her own family, implying she was worried about him.  Now, Kari didn’t need her help because she could take care of herself.

The girl was a walking contradiction, lost and terrified of losing anything she already had, and an uneasy twist knotted Sora’s gut as she saw the tall, agitated wolf doing her best to keep her emotions under control.

“What’s with that stupid look on your face?”

Tami grunted from her own armchair.  “Meow.  More of a cat than a wolf.”

Closing her eyes for a moment, Sora knew what she had to do.  Kari got to her feet, but they weren’t touching the ground for long as she reversed gravity, making sure to put specific attention on Kari’s clothes rather than her body that could nullify her magic; if she wanted to break free, she’d have to rip them off.

“Why do you keep getting in my—Sora!”

“Come here real quick, Kari.  Let’s talk…”

Launching Kari in a semi-ping-pong way through the air and through the halls, she put her hands on her hips and looked at the triplets with dull eyes.  “Can we not cause more problems?  Kari’s been through a lot.”

Vondoom ignored all of it, too busy to bother with such trivial emotional outbursts.  Devlin had a worried expression but just offered her an encouraging smile.  She turned and bustled into the kitchen, where she’d sent her.

“What are you staring at me for?”  Tamila sniffed.  “For once, I kept my mouth shut.  I’m more interested in what we get out of this deal with the Foundation.  Can we put away the Reality Anchor?”

Vondoom’s neutral tone was steel.  “No.”

“Rats…”

Putting the gang in the back of her mind, Sora entered the kitchen to Kari’s leer.

“Put. Me. Down!”

“Okay.”  Sora snapped her fingers and swept by the wolf to open the fridge.  “I put a sound barrier around us so no one can hear us…  Here, have you eaten?”  she asked, taking out a big cut of steak that someone had ordered.

Kari’s rage quelled a tad as she looked at the twinkling lights Sora put up to have a visual aid as to where the bubble was.  “Why don’t you just summon the demon, and I’ll beat it out of them?  Let’s just get this over with!”

“Haaa.”  Sora leaned back against the counter and stared at the agitated wolf.  “Aiden helped me a lot, too, Kari.  I get you’re upset.  Hell, when the whole world was falling apart around me, it took my dad holding me to calm me down…  I know you don’t have anyone like that.”

“Humph.  I don’t need anyone.”

Sora rubbed her eyes, beginning to get frustrated.  “Just shut up!  I’m the one person you can’t say that to!”  she shot back, meeting her glare and listing off whatever came to her mind.

“I was there for you when you were in the elevator!  I was there for you when you broke down back at the stadium and helped you fight your brother!   I was there for you when you had nowhere else to go!  So don’t give me that shit!  What the hell do I have to do to get it through your thick skull that I’m trying to be your friend!”

Scratching at her left ear, Sora hissed out a breath.  “You know, my mom asked me if I wanted to get rid of you for good?”

Kari’s ears folded back, and a lump formed in her throat, tail freezing in its motion.

“Yeah!”  Sora snarled, tail a frenzy of activity.  “I could have punted you off to my mom knows where, but do you know what I told her?  Hmm?  I told her I don’t know you—I want to get a chance to learn who you really are because you damn sure aren’t the terrifying wolf everyone else thinks you are!  You’re… like me, in a lot of ways,” she choked, emotion catching her.

Taking in a big gulp of air, she breathed it out.  “Haaa.  Kari, I’ve gotten you help with Mary, I’ve given you power over your brother, I’ve gone to bat for you against Eyia and her trauma with fenris wolves, I waited for you to talk to this demon…  I’m trying so hard to keep things together for everyone—to give you all the opportunities you never got.  The chance you gave me by kicking me out of school and going against Jenny and Lori…”

Sora sniffed, breathing in deeply and not wanting to cry again after everything with her mother, and tears were already falling down Kari’s red cheeks.  “I keep offering you my hand, and you keep fighting me!  What do you want me to do?”

“…I don’t know,” Kari whispered through her thick throat, rubbing her arm.  “I don’t know what I want.  I just—Aiden waited for me…  He was there and caught because he was waiting for me to be done with—with…  I don’t know what to do.”

