Simone looked at Ethan and licked her lips in concentration, pondering on what to do for a short moment. He had a purulent looking gash on his right arm which was dangerously purple and bulgy.

-Aw-k, look up centipede's bites and what temperature is required for making the toxins innocuous.

-Result found: the required temperature is between forty two and fifty degrees Celsius, master.

-Alright, interface with Ethan's Aw-k through the party system and let me monitor his blood's temperature.

-Establishing connection with peer; connected. Request for blood temperature monitoring granted.

The Aw-k opened a page with an embellished big thirty eight on it.

-Very well: I'm going to heat his blood up, let us know when at least ninety percent of the centipede venom is deactivated.

In order not to risk killing the man, Simone had to keep the brain from going above the forty two degrees, the lower the better, so she sent her first tendril to the head, then, piercing his body with lots of fiery needles, she wrapped her power around all major arteries.

The trick was leeching heat from the brain while giving it to everything else. She started a low intermittent heat, with short 0,1 seconds exposition and 0,2 seconds of shut down. In ten seconds the temperature had reached forty five degrees.

-Toxin thirty six percent deactivated.

She couldn't keep the temperature that high for long, or she could damage the heart, lungs and all major organs. She tried to make the temperature spike higher with longer shut down periods, looking at the interface where she could see their effect.

-Toxin seventy seven percent deactivated.

Ethan's blood had started expanding and she could see the veins in his body swell up; his nose was already bleeding and he started coughing blood too. She had to stop soon... But not yet.

It seemed to take forever: Simone wondered if she had arrived too late, or her magic had been too strong. She knew she needed Ethan. She couldn't lose him for something so silly: he was her key. What felt like an eternity of anguish, really didn't take more than thirty seconds. Aw-k gave the message

-Goal reached! Toxin ninety percent deactivated, master!

As the magical intelligence said so, Simone carefully started pushing the heat out, until the man's body reached a stable thirty six. The remaining ten percent of the poison he could have eliminated on his own, she hoped. The minuscule holes in Ethan's body healed on their own as the tendrils went out and he started breathing better. It was a good signal.

-He still needs a blood thinner and nutrients. Hugo, do you mind getting them?

The Rokian appeared from behind a tree, gave a little bow and ran back to the house.

-Simone, is he going to be...

Didn't dare to finish asking Tommy

-I think so. He could wake up any moment now. If he doesn't, we are in trouble. Before then...

Simone stitched up the spot on the young man's arm where the two stingers had pierced him originally injecting the venom. Hugo in that small amount of time had already arrived with a baggie containing saline solution, some small vial, glucose... And a banana. Simone hung the saline bottle around Ethan's neck after putting him in a sitting position and stuck its needle into a vein in his arm. When she did, Ethan let out a loud

-Ouch...

before slowly opening his eyes. Trying to sound reassuring he nonchalantly said

-Hey!

-Don't you dare! Didn't I tell you to keep yourselves anchored? Not even ten minutes and you lose it! What the hell where you thinking?

Ethan opened his mouth and was about to put together some kind of explanation but before actually being able to let words out, Simone started again, while pouring in the saline bottle some of the other stuff

-No! I don't even care! It was wrong! So, you better shut up!

She slapped him soundly on the forehead, but as she did so, from between Ethan's hair something small and black with a trident pattern on its head sprung forward and tried to bite her. The animal was very close in resemblance to a bush viper, with its leaf-like scales, but had small wings tucked to its sides and a wide fin at the end of its tail; still looking angrily at her, the creature went and slowly wrapped itself around Ethan's throat, barely long enough to hold on to it.

Simone was suddenly very still and quiet, while Tommy had stepped back a little and was aiming his pole at Ethan.

-What is it?

He whispered slowly

-Shadow Gobbler... I think.

It was the "death incarnate" he had seen in his vision: it was here, in the flesh, hanging by his neck as a living piece of jewelry. Had it followed him for devouring purposes?

-Take it off of me. Please.

-Alright, stand still. I will open the shadows again. Tommy, get close with your stick and as it bites into it, fling it in.

-R... Right!

The man said from behind her. Simone concentrated all the mana she had left in a second attempt at opening a gate with an element she didn't posses control of.

Not only it was vexing on her body, but it also was an incredibly tall order of not elemental mana coming out of her which was going to deplete her mental prowess to refine.

She knew she was not going to be able to do it any more; not that day, at least.

Ethan was trying his best not to freak out, still remembering the amount of destruction, the Shadow Gobbler had brought in his vision, yet knowing he couldn't really react with his body still half paralyzed by the toxin's aftermath.

With no little effort, Simone made the shadow became semi-liquid once more while Tommy made his branch dance in front of Ethan's face. It didn't take long before the snake grew angry enough to attack the annoying thing.

As planned, the tall blond man, with a single fast swing, dropped the animal into the shadows, together with the pole, for good measure. Seeing that the deed was done, Simone, quick as lightning, interrupted the flow of energy. Her head was spinning and she was covered in sweat: she slowly fell to the ground with a small coarse groaning sound.

For about ten seconds, they all faintly rejoiced of their success. Then, seemingly unscathed, as nothing had happened, with slow flaps and resented looks all around, the Shadow Gobbler came back and took possession of its place at Ethan's neck once more. As Darrel had done before, the beast said something, something none of them were ready to hear.

-Mommy! Mine!

SHE had a young girl voice, and soon started purring, while “kissing” and brushing against Ethan's neck.

Tommy, in spite of the potentially catastrophic situation, couldn't manage to resist the strong call of a well placed zinger

-Congratulations: you have my vote for mother of the year. Now, care to explain?

-Explain what? I had no idea! The real mother must have left her in that monster's nest, probably to feed on it and its eggs.

-Alright, I retract my previous statement: Shadow Gobbler's momma has my vote for mother of the year.

On the side,Simone sat up and nodded to herself.

-It must be like Ethan said: he was the only thing in there this young creature didn't see as food and therefore, thought of him as a good candidate for "mothership".

-Huzzah! I think she is cute as a button, but what will happen when she understands that I am not in fact her mother?

Asked Ethan, caressing the small snake's head.

Simone was unsure, but she was thinking “when life gives you lemons...”

-Well, to be honest, as far as I know, Shadow Gobblers at times eat their parents so... This one not yet having tried to, makes me think you are safe. At least for now. Talk to her, teach her... She might be a valuable asset. If she doesn't kill us, that is.

-Have you both got your coffee with two shots of crazy, this morning?

Asked Tommy

-Are we actually considering the idea of keeping her around?

Ethan tried to explain

-Maybe not, but I don't really feel like trying to...

He mimicked a strangling gesture not to let his “daughter” understand

-And she seems to be more than capable to track me down, so good luck getting rid of her.

Tommy soundly slapped his own forehead(aka FACEPALM), resigned to what he feared was going to happen.

-At least for now. If she ever tries to eat us, then we'll reconsider.

-How about you ask her, mommy?

Ethan weighted the idea, then took the small snake's head on top of his index finger and looking at her, questioned.

-Hi, what do I call you, daughter?

The little one slowly made a delicate 'no' sign with her head: she looked sad.

Ethan snickered a little, thinking at how he had been just like her, not even thirty hours prior.

He rolled his eyes then continued talking to the little creature

-Right, you have no name. Then... Charlotte it is.

She nodded.

-Tell me, Charlotte, do you want to eat any of us?

-No!

-But you were going to eat the big centipede in the shadow world right?

-Probably... I am a little hungry.

-How do you know how to speak, already? Haven't you just “hatched”?

-I can read words through your head. And I am what you would call a mammal.

-So you are learning to speak by “reading” me.

She nodded.

-Good, keep at it. Food will be ready soon. Simone, Charlotte's specie eats anything that even remotely smells like shadows, right?

-That would be correct.

The woman answered with a slight nod

-Then as long as I can feed her my mana, we are good. How do I do that?

Simone was still panting, still feeling feeble after the incredible struggle she had gone through. Gorging the shadows with her energy to make them unstable was now officially in her top ten of lest favorite activities.

-It is simple, really: I can assume you have absorbed quite a bit of it already by skinny dipping into it before.

She rebuked sarcastically

-You should be able to feel its energy spiraling in your circulatory system. Think of it as a liquid again and try to let a droplet out through your fingertip. You can try too, Tommy.

Ethan tried to clear his head a little, seeking this new energy inside of him.

He didn't really feel any different compared to before, a little more “primal” maybe, like he had the need to roar or howl at the moon. He remembered what he was told about shadow's organs being mostly eyes and skin and he tried pushing his thoughts to the skin on his arm, then his forearm, down, lower, through the hand... and there it was: his hand had become very dark. Focusing on his skin was working: he knew he had the power to summon the shadow energy within him, but he still felt surprise.

Ethan tried one more time from the top: he was actively feeling it now, the mana, moving up, down, left hand, right hand.

Finally, he tried to focus on the quantity, and from what he had in his hand, he decided to squeeze out the smallest of tears.

The energy rolled out from his fingernail to form a fat small bead, which soon drizzled down like in slow motion.

The energy though was rapidly evaporating in a dark blue, semi-transparent mist that Charlotte tried to lick from the air with her cat-like tongue.

It was his fault. He had been distracted by the surprise and had lost his control over it.

Ethan tried harder: he called forth the mana, feeling it bubble out of a somewhere in his chest.

It was indeed a complicated task.

It felt like acting on faith: he knew it was part of his body, but he had never felt it before. Soon though, the shadow mana started to came out more stable, flowing, like melted butter rolling inside of him, burning a little.

When it reached Ethan's right hand, he got it to pour out, keeping it there, until it started changing. The pearly dark liquid crystallized in a pointy talon.

Charlotte sniffed it curiously once and then happily started sucking on it just like an infant would have done a mother's breast, while resting in Ethan's lap.

The boy was a natural.