Taking their time returning to her grandfather’s house, Rachel took the opportunity to learn more about her now part Eldritch boyfriend and the unusual disguised little girl.

Yseress begrudgingly introduced herself, still not entirely on board with the whole conclusion, but Anthony made a valid point in that Rachel had dealings with Hades; he was willing to listen and come to understand how it happened, which branched into the topic, Nia chiming in to illustrate her own daring, somewhat embellished part in the adventure.

Coming into a more populated area, Yseress returned to Rachel’s Core; at first, she thought it was because the Nephilim didn’t want to cause a scene, but it didn’t take her long to realize she was just self-conscious about her sickly appearance. She was fairly vain, Rachel pondered, then again, all she’d known was Hades, literally, from the moment she was born, and self-image meant a lot there.

On the other hand, Nia was a bubbling teen, excited to meet the first person she could identify with. Jaenona’s attentive and indulging personality only further served the Living Denier to instantly feel a connection; although Rachel was a little leery that it was simply a defensive tactic of the severely weakened entity.

Still, she was surprised how willing to accept certain things since Cuba. Sure, it had heightened her paranoid mind in some ways—as having a living connection to Hades might—yet it also brought a new level of understanding that not everything is as black and white as it seems.

Whatever reservations she might have, Anthony seemed shockingly normal—self-conscious and frightened about how she saw him—and she could understand that far more than most.

Few people would give him the benefit of the doubt and, after what happened to him after The Oscillation—having lost his job and been seen as a threat—he wouldn’t want the few people that did accept him to turn away.

Self-reflecting on that line of thought while in conversation with her boyfriend brought a new perspective that Rachel appreciated. Her own team and friends had been extremely considerate of her own changes; naturally, they’d been skeptical and reserved when she took Izanami’s deal, yet they’d also been in a desperate situation that helped.

Of course, her over-analytical mind cast back to their own issues—most of them had something that they were nervous about sharing—and accepting one another with their flaws was a part of what drew them all together.

Was Anthony any different? When Mythickin were being compared to the Seattle Vampire, he hadn’t batted an eye in seeing her as an individual, rather than grouping her in a group identity. She didn’t know anything about Eldritch beings, and while a degree of distrust was healthy, there was a spectrum to everything.

She could give Jaenona a fair chance to show who she truly was, which sparked another thought in Rachel’s mind, one she both was terrified of and begrudgingly felt was necessary if she was to trust Anthony again—he and Jaenona would need to pass the family test.

As Rachel questioned and laughed at Anthony’s little jokes and melancholy responses to the tragic fate of Cuba, she built up her courage, trying to rationalize it against the gut-wrenching possibility of opening up one of the few things she truly cared for in life to potential danger—yet if she didn’t take the step, anything she did would be hollow and a feigned effort.

In the time she’d spent with him so far, she saw he really hadn’t changed that much; in fact, he was pretty fearful she would reject him outright, causing guilt to flood Rachel’s chest.

Rachel hadn’t even anticipated Anthony would reject her—taking his own opinion or concerns for granted; displaying her own ego and skewed view—she had to check herself. She’d almost jokingly thought how funny it would be to see how he reacted, which showed how arrogant she’d become, and she couldn’t totally blame it on Hades’ energy.

Ears tilting to the left, Rachel hummed, tail stiff and expression tightening as she gave him an inquisitive stare. “What… do you think about me being connected to Yseress—me being connected to Hades? I’ve been the one judging you, but we haven’t talked about that yet. Thoughts?”

Nia’s cheer fell as she trailed off, fingers tightening against her stomach to listen to the conversation; both she and her new friend looked to Anthony, waiting for his answer.

The Eldritch of Dre’jna Jaenona Le’thrga took a deep breath before letting it stream out, looking off to the side to follow a somewhat enthralled family of four, Rachel and Nia having the hearing to listen to the very honest children whisper excitedly to their parents about the unusual group.