She rubbed her cheek and walked around the bar, hugging herself while stopping to look down at Miami.  “Why is he so stupid…  Anyone who gets involved with me ends up hurt or turning against me.  What am I doing wrong?”

Lip starting to tremble, Sora moved over to hug her from behind, feeling her quakes.

“I know it’s hard to trust people—I know how hard it is…  Everyone I knew got hurt if they tried to help me…  Jenny turned my psychiatrists and teachers against me, made my best friend leave… manipulated things so my own dad didn’t trust me!  I know it’s hard to open up—and I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been with Eric.  I want to help.  I need to help…”  she admitted.

Falling silent for a time, Kari cleared her throat and pulled away after several seconds, moving to sit on the bar stool.  Sora followed, tail as low as Kari’s as she sat next to her, waiting for the wolf to settle down.

A pained laugh broke the hushed atmosphere as Kari choked and rubbed her cheek with her palm, head falling to the marble countertop.  “I’m so useless… here having a breakdown when Aiden is being held by demons.”

Turning her head to look up at her, Kari combed back her thick black hair.  “Guess the roles are reversed.  I used to have all the control, and you were the little fox, tiptoeing around my territory…  Now, you have the whole world backing you, and I’m… nothing.”

Sora giggled and lowered down to the cool surface to join on Kari’s level, pulling her own hair back.  “That’s me, the alpha playing beta, not to upset your ego.  I mean it, though, Kari; hang out a little.  I swear, Eyia will be your best friend once she gets over the whole fenris wolf thing; you want a good game of basketball, Eyia’s your match.”

“I don’t know,” Kari sighed, pushing herself up and folding her arms to lean against the counter.  “You heard Ylva; my uncles will stop at nothing to have me…  I’m not worth it.  Ugh…  How am I going to get Aiden back?”

“Changing the subject?”  Sora nudged her with a short laugh.  “Do you know who I am?  Ms. Misfortune herself!  Plus, my mom said she doesn’t give a shit about your uncles.  Stick with me, and I’ll make you alpha wolf soon enough.  Trust!”

“Can you ever be serious?  Are… you serious?”  Kari asked with a strained smile, shaking her head and chuckling to herself.  “The demons?”

“Uh, duh!  Why else would I keep asking?  And the demons?  So what?  I’m the master now,” she scoffed, floating over the black card to spin it on her finger.  “They should be scared of me because I’m The Devil herself.  I already sent one of theirs back to Hell with her tail between her legs… and I’m feeling a little scorned.  You?”

“Mmm.”  Kari’s head tilted to the left, ears following the motion.  “More pissed than scorned.”

“Good enough!”  Giving her an impish grin, Sora slid off her stool and held out a hand.  “Weren’t you the one that told me you didn’t want to be a lone wolf forever?  So, take my hand, Ms. Alpha, and become the master of your own life and a part of the team!  It’s better to be in a pack than alone, right?  What do you say?”

Kari streamed out a hot breath and got up, towering over her, as usual, but Sora didn’t feel the heat she usually did in the face of the smiling wolf.  “I say…  Damn, it’s good to be home.  Mary said I had to open up to find one friend before our next session…  I guess you count.”

Sora snorted as the girl played along and took her hand.  “Fake it until you make it!  I have your back, though, Ms. Alpha; I mean it.  And welcome home!  Now, let’s go get your ‘caring’ big brother back from the sulfur pigs because we’re having a roast!”

“Like the pig part,” Kari chuckled, taking the piece of meat and munching on the raw steak as if it were a snack.  “Brother?  Mmm.  He’s more like the cute family pet.”

Sora winced and led the way back, dropping the sound barrier, magically clearing up all the blubbering they’d both done.  “Oof!  Harsh.  That’s the Kari I know!  Cute, though, hmm—like blond boys?”

Kari chewed her next mouthful as her head bobbed the opposite way as her tail.  “Eh… they can have their appeal.”

“Ooh.  I can agree with that.  Wendy’s apparently into bunnies.  Yikes!  Am I right?”

“Yeah, someone might eat him by accident,” Kari smirked, making Sora’s stomach hurt as she savagely ripped apart the steak.

“Alright!  Now that we’re all here let’s get this Hell ritual started!”

