Stomach a tad uneasy as they neared her parents’ house, Rachel directed Fiona down the familiar streets, listening to her family happily busy in the kitchen, pulling out the mountain of dishes her mother had crafted.

Scarlet, Fiona, Jessy, and Nora were engaged in a conversation about Disney World; Fiona hadn’t been since she’d moved to the United States, shocking Scarlet.

It was around a three to four-hour drive from Miami, and, with the Fairy’s swift flight, they could get there in under thirty minutes if they brought a bit of sugar for her to recharge.

As Rachel expected, her boyfriend got pulled into the discussion by her new Vespertine Reaper sister, anxious to see if he could join them. To her delight, the new Eldritchkin—Scarlet's self-appointed name—was just as ignorant about the amusement park as Fiona.

Jessy was all for it if Mason was going, and Nora asked about Nemesis—primarily to goad Scarlet; the slime-turned-cheetah hadn’t been the only one to recognize her animosity for the lion—but, primarily, Scarlet wanted to bring her new parents.

Unlike the others, happily chatting away, Rachel could see Mason was nervous—like her—about this upcoming meeting; it had been a few years since their families met, and, as much of a rebel as he was, he really did care about his father’s opinion, and this was likely crossing a line for him.

Rachel gave him a playful nudge, trying to ease her own tension as the others went off into their own little world, nighttime Miami a buzz below them; she swapped to Korean to make their conversation more private.

“You good, heh, Creed?”

“Mmh? Oh—dang it… The freak you always gotta make fun of me?” he grumbled, rubbing his thick, bear-like arm. “Just call me Mason if you’re going to be a bitch.”

“Dude, I’m playin’, man. Lighten up!”

“Ugh… you always sound so full of yourself—I don’t know… Maybe it is just me.”

Rachel sighed, scratching her neck and looking away. “No, you’re right… I can be a bit of a bitch to you at times. My bad.”

He smirked, looking a little more like his old self. “The heck’s gotten into you?”

“Eh—” Having missed a street, Rachel swapped back to English for a moment. “To the left, Fi.”

“Oh—whoops!”

“Yeah, Fi,” Nora snickered, “eyes on the road; you always were a bad driver!”

“Says who? I’m an amazing driver!”

Scarlet grinned at Nora, both lifting their eyebrows and making the Fairy’s cheeks redden.

“How would you know, Scarlet? I’ve never—are you two making another joke about my size?!”

Leaving them to play, Rachel turned her attention back to her cousin, returning to Korean. “I don’t know… A lot has changed since I’ve become a Lunar Hare.”

“Mmgh… tell me about it.”

“So, why are you nervous about coming over—afraid your dad will disown you or something?”

“What? No, nothing like that… It’s been a bit awkward, is all—ever since you kicked the crap out of me… I don’t know. It just sucks that our dads kind of had that… whatever. It just sucks—and with my mom, it just…”

Eyebrows coming together, Rachel’s expression fell. “What about your mom? Does she want to strangle me or something for hurting her little boy?”

“Eh… It’s more about what happened with Seo…”

The hair on the back of Rachel’s neck stood on end at the mention of his younger sister; a moment that had changed her mother’s life forever.

Lips pulling in, she tried to shrug off the unsettling feeling. “What about Seo, your mom, and my mom… Does… she blame my mom now for that drunk driver?”

He looked away. “I don’t know… It’s just—whenever her birthday comes around, or the date of the accident… Somehow our fight always comes up.”

Rachel swallowed the saliva gathering in her throat, recalling her mother's broken and empty look after the crash. It’s probably her deflecting to cope… Still, I hope she doesn’t blame Mom—it wasn’t her fault that the drunk driver hit us.

The next statement brought Mason’s concerns more into focus, putting guilt in Rachel’s gut. “I just… don’t know if seeing me will bring back those memories or something… I don’t want to do that to Aunt Chan-hee.”

“Soo-geun…” Rachel whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to smile. “I don’t think you coming over is going to hurt my mom… In fact, heh, she hates how stubborn our dads are—neither of them could put their pride aside to talk about it… Eh-heh, mmgm—I couldn’t either.”