“Hmm… I don’t know if I want to address that yet, to be honest. I’ve been too panicked as to how both you—most importantly—and the rest of the world would feel if they found out about me. What are they saying?”

Nia giggled at his question, apprehension vanishing; she would be a girl that would love the assumptions they made.

Rachel ran her fingers through her hair with a forced smile, waving at the couple who returned the awkward gesture across the pathway docks. “Obviously, they’re wondering if Jaenona is our kid and Nia is my sister—they know who I am because, well, I’m the face of the government’s push on the guild scene—and they’re debating if we’re married.”

“Mmh-hmm-hmm-hmm!” Nia snickered, skipping forward to nudge Rachel’s side, and she glared down at the teen as she tried to teasingly flick her tail, blocking the action.

“Stop…”

“Hmm? We’re a happy family! I’m your adorable little sister—they’re wondering if The Oscillation changed families to be similar, too—hehe, they think you’re an old lady!”

“Thirty or thirty-five isn’t that old,” Rachel mumbled, voicing what the couple was talking about; ironically, they hadn’t even considered they’d be able to eavesdrop from their distance.

“Oh! The lady wants to thank Rachel for shutting down that Montana Crystal since her little brother lives there.”

It was supposed to be kept a secret… Wow, life has gotten complicated.

Jaenona chuckled, instantly snatching Rachel’s focus. “You have quite a peaceful world.”

“You’d be surp—well, I suppose considering the kinds of places you lived, I guess we are pretty peaceful.”

Nia circled around to nudge Anthony next. “Oh, Rachel thinks you’re pretty hot stuff, too! Hehe. A lot of girls have commented on your looks as we’ve passed.”

“Really?”

“Haaa…” Rachel gave the fire-starting bunny a dull look; she was shameless when it didn’t concern her. “Nia’s not wrong.”

“Even with this thing?” he mumbled, vision rising as if he could see his own forehead—of course, he might for all she knew—to bring her attention to the sun-like flaming tattoo. “These patterns on the side of my eyes, too?”

“Hmm… I mean, you were always hot before, but eh, yeah… yeah, heh, you do have that… almost dangerous vibe—in a good way—although,” she snickered, recalling his comment about her ears, “if you could get rid of the sun mark it would help to not distract from your smoking eyes, hair… jawline, yeah… yeah, it is a bit distracting, to be honest, but totally not a deal-breaker.”

He laughed, rubbing the mark. “A call back to me not liking your ears, huh?”

“Yeah!” Nia suddenly huffed, accusatory multi-colored eyes glaring at him. “Why don’t you like her ears?! They’re so big and cute—I wish mine was as big as hers…”

“Hehe. Taste,” Anthony shrugged, “but as Rachel said, some things are more than acceptable, even if you’re not the biggest fan.”

“Humph. What do you think, Jaenona? You like my ears?!” she questioned, clearly taking personal offense, as a teenager would.

“I do find them quite fitting on you, Nia.”

“Thank you! Someone has taste—humph.”

Anthony’s broad chest shook at her flipping hot and cold attitude, yet his vision fell to the planks as they slowly progressed, fingers still over the symbol. “It’s not a sun, by the way…”

“Oh?” Rachel mused, lifting an eyebrow. “Looks pretty sun-like to me. What’s it mean?”

“Erm… it’s kind of, mmh… Jaenona?” he asked, seeking further clarification.

The soft breeze picked up, forcing the little girl to manage her thick hair, her bright, cosmic eyes shimmered with the cheery note touching her rosy cheeks.

“It is, in essence, the mark of my principality—consider it the actualization of my power—my little brother, Skra’ner Ysgthelra She’agrht—Chain of the Beyond—and I share a duality that was broken and reformed with my Master; he was my anchor.”

She skipped ahead, hands clasped behind her back as she walked backward, forcing them to slow a fraction. “I expand, bringing new growth, and my brother keeps me stable; that was shattered when I was forced into this monolithic maelstrom of an Existence, destabilizing me, yet Master has become my ballast, thereby growing with me.”

