Ideas.

They can be good, they can be bad. When they're good, they're extremely good, and when they're bad, they can be extremely bad. It's the ying-yang balance of innovation… helps separate ingenuity from imbecility.

Discretion is very heavily advised… especially if you had no say in the outcome of those aforementioned ideas… and in my case, specifically, I didn't know what the hell that idea was even about.

I just know that Amanda, a sudden spark of life ablaze in her gaze, was just very, very keen on seeing it come to fruition, and that sort of worries me.

"I'm borrowing Ash for a bit."

Okay, I'm no longer sort of worried. I'm extremely worried.

"Wait, hold on, what for? Amanda, hey - Amanda!"

Alas, words and gripes only too little voiced, and too late only heeded. She took Ash by the hand, unknowing, clueless, and ran… or she would have, had Ash not had the collective strength of a thousand gorillas.

Amanda tugged, and heaved away at her arm, while Ash just stood there in silent confusion listening to her strained grunts… in the end, I think the only thing she managed to pull there was a muscle.

"Lady Amanda," Ash placed back a figurine of Sera she held within her other hand, then turned to the wheezing, panting mess with her hands on her buckling knees. "Are you in need of me for something?"

"Yes," Amanda sputtered with a gasp, wiping the droplets of her efforts from her brow, before immediately snapping her gaze back at me all stern. "Tell her to follow me please."

"Why should I?" I asked, walking up towards them with arms crossed.

"You'll see why. In a while."

"No, you tell me why first."

She clicked her tongue. "No, you'll say no if I do."

Uh-huh, I see. "Then why the hell should I say yes now?"

"Because I asked nicely," She straightened herself upright, unfurling the creases in her dress with light pats. "Come on, you're curious as to what I got in store, I know it. You let her off with me, I'll satisfy that curiosity, and I promise I'll make it worth it."

Risk and reward was also another thing you gotta heavily consider. When it's good, it's good, and when it's bad… you get the idea.

Right now, there was a silent battle being waged inside of me, and I wasn't sure which side was winning.

Ash and I exchanged looks, both equally confused, but ultimately, both just as intrigued too.

Risk considered.

"Alright, fine," I nudged over at the Knight standing tall. "Go with her, let's find out what the princess over here is up to."

Ash diligently bowed her head. "As you wish, Master."

"Yes!" Amanda cheered, pumping a fist into the air, and with the other, clutched Ash's, this time hauling her off with her with total ease. "I'll message you where we will be when we're ready. You go on and get Adalia first - it's just straight ahead, follow the road - we'll see you then, bye!"

With how fast and frantic she had them going, Ash had only the slightest moment to bid me a wave before they both disappeared with a quick whirl around the street corner.

Alone again… naturally.

She'll text me when they're ready. Okay, ready for what, and ready for where? Glaring questions left hanging in the air, goddamn.

I'm regretting this decision already.

Well, at least there was a good and bad news thing to this whole ordeal here.

Bad news was that I was left to mull over the decision and its mysterious implications a little bit more with the rest of the journey I had getting to Adalia.

Good news was… well, that's the only bad news there was currently.

Currently, that is. Knock on wood.

Following Amanda's directions, I soon found myself finally emerging out of the eerie forest of the red-light district, and for a hurrah even more, I wasn't even within the vicinity of the town anymore.

No bits of cobble paving the path ahead, no rustic-looking buildings of timber and stone.

Now my every step reflected back at me the soles of my shoes in a bright white glossy finish, and the structures that surrounded me now were ones keeping within the current century.

A return trip back to reality was good every once in a while.

I was in another lobby again, one not too dissimilar from the one we first came through… only this one was less crowded, with fewer mythical beings roaming the halls, and it was also more on the narrow side of things.

If I had to take a rough guess, I'm probably walking within the walls somewhere at the back of the building complex.

Which just prompts me to wonder just how on Earth did Adalia wander herself from one end of this colossal building to the other so fast.

Vampires, man. They're like the new hedgehogs.

"This… this must be it, right?"

When I mumble, I'm unsure, and when I'm unsure, I mumble.

