With a heavy heart, Erika stares down at the phone in her hand. Sighing, she says, “It’s crazy where life takes you.”

Glancing down at her miniature cat figurine sporting a spiffy handkerchief around it’s neck she adds, “I know, I know, whatever the client needs and all. Still, Vicious?” She pokes the cat’s paw as she says, “That’s a whole new can of sardines Teddy.”

A meow from the other end of the room causes her to spin around startled with a guilty expression on her face. “Sorry!” she exclaims, “I know I’m talking to Teddy, but that doesn’t mean I love you any less Rocket.”

Then she stalks across the room and grabs her dark grey cat before it can vanish underneath the desk. Holding him aloft she adds, “Who loves you? I love you!” Then she drops the cat and says in a calm voice, “And more importantly, who feeds you?” Then Erika turns back to her desk and says, “Which we might need to be worried about, all things considered. This job is more work than I thought!”

Humming softly to herself, she walks back to her workstation and begins to compose an email. Addressing it to Beacon, she says to the cat figurine, “What’s that Teddy? You think I should tell him about Vicious?” Shaking her head, she answers herself in a relaxed voice, “Naaaaawwwww. He’s got enough to worry about. Besides, I think he’s been feeling a bit down lately.” As if confiding a secret, she leans forward and whispers, “One of his friends died the other day, and I think he was at the funeral tonight.”

Then she leans back and says in a confused tone, “But he was in Germany. So does that make it today? Because it isn’t night over there.” Pausing to consider, she thinks for a few seconds before shrugging and adding, “Well it doesn’t matter. What matters is that he could use good news, and more so than usual. So,” she adjusts her keyboard and says in a definitive voice, “we’re going to send him a positive message.” Her voice falters slightly as she adds faintly, “So no mention of the nightmares coming back.” Erika pauses and swallows before flashing a quick smile at Teddy and starting to type.

Across town, a distraught Missy Anderson leans over the railing and says to Jake, “My dad! I need to go see him.”

“Slow down Miss, ya gotta tell me what’s happened,” Jake replies.

“My dad,” she says, forcing herself to calm down, “he’s been shot!”

Immediately, Jake grabs her by the hand and says, “Ya need ta go Miss. I’ll come with ya.”

“What about the game?” a nearby cheerleader asks.

Shooting her an angry glance, Theo answers in a confident voice, “I’ll take care of it. You go be with Missy, Jake.”

Jake exchanges a relieved glance with his friend. One of the cheerleaders says in an irritated voice, “But we need Jake! He’s practically carrying the game.”

Around her, the rest of the group nods in assent. From the pack come Ally, Trisha, and Maggie. Arranging themselves around Jake, Ally says, “But Jake! We need you.” Pouting, the other two girls nod.

Missy looks at the group with a helpless expression. Standing next to her, Ginny shoots them a dirty look. Hailey, on the other hand, is furious. Hissing under her breath so nobody else can hear she says, “I go out on a limb to save their lives and they’re still bratty little bit-”

She cannot finish her curse, however, as Jake starts speaking first. “Ally, ya gotta understand, I ain’t stickin’ round when Miss needs me. It’s just a game, the season ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Simpering, Ally replies, “But you love football! A real girlfriend would understand how important you are to the team Jake.” She grabs his arm and presses herself close to him.

Irritation poking through his tone, Jake responds, “I said no!”

Immediately, Ally backs off, smiling and saying, “Okie Jakey!” Then she motions to the rest of the cheerleaders who clear out and go back to hyping up the crowd for the imminent start of the second half.

Clapping him on the shoulder, Theo says, “Don’t worry about it, they’re just out of control over the game. You do what you need to do, I’ll talk to coach.”

Nodding with relief, Theo silently thanks his friend before turning back to Missy and saying, “Ya go on ahead, I’ll catch up Miss.”

At her side, Hailey shares a look with Theo. His expression falters for a moment, taking on a slightly forlorn appearance. Then a glint of determination appears in his eyes. He nods once to Hailey before saying, “Hey, you should go with Missy.”

Uncertain, Hailey says, “You, you don’t want me here?”

“No,” replies Theo, “you should be with your friend. I’ll finish up here and catch up later. Don’t worry about me.”

Softly, Hailey says, “I will.”

“Seriously,” Theo says with a cheeky grin, “don’t worry about me.” Then his expression sobers up as he adds, “I think Detective Anderson needs it more.”