Directing their attention to his mark, she showed a toothy, gleaming smile, which was far too perfect for her age, where teeth would be missing. “It is a new, more unified expression that we share than my brother—One Eternal Round—and the representation of that is the flaming halo, or, at least, that is what your perception perceives. Hmm-hmm!”

It was a little hard to conceptualize for a moment, yet the lengthy explanation did solidify it in Rachel’s mind, and then she threw a left hook to shatter the entire conversation, displaying an innocent smile.

“If it is troublesome, Master, I can conceal it until you use our powers.”

Nia’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”

“Certainly. If you prefer, I can also move it to a new location.”

A specific image bubbled to the surface of Rachel’s thoughts, causing a teasing smirk to lift the corners of her full lips. “Anywhere, Jaenona?”

Nia blinked. “Like on his chest, or… Wait, Rachel—you can’t mean…”

“Hmm-hmm. You’re far off, My Little Bunny…”

“Phewww…”

“It’s worse.”

“Ehh?! Rachel! How much worse, Big Sis?”

“Unfortunately… it is unspeakable.”

“No…”

Anthony’s uncertain eyes wandered between the gasping, animated bunny and Rachel’s lifted eyebrows. “I’m… a bit afraid to ask what you mean by that look.”

Jaenona’s bewildered smile shifted between them. “Mhm. Anywhere. Are you inquiring about the…”

“We can let the imagination fill in the blank,” Rachel grinned. “Where do you want it, Anthony, hmm? It would look… heh, interesting in a few places; it could really turn a girl on… Eh… How old are you, Jaenona,” she hesitantly asked as Nia stumbled a little, face turning bright red; Yseress was enjoying herself again in their private conversation.

The little girl looked thoughtful. “Well, I died, so… technically, I am a little over a week—time works differently in many mediums, yet roughly so.”

“Mmh, better question,” Rachel followed up; “how mentally old are you?”

“A challenging thing to answer,” she giggled. “It would depend on the culture of this planet, as I assume you are alluding to, and such an examination would be flawed, as I am not well accustomed to it.”

Anthony sighed, rubbing his head while trying to process her dirty-minded implication as they went on.

“Not even using Anthony’s past experiences?”

Her snow-white locks danced around her face. “Mmh-uh. I am only privy to my Master’s mind as to what he allows, and he has made clear that despite our unity, we are to remain separate individuals, which will affect our evolution.”

Anthony cleared his throat, trying to get back on a less inappropriate topic. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily. It is just… unpredictable. I have nothing to base my presumptions upon, and therefore, it excites me!”

“Aww,” Nia cooed, rubbing her head, “you’re so adorable! You can’t taint her, Rachel; she’s all mine—hisssss!”

“Hmm? I apologize, Nia, but I am all Master’s.”

“I’ll be your master; we’ll be friends forever! Better than big fat butt over here; she’s always so mean to me!”

“Boo-hoo,” Rachel snickered. “I oppress you so much.”

“You totally do! Hah! Big Sis said I can start a union; we’ll be the last ones laughing then! Mua-ha-ha-ha! You’ll be powerless in the face of the dreaded Union!”

Knowing she had no clue what that actually meant, Rachel chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll do great with all the paperwork.”

“Hmm? Paperwork? What paperwork?”

“Oh, there’s so much, but you’re a smart bunny—I’m sure it will be no problem for you!”

“Eh-heh, yeah… Yeah… I’m smart—really smart…”

She swiftly started questioning Yseress for the Nephilim to happily spin her brain around in circles, giving Rachel more time to pursue her own topics.

“Anyway, heh, what are you going to do about the mark?”

He gave her a short shake of his head. “Just curious?”

“Intensely! Hehe.”

“Hmm… What do you think about my chest?”

“Ohh, kinky!”

“Not like that,” he chuckled. “Besides, if you really wanna go there, Jaenona can change it to anywhere you want whenever you feel the need to do so—the power is in your hands!”