I found a counter, and on that counter was a desktop, some papers strewn around, a phone to the side… and a little plaque perched at the front that read >

So unless I was dyslexic all along, this has got to be this. Only problem here was -

"There's no one here," I peeked over the countertop, and saw a vacant office chair slowly swaying in its swivel. "Unless you're cosplaying Casper, maybe…"

I looked around the rest of the place… Adalia was nowhere in sight either. Was this really the right place, or do I really have to retake kindergarten lessons after all?

Suddenly, something gruff sounded, something rough… like sandpaper rough. A cough.

"Yes?" It spoke to me. "Can I help you with anything?"

Ice cold water. Yes, that's definitely what it was. Like someone just poured the entire Antarctic over me, letting it seep into my pores, allowing it to fester, wracking my body in tingles.

In layman's terms, I was flushed with dread.

All that, just from the sound of a voice alone. A voice gruff, a voice rough… sandpaper rough.

I spun back towards the counter.

"Oh, you..." I stopped myself in time from letting my head slam against the marble countertop. "Hello again."

"Hello to you, Clown," Resting atop the same counter were a familiar set of large bulky hands attached to a pair of even larger, bulkier arms. "Can I help you with anything?"

Nick, Nick, Nick, fucking Nick! AGAIN!

No, not Nick the security-man vigilantly checking passes at the front. No, not even Nick the farmer, with his freakish amalgamation of straw that made up his giant hat.

This time I was staring up at Nick the receptionist, his once wild bushy beard brushed and groomed into perfectly straight lines, donned also in a sleek, black, official-looking uniform that could easily blanket my torso three times over.

Though refined may be his appearance, trust me when I say it did barely anything to downplay the intimidation factor or his size… now he just reminds me of a certain someone else clad in black, and just as well-groomed and intimidating too.

All he needed now was a cane and a limp and Nick was good to go.

I looked up at him, and all I saw was scorn - stoking, fermenting - I felt discriminated against, the scowl above his forest of a beard was just blatant clownphobic.

"Yes, help me out here," I said, meeting his steely, stony gaze on tiptoe. "We're three for three coming across one another, I'm starting to get the feeling you're following me or something."

"I told you," His low, slow, booming voice rumbled. "I go where I am needed."

"And… you're needed here now?"

"Obviously," He narrowed his lips, slanted his brows, and bowed his head so courteously. "Now… can I help you with anything else?"

One of those three was not like the other.

I'm like, just about done trying to make sense of any of this… just go with it, you're better off without the headache, get it over with.

"Yes," I tried to keep my tone light… it was hard but I did, and that was more than he could ever say for himself. "I'm looking for someone that's looking for me. You might know her, she's the Vampire that I came along with. Remember her?"

Nick blinked once. "Yes. I heard about that issue. You lost track of your friend. Surprising…"

Bastard knew all about it already and yet still asked anyway. He's taking every low blow that's given to him, and I really do not appreciate it.

"I also heard that you stood up Amanda to go watch another woman instead."

"Oh shiii... here we go," My palms became soft pillows for my crestfallen gaze. "How did you even know about that, arghh…"

"That's not very considerate of a boyfriend, is it?" He continued to reprimand in his unique passive-aggressive way. "Didn't you say to me you'll do better? Tell me, is this really your better? I'm not sure you actually know what that word means."

"Look - "

"But you're a clown, so perhaps you were going for a joke with me back then. If that is so, clown, then I have to say, it's not very funny. I'm not laughing."

I doubt you've even laughed a day in your life! Don't you even… arghhh.

"I apologized."

"You shouldn't have had to in the first place," He said, his tone consistently dull and flat. "If you've been more considerate, if you've been more of a boyfriend…"

"Nick," I set my hands firm on the counter, forcing the most courteous smile I could muster. "I'm just looking for my friend, right now. Help me out with that and I'll be out of your hair and we can say goodbye and hopefully never see each other again. That's what we both want, right?"

He paused to stare.

"Right?"

"Yes," He finally said. "Of course."

Finally.

"Excuse me, then," Slowly, he spun sideways, taking a step that I swore actually rattled the plaque on the countertop. "I shall go and get your… friend, as you say she is."

There he was insinuating God-knows-what again. Ooh, I just know he was waiting for me to call him out on it, but I wasn't taking the bait this time.

I just kept on smiling. "Thanks."

"Just try not to run," Nick eyed me again as he passed by. "I notice you tend to do that a lot."

Prick.