Entering the conference room, she giggled at the stares they got from the drastic shift in the atmosphere.  All Sora had to do was be blunt and punch Kari in the face with her intentions because, dammit to hell, the wolf was dense.  Kari wasn’t on the fence about ‘tentative friendship’ anymore, which was a win and possibly something Aiden’s ability helped kickstart by getting him kidnapped.

Vondoom promptly stood and adjusted his suit.  “I have the ritual site being prepared four floors down.”

Sora smiled and snatched the black card out of the air with two fingers, her other hand resting on her hip.  “Who needs all of that?  If it’s a calling card, knock, knock, Ar’goth!”

Feeding the desire into the object, it lit with obsidian flames; her magic synchronized with its negative force, completing the missing parts.  Tossing it at the wall, everyone else rose to their feet as black fire erupted on contact before pulling into a large gateway.

Her lips tilted into a smirk as the air chilled, and a hush fell over the group.  Vapor became visible as a foul stench flowed through the portal.  A suppressed, manic wave pulsed out of the flames as the antlered, classy-dressed demon stepped through.  The lights dimmed, long shadows deepening as the tall evil entity came to a stop, bone-like skull drifting in its observation of where it had been summoned.

“How… brazen to summon a Wendigo without seals or on the Witching Hour, Daughter of Mia.  I suppose you are not one that would require such precautions,” he finished, empty sockets settling on her.  “We meet again.”

“Quite the entrance.”  Sora held up her hands and slow-clapped three times, each one causing a supernatural bell to ring as the smell, negative energy, and area were sealed off from the demon.  “Consider yourself locked inside.”

Kari walked forward so casually that Sora was a little caught off-guard as her clothes melded into her expanding figure.  An oppressive sensation that brought Sora back to the stadium gripped her chest, which was unlike anything else due to Kari’s powers as a Founder rivaling or perhaps countering hers.

Dark fur spread across her body with her transformation, and nearly three meters tall, Kari’s nose twitched as the big bad wolf loomed over the demon.  Lips peeling back to reveal glistening white fangs, she snarled, “No games.  Bring Aiden here, or I will devour you, corrupted soul and all.”

Ar’goth didn’t flinch, yet his tone said he was impressed.  “No games, Daughter of Alva.  Unfortunately, I cannot give you what you seek, whatever threats you give.”

A low rumble began to shake the floor as Kari’s anger levels increased, and Tamila jumped behind the couch with her big sisters.

“Why’d you tempt that monster, Tami?”  the little sister grumbled.

“Hiss!  She’s a scary wolf, Tami!  What do we do?!  We should run!”

“Shut up, and aren’t you supposed to be a dog right now, Tamil.”

“I’m too scared to bark!  Meow…  Uh-oh…  No-ho-ho-ho…”

Sora sighed, feeling a little bad for the sisters since they didn’t have any kind of defenses to withstand Kari’s aura with their abilities locked.  By the embarrassed cry, the middle sister had wet herself, which wasn’t unexpected under Kari’s heavy-hitting pulses, and her magic didn’t shield them in time since she didn’t know the wolf would do this in the first place.

“Kari, please…”

Her large head tilted her way, narrowed eyes catching hers before reverting back to her partial-human form and allowing Sora the leeway to help the trembling, quite normal girls without their powers.

“And why can’t you?  Did you already pass Aiden along to your boss?  Good.  Bring him to me.”

Ar’goth nodded at the five white bunnies that were spontaneously around him.  “Sadly, no.  I was intercepted, and Aiden was taken by another faction.”

“Who?”  Kari demanded, fingernails digging into her palm.

“Theirs.”

Finished cleaning up and supporting the thankful triplets, Sora’s ears fell back as she looked up to see the temperate demon pointing right at the three.

Tamil’s mouth dropped open as every eye went to them.  “Meow?”

“It couldn’t have been us!”  Tamila squawked, hugging her dog-suit, one-piece wearing big sister tight.  “Tamil is stupid; she can’t even play a dog right!”

Their big sister came to their rescue, small arms resting on the back of the couch as she set her head on them.  “Ugh.  Something like this…  The Black Queen probably took him.  Maybe a trade for us?  I can’t say for sure, though.  Typically, the Occult World Order isn’t so tightly knit for something like this.”

Vondoom’s gaze went from the little, pink-haired child to the temperate Wendigo.  “Was it the Black Queen?”

“It was,” he confirmed with a short chuckle.

Devlin dropped into his chair, his white fist held against his nose.  “This is serious if the Black Network gets involved.  It must be a move to meet Sora.”

“Great.  It doesn’t matter,” Kari grunted.  “Have the annoying girls over there call their boss and bring Aiden.  Done!”

Vondoom worked around his jaw, gaze drifting to Sora before returning to Ar’goth.  “The Black Queen hired The Lemegeton to collect Aiden for information on how their relic was sealed, which is how you know about Sora.  You didn’t bring him to your boss because your boss had you hand him off to your employer.”

Sora’s brain was about to explode through all the games these organizations were playing with her in the middle.  “Argh!  Can anyone just knock on the door and ask to talk like normal people?!  I guess not,” she snarled, gesturing at Vondoom, “with an invisible army surrounding me.  I feel like all of you are my enemies in some shape or fashion!”

Kari crossed her arms with a nod.  “Lines up.  They want you to follow their leash and agendas.  Everyone has one.  If this Black Queen has Aiden, then that’s who we need to go to.”

Devlin cleared his throat.  “It’s not that simple, Kari.  The Black Queen is in contact with every doppelganger across the multiverse; she’s probably the strongest magic user there is because of that fact.  You can never be sure what their network wants.  We’d need a green light from the EC Council.”

Vondoom slowly smiled, making Devlin look like he’d been slapped by the senior director as he said, “Actually… we don’t.”

We… don’t?  Anything dealing with the Black Queen is Level 4 Clearance.”

“Not if Sora decides to run off to meet her.  We would have to join and send a message as to the circumstances.  It would force one of the EC to descend their lofty tower to make the trip themselves…”  He looked up at her.  “If you wanted the Occult World Order and Foundation to work out some kind of… compromise, Sora, then this is the perfect opportunity to get two very unlikely people into the same room.  It is also a perfect place for a trap.”

Sora bunched her cheeks to the side, pondering the decision.  If Kari was with her, then no magic could touch the wolf, no matter what level this Black Queen was, she didn’t trump a Founder’s abilities, and Kari was magic’s counter.

On the other hand, HAREM nearly being released was premeditated, the Unseelie uprising and spies went unnoticed, requests for aid from the fae blocked, and an uncomfortable thought plucked at the back of her mind.

“Mr. Vondoom…”  she slowly began.

“Yes?”  he asked, everyone’s eyes on her.

“Would it be possible for… someone to hire the Lemegeton posing as the Black Queen?  Could the mole that has been causing so much chaos in the Foundation be doing this for something else?”

Vondoom dropped into his seat and forced a laugh, rubbing his eyebrow with slight annoyance before tiredly gesturing at the phone in Devlin’s hand.  “Yes, Sora.  It certainly is possible, but it is unlikely.  I would not advise you to take hasty actions.  We should be cautious and send a formal message to the Black Queen, but…”

He tilted his head toward Kari.  “As I’m sure you were about to shout, it might be too late for Aiden by then.  We can’t be sure of the motives of who took Aiden, and is there a meet location?”

Ar’goth’s chest shook with silent laughter.  “The abandoned Coconut Grove Playhouse theater in… four hours, at the Witching Hour,” he said, pulling out an old pocket watch to check the time.  “That is all the information I was given.”

“Not suspicious,” Kari grunted.

“Not at all,” Vondoom whispered.  “We can only go off of what information we have, but we can’t stop you from doing anything, Sora.  It is your decision.”

It clicked in Sora’s mind why he’d been staring at his phone so noticeably.  We’re being spied on!  He wants to leave it open to track whoever is listening.  If that’s the case…  Be a teenager!  Well, unless Vondoom is actually the mole… which is possible.  Great.

“Yeah, Aiden might be hurt!  Umm, can we be sure it is the Black Queen by releasing the triplets?  You’ll tell me the truth, right… even if it is a plot by the Black Queen?  Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

Tami glanced at her frowning sisters and sighed.  “No, Sora.  We can’t promise you anything… but you are a very good friend to have, and I would not want to sour what little of a relationship we’ve fostered through kidnapping you.”