“Ooh, bold!” Rachel mumbled, but he did get her cheeks to color at the liberty he’d given her; he’d got her there.

“The chest, Master?”

“For now.”

“Hmm…” Rachel watched the mark fade; he truly was a stunner, and the heat in her ears and chest increased with her beating heart as he gave her a charming grin.

“Thoughts?”

“Ahem… Not bad.”

“Oh, I didn’t know your ears could turn red!”

“They totally aren’t—they can’t unless—oof… dirty,” she mumbled, a small accusatory smile directed at his laugh, forcing her ears back a bit; it was as if a universe-threatening warning hadn’t just been given to them. “So… where do we go from here?”

Anthony puffed out a long stream of air. “I don’t know… I, heh, wasn’t even sure we’d get this far.”

Rachel scratched her neck, looking away to make many other pedestrians avert their interested gazes. “I went hard on you about Jaenona… It’s only fair you get the same shot at me; let me have it.”

“Mmh…” His expression softened. “Honestly, I was so concerned how you’d feel about me changing into, well, this… that if I were to turn around and shun you, I’d be a total loser and hypocrite. I want to understand, though… Want to take one more path and tell me how you feel? That path goes in a short loop before returning to the street.”

Ears and tail relaxing, Rachel nodded. “I’d like that. I want to know more about how you feel with Jaenona, too; I don’t know her that well—well, I don’t know you that well,” she corrected, turning to speak to the entity, “or where things go from here… but I want to learn more.”

“Sounds like a plan… Haaa-hehe… I guess that’s the hard part out of the way.”

“I guess so! Hmm-hmm. Can you feel her inside you?”

“Eh-heh, smooth—what about Yseress?”

“Oh, totally! She’s a total babe; I mean, you’ve seen her—well, she is kind of a bit sick at the moment, but I’ll fix that—it’s like you’re getting three girls for the price of one!”

“Rachel!” Nia hissed, holding up her arms in an X. “Nein!”

“Where did you learn German?”

“Indeed, Mistress, speak to your own infernal desires.”

“Who said it was my desire?” Rachel defended, realizing she’d backed herself into a corner she couldn’t get out of.

“Mmh!” Anthony mused, giving her a well, you said it note.

“I’m underage, Rachel!”

“I may be a slave, Mistress, but I can’t believe you’d use me for such carnal desires… You’ve changed,” Yeseress expressed melodramatically. “Escape while you can, Nia; she has embraced the Devil within!”

“No! Big Sis, I’ll save you from her tyranny!” Nia jumped in, taking on the heroine role in this mental play they were crafting. “I would never abandon you!”

Jaenona clapped. “Oh. So am I to be the villain manipulating things?”

“Gah! You weren’t supposed to say that,” Anthony gasped, drawing their eyes and making Rachel give an internal sigh; she figured he was bailing her out by becoming the villain.

“How could you manipulate poor, innocent Jaenona, Anthony!” Nia cried. “Bad man! Poor, poor Jaenona, Big Sis, and me—we do need a union! Join us, Lil’ Sis! We will conquer our oppressors!”

“I see—so I am on your side now? Wonderful! We will certainly win this conflict, Big Sister Nia.”

Nia stepped back as if shot through the heart, eyes watering with emotion. “B-Big Sister Nia… I’m a big sister!” she squealed, jumping forward to wrap the giggling little girl in her arms and swing her around. “We’ll be bestest sisters!”

“I look forward to—mmgm… it is… challenging to breathe, Big Sister…”

“Oh! Oh! Sorry!”

Nia was caught—hook, line, and sinker—if Jaenona was secretly going to devour her, she didn’t stand a chance; of course, it didn’t take much to get on the girl’s good side—a certified sucker.

Letting the Living Denier be taken in by her new big sister role, teaching Jaenona all about their surroundings, concluding by describing her perception of people, what they wore, activities, and parts of houses, Rachel had a more serious conversation with Anthony.