“No,” Missy interjects, “they said he was going to be fine. But mom will need me almost as much as dad does.”

Ginny says from the side of the group, “Alright then, what are we waiting around for? Let’s go!”

Jake grabs Missy’s hand and says in a firm voice, “Go. I’m right behind ya.” Then a thought occurs to him and he adds, “Want me ta git Bella?”

“Please,” Missy asks with a nod. Then the other girls gather her up, make their way out of the bleachers, and head back to the parking lot.

As he watches the girls leave, Jake smiles lightly. In the corner of his eye, he can see Theo speaking in a determined voice to the coach. His also notes the slightly irritated expressions in the eyes of his teammates and the cheerleaders. Waving Theo over as he walks, the two boys step away from the crowd as Jake asks in a serious tone, “How much flak this gonna cause?”

Waving his concerns away, Theo replies in an authoritative tone, “None.” Then he grabs Jake’s hand and confidently adds, “Go be with Missy. I’ve got a game to clean up over here.”

Slapping him on the back, Jake starts to jog towards the locker room. When he reaches his locker, he digs through his bag until he finds his phone. Shooting a quick text to Bella, he heads off to the shower. When he finishes cleaning up and heads out she is waiting outside the door. In a nervous voice, Bella asks, “So, umm, what happened? Is the detective okay? Is Hailey…? I mean Missy, is she okay?”

Ignoring her slip, he walks towards his dad standing by a car and says, “Ya it’s not so bad. Hailey’s with Miss. They’re both alright.”

“Son,” begins Jake’s father.

“Dad,” Jake cuts him off, “I had ta go.”

Jake’s dad regards him for a few seconds before tossing him the keys to the truck. “Well I suppose ya gon want updates on tha team an Theo?” he says.

Jake smiles as he hops into the vehicle. “Well ya know me!” he replies.

A second later Jake’s dad steps back from the car and watches his son drive away. Then he trudges back to the bleachers, hearing the roar of the crowd as Theo begins the rally with a bullet pass downfield.

A tense drive later, Jake and Bella stand outside the hospital where Missy and the rest of the girls are waiting. Striding through the hallways, Jake gets a few sideways glances. He moves with such single-minded purpose that most assume he is a doctor until they notice the lack of his scrubs and his youthful complexion. Finally, the pair arrives outside the door.

Bella pants from the exertion of trying to keep up with the running back. In between breaths, she says, “So, ha, you, want, to, talk, to, Missy? I’ll, go, talk, to, the, rest, of, the, group?”

Jake nods, heedless of her exhaustion. Then he opens the door. Inside, Detective Anderson rests on a hospital bed. At his side are Missy, her mother, Hailey, and Ginny. Seeing the two enter, Anderson smiles and says, “I never thought I’d be happy to see your boyfriend Missy. But please, I’m fine, so go talk to him and let me rest!”

Missy glances at her mother who nods in approval. Ginny and Hailey then move towards Bella as Missy’s mother shoos the group from the room. Once they’re outside, Jake says with a wry grin, “I came all this way an’ all ta git kicked out?”

Missy harrumphs and says, “Well took you long enough!”

Jake lets the other girls walk a bit further down the hallway before saying in a gentle voice, “Miss, he’s gonna be okay.”

Snuffling, Missy lets out a long breath and wilts into his arms. “I thought the cheerleaders might have gotten to you,” she confesses.

“Never!” exclaims Jake. Then he adds, “They ain’t so bad. Ya just gotta-” seeing the expression on Missy’s face he wisely falls silent.

“Please,” she says as she wraps him in a tight hug, “just shut up.”

Jake nods and pulls her tight, choosing discretion as the better part of valor.

Across the hall, Bella asks nervously, “So, umm, you were gone during the first half Hailey, did umm, did something happen?”

Sighing wearily, Hailey replies, “She already knows Bella.”

Eyes wild, Bella answers, “Knows what? I mean there are so many things to know that it’s hard to really know what specifically you mean when you say that. She might know the answers to Mr. Memely’s pop quiz tomorrow or exactly how many days it’s been since the last outing of the Bad Band or-”

“Oh my gosh, just stop rambling already!” huffs Ginny. Then turns to Hailey and crosses her arms across her chest before saying, “So I guess you’re planning on telling her huh?”

Hailey sighs again, even more exhausted than before. “I really hadn’t thought about it Ginny. I was just going to tell her that you know.”

“So you aren’t planning on telling her I’m Ginger Snap?” Ginny asks.

“Eeeek!” squeals Bella, her eyes lighting up.

Across the hall, Jake shoots them an irritated glance as he steers Missy away. Bella glances around guiltily before saying in a quieter voice, “You’re Ginger Snap!?”

“Well now that Miss Eldritch Maiden over here decided to just spill the beans,” pouts Ginny.

Throwing her hands in the air, Hailey says, exasperated, “I didn’t! You literally just told her. It had nothing to do with me!”

Spinning to face Bella, Ginny stares her straight in the eyes and says, “Well?”

“Well what?” asks a confused Bella.

“Are you planning on telling anyone?”

“No!” exclaims Bella. “I’m keeping Hailey’s secret, so you know I’m trustworthy,” she adds.

“Good,” says Ginny with a nod. Then she relaxes and asks, “So which one of us do you think is cooler? Personally, I think technology is better than magic, hands down. I bet, being such a nerd and all, you probably completely agree, right Bella?”

Awkwardly, Bella shuffles back and forth on her feet for a minute and avoids meeting Ginny’s gaze. Incredulous, Ginny shouts out exasperatedly, “Oh come on! Seriously?”

Bella demurs, saying in a timid voice, “I, um, well she did save my life is all.”

Intrigued, Ginny asks, “Really? When?”

Red faced, Bella mumbles something inaudibly low. Ginny motions for her to speak up. Face flaming, Bella says, “I kinda, you know, well I sortve tried to destroy the school after being possessed by a spell gone awry that transformed me into an evil monster called Belladonna bent on getting revenge against my bullies.”

Seeing Ginny’s openmouthed expression, she hurriedly adds, “But I’m okay now!” Pausing, she considers her words for a second before adding a caveat. “I mean, mostly okay now. And,” Bella perks up, “I didn’t kill anyone! So really things worked out pretty well.” Her expression falters as she continues with, “Except for that small pool of acid in the middle of the gym. And the rest of the property damage. And I might have potentially traumatized Ally, Trishia, and Maggie. But they probably deserved some of it.”

Complaining, Ginny replies, “Man, I wish I had cool foes like that! All I have is The crummy Deck. You know I haven’t fought anyone with real powers yet? Just the Aces and that was more of a stalemate than a real win.”

Intervening before she has to listen to more whining, Hailey says, “Alright, alright, don’t forget who we’re here for, Missy!”

As if sensing her name, Missy pulls back from Jake and walks down the hall to her friends. “Hey guys,” she says in a relaxed voice, “I think there’s nothing to do but wait around for my mom to take me home. She’s going to be talking to dad for another hour or so and you guys don’t need to hang around for that.” Turning to Hailey she adds, “Also it sounds like Theo went on a tear after we left, we’re winning by fourteen with just a couple minutes left according to Jake’s dad.”

“Do you want us to leave you and Jake alone?” asks Hailey. “It seems like you two are in the middle of an important conversation over there,” she adds while motioning towards Jake who is still standing on the other end of the hallway.

Grateful, Missy nods. “Yeah, thanks,” then she asks, “Hey, how come you vanished during the first half?”

Before Hailey has the chance to concoct a lie, Ginny steps in saying, “That’s my fault. I’ve never been to the stadium and my chauffer couldn’t find it. I called her for directions.”

“Oh,” says Missy with a nod. “Do you need a ride home then?” she asks.

Ginny shakes her head and replies nonchalantly, “Naw, dad sent the helicopter. It’s convenient because the hospital has a landing pad. Otherwise, I’d have to sit through traffic.”

The other three girls simply stare at her for a long minute. Sensing the mood, Ginny asks, “What? Do you need a ride? It might be a tight fit with all of us but I’m sure we can manage. Dropping you off might be a bit more of a hassle though,” she adds with a frown.

Ginny’s riches aside, the night ends for the girls! But, dear reader, we are not quite done with one of the number. For, you may recall, earlier Hailey utilized a spell to mask the two bullet wounds she took from Dr. Doubt and no matter how magical, she cannot deny the injuries much longer. Indeed, dear reader, the night has one more story in it, one that is perhaps the most important of all for we speak now of… “The Reckoning in the Starry Realm!”