“Are you saying you were in the wrong?” Mason chuckled, trying to move beyond the depressing conversation.

“We were wrong,” she clarified. “You were still a little turd!”

“Hehe. Not wrong. My bad, Rach.”

“Aye, it’s in the past… Huu-haaa… Ready to put it all behind us?” she asked, Scarlet being the first to point out the house to Fiona.

“No… Eh, I mean… I guess…”

“Haha. Sounds about right.”

Jessy stumbled to a stop in the front yard. “Umm… What’s so funny, Rachel?”

Nia stirred inside Rachel’s head, stretching out and smacking her lips. “Mmm… Are we there? Mom!”

“Ugh! Nothing… Hehe. My mom sent the security cameras up to alert them when someone walked up to the porch,” she mused, waving at the camera as she heard her mother rushing to the door.

Sudden misfortune twisted Rachel’s gut, causing her to jog forward as the door swung open for Molly to rush out. Rahcel couldn’t help but notice the flurry of tears upon seeing them in the bright porch light. “Rachel! Scarlet! You two—you’re in one—S-Soo-geun… Eh—”

Her mother tripped on the last step to land in Rachel’s open arms. “You okay, Mom?”

Shimmering lights sparkled into Nia’s frantic face and stiff ears. “Mom! You—you almost died!”

“Huh… Rachel—two… Who…”

Her mother choked as the black and white rose spear materialized into Jaenona’s cute, smiling face. “This is the woman that gave birth to your consort, Master?”

“J-Jaenona?! That’s not the right word!” Anthony gagged, not knowing what to do with his hands.

“Little… Rachel’s… What?! Rachel, what—who are these girls?!” her mother demanded. “No, why…”

“Mom—calm down a little,” she urged, Nam appearing in the doorway. “Hey, Bro, mind helping me with Mom?”

“No. I’m fine! I’m just…”

“It’s me—It’s Nia, Mom!”

“Nia… But…” Her mother’s gaze went to Rachel’s outfit. “Your grandmother’s necklace?”

Molly’s focus drifted from her to a bashful Scarlet, the waving Irish sisters, Anthony, Jaenona, an awkward Mason and Jessy, and finally settled on a grinning Nia. “Living Denier, Nia?”

“You remembered! Mhm! It’s me—I have my own body now?! Aren’t I cute?”

“Really cute…”

“Okay, Mom,” Rachel sighed, guiding her mother inside, the woman’s head practically steaming from overstimulation; she needed a little help as her knees almost gave way from a temporary lack of strength. “Let’s move one step at a time.”

Her mother leaned into her rather than pulling away, resting her head against her shoulder. “Okay… I’m just happy you’re home…”

All anxiety melting away, Rachel gave her brother a thankful smile; she didn’t even really know why, but it felt right and, walking inside, memories of growing up bubbled past all her internal plight for the future.

“Is Mom okay?” Alexa asked, stepping out of the kitchen.

Her father soon joined behind the blonde. “Molly?”

“I’m fine—hehe… Rachel saved me from myself.”

“She almost tripped and died!” Nia chimed in, causing his confusion to double.

“Who… is this, Rachel?”

Molly giggled, tears falling down her cheeks as she reached over to pull Nia in closer. “Another daughter; everyone has a place at our table!”

The little bunny girl sniffed, multi-hued eyes growing to the size of saucers while returning the hug and making their passage into the kitchen challenging. “Mom!”

Rachel wanted to laugh and cry upon reaching the formal dining room across from the kitchen. It was lovingly loaded with all sorts of food, including carefully labeled blood dishes for Scarlet. Mom… Always going overboard.

Bending down to kiss her mother’s forehead, she let her take control once seated, pointing everyone to their places around the extended family table; she’d pulled out all the stops, and for her careful mother to have even taken out the fancy china Rachel’s grandfather got her parents for their wedding gift, this was an important occasion.

Sitting next to her mother, Scarlet on the opposite side, their mother holding her two daughter’s hands, Molly couldn’t wait for introductions. “Please, don’t hesitate to eat, and while going around, can everyone introduce themselves?

“Oh, and, Rachel, don’t bother explaining anything yet—let’s just… hmm-hmm, enjoy ourselves… I want to just forget about everything and have all of you here.”