She told him how she felt about her recent transformation, that there was the potential that she may completely change into a Lunar Hades Hare, and the other risks she took in Cuba. It was different from just recounting the events, like earlier, allowing her to expand her personal attachment to them.

Rachel couldn’t get into details regarding Twilight until obtaining Scarlet’s permission and wanted to have another walk to discuss what she’d puzzled out with her before asking if they could bring Anthony in on it; in fact, the topic might be good to express in private to the whole inner group at this point.

Anthony was far more perceptive than she gave him credit for, noting how close she held her cards; he knew she was keeping things from him and, to her surprise, he wasn’t angry or hurt.

He knew she had a lot of weight on her shoulders, being the selected captain of Mystic, and had to balance the trust of all of their members. If she thought it couldn’t be shared yet, he understood, and that being said, he did want to share what load he could.

Once again, she was reminded how good and caring of a guy Anthony was; he could call her out of her BS while also being kind enough to realize there were likely reasons, yet offer his support for whatever she needed.

Nearing the house again after the dark streets had cleared, night overtaking the evening for people to return home, Rachel gave her boyfriend a nervous smile. “Anthony… I’m scared, which is, heh, obviously something you know I’m not great at expressing…”

“Yeah… Heh, we should work on that—how else am I going to know something is wrong that I can help you with.”

“True… Umm… Can—can Jaenona spend the week at our house… You can join, eh… if my parents are comfortable with it, but…”

“Ah… Wow, that’s… a lot more trust than I thought you’d give me. Are you concerned about yourself?”

“Mmh… less so about my Nephilim problem.”

“Tactful.”

“It’s more about consistency… My mom will literally freak when she sees Jaenona, hehe… She loves little girls, and I’m sure she’ll want to instantly adopt her… especially… because of her looks.”

Mom might not believe she’s not Anthony and my child with the insane tale we’re going to tell her… It’s like, why wouldn’t she be? I have a Nephilim in me—living clothes—and a creature from another Existence is in Anthony… Surely, a daughter isn’t beyond question. Ugh.

Gut tightening at the thought, Rachel nodded. “Yeah… she’ll freak for sure, and Nia having a body—”

“And Big Sis—oh, Scarlet and Alexa, too!” Nia chimed. “We can all go shopping! Oh! Oh! Alexa gets her powers, too! Woooh! Hehe. She’s going to faint on the spot!”

“Mhm…”

Anthony stopped in front of her with a soft smile. “I can see it—she’s an amazing woman from what little time I’ve spent with her. Eh… but are you sure?”

“It’s the only thing I can do to prove to you and myself that I trust you,” Rachel admitted, rubbing her left arm and looking away. “Is it uncomfortable? Absolutely. As you said, though… I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t attempt to extend a hand.”

“Eh-heh, I don’t think that’s the same… I’m not opening up my family to you, which… Again, are you sure, Rachel? I went to an entirely different Existence—brought something back,” he mumbled, glancing at the unperturbed little girl. “I mean, sure, Hades is pretty intense, but Jaenona is… far more dangerous than anything Hades can offer.”

“To be fair, Master, not in my current state;,I am bound to obey and follow, whatever you choose to do.”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed, recalling the Deep Ones’ warning. “You are a being of truth, Jaenona, and the others are your opposite?”

“Hmm. Indeed. Our Existences spin in opposites; lies and deceit are their blood, yet you could make the argument we are the liars and deceivers.”

Anthony shook his head. “Perhaps to others, but I can feel it in my bones and muscle; haha, not that anyone has to believe me—I, eh, could be tainted, right?”

“Hmm-hmm. Yes, Master; we are in quite the predicament.”

Rachel forced a stream of air out. “Right… which is my rationalization; the only way to be sure is to open myself up, and if I’m going to do it… I might as well go all in… heh, as reckless as that is… it’s kind of on-brand after what I told you. Am I right?”

“Mmgm… Not something to be proud of,” Anthony groaned, stepping in to bend down, grasp the back of her neck, and kiss her; tail standing straight up, she couldn’t believe how naive she was as he pulled away with a small smile.

