Awkward silence dominated the empty room.

Adam was still looking down at his shoes with CB gripping his shoulder. After a few more moments of this, Eobard signalled something to Maria who left the room. Afterwards, the white haired man reached the teen, placing his hand on his other shoulder.

And Marvin just stood there, frozen. A few months ago, when they had rescued Ava, and even before that, when they were still on their mission, he was jealous. If that was even the right word. He wasn’t sure honestly.

He was just so preoccupied by his own issues and unworthiness that he didn’t stop to think that not everything would be sunshine and rainbows for everyone else either.

Unfortunately, that sick, twisted part of himself was glad that this had happened. They’d all still preoccupied with this that they wouldn’t realise what a hack he truly was.

No! He almost physically slapped himself. They wouldn’t think like that. They wouldn’t-they wouldn’t leave him behind. They were his friends, they-would they?

No no no. That wasn’t the point. They had bigger issues, and this-Adam’s problem was tangible, present. Ava’s explanation wasn’t enough to even satisfy Marvin, he couldn’t begin to imagine how Adam felt.

“We’ll find her again!” said Marvin, causing everyone else in the room to look at him. “And she’ll give you an actual answer, we’ll do whatever is needed to make sure she does.”

“Yeah, thank you. All of you.” he said, looking around the room. “Although I’m not sure I’ll like the answer. And we don’t even know if we’ll be able to reach her. Maybe, maybe we don’t need to-”

“You better stop talking or I’ll make you stop talking.” growled CB, interrupting Adam. “You want to do this, you’ve wanted to do this for years. Look, I know that I didn’t believe you then. I know that we’ve just begun reconciling with each other, but I’ll be damned if I let you chicken your way out of this. For both our sakes.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” sighed Adam. “We must do this, for a clean new beginning.”

Marvin clenched his fists. A clean new beginning. He didn’t know exactly what their plan was, but he had a feeling that if they were successful, then that was what awaited them all.

“You’re all very strong.” said Eobard, moving to stand closer to Marvin once more. He looked at all three teens.“And in two days time, when we strike, you’ll all be essential in us taking down James Mallory. And you deserve to know just what we’re fighting against.”

“About damn time.” muttered CB. “Chiron was so secretive I swear I was this close to bashing his head in.”

“Calm yourself my boy.” chided Eobard. “In any case, the commander’s plan is actually noble in a way. Marly has certain engravings on her back. Meaningful symbols and words written in ancient languages long forgotten by most. A spell that will, through the Caelum Terra’s connection with all corners of the world, completely eradicate the vampires as a species.”

“But isn’t that a good thing? Those bastards have been up to no good since before we were ever born. Taking them out isn’t the worst thing that could happen. Right?” argued CB

“Eradicating an entire species?” shot back Eobard. “There are supposedly hundreds of vampires out there, most of which aren't our adversaries, no matter how much the Association has pushed this narrative on us.

“And even if they were, using this spell would cause the destruction of the Caelum Terra itself. There are thousands of innocents living there. They don’t deserve to die. I don’t understand the specifics of it, which is why I didn’t want to bring it up here, but that’s the truth.” explained Eobard grimly.

“And you haven’t seen it.” growled Marvin. Images of the heptagram burned into Marly’s flesh flashed through his mind. How she said she didn’t remember a time without those things.

“You have?” asked Adam, seemingly more curious than surprised, a far cry from both Eobard and CB.

“Back in Atlanta.” explained Marvin. “We-we had shared a few moments beforehand and-for some reason even I don’t know-she decided to confide in me.”

“You and Marly have a strong relationship.” nodded Eobard. “But you need to decide what it is. Are you friends, are you a couple, or whatever else you can be. You need to be honest with yourself and honest with her. Because it’s her allegiance that will determine this conflict.”

Honest. He needed to be honest. He would have laughed if it wasn’t so tragic.

He always tried to be honest, but the amount of secrets he was keeping made that attempt seem little more than a joke.

Even worse, it looked like everyone was counting on him. He was sure that if he told them the truth about his darker thoughts, about how he had practically made things worse than they were for most people, they probably would join James Mallory themselves. Marvin wasn’t really the most solid base for their plan.

He was training, he wanted to become the best sorcerer he could so that he would be enough for things that. Every other time he did something, it was only because others came to his rescue. Something that, given their opponents, didn’t seem to be very likely.

“But-but it won’t all depend on me, right?” asked Marvin, unable to keep his voice from trembling at that thought.

“Of course not.” said Eobard. “There is a plan in place, one that will be explained to you all tomorrow. As of now, there is one more thing you should know about Marly and Ava Mallory. Something-something important.”

“What is it?”

“The two girls are not human, not in the conventional sense. They were artificially created by the most powerful sorcerers in the Association’s arsenal in order to be conduits for this spell. You see, they didn’t succeed with Ava, but they did with Marly. They used human DNA, magic alongside material from a collection of other mythical creatures to create them.”

Eobard was looking at the boys like he was expecting some sort of explosion from them, which never came.

While it wasn't something that Marvin expected in any way, it didn’t change anything in the way he viewed Marly-or Ava for that matter. Looking at the determined, but still confused, faces of the others, he knew they felt the same way.

“It doesn’t matter to us sir.” said CB, Adam and Marvin nodding in agreement.

“But do we know whose DNA they used? Or is that inappropriate? I honestly don’t know.” asked Adam, curiosity evident in his voice.

“We know their human origins.” said Eobard, clearly reluctant to share this information. “They are based on Ava and Marly Mallory respectively. The deceased wife and daughter of James Mallory.”

“What?” shouted CB, unclear emotions in his voice. “I mean, they never mentioned anything, but I always assumed-what happened to them?”

“I’ve already told you more than enough.” sighed Eobard.

“You can’t be serious.” complained Adam. “They are our friends. At least Marly is. We need to know.”

“You just said it didn’t matter to you.” said Eobard angrily. “And it shouldn’t. Furthermore, such things are personal, understood?”

Nodding ashamedly, the two werebeast teens apologised to Eobard like little kids that were caught doing something they shouldn’t be.

As for Marvin, he was frankly confused. Confused because, in spite of all his anger directed towards the man, he also couldn’t help but feel pity for James Mallory.