Sora giggled and nodded.  “Well, I do what I want, apparently, and this is what I want to do!  So…”  Pointing at the briefcase held in the hand of one of the White Rabbits, Sora tugged on it.  The rabbit let go, and it was launched toward the sliding glass door, which slid open on her magical prompt and rocketed into the sky.  “Figure out what’s going on with the OWO!”

The triplets gave her a happy wave, and a crash of willpower folded in around them, slipping them through space.

Devlin ran his fingers through his hair.  “I… hope that was the right decision.  Although, they were a lot more temperate than what I read in their file.”

Sora lifted her eyebrows, spotting Kari’s unsure glare that she’d made the wrong decision in letting their only link to the Black Queen go.  “I’m going to take a nap, and then we’ll see what mess we’ll find Aiden in…  This is so weird!  I just need some time to clear my head.”

The demon was about to return through the gateway when Sora snapped her fingers, destroying the connection and pointing at him.  “No, no, no!  You get to sit in a cage until all of this is over, bud.”

Flames lit on her tail as she flicked the red inferno toward him, constructing the potent, purifying magic into a box to trap the man.

Ar’goth simply formed a cushy black chair and took a seat where he stood.  “I am at your disposal.”

Devlin sighed.  “This is escalating fast.  I’ll stay and watch him with the White Rabbits, Sora.  Like you said, something doesn’t smell right about this… What is the end goal?”

“I don’t know,” Sora groaned, making the box soundproof so he couldn’t eavesdrop on them.  “Well, I’m going to talk to my dad.  Kari?”  The wolf joined her, a sour look on her face.  “Oh, c’mon, we can’t do anything for four hours anyway!”

“You could have at least asked my opinion…”

“Ugh.”  Running her fingers through her hair before scratching her ear, Sora nodded.  “No, that’s fair.  I said you were a part of the pack and all, then went and did it all on my own…  Damn, it’s a problem for me recently, I guess…  You’ll have to call me on it.  Sorry.”

Kari’s face softened.  “Thanks for not yeeting me into another universe, by the way…  It would suck to have to try and start over again in a new place.”

“Yeah.  Let us tail girls stick together, right?”  she said with an encouraging smile.  “By the way, umm… hey, come here,”  The wolf’s eyebrows furrowed as Sora made another sound barrier and still dropped her voice to a secretive whisper.

“What’s with the secrecy?”

Looking back, a grin spread across Sora’s face.  “I’m going to turn Wendy into my real sister!  She’s going to go through a transformation like I did.  Want to prank her with me and play it off like she’s crazy?”

An incredulous smile lifted the wolf’s lips.  “Uh… sure?  Is that why you’re going to rest for a bit?  It would be helpful, I guess, to have another vulpes Founder, but doesn’t she hate me?”

“Bah!  We’ll get her over it.  Like I said, I got your back!  Now, get that killer instinct going because we’re about to kick some tail with whoever took Aiden…  Unless it’s Aiden’s tail feathers for making us worry, and it’s nothing!”

Kari pointed at her with a dangerous gleam that used to make Sora quake, but now she reflected the twinkle.  “If he’s just sipping tea with some older lady, then… hehe, yeah.”

“That’s what I’m saying!  Okay, I need to go change my best friend’s entire anatomy and invade her with my essence—”

She came to a dead stop as Kari creased an eyebrow.  “Woah, that’s uh…”

“Yeah!  Uh, that didn’t come out right.  Eh-hehe.  You know what I mean!”

Kari walked away.  “No, I do not!”

“Kari!  Kari, no, it’s—complicated!  I only know what I’m supposed to do, not the whole process!”

She giggled at the smile on the wolf’s face as she went to the elevator to do something, probably scope out the place.  “Sure.  You do you, Sora.  I’ll see you there.”

“I’m not a weirdo, which… is totally not what a weirdo would say!  Kari!  Haha!  Okay, maybe I’m a little weird.”

Laughter really was the best medicine for stress; slowly but surely, all of them were overcoming their traumas by supporting each other, and Sora was here for it.

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