Fiona cleared her throat, flying down to hover in front of Molly. “Hello again, Miss Park; Nora and I would love to stay, but we need to get back to see our own parents.”

“Right! Right! Of course—umm, do you want to bring some stuff home with you? I have plenty more!”

Nora chuckled, doing her best to make sure her long, wagging tail didn’t bump anything as she held her hands behind her back. “I think Mom and Dad would like that, Fi. I’m pretty sure they’d want to meet you sometime, too.”

“I’d love that! Here, let me get some things out; they’re already packaged and sealed. Umm, Nia!”

Weaving back and forth in her seat beside Rachel, the girl’s ears stood straight into the air as she was called. “Yes, Mom?”

“Hmm-hmm. I can’t believe how many gorgeous daughters I’m being blessed with!”

“Aww, thanks, Mom! I get a gorgeous mom, too!”

Rachel leaned over to nudge the bunny girl, trying to contain her hyperactive shakes. Psst…

“Haha. You’re so sweet!” the gushing mother chuckled while scooting out of her chair to bustle to the fridge with Fiona and Nora.

“What? Why are we whispering?”

We don’t want to be too loud, or we’ll wake up Yseress.

“Ooh! Secrets?” she hissed, an impish grin lighting her eyes.

You think you can bully Yseress into dressing up with you guys when you go out?

“We’re going to go out?!”

Shhh!

“Sorry! Quietly…”

She gave her a toothy wink as Molly glanced back at their actions, and there were questioning glances from the others.

“Nia?”

“Y-Yes, Mom!?”

Don’t sound guilty.

“I can’t help it!”

“Hehe. Do you want to start the introductions?”

“Oh, yeah! Hello, I’m Nia,” she promptly pointed at Rachel. “I’m her outfit—Living Denier—and Rachel was kind enough… not that she’s typically kind…”

“The shade!” Nam chuckled, drawing a mirror reaction from Mason, Scarlet, and Alexa.

Rachel gave her a dull look.

“What? I’m not wrong; you can be a total pain in the a—ash… eh-butt, sometimes! Did you know she makes fun of me all the time?!”

“Oh?” Her father questioned, helping himself to the mashed potatoes Anthony passed to him. “Do tell.”

“Ugh! She’s so—mmgm! Rachel always makes fun of my fashion sense, and she makes fun of my ears!”

“That’s a total lie!” Rachel shot back.

“Well… I guess it was more her boyfriend, but yeah…”

Anthony’s hands went into the air at being dragged into the conversation. “What? No. I just said ears weren’t really my thing—in general—I didn’t say anything about you; I was talking about Rachel.”

“We both have ears! Plus, I’m part of Rachel’s soul, so—oh, thank you, Lil’ Sis,” she said as the Eldritch child emulated Anthony and the others by blindly picking up a ketchup bottle to pass it over. “Hehe. You’re not supposed to do that with the conde… conde…”

“Condiments,” Rachel corrected, leaning over to steal the fruit salad bowl Jaenona innocently handed over next and having a short ear battle with Nia to distract her. “And… I win.”

“Wha—Rachel… Huh—no! I wanted that!”

“Too slow, short-ears.”

“You said it!”

“Hehe.”

“See!”

“I’m playing. I’m playing.”

“It’s not playing if it’s true—n-not that they’re bad!”

“I didn’t say it!”

She saw her mother give her a slight frown. “Rachel, don’t bully her.”

“Thank you, Mom! See what I have to deal with?!”

I’ll give you that win, Rachel internally teased, giving her a wink.

“What win? You totally made fun of my shorter ears! I’m a rabbit; that’s like—like telling a person to get taller! It doesn’t work!”

Like having a nice, plump rear and silky-smooth tail?

“Oh, shut up! No one likes a show-off!”

“Having fun?” Scarlet laughed. “By the way, they can talk to each other in their heads, Rachel told me earlier.”

“Cool,” Nam nodded, going first for the normal salad without dressing. “Mind telling us a bit about the, eh-ahem, little girl that, umm, kind of looks like you, Rach?”

If her mother had hare ears, they would have been piqued. “Mmh—I also caught on that Anthony has changed… I didn’t know it was possible for you to get even more handsome, but consider me impressed! Way to go, Rachel!”

“Mom!”

“Hehe. Thanks, Miss Park. Umm… Actually, Jaenona is… It’s a bit complicated.”

“Is it?” Jaenona blinked, cosmic eyes catching quite a few people’s attention. “I am what you call an Eldritch entity that is being sustained by Anthony’s—Master?”

“Master?” Sam muttered between bites.

“Ahem… Basically, she’s somewhat like Nia.”

Alexa’s mouth opened a second, but it took a second to find the right words. “She… is your clothes?”

“No! No!” Nia protested, bending down to nuzzle the giggling girl’s cheek. “She’s Anthony’s weapon—a super bad-a—I, eh, mean a super cool spear!”

Rachel forced a smile as she got up to see Nora and Fiona off, carrying the many dishes from their second fridge. “Mom… I think I need to go into a bit of detail if we’re ever going to get everything straight.”

“Haha. I guess so. I was just so stunned—oh, not that I don’t want to see you or have you here, Soo-geun—I’m glad you decided to come over.”

“Yeah. I’m happy to see you, Aunt Chan-hee,” he said, getting up to scoot around everyone and hug her as the conversation pivoted. “I, umm… do you remember—”

“Jessy? Of course! How are you, Sweety?”

“Good!”

“Actually… Jessy and I are kind of, umm… dating now.”

“That’s lovely!”

“Mom,” Rachel sighed, shutting the door behind Fiona and heading back into the dining room.

“What?”

“You’re deflecting.”

“I just… I know. I just don’t want to talk about anything that might pull you away again… Do we have to do it—tonight? Can’t we do it tomorrow?”

Rachel shook her head and jabbed her thumb at Alexa. “We can for the big stuff, but there is something we do need to handle tonight, and I think you’ll love it.”

“About me?” Alexa choked, her hand shooting to her throat. “What—ack—about me?”

Catching her brother’s concerned gaze, Rachel let out a stream of air.

“It’s not bad!” Scarlet swiftly interjected, and Nia’s eyes lit up.

“Oh! The Seed! We have a Seed for you!”

“A… seed?” Alexa mumbled, looking to her husband for him to shake his head.

Wanting to put everything behind them, Rachel folded her arms over the back of her chair, looking at her blonde sister-in-law. “I made you a promise that if it were possible to give you powers, I would do it, and… we found a way.”

Silence ensued as the information sank in, and naturally, her mother was the first to pose the question, followed by her brother.

“Is it safe?”

“What will it do to her? There are a lot of different changes that came from The Oscillation, Rachel.”

Rachel stifled an involuntary yawn that came out of nowhere. “I—didn’t say you had to do it; I said we found a way. Are there risks to it? Sure. Heh. Do you think I planned on being a Lunar Hare? No, but so far as we currently understand, these Seeds within us connect to some kind of network that resonates with—”

She paused; Dream had a specific connotation when it came to the little Eldritch child that had explained it to them, and it was a loaded word.

“Let me rephrase this… It basically takes whatever your innermost dream or desire—almost an instinctual, subconscious way you wish to become—and,” she chuckled while looking at the fruit salad Nia had stolen back, “and it takes the recipe you give it, which is influenced a bit by the pop-culture, and uses what ingredients it has to simulate it.”

Scarlet’s fingers tightened against her abdomen. “It’s not always pretty; Nora, for instance—that cheetah girl you saw, Alexa?”

“Mhm?”

“Yeah… She actually got turned into a Mimic Slime; she’s not really a Beastkin, but taking that form, and it was really hard for her at the start of The Oscillation. It’s not just a wishing Seed… It brings out the good and the bad.”

Molly crossed her arms beside Rachel. “You’re saying we shouldn’t risk it! Perfect. We can just move past—”

“Mom,” Rachel leaned over to draw her into a hug.

“Hmm?”

“You’re scared.”

“Of course I am. It’s not a risk we need to take; we should just move on.”

Nam set his utensils down, giving his conflicted wife a sad smile. “I think what Rachel is saying, Mom, is that it isn’t up to us; it’s—”

“Not entirely,” Rachel cut in, “but you are her husband, Nam; I’d expect it to be something the two of you would want to talk over.”

“Completely,” Alexa whispered, fingers moving to her belly as she glared at her half-stacked plate. “Umm… We can finish dinner, and then Nam and I can go on a walk and talk about it. If it does carry risks, I’d like to know more… Can you come with us, Rachel?”

“To answer questions? Sure. Mom…”

“Mmm… I know… I need to let go and—and let people make their own decisions. I just… don’t want to see anyone else in our family get hurt—our growing family,” she cried, shifting over to hug Nia from behind and rub her head against her ears.

“Hehe—Mom—that tickles!”

“I think your ears are adorable, Nia… We’ll have a good, long shopping session this week.”

“With Big and Lil’ Sis?” Nia gasped, practically frothing at the mouth.

“Big Sis?”

Rachel motioned for her to take a seat. “Sit! Eat! Let me talk so this doesn’t take all night, and, Mom, you know I wouldn’t be putting this out there if I thought it would only hurt our family.”

“I know…”

Her father got up to pry his wife away from Nia and let her cling to him instead. “Let’s have some faith in our daughter.”

“I know… I’m just an overreacting mother.”

Scarlet giggled, pulling everyone’s attention. “Not at all, Mom! Haha. When you have a daredevil like Rachel for a daughter—I do my best, Mom!”

“Good! Hehe, keep your sister out of trouble!”

“Sure will, Mom! Eh, well… I’ll do my best; she’s tricky!”

“Oh, how I know! I’m so thankful to have you, Scarlet—you help ease my heart when Rachel’s with you.”

“Pfft!” Nia cracked up inside her head and almost choked. “Y-You’re the trouble daughter! Hahaha! The rebellious teenager, and we’re the good daughters! Poor, poor Mom and Dad!”

She had trouble speaking aloud. “I, heh—I’ll do my best, too, Mom, Dad—Rachel’s a naughty bunny, but we do our best!”

Maybe in your dreams, and what kind of insult are you playing at?

“Revenge!”

Fair…

“Totally fair—you make fun of my ears; I call you a fat-butt psycho bunny!”

Woah! Let’s not go overboard here.

“The Law of Escalation!”

Settling Nia down, Rachel brought her family into a knowledge of Yseress; the Nephilim was somehow still fast asleep with Nia’s cries and shouts. Her mother and sister-in-law were enthralled by the idea of having a new member of the family that was a Devil, Angel, and Divine.

Thrilled at the prospect of seeing her, they finished eating fairly quickly, and as Rachel remembered, her mother was a fantastic chef; she had years to perfect her craft with the community events she often participated in.

Leaving the boys to finish cleaning up and putting the dishes away, her mother, Nia, Jessy, Jaenona, and Scarlet went to the living room to plan their future shopping venture while Rachel shut the door behind Alexa and Nam to follow and answer questions. It was time to fulfill her sister-in-law’s dreams, which is something Rachel never thought she’d do.

The night breeze was reasonably warm for the season, and keeping her hands behind her back—casting her hearing wide to passively take in the general mood of Miami—Rachel spoke when their conversation shifted to her.

Scarlet let the family know about not mentioning anything in the Lovecraft universe around Jaenona, which was met with utter bewilderment; her mother wanted to know why they needed to not talk about love, showing how much her family knew about that avenue of pop-culture.

After twenty minutes of branching topics, the decision came to a head. They had circled their block twice already, waving to the nightlife neighbors as they went, many of whom she’d known much of her life.

Slowing to a halt, Alexa puffed out a long breath. “Nam…”

Nam stepped in to bring her into a hug. “Your dream of being a magical girl, fighting for justice, huh?”

“I know it’s silly… I’m a sheltered rich girl that had too much time on her hands—eh-heh, that still has too much time on her hands… thanks to all the work you put in to give us a good life…”

“And you want to do something worthwhile.”

“Something more than just passing the time with your mom—not that I hate all the time I get to spend with her—I know I’m privileged to not have to work, but it’s just… not enough to help around the house with all of her projects.”

Rachel had known Alexa was a sheltered daddy’s girl that hadn’t had to work for anything a day in her life but hadn’t expected her to have such pent-up frustration about it. In a way, marrying Nam was another way for her father to watch over her; he had a lot of financial influence over the company, making her ask the question that popped into her head.

“Let’s say this turns out bad… You turn into a furry monster.”

Alexa forced a laugh. “Eh-heh, you mean the way you’ve always seen me… You forgot lazy at the front.”

“I’m not trying to be rude, Alexa.”

“Haaa… I know. You’ve been making a real difference in the world, Rachel…” She pulled away to brush back her blonde bangs before hugging herself. “I won’t say I’m not jealous—I am… I want to do something… Anything really.”

Hmm… Mom is just like her Dad; I didn’t hear their conversations behind closed doors, but I bet Dad was the reason I was even able to do anything dangerous after the accident… They always keep everything behind closed doors, so I didn’t see any of their fights… I don’t know if that was good or bad.

“You’re a caged bird, and you want to be free?”

Her vision narrowed to the side and a short hiss shot through her teeth. “I’m not trying to score pity points—and I hate that comparison.”

“Rachel,” Nam muttered.

She held up her hands. “I’m being blunt, okay? I’m not trying to be facetious. You feel caged in, and you want to make a difference like me—well, let me tell you how I feel… I couldn’t care less about the world or making any sort of difference in it.”

Alexa scratched her collarbone, shifting to the side to look at her. “Really?”

Nam reached out to shove Rachel away a little, and she let herself be pushed off-balance to give him the playful satisfaction. “Rach has always been like that—selfish to the bone!”

“Heh, I’m honest about it.” Leaning to the side with the force he used, she flipped back upright, her skirt flaring around her long legs. “Why did I do all of that stuff—save South Beach, work with the military, and do all the stuff that will come out about Cuba? I did it because it would benefit me; give me control. Don’t think of me as some savior; I’m not so holy.”

“Mmmmh… Mmm-hmm, not so holy, Mistress?” Yseress giggled. “If only they knew how devilish you truly are.”

“Right!” Rachel scoffed, pointing at herself. “I literally have a corrupted—well, semi-purified, corrupted Nephilim inside me. I am far from perfect and—definitely—not a role model!”

“Hehe. I guess I’m not so pure, too,” Alexa sighed. “As much as I want to be… I’m selfish, too—hehe, probably more than you—who knows what I’ll end up looking like? I certainly—I do not want to be ugly… I want to be super cute… A magical girl.”

“You are cute, Honey!”

Alexa gestured at her face with disdain. “Not this kind of cute… I have man shoulders, I’m not all proportional, and—gah, every time I’d see Rachel in her workout stuff, I was reminded she has longer legs than me, and—see! I’m super vain! My hair is bland—my nose is too sharp… Even if it’s just a short transformation, I want to be as cute as I dream!”

Nam leaned in to kiss her forehead and brush back her blonde locks. “I don’t know why you’re always so hard on yourself.”

“She’s not the most charming young woman,” Yseress commented.

Rude, Rachel internally glared.

“Deny reality all you wish if it makes you feel better, but she is aware of her faults; there is nothing wrong with that. Show me a woman that lacks envy, and I’ll name her a saint. Humph—hehe, we met one, in fact. You cannot tell me there is a ‘stark’ difference between Jeanne d'Arc and your little sister-in-law.”

Go back to your hole.

“Until you need me. Hmm-hmm.”

A thought struck Rachel that made a smirk twist her lips while Alexa and Nam worked through her self-image issues.

Hold up…

“Yes?”

If the Seed gives us an inner vision of our true desires… You ‘hated’ those gnarled, decrepit wings you used to have.

“The nerve! I would—I could never… Dirty, Mistress… Jeanne d'Arc, you are not! Humph!”

Pleasant sulking!

“What are you grinning at, Rachel?” Nam mumbled, drawing her out of her mind.

“Making fun of Yseress. Anyway, hehe, I was distracted. What’s up?”

Alexa’s brow was set, and, looking her straight in the eyes, blurted, “I want to join Mythic! I know I’m selfish—I know it’s dangerous—and I know Nam will be worried about me, but… I want to do something more with my life!”

Rachel wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. If you want to do something more with your life, go start a charity, work in the community, or go to school and get a job…

“And who is harsh? She’s spilling her heart to you! Bleh…”

You’re still here, yellow skin?

“At least I am not what Nia refers to as a ‘furry on the heat!’”

Face turning Scarlet, Rachel barked. Take that back! Nia said what about me?! She doesn’t have the spine to say that!

“Rachel?” Alexa whispered, determination faltering. “Am… I reaching too far?”

“Aww, look at what you’ve done; she’s crushed. Hehe. I will need to learn what this ‘furry’ word means if it gives me this reaction! Most enthralling.”

I’ll talk to Nia about that comment later! Rachel hissed, returning to her sister-in-law.

“Ugh… No, Yseress is just being the devil bitch she is.”

“Ooh, is that the best you have?”

“Anyway… I still want to know if you can handle the negatives, Alexa… I’m sure there will be some.”

“I promise! I know my dad may get mad, and you’re worried about your—our family… I’m my own woman—I’m an adult, and I’ll handle it like one. If my dad doesn’t like that, then that’s his problem; I’m not his little girl anymore.”

“Huu-haaa… Nam?”

“I support her, Rach,” he smiled, pulling Alexa against her side. “I’m not a fighter, and I might even be able to make these energy clones. I have to help with the business somehow. Not everything has to be punching someone in the face.”

“True…” Ears tilting to the left, Rachel folded her arms under her bust. “Okay, Alexa, but as I said, I’m going to be blunt, and… Mythic is composed of some of the strongest Demi in the U.S., potentially the world. You can’t just up and join because you’re my sister-in-law.”

“I know I have to prove to you I’m worthy…”

“No. This isn’t a popularity contest, Alexa. Nam couldn’t join us if he wanted to, and it has nothing to do with me not wanting him in Mythic; this Guild business is more than just a job. We handle life and death combat scenarios that put anything you can imagine to shame.

“Tough people—real war, veteran soldiers—couldn’t handle the things we dealt with in Cuba. It’s not pretty rainbow magical girl stuff… This is real, filthy, bloody, and evil—Hades—yes, we literally stood in Hades. We are sent to places that no one else can handle—physically and mentally.”

“I won’t say I’m prepared,” Alexa shot back, fire in her eyes. “Were you prepared when you went?”

“She has a point, Mistress. Hehe.”

“No… I did go through many things that did harden me before that, but no, I was not prepared for what evil I saw in Cuba. I’m not going to say you can’t do it, Alexa… I promised you I would get you powers if I could, and I hold to my promises; for that reason, I cannot promise you a spot in Mythic, yet… If you are strong enough after bonding to the Seed, I’ll give you an opportunity.”

“Thank you, Rachel! Now, I just need to focus on my wish for this Seed… I know how it sounds, and I know you said you’re not a role model, but… I want to be more like you, Rachel. I want to be strong… To be able to do what I want no matter the obstacles—it’s what I’ve most admired about you.”

“Whatever,” Rachel chuckled, shaking her head as they turned the corner of her parents’ street. “So… You’re going to go through with it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. We can do it with everyone present; I need to introduce Yseress anyway. Let’s get this over with.”

Guiding them back, Rachel could hear the nervous twitches in her brother’s muscles; he wanted to support his wife, yet it was obvious to Rachel that he wasn’t sold on the idea. Still, it was probably rare for Alexa to be so adamant about something, and he didn’t want to hamper this budding, bold part of her.

This will likely affect her transformation.

“Likely. Do you wish to take bets that she will become a hideous monster?”

…

“She was the one who said it; although, to be fair, heh, you added one particular part, Mistress! Hairy and all.”

Leading the way inside, Alexa made her decision known, and Rachel sat on the couch with Scarlet; the fanged girl was biting her lip, which was healed by her regeneration.

Puffing out a long stream of air, Rachel had her mouthy Nephilim reveal herself in a swirl of black feathers—always the show-off—to Nia and Jaenona’s claps; she was sure the little girl was just mimicking Nia.

Awe was sparked by her appearance, and if Rachel didn’t know any better, with Scarlet across from her, the Nephilim could have been her big, dark-winged, angelic sister; there was a blood-red hue to a few of her raven locks that Rachel hadn’t noticed before.

With an amused smirk on her rosy lips, and elegant two curved horns gleaming in the overhead light, she flexed her wings a little. “Greetings, Mortals. I am Yseress, the enslaved, lovely, and tragic Nephilim that has been chained to Rachel’s spirit.”

“Just call me a monster; it’s shorter,” Rachel grumbled.

“Hmm-hmm. Indeed, you are quite the heated beastie, my hot-blooded Mistress.”

“Typical.”

“I do enjoy this new—”

Hmm… should I talk about the pan or corn issue you have?

Nia’s ears pricked up. “Corn and pan issue?”

Yseress choked, giving her a smirk a hard glare that said, don’t you dare bring up cakes!

We have an understanding?

“Crystal…”

“Aww! Big Sis,” Nia whined. “What about pans and corn—what issue? Ohhh! Do you want to learn how to cook?”

Molly’s eyes sparkled. “I would love to teach you how to cook, Yseress!”

“No-eh… Ahem… Excuse my earlier statement. Mmm… Rachel,” she asked, a tight smile on her lips, “you called me for a task?”

Alexa couldn’t take her eyes off Yseress’ fluttering wings, agitated by Rachel’s threat. “All I need to do is… touch you?”

“Mmh, and for me to wish to pass along the gift. Haaa… Let us get this over with; I am growing tired.”

Not having fun?

“Bite your ear.”

Orders… for your Mistress? Rachel gasped.

“Mmgm-hmm-hmm… Apologies. You must have misheard me.”

Mhmm.

Dully holding out her hand, further illustrating the image of Scarlet’s sister by her black fingernails, Rachel had to wonder now that they were so close together. Everyone held their breath as Alexa stepped forward and took it.

Rachel’s ears stood up as the resonance struck; Scarlet had a similar reaction, and Jaenona put her hands over her mouth.

“Oh?! How unique! I see…”

Sharp light blinded them, and when it cleared, Rachel shot back, only for her chair’s legs to snap; smoothly using the momentum to enter a reverse somersault, she blinked upon seeing her stunned sister-in-law.

Alexa radiated a dazzling white light that made Yseress hiss and back into the fireplace, knocking over the items on the shelf above it.

A first for Rachel, her outfit had changed—likely due to her Magical Girl vision—and the thigh-length, shoulderless dress reflected her alabaster shine with gold trim. Wearing elegant boots and a garter belt, she had a yellow ribbon tied around her neck and sleeves that only went up to her biceps.

The thing that most drew Rachel’s attention was her large, golden irises with white four-pointed stars at their center, the aurelian halo above her head, and the modest wings protruding from her lower back.

Fingers rising to pull around her thick, twinkling white hair, Alexa muttered. “I’m… an angel magical girl—did you all… get bigger?”

Nia squealed. “You look as young as me now; you’re sooo adorable—pretty—I can’t—all the words!”

“Younger,” Rachel mumbled in disbelief. “I think… it made you thirteen?”

“Huh?! T-That’s not what I meant by—I wanted to be cute—not thirteen! I’m married! How—how can… This has to be temporary—a transformation… It’s… it’s not… What am I now… A Mystickin Angel Magical Girl?”

Rachel’s gaze instantly went to Jaenona; the Eldritch girl had a fascinated look on her face as she studied the haloed teenager. Mystickin? That’s a totally new classification; she’s turned into the Race Angel—an actual Angel—by coming into contact with Yseress… Will that continue to the others when she passes it on? I need answers!

Alexa’s legs gave way, and she fell to the rug. “Am I… stuck being thirteen forever?”

Yseress folded her wings together to scoot toward the kitchen and escape her holy glow. “Hehe. Well, such is the price of power, Dear. Welcome to the life of adolescence!”

“Teenagers! Teenagers, Big Sis; we’re not kids! Oh! Can we go to school, Rachel; I want to try it, and Alexa can show me around how to do all the stuff! We could be school buddies!”

“This… can’t be my life now!” Alexa cried.

Her mother seemed to have seen heaven in Alexa’s rays because she was seeing stars. “I have… so many cute daughters now; I might just die! You’re so… angelic, Alexa!”