“You didn’t even put up a fight—gah, what am I going to do with you—you had Nia on lock with that tail slap.”

“Yeah!” Nia giggled, cheeks as flushed as Rachel’s, more than likely hearing her thumping heart. “You were totally on guard with me, but you let Anthony kiss you without even blinking!”

“In her defense,” Yseress snickered, “she couldn’t from the shock; you see her ears.”

“Te-he-he—as stiff as a board—she’s gone, Big Sis; we’ve lost her!”

Rachel released her frozen lungs, saliva becoming sticky in her mouth after tasting the salt on his lips. “Ahem—well, I suppose you’ll need to discipline me, hmm?” she mumbled, giving him a playful smirk. “Good luck.”

“Hehe. You’re wild sometimes,” he mused, following her up the driveway to her grandfather’s house; she really shouldn’t overthink it or she’ll only make herself crazy, and it felt so good to have his eyes on her rear end again.

That’s right, follow my tail like a swaying coin. Hmm-hmm-hmm.

“Leave me out of your dirty thoughts!” Nia hissed, staying back with Jaenona.

Rachel gave her an elder-sister-like, side-long smirk. “Maybe you should keep to your own mind then, hehe—leave big girl stuff to the big girls.”

“I’m grown up!”

“Of course you are, flat butt.”

“What does that mean! A-Are you blind!” Nia huffed. “No I’m not—I… I! F-Fat butt!”

Anthony was trying to keep to himself and pretend not to hear their back and forth, likely wondering what dirty thoughts were going through her mind, which only heightened Rachel's amusement; let him guess.

Playfully throwing insults at one another with Yesress amusedly watching on, mood brightening as things returned more to normal, they entered the building; her grandfather, Fiona, Scarlet, Jessy, Mason, and Nora were all wrapped up in the adventure the Fairy and Vespertine Reaper told.

Gesturing for Scarlet to go out and have a chat next, she assured everyone things had calmed down and that Cahira’s ship would be arriving soon; it seemed they were getting impatient.

“Oh!” Fiona grinned, “Hehe, the horse butt’s gonna join us, huh?”

“Not nice, Fi!”

“We’re cool like that,” she dismissively waved. “She can heal Mr. Philip’s scars.”

Rachel’s lips tightened upon seeing her grandfather’s patched-up head. “Mmh… No, I’m afraid Maria probably won’t join us.”

“Why?” Nora asked, stretching a little as her big tail swung to the left. “Fi’s been hyping her up this whole time—I’m cool going up there, though, heh—a giant Dragon Turtle sounds awesome!”

“Hehe. Soon,” Rachel chuckled. “There’s some stuff involving the orphans she’s interested in.”

“Oh. Okay, yeah, that sounds like Maria,” Fiona cooed. “She’s got such a big heart.”

“Where are you going, Cuz?” Mason muttered.

“None of your business, Cuz.”

“Harsh…”

Fiona and Nora winced, glancing at one another, possibly reliving one of their own fights as sisters, or so Rachel assumed; she wasn’t serious, of course.

“Hehe. I’m playing. Just going to talk to Scarlet. Need something?”

“No, but, umm… I wondered if I could hitch a ride with you to, you know…”

“Oh! You wanna come over for a bit? Eh… I guess, sure. Did you get my mom’s permission?”

“Do I need to?”

“Yes!” Jessy hissed, punching his arm. “C’mon, let’s go call her.”

“Ugh… I guess…”

Her grandfather gave her a thankful smile; this might even be the trigger to help bridge the divide between her father and brother. After all, it had been Rachel’s fault, in a way, even if Mason antagonized her.

Things aren’t so bad, I guess.

Turning to Scarlet as she walked over, Rachel grinned. “Ready to go?”

“Umm, yeah—where too?”

“Just some empty path near the Glades. See one?”

“Eh… Mhm.”

“Alright. Ugh… Let’s go!”