Down the Rabbit Hole

I sit in silence frequently, tears hitting my eyes.

Looking at a world with multiple filters at once.

Seeing Home all around you in a grey scale all around you. Color swarming and filling itself in atop a lazy smile, a crooked look, even a shrug.

Weed is the only thing that helps me float above the pain.

The shards of your past become literal when they leave physical scars on my body.

Beginning to feel a bit like a voodoo doll, all stitched up and absurd.

Watching mother's dance with their children as my arms ache from the absence of mine.

The best way I can describe surviving the multiverse is immortality not translating into invulnerability. A form of emotional arthritis begins to set in. Everything from your heart to your spine to the heels of your feet begins to ache.


Slowly, nothing begins to feel real. Cracks in the structure of how our planes of existence overlap each other. The seams between them become nigh on impossible to gauge, as they slip by underfoot like a hiccup or a breeze.

Learning to conceal emotion on my facial expressions, that was a difficult lesson to learn. Many a fracture I myself have caused by saying the right thing at the wrong moment.

Deadpanning has become my set of features. A bit of dark humor thrown in here and there.

I find myself in a place where Sanctuary does not exist. Where there exists little but escaping the pain of daily life.

An under the radar job. Walking to work.

Going by a different name.

Keeping my mouth shut for fear of who might recognize me here.

Wondering when the fractures will widen beneath my feet and reality will change again.

Stain the petals red

Staring up through my bangs at my captor, I huffed.

"This is impractical, dear. You could've simply asked to come see me. The bondage and secrecy were unnecessary."

With a smile and a shake of his head, Gabriel finished tying the knot binding my feet, reaching forward to check the strength of the rope holding my hands together in a most annoying fashion. "You would've fled the moment I contacted you, and you know it. And don't pretend if it weren't for the bindings and your being blind due to the hood on the trip here that you wouldn't have escaped this already."

Sitting back on his heels, he chuckled. "Besides. I like fucking with your head and you know it."

I glared up at him in annoyance. "Phones and computers exist for a reason. Meeting AT ALL is unnecessary these days. If you know I don't like you this much, why bother?"

A raised eyebrow from him, his amusement painting his face in exaggerated strokes. "But texting doesn't let me piss you off. Or verify if you're telling the truth or not. Easier to simply watch your face as you talk. Saves a lot of time."

"Alright, alright damn it. What do you want to know so damned badly it was worth risking my kicking your ass?"

Another laugh from him. "You know what. The same question you always dodge. Why I wear his face."

A pointed look past his shoulder as I fought to hold my temper. The urge to kill this fucker rose with every breath.

"It isn't my fault you don't remember, you asshole. And it isn't my job to teach you what it all means. Kinda defeats the purpose of you losing your memories to begin with."

A sudden pain shot through my face as his palm connected across my jaw, snapping my head to the side. "Wrong answer, bitch. I know you know more than you're letting in. You kept calling me by his name."

"Took you ages to stop bitching and moaning about it, right as I was figuring out whatever you knew could be what I needed to break this curse. You know what I need to remember. Isn't it your job as Keeper to share the secrets you find with those that need them?"

I laughed sardonically, openly twisting my hands to try to force leeway in my bonds. I'd be fucking damned if I didn't try to find a way out. Away from this nightmare of a situation.

Once, many repetitions ago, I fell in love with the man whose body this hijacker rode like a meatsuit. Lived a lifetime at his side, bore his children, fought at his side against the boogeymen that went bump in the night.

Thousands of moments in lockstep. A ring burning hot against my skin in times of distress. Whispered confessions at the witch's hour, forehead to forehead. Children playing in the sunlight, laughing and smiling. Symbols and blood exchanged from one set of skin to another.

A lifetime of memories, slain at the hand of a moment's choice. An exchange of vows and prices paid to protect that which mattered most to us. A debt that could never stop being paid. Hells envisioned in the darkest of night terrors could not compare to that which we wrought so recklessly.

With a Cheshire smile stained red, I grinned up at him amusedly. "It just kills you not to know where you come from doesn't it, asshole? You just can't stand that I know more than you. Move on. Let it go. It just doesn't matter."

He growled at me in frustration, snatching me up by my shirt to stand face to face with him. His grip holding me up high to do so, forcing me to tiptoe, to lean my weight against his grip to keep from falling forward.

"If it didn't matter so much, you wouldn't have kept trying to bring him back. You wouldn't have cried every time I visited for so long. So many times you said his name in your sleep. Don't think I don't know you used my body to mourn him. I'm not stupid. But still, you refuse to tell me who he was. I've had to scour everything I found in my things in the room I woke up in just to survive the world I woke up in."

"You were so eager to save me until you started cottoning on that I wasn't him. Something in my eyes, in the way I stood, I don't fucking know, but you figured it out. Despite my best efforts."

"I'm starting to get images of his life when I sleep, you fucking cunt. I can't escape them. Most of the shit I see doesn't make any fucking sense to me, and one of these days, you aren't going to have a choice about it. You're going to have to explain, or I'm going to remember enough to piece it all together. And something tells me I'm going to come straight for you with an axe to grind for it all."

Grinning again, I let the blood I had collected in my mouth from something tearing in my mouth to dribble down my face as I amusedly waggled my newly freed hands next to his face. Taking advantage of his moment of surprise, I grabbed hold of the back of his head and smashed my forehead violently into his nose to the symphony of cartiledge breaking and his screams of pain.

Twisting away from his grasp, I ran from him, pausing in the doorway to salute him briefly as I left.

Calling over my shoulder as I sprinted across the line marking the warded space I couldn't Travel from to the land I could easily create a tear in to safer territory, I taunted him one last time. "Good luck figuring it out, you bastard. I'm never saving you from this shitty existence, and not a fucking thing you do or say or remember will ever change that. Go rot in a fucking hole, Gabriel!"

He regained his senses with a scream of outrage and bolted after me just in time to watch me disappear through a tear in a burst of ash and smoke.

Stupid fucking twat forgot I carry blades in my pockets like a kid hoards candy. What did he expect, me to roll over and cave to his demands for information after dozens of his failures? Each meeting seemed to escalate in violence and desperation, but did nothing to change matters.

The secret I held from him will die with me before I would ever willingly give him what he needed to Ascend to a Higher level of monster. Never will it happen.

I won't be the cause of another war.

Stakes in the Ground

I wiped my brow wearily, looking down at the grave marker I was forced into erecting.

Resting my foot on the top of the Spade's blade, I contemplated the tilled earth thoughtfully.

Angrily. Calmly. Conflicted.

"Just had to go and die again, didn't ya fucker? Couldn't just wait for reinforcements patiently. Had to go charging in like some Leroy Jenkins fuckface, thinking yourself a Billy badass. You didn't need the help, eh?"

"Look where it got ya. Six feet deep in the middle of contested land. Couldn't even give me the convenience of dying in a place I'm allowed to be."

Still speaking aloud, I held my hand out in the universal stop gesture. Stopping my shadow from stepping forward and comforting me just yet. Corporealizing just out of my sight didn't keep me from sensing his intentions.

Few things alluded my notice these days.

"If I get shot doing this, I'm coming back and pissing on the earth I know your head rests under."

Slowly, I withdrew the leather cord my pendant hung from, from around my neck. Hung the cord a seemingly centuries old ring rested on upon the wooden cross.

To my companion, I spoke off to the side. "How far out is the patrol?"

Flipping jet-black hair out of his eyes for the hair to fall into nearly the same placement as before, he replied.

"A few miles out. Closing fast."

After a pause, he spoke again. "We should have left by now."

Turning slightly, I eyed my angelic companion. His feathers faintly dragging the ground, glamoured to appear sightless in accordance with his businesslike demeanor. He so hated to be seen properly. Preferring instead for sight to slide past him without remark. So in discordance to his true demeanor and appearance.

In the crowds we ran in, it was dangerous to be Seen.

I smirked slightly, hefting the tool to rest upon my shoulder like it was any regular day gardening, turning my body to face his to find him but a foot away. Ten feet eaten up in the blink of an eye. One of his trademark latent abilities.

"Do you really think I'm trying to avoid a scuffle right now?"

A shadow of an annoyed smile skirted across Cass's face, to be replaced by bemused boredom.

"No, but being found right now would be difficult to explain at the peace accords next week."

I laughed. "Dead men tell no tales, remember?"

Gesturing towards the earth at my feet, he shook his head. "This is going to be hard enough to disavow knowledge of. Six dead Defenders would be impossible."

He paused. "He wouldn't want you to destroy all the hard work you've put into this. All of it. Not because of some misplaced emotions you can handle once we leave."

"Don't throw it all away now because you blame them for his death. It won't bring him back."

Sighing exasperatedly, I grabbed my pack and started walking in the direction of a river we passed on the way from the Path. "You know this isn't the end. Blood is going to fall for this. He was one of Ours. I'm not going to forget why he passed. Not this time. I can't forgive it this time."

Keeping pace, he slipped back into his other form, the sound of his footfalls being swallowed by mine.

"You won't have to. But now is not the time."

Rolling my eyes, I continued ahead.

Now was not the time, indeed.

Further Down We Go

The most fucked up part about living in a world that folds in and out of others is watching the was, is, and should be cross.

Ghosts of the dead strolling in your front door, wondering what's for dinner.

Enemies, in their land, cuddle buddies with people I care about.

Friends throwing a blade within a hairsbreadth of my face for daring to visit.

Being expected to know where my footsteps fall.

What to do.

How to feel.

I'm a stranger in this land.

On the surface, it looks like my home.

My home's been gone for many a year.

And yet, I still smile. Keep going through the motions.

This was the best of all the world's I could have fallen into.

I can't help but hold onto old ties.

Old grudges.

Old loves.

How do you keep from going insane when the life you've lived is now a lie? A work of fiction or memory?

I lose track.

Grew afraid of writing the accords.

So afraid of being seen. Heard. Found.

Fuck it all.

I'm tired of watching people emotionally graverob everything we worked for.

Breaking down inside as the people I love ask what my name is. Disbelieving we ever had a life together.

It's the immortal's dilemma all over again, I just keep dying and coming back. Learning a new beat to move to, a new job to learn on the fly, memorizing lists of who to speak to and who to avoid.

Can't catch my breath in this new world.

Someone new to be every few months as I fall through the cracks.

I stopped trying to bring people with me across these jumps.

Some people just can't help but hold on

Others, can't figure out why they keep getting drawn to the stranger with a familiar smile.

Like magnets with polarized force, to and from.

Some blame me or accuse me of wothcraft for being who I am. Knowing what I do.

Oh, the record keeps ski-ii-iii-iii-pp-ppp-ppp-iiiiing.

Tired of keeping these memories in my head to prevent them from affecting the world.

These world's, these lands, pressing down on me through my memories.

Somewhere, somehow I have to write.

Fragments of the stories that'll never fully get told.

Here, they'll come to die.

In and out, weaving through time.

It's the only discourse I have left in this mad world we walk.

Further down the rabbit hole, we go.

Take a deep breath and jump with me now.

It's time.

Be wary, though, this route be long and dangerous.

Behold all you see with a grain of salt.

And keep your heads about you. Literally.

I hear there's royalty here that likes removing them.

Maybe

Somehow, when we broke the loop, I was expecting.. more.

Fireworks. Explosions. The earth shaking.

Something.

Instead.. the loop broke apart like glass suspended in too old concrete glue. Dusty, slow, pieces falling in slow motion through that which had held it.

The participants left confused, slowly, hesitantly taking new steps forward. Unsure where the new life began and the old one ended.

We have taken to describing it as "waking up."

To a world still operating in the year of 2018.


You see, for those of us caught in the snare, it's been..


Well. It varies. For some, a year. Others, five.

For the unlucky.. let's just say it's been a very long time.


Pet theories abound as to the WHY of our situation.


One camp holds firm that it was a punishment for daring to oppose what was 'meant to be.' That is, the death of the humans involved. They believe we were never meant to survive the Great Game.

Others believe it was an accident. Too much exposure to the best and worst of the Eldritch forces we dealt with. An unhappy occurrence we just so happened to escape.

My personal belief, and that of many of the most hardened survivors, is that it was in some way a test.

A way of seeing who would survive. And for those that did.. a training ground of sorts. So we could 'go back' and make the changes we so desired.

Reunions at Sanctuary have been.. tense, to put it mildly. Like a Thanksgiving celebration from your nightmares. But.. still worthwhile. Because, for all the yelling, nasty words, and survivors storming off in different directions..

We still survived to fight another day.

It's hard to be ungrateful when most of my allies still have a pulse.

Still, it is strange to actually see Sanctuary still standing instead of a burnt, destroyed mess of rubble and broken dreams. Here, now, today, it is as it was (for me) so many years ago.

I wander its halls sometimes, at night, rediscovering old secrets that survived with us.

A chipped black vase, bamboo trees painted along its side, holding flowers instead of a remnant of azoth.

A surprisingly heavy glass jar, filled with sand, still sitting innoxuously on my bedside as if it never left.

A twisted, gnarled staff of white oak. Its sharpened end still charred by soot. Innocently leaning by the entryway as if waiting for my daily walk.

Silly things, like artwork I thought stolen long ago.

A series of photo albums, filled to the brim with pictures of lives that happened and shouldn't have, current events from around the world. Even a few images of.. futures that technically have never come to pass now. And never will.

These photo albums were quickly relocated to my attic room, stacked carefully on my desk to be carefully, cautiously opened when I can bear the weight of the memories. For me to write their stories.

Things from over a dozen lost timelines just.. here.

Heck, y'all should have seen my face the first time a 'dead' friend came strolling through my front door, asking for help with supplies. Insisting it had only been a few months since I last saw them, quite perturbed by the immense pressure I put to their ribs from delightedly hugging them to me. You see, for me.. I was seeing a ghost.

This has happened many times since, and has sparked a curiosity in me. To chronicle what I could remember, to collect the memories of those that haven't banished them, before they began to fade.

This 'story' may not make sense for a while.

That's okay.

I, and others like me, will know the truth of things.


Maybe, one day, our story will make sense to the rest of the world too.

Again

And so we begin again. 

Shaking our hips to the tune of our death's crooning.

We've been stuck in a fragmented loop as long as I can remember.

The same people, endlessly cycling through the same mistakes and heartaches, wondering why there is a bone deep misery in their chest. Wondering why they feel so abandoned.

Different names. Different faces. The same hell.

This, my dear audience, is the definition of insanity.

Committing the same actions, over and over.

Expecting different results.

Those of us that step outside our infinitely loop are punished in new and horrific ways.

We see this regularly.

The teenager that speaks their mind quickly being hushed

The mourning widow being swept away to be hidden from sight. Heartbreak is unsightly, so you see.

The parent who is forced to heavily medicated their child for being too "different." Brilliance shows itself in strange ways, but to those that can't understand are uncomfortable in it's presence.

The corporate whistleblower antagonized and chased from their home for daring to expose unethical practices.

The soldier that returns home from war broken and battered from the lives they have had to take, from the horrors they have witnessed.. to find a world that sneers at their pain.

Again and again, we look on, aghast at what we see, feeling helpless. Convincing ourselves we are but one soul in an endless sea of bodies. "What can I do? I can't risk my family/job/friends/freedom on impossible clauses. It'll eventually get fixed. Let someone else do it."

So too does the world ignore the plight of our people. The ones affected by the Fears are ignored, or labelled as crazy. Locked in institutions for their own "safety," their suspicious deaths given ridiculous handwaves for causes, or seen with hatred and loathing. For, the nasty truth is..

We blend in with Runners of a different kind: the homeless. The suffering, starving, desperate section of the population ousted from their homes for their own varying reasons. 

We're all the same to the world that hasn't seen the atrocities we have. The greater world in general likes to ignore it's flaws, discrepancies, and outright failures. Pain is difficult to watch for, it ignites in people a most often aborted desire to help, to change, to *get up and do something.*

Don't you guys think that, maybe.. it's time we make enough noise that we can't be ignored? Strive to help the others of us that are lost or struggling? Stop letting our desire for a better world sour in our hearts until we turn bitter and give up hope?

I figure, this time around, I'd like to be on the right side of history. Even if it means pissing people off.

Y'all should join me.

Rose Red Under the Veil

The beast swore each day and each night that the castle was the safest place for the beauty to reside.

But the castle frightened the beauty, for she had been locked away before.

She begged and pleaded, "Leave your curse behind, start over with me. I love you the way you are, please, let's find a different way to break the curse. You don't have to be bound by the rose, it can only kill you if you are here."

But of course, the castle was home to the beast, and he felt beholden to the others to break their curse too.

So she stayed, uneasy, trying to appease the castle inhabitants. Cleaning, playing, bowing, whatever it took.

She became worried, as more petals fell.

Only three remained.

She began searching the books in the library her lover had given her, sending out crows begging for assistance, anything she could do to save the one she loved so much.

She learned of a land, very far away, that had a witch capable of breaking his spell.

Hesitantly, she reached out to the witch.

She was more than prepared to trade her life for his, for the beast was truly the prince, always meant to lead his people to happiness.

The witch agreed, but with one catch. "Should your beast come north with you, his spell shall break and he will return to lead the others out of ruin. But, be wary. Should the beast decide to stay within the castle and you should flee, he will be cursed forever to his form, and you shall never see him again."

Ecstatic to learn there was hope for her love, she unthinkingly agreed on the spot, not realizing the spell was cast the moment she did. She had faith in her beast, and truly believed the curse would break.

Happily, she gathered her notes and hurried to his side, telling him the story with great big smiles and sweeping hand gestures. Pausing, she waited for his response.

With a frown, the beast tried to tell her he knew of the witch, and did not trust her. They began to argue, loudly enough to be overheard. That was all it took.

His bewitched kin swept into the room, scattering her notes and pulling her from him.

Confused, she cried out, "Why?"

With a sad smile, the beast told her:

"The curse was already broken. You fell in love with me. I was never meant to change back into a human. This was my punishment."

She shook her head and tried to follow him, but his kin blocked her way.

The beast continued, "You silly girl. If only you had waited. Trusted me. We only had one petal left. If it had fallen, the others would have changed back, and we would have been wed. Now.. Nothing shall ever change. You've doomed us all."

Struggling, she cried out: "But you would have been human, and free! Wasn't that what you wanted all along?"

The beast turned and began to watch the sun set from beyond their bedroom window.

"No, my love. We were always meant to stay here to help the others. And if you flee north, we will be trapped in these forms forever." With that, he waved his hand at his enchanted kin to escort her out.

She begged, "Wait, please, we can fix this! Please, please, let me stay, make this right."

The leader of the enchanted kin scowled at her savagely. "You stupid girl, don't you understand? You failed the rose's test. Now, you cannot stay within the castle. You have to leave."

Weeping, the beauty went and collected her things. Before she left, she wrote the beast a letter telling him how much she loved him. As the castle doors shut behind her, the witch appeared before her, ethereal and kind.

"Are you ready to leave?"

With great reluctance, the beauty shook her head. "No, for if I go, I curse him forever."

The witch looked surprised, then as a light came on behind her eyes she smiled.

"Where will you go? And will you truly give up your future, to give him a chance at his that he will likely squander?"

The beauty began to walk forward, not waiting for the witch to follow. "I don't know. Somewhere close by. I want to be close in case he should ever need me."

The witch called out, "He will never love you again. He has been forbidden to."

Over her shoulder, the beauty called out:
"It doesn't matter, for I shall always love him. I will not condemn him to a fate worse than death in order to flee. Even if it means being alone for the rest of my life."

With that, the beauty flipped the hood of her cloak up over her head and disappeared into the forest, beneath the ever watchful eye of her former beloved.

Tall tales and rumors began to circulate after this, of a new witch in the area, healing children and taking on quests to save the villagers. When the curious came to see for themselves, they would always come to a path bordered by white roses, well-kept and easy to follow. She did not want anyone to become lost on her account.

The ones who sought her always, eventually, came around to asking her two questions:

The first, "Can you help us?"
And the second, "What is your name?"

She never turned down a soul in need, but refused to reveal her true name. Such things could give someone power over you, if such a person knew what they were doing.

"You may call me Lilith. Any name that came before, any person I once was, I do not answer to anymore. Now, what is it you need?"

Fairy tale endings don't always work the way we thought they might. People die, secrets are formed, and lovers are wrenched apart. 

But, don't be sad. 

For in the loss of the union of the Beauty and the Beast, the creation of another story was born:

The kindly witch in the woods, clad all in shades of red and black. The last bastion of hope, before you reach the end of the path and encounter the beanstalk and the one guarding it.

You might know a version of this tale. I bet you can guess the guardian, too.

Clarion Call

It sucks, but sometimes we must bear the consequences for others' failures. Jack is suffering for my decision to accept the Convocation, and for my decision to enact the Culling. 

I wanted to bear the blame on my shoulders, since all these deaths were my decision, but there are those already that blame her for it. 

They claim we are essentially the same person (blatantly untrue), and that she should have somehow stopped me. My question is this..

How does one deny the will of a bloodthirsty Fear? Once the idea popped into my head and those damned birds caught wind of it, it was over with. Even i couldn't take it back, no matter how I have wished since to end it.

Tag has been.. helping. Playing chess with me in the wee hours. Slowly coaxing my mind out of the ruins it had been. I still have to concentrate to ignore the whispers of

not good enough, never good enough, why don't you just end it all? The world would be a better place without you in it. It'd be so easy no one loves you no one cares you are a cancer that needs to be eradicated. Just stay in your room and pretend you aren't there make life easier on everyone, who could love a fuckup like you..

I can't get stoned like Jack does. When i get too comfortable, too happy, the birds want to take over. Go watch the deaths in person. Play in the blood and laugh at the suffering. That isn't me. Never was

I.. am still basically the same person i once was. Kind, loving, peaceful. The betrayer of the proxy code that alerted runners to upcoming attacks, tried to teach them how to survive and who to be wary of to survive just one more day. The girl that couldn't handle the pain of the world like Jack could.

I don't know what makes us so essentially different. Why she became fucking Maleficent given form, essentially, while i.. Shattered.

Maybe she became accustomed to the pain, being from the darkest timeline. 

Maybe pain became a way of life for her, to where the happiness I felt confuses her. When i send her ravens across the rabbit hole, her words sound so.. cold. So tired. So lonely.

I don't think she really understands how to process emotions anymore. Views them as amusing distractions, just like the pot and the sex.

She certainly doesn't understand what to do with David or Gallows in her home. The last time I wrote her, she told me she's taken to sitting with Graves on guard duty. Quiet, barely speaking, just.. watching. Thinking.

I worry for her, being stuck in my home. She wasn't built to withstand the venus flytrap that is No Man's Land. 

The temptation of wanting to stay, forever, and abandon all cares and worries in Overland.

I have heard tales, growing up, of similar from people that accidentally traveled to the Fae lands. Where time passed strangely there, and humans wanted to stay. Be happy.

Makes me wonder if perhaps the old Fae tales were referring to Underland. 

It would certainly make sense. The vicious sharpened teeth of the inhabitants, the ethereal beauty, the deadly nature, the games they like to play with humans.

Are the Fears simply the angriest, most violent of the Fae races? Did they stumble into supernatural hotspots like many of us did, and become transformed into these eldritch horrors?

The answer is I simply don't know. The idea bears research, though, now that the Fears encourage the human side of the Great Game.

Could this be why the Fears began to have human faces to Jack? Why we each became more like them the more time we spent in Underland or around them? This begs the question..

Do we even count as humans anymore? And if we don't.. are the voices right? Would the world be better off if all of my sisters, the other Dias, and I killed ourselves before we become like Them?

I can't help but to not trust the voices. The birds. They have never been kind to me, not mentally. Could it be just another test to see which of us survive?

I don't have the answers the way Jack does, and she certainly isn't telling all her secrets. Old Dia habit, I suppose.

I may be leaving Sanctuary soon. I have intercepted..something.. meant for Jack that I believe needs to be chased down. Another Rabbit Hole to jump down.

I can't know for sure who sent it, but it is certainly connected to the notebook. It is also quite clearly a trap. If any of us are going to walk into a trap eyes wide open, it should be me. I have the best chance of surviving what comes next.

Samantha, Eva, any other alternates of our friends we are not aware of that survived the timelines: please. Come forward. We need you.

The Great Game is eight days from beginning in full strength. We can offer protection. We can offer supplies, knowledge, resources, contacts, a place to stay.

Please.

I will be enacting training classes on self defense, healing herb lore, survival skills, technology and computer lessons: anything I can gather Masters for on the subjects, board at Sanctuary offered free to teachers of these classes.

Those that wish to take these classes need do but a few things:

1. We will not charge. Instead, we ask that you help contribute to the classes in whatever way you can.

2. Comment on this status and/or present yourselves at Sanctuary.

3. Take a blood oath committing yourself to the war. No tricks, no bullshit, no fine print. Just your promising to protect the other Underlanders/Rabbits and fight back in whatever ways you can.

4. Take the classes when they appear. These lessons will help you, even in your day to day lives. Our goal is to preserve life, whenever possible.

5. Follow the Code.

That's it. That's all we ask.

Consider what we are offering.

It may be the last bastion of hope left before the war begins.

....I can feel the birds waking.

I must go.

Before they catch wind of my plans.

Tower of Babel

The smell of blood makes the hairs on the back of my arms stand up.

Distinct from all others.

The way I think.. My mindset. Broken

I can't even grasp it.

How can I expect you to?

This situation, this sharing of headspace with those damned birds.


You start to block out the details.

Slowly at first.

Then more, as time passes

The numbness

The screaming of the voices

The ever present feeling of coldness

The unending.. blankness. Of seeing the world in shades of grey, where nothing stands out, nothing breaks through.

Drowning mentally. Every day.

Begging for just one moment of air

To catch your breath

The small details that seep through

no matter what you do.

Having to turn your head away

to survive. just one more day.

The gut feeling that something is wrong



But if you acknowledge it...

Dare to even look in its direction



You give it power over you.


You can't fight it head on



Just wandering


In circles

Ever tightening patterns

Until.. One day.. You're looking it in the face.

And suddenly you can handle it

All at once

The delusions drop

Like window blinds come loose

Sunlight streaming in.


And.. It's ugly.
It's awful
But to live that way any longer
Is too hard.




...i have had visitors. Some Rabbits listened to my plea, it seems.


They rummage through my things

Like I can't hear them.

See them through the eyes of my ravens


But. I allow it. I play ignorant.


The invasion of privacy is.. worth it. To hear other voices here beyond my own. To not feel so alone anymore.

I try to stay to my room


Keep from scaring them


Pretend I am sleeping. Or gone.

It's not hard to hide in a closet when I hear them coming.

It's kinder to them, I think.


Tag is here.


He won't leave.


Even when I sicced my birds on him.


I turned them away from him at the last moment

In a whoosh of feathers and wind, they avoided attack or collision

But one of their talons hurt him


Made him bleed.


I cried then.


He knew better than to touch me.
To approach the mad woman

But.. It helps. Hearing him bitch


I had forgotten what his voice sounded like


I've secretly been helping with his paperwork


When he leaves for Sanctuary


Been leaving documents in rooms the Rabbits have chose for themselves


Trying to teach. To show. To help.


Give them what they need for them


To lead them further down the rabbit hole


Am I still your Red? Your Red Queen, blood spattered and smiling?


I don't know.


I don't know if I even deserve


To be called human


Or even Dia


I miss the days when I smiled



When I had friends I helped as a Gatherer

It was worth the risk.


They were worth dying for.



And now.. now that I want to die



No one will leave me alone


My mind wasn't built for this. These birds. This unholy infestation.


I am afraid of hurting them



Of climbing down from my tower of insanity and blood to greet them



Maybe that makes me a coward


I think I will sleep now.


Or try


I hear someone comi

Sanctuary Has Fallen

The Culling officially began at 3:00AM, the day of February the 14th, the year of 2018.
Of course, it had already begun in a few timelines, but we will mark today as the official beginning.
Today shall be the Valentine's Day Massacre replayed, nearly a century later.
Second Halloween. Devil's Night. VDay Massacre.

No matter the timeline, or the name for these events, blood shall flow through the streets.


This Culling was originally only meant for the Mardi Gras District. Nola and 251.


Intrepid districts from other timelines and regions got word of my plans for the Culling..


And copycat'ed to their own districts. Their own Cullings, but without the rules.


I never meant for this many to die, but it is too late now to do anything about it.


My name is Lilith. Or, well, was. I have become the avatar for the Convocation..

And I cannot wait to die.


When I met with Tag that last time, I was aware I was saying goodbye. I knew what was coming, and dragged my feet as long as I dared. I knew that I would be lost as soon as I signed that contract.


With the Convocation's help, I came forward in my own form, finally having a body of my own once more.

Poor Jack got booted back to my home in No Man's Land. I suppose it will be hers when I pass.

I came to her, mentally, in the days before the Contract was signed. Begged for her help. Told her what I had in mind for Sanctuary, for the world, for us. Begged her to be the Judas I needed so desperately.

I knew the Contract would have a heavy toll to pay in order to pass, with our lives attached.

I knew one of us had to die to make way for Underland. And to be honest.. I've been ready since the Sacramento fire of '14. You see, my own Gallows never came for me the way Jack's did. Mine just.. disappeared. Haunted me occasionally. Scribbled a hastily drawn bloody heart on my bathroom mirror on this day, Valentine's Day, each and every year. Just enough for me to miss him.. and go mad.

It got to where I stopped washing the blood from the mirror. Left it.. all year long. 

I originally got the bloody heart tattoo to remember him when I thought he had died.

Eventually, it became a mark of my own sanity to myself. That he was real. I hadn't imagined it all.

This becomes relevant again, because this year, I had a visitor.

It was while I was "sleeping." What the poor bastard didn't realize was, every inch of my land is recorded.

Incoming video saved as soon as it happens. Back-ups upon back-ups.

As soon as I woke, I knew exactly what had happened while I slept. And it broke my heart.

This is a fairly accurate depiction of Sanctuary right now. And so.. I will just leave you all with the record.

-begin video playing-

A lanky, self-sure man with coal black hair walked up my step, eyes wide as he did so.

Crows and ravens roost on every surface surrounding my home.

Blood is still wet on the streets, on the door handle, bloody footprints on the porch.

Like a bloodbath had just begun, and people had fought to get in and out Sanctuary's doors.

The strange man in the skeletal hoodie walks inside, cautiously, poking his head in rooms as he does.

Stacks of paperwork, journals, relics, and personal effects line the walls behind glass, like a gallery.

The kitchen is filthy with dirty dishes, blood coating the floor proper.

The television in the common area is cracked, hanging askew, as if someone had fallen into it.

He pokes about a bit more, cleans up the kitchen, gathers the papers, and generally organizes.

His every touch mildly reverent, as if touching the crumbling remains of the past.

Eventually, the bag of bones spots the drop down ladder leading to the upper floor: my attic.

He reaches the threshold of my room, body still half obscured by the landing and steps, and.. stares.

The walls of my room are a dark blue, with black out curtains over the single paned window.

Posters, notes, and photographs from at least 20 timelines compete for wall space.

Runner and proxy journals lay in stacks around the bed, meticulous and cruel in their sorting system.

A darkly garbed bed with accents of green sits off to one corner, on the floor, in the Japanese style.

His head swivels as he attempts to take it all in: a fan, a tv, my dark blue laptop plugged in at my desk, clothes of a thousand styles in the closet. It looks like the dorm room for 5 people exploded.

In the middle of it all, my body lay as I slept. No pulse, no heartbeat.

A sheath of shining copper hair splayed out on the black satin pillows, sunlight catching the strands.

I imagine I looked like a dream and a nightmare all at once. I believe I am.

Skin pale as the moon, tiny as I hadn't been eating properly for weeks prior to this.

I slept in the nude, a dark green sheet pulled up to my shoulders, haphazardly placed.

The man stared at me the longest. I can't quite blame him.

He begins to rearrange tiny insignificant things in my room. To annoy me, I imagine.

Gallows catches sight of the impromptu mural we created on our wall.

Pictures, events, and notes on every death in twenty timelines. For everyone involved.

Brightly colored yarn connecting each timeline, crisscrossing over an infinite number of times.

We couldn't keep track of them all in our head, you see. Too many voices trying to speak at once.

His fingertips brush against several pictures, mentally logging the differences.

Jack's picture adorned the very middle of the mural, the original, angry at the world.

Shoulder length black hair, twelve piercings both seen and unseen, tattoos covering her body.

Heartbroken eyes, staring out from behind the dark hair she perpetually kept in her face

A calculating expression on her face. Her attempts at a hostile expression amusing in their attempt.

The picture obviously quite old, likely taken between the fall of 2012 and of 2014.

Surrounding this picture are the pictures of her lovers from that timeline.

Some cuddling her, some kissing her, some just washing dishes. All clearly in love.

Branching out from these pictures are the pictures from every other timeline.

Advy. Gallows. Shady. Owen. David. Numerous others.

A rainbow of differently colored hair, facial expressions, and body language.

All clearly reincarnations of the same person.. with the same lovers.. and the same sad endings.

The skeleton man tugged the middle picture out from beneath the thumbtack, tearing the edge a bit.

He stares at it a bit longer, smiles, and blows it a kiss. Absent mindedly tucks it in his back pocket.

He looks around the room as if coming out of a daze, begins to narrow his gaze on our paperwork.

Gallows leaves, returns with a black trash bag, and begins to retrieve our collection of memories.

Our scrapbooks. Our pictures. Our videotapes. Hell, even our old apartment leases, all carefully catalogued and labelled according to its home timeline. He throws them all in the bag.

Just as he's hefting the giant bag over his shoulder like a demented Santa Claus, he is discovered.

The guard to Sanctuary had poked his head into the attic to find the source of the noise.

Gallows proceeds to drop his bag, knock the poor man out, and drag his body out the trapdoor.

-video has clearly been edited to remove scenes of torture and mindfuckery-

The video resumes an undisclosed amount of time later, once again focus on Gallows and Thomas.

Thomas is beaten, bloody, and looks shaken. His hands are bound behind his back.

Gallows is smirking, a crimson splash of blood adorning his right cheekbone.

To me, he looked just as beautiful as always. But this one.. this one was not mine.

Gallows dragged the poor man through Sanctuary, kicking shit over as he leaves the house.

Thomas leads Gallows to the copse of trees few know about: the site of my sacrifices.

The Bleeding Tree has clearly left its mark on the clearing.

Trees burnt and black and twisting towards the sky, littering the area.

White rose bushes, recently planted at the base of each. Flecked with blood of mysterious origin.

In the middle of the clearing, a spot of air shines distinctly from the rest. Shimmering.

Gallows grins, eyes the closest camera with a tongue waggling smile and scythe twirling.

He is clearly excited to step through this shimmering space in time.

He pushes Thomas through the portal first, and pauses. Waves to Graves to follow.

Graves dutifully carrying his weapons and the black garbage bag holding so many of our memories.

The duo smile once more, glance around, and step through the Rabbit Hole.



Jack, I figured I should warn you of the events that transpired yesterday. I have a feeling.. you shall be having a visitor quite soon. Several, if what I know of the timelines is correct.

They always come for you. To kill or fuck or love. But they can never stay away.

Me? Well.. all my lovers are dead. I think. I don't honestly know anymore.

But I am lonely. Dreadfully so.

I knew what I was signing up for when I did this, but..

Would it be so terrible for me to spend my last two weeks alive in the company of someone I love?

Would it be so terrible for me to be held once more, and told I was loved?

The Red Queen doesn't get these luxuries.

Instead, I continue on. Alone and mad in my crumbling tower of stone.


Sanctuary is still operational, just had a bit of a rough and tumble. The blood is mostly gone now.


Gallows managed to clean up the place pretty damn well. Weird for a serial killer, but whatever.

Heads up, sweetheart. People will be coming for your head soon. Mine as well.

You must remember the plan.

You must follow it.

Don't hesitate when you kill me.
Please.
I want to die.
You will be doing me a favor.

For now, well, I ramble through Sanctuary like a haunted house. Ghost is here with me now, angry that he has to miss the bloodbath, angry with me for sacrificing me the way I am. Angry he cannot hold me.

My dark Cheshire Cat. My love. My Ghost. My Johnathan.

Oh, how I failed you, baby. I made you what you became, and I regret it all.

I am openly looking for visitors. Maybe there ARE people from my timeline left that still care.

Or people from others, that for some reason or another, don't want to be around Jack.

I don't know. I know that Sanctuary was the point of all this. The reason for all the blood.

If we let Sanctuary fall, and let it stay that way, all of this work will have been in vain.

Maybe one day, hopefully soon, this place will be restored to its full glory.

Be wary, all those that tread here.


It's time for the Rabbits to come home. For good.

We need defenders, medical assistance, and suppliers of knowledge.

We are on our last legs, dear visitors. Won't you come join our fight?

Yours eternally,

-Red

Nicholas.

I don't know where you've been, what you're doing, or even why. I miss you. No matter which version of you I meet. I need to see your face.  I need to feel like I still exist. You make me feel real.

Please come back. To me. To Sanctuary. Help me with the Culling.

It won't be our first bloodbath. Not by far. But it won't be our last, either.


We need to talk.

Justice Averted

Prologue

In a lonely shack on the Path of Black Leaves sits a man. The shack is ramshackle, simple, and bare, containing only a table and two chairs. After all, there is no need for anything else. Food, shelter, and other forms of sustenance mean nothing on the path. The shack simply serves as a place for meetings.

The man inside is a man with no name, and many names. He is no one, and he is many. He is a ghost, an idea, someone who cannot exist. Let us call this man the Oracle, as he has the sight to see his own pasts, presents, and futures. He wears a blindfold over his eyes--not because he is blind (though in some worlds, he is) but because he sees so much. His sight is so potent that his only way of retaining some semblance of himself is to filter it out.

You may know him as the Messenger. Or perhaps Justice. Or maybe even Alan. These are, however, only the ghosts of a person who exist within him--and yet, separate from him.

So, if you find yourself on the Path, standing at the door of the Oracle’s shack, will you step inside? And if you do, which Oracle will be inside waiting for you?

The Broken Man: Justice

What happens when a man fights and fights to stay alive and stay safe, only to lose everyone around him despite his efforts? You may already be familiar with this man named Justice, who was thoroughly broken and responded by giving up. He has let himself become an empty vessel, allowing him to easily tap into the powers of the Oracle to let the Slender Man speak through him. While there are several incarnations of Justice, it could be argued that it is primarily this incarnation of Justice that gives the Oracle his powers.

While Justice has allowed himself to become an empty vessel and has killed his past self, there are still a few things he bitterly holds onto--namely TE-119H, formerly known as Poe, the woman he loved. He specifically transferred the former caretaker, Eddie, to provide himself an opportunity to frequently visit her. He would sit silently by her for long periods of time, often holding her. In those moments, he allowed himself a fragment of lucidity where he became more of his former self. However, this only brought him pain, as the only indication that there was any trace of Poe left was that she would calm down when he held her.

Justice’s administration was a rough one at first. He often made decisions based on emotion, and saw them fail again and again. However, roughly a year later, TE-119H died. In addition, In addition, his former Handler, Tempest, was killed, and his aide Turtle ran off with Nee-chan, one of his best Hunters and the only person in the organization that he knew well. Justice knew his emotions had resulted in many of these decisions, and he killed his former self even further. His meditation upon the Path began to occupy more and more of his time, and he was able to successfully let the Slender Man speak through him. The divisions under his control very quickly turned around, and he was soon given control of more.

At this point, the Highest are considering welcoming him into their inner circle, but at the moment it is only a consideration. After all, he does not communicate well with others, and honestly, many of them fear his power a bit. It makes no difference to Justice. He simply walks the Path, seeking what needs to be done.

The Dark Messenger: Prophet

Humans are, at their core, creatures of fear and preservation. They lust for power not to sate their greed, but out of cowardice. The only true way to keep yourself from being at risk is to accumulate power. It takes a weak, weak man to so willingly sacrifice everything that doesn’t matter to protect everything that does. And the Messenger was a weak, weak man.

While the Messenger who became Justice was constantly torn, daring to push back against his oppressors, the one who became Prophet never allowed himself to question whether or not he was right. After the death of his friend Caper, he became afraid of what would happen to him if he dared to rebell as well. So instead of being indecisive and going behind the organization’s back, he began brown nosing. If Poe showed signs of hesitation, he would talk sense into her (or at least what he believed was sense). Poisoned by his fear, she became who he wanted and needed by his side. And he aided in her work. There was no thought of running in his mind, but he allowed others to believe there was. He put on a hesitant face for them, faking close bonds with them to gain access to information they definitely should not be telling him. As Poe was a Tracker, tasked with finding runners, he was essentially supplying her with a barrel full of fish to shoot.

But as he was, he could only do so much. After all, he was too much of a coward to take action himself, to put himself on the line like his coworkers did. So when the Oracle at the time offered to groom him for the position, he gladly accepted the chance to have more control over his life while still keeping himself safe. He took over the position of Oracle, and in the process, took the name Prophet.

Does Prophet still fear? Of course. More power only breeds more paranoia. But now, people fear him as well.

The Fugitive: The Messenger

What if the Messenger had decided to cut his losses? What if, instead of waiting until he lost everything, he took what he had and he ran? There is a Messenger who, upon finding out about Poe’s conflict with her partner Screwtape, ran. Fled the organization.

The Messenger was too gentle a man, had too much of a conscience to let the darkness swallow him. He, alongside Poe, became fugitives.

There is not much to say about this man, for his story was unfortunately cut short. The Fugitive Messenger is dead. Has been for years. Had he abandoned Poe, he may have lasted longer, as her unique nature as a former Husk drew the Slender Man towards them. However, had he abandoned her, the result may have been very much the same. After all, the Slender Man’s influence on Poe was something she was aware of. Call it instinct, call it prophecy, call it sixth sense, but she had an awareness that got her out of as many jams as it caused. The two of them survived for a little over two years before they met their end. It was two years of hell. But they never once regretted their decision, right up until the end.

While The Fugitive Messenger may be dead, a fragment of him still dwells within the Oracle. Like all the fragments, you may still find him as a ghost on the Path.

The Blind Man: Alan

Do you remember Alan’s brother, Kyle? Let’s suppose Alan never sacrificed himself for Kyle’s sake. Let’s say Kyle willingly joined the organization on his own. Kyle, unlike his brother, was a talented and charismatic speaker. He, like his brother did in so many worlds, took on the mantle of the Messenger and quickly became one of the faces of the organization. He quickly rose in the ranks and is currently studying to become one of the politicians the organization backs.

However, Alan does not live an ignorant life. Fate’s branches have ensnared him as well, and he has become the Abel to his brother’s Cain. Though unlike Abel, Alan still lives. His brother, despite being the one who has introduced the Slender Man into his life, is a persuasive man. He protects him, much like so many versions of the Messenger did for Kyle.

It seems that there is a fragment of the Oracle who is stupid enough to be brave. Alan engages in digital subterfuge, whether helping hide the online footprints of his fellow runners or outright sabotaging the organization his brother is a part of. He plays a dangerous game, but it’s one he’s managed to survive so far.

The Prophet of Justice: Apollo

Let’s say, by some chance, the man who became Justice...didn’t become Justice. Let’s say that, after losing everything, having his life fucking destroyed, seeing it all crumble around him...he fought on. He fell into the Path, and rather than being consumed, he clawed his way back out.

This man would be Apollo.

Let me tell you, the organization fucking hates Apollo. After all, he absconded with a whole lot of insider information. Apollo wasn’t supposed to happen. The Messenger wasn’t supposed to end up in the Path and somehow come out the other end sane.

Well. Relatively sane, at least.

After all, Apollo is as aware of his role as the Oracle as Justice and Prophet are. He just fights for the good guys. He knows a whoooooole lot. More than he should. That’s why he’s so dangerous to them. That’s also why he’s able to stay alive. Being able to see his possible futures, on top of being able to see through Dimensional Bleeding? Let’s just say it helps out in a pinch.

But fate can only be avoided for so long. Yggdrasil only has so many branches, and those branches only spit off into so many twigs. And let me tell you, I don’t think many of these branches bear fruit.

Apollo has the same issue that all of Oracle’s fragments has: his ability to travel the Path through time kinda hurts his ability to travel the Path through space. He can’t use it to teleport himself like so many seem to be able to do. Well, he usually can’t. He’s done it a few times. But it takes a lot out of him. That’s why, if he gets that rare chance, he has to use it to jump Branches. Usually it’s just through text. But his body has jumped Branches once before.

Well, twice now.

It’s not gonna happen a third time.

I’m Apollo, by the way. Don’t know if you’d picked up on that, yet. And I think I’m probably pretty boned at this point. I’ve run out of places to run. My luck’s blown up so badly that you should be calling me Apollo 13. So it’s time to announce myself to this Branch. It’s time for me to try to do one last bit of good.

Pretty sure this Branch has termites. I’m gonna do everything I can to prune it before it takes the whole fuckin’ Tree.

~Apollo

The Culling/251 Acknowledgement

A day later, I called him back to iron out what I wanted in exchange for becoming the proper proxy that the higher ups had wanted since day one.

Just one sentence this time.

"We need to meet, Tag."


 -Transcription Start-

Tag: "So, you're back on the payroll. Enjoying your time as a lacky of the hire ups again. But you know they're keeping tabs on you, right?"

Me:"I figured. I know how this goes. Constantly stalking me."

Tag: "Left and right, so like I said. Keep your nose clean.But fuck all, find out what's going on. Even I don't know why they're watching you."

Me: "So basically always act as though I'm being recorded. If it wound up on the news, would she have to move Sanctuary or want to?"

Tag: "Well, no. The Board has already staked too much into it to move it. They'll make that part disappear."

Me: "What do you mean?"

Tag: "Oh they'd make it look like Sanctuary is a burned out patch of land with no strategic value.Mental trickery, bunch of bribes. Like it never existed."

Me: "Kind of like Hogwarts."

Tag:"Yeah, kind of like Hogwarts. Except there's no anti muggle spells. Just armed personnel with an axe to grind."

Me: ".....who will be guarding Rabbit Hole?"

 And I need to hire mercenaries. To kill those narcs for you. May I use the slush fund?"

Tag: "Your choice of our finest mercenaries, all expenses paid. And yes, you may use the slush fund."

Me: "Is this a permanent bonus or a temporary one?"

Tag: "Kill those three middle management pukes, and then I'll tell you."

Me: "Fuck. Can I at least get a promotion? Because K8s make shit pay."

Tag:"How about K6 pay with benefits?"

"And you'll owe me one."

Me:"And I will need permanent access to the slush fund. Especially to pay off Sanctuary's mortgage."

Tag:"You're killing me Red. But fine. Deal."

Me:"Fine. One favor that follows the Code."

Tag:"You're no fun, you know that?"

Me:"I will file a formal request each time. I won't ditch the paperwork if I get the promotion.?"

Tag:"And you'll say you're sorry to the Tax Adjuntant for flipping her off. Lady holds a grudge like nothing I've ever seen."

Me: "As long as she frees to help me file my axes."

Me: "I'll finally be getting paid fairly. Thus, I can actually travel to do my job."

"I will ask each time, report each assignment. You can even publish the tame incident reports if you think it will help PR."

Tag:"Make them as gory as you like, you know the higher ups love a good orgy of violence and suffering. Just keep up with your paperwork, and next bonus is sure to be properly handled."

Me: "May I ask if I may make special requests from R & D?"

Tag: "Within reason."

Me: "Or bribing the necromancer to help him fix the broken magic on my healing ability?"

Tag: "You can use the slush fund for that."

Me:"I also need a hush favor, valid for up to one year, in each timeline."

I switch timelines middiscussion. Freya starts actively speaking. "So.. 20 hush favors for 18 deaths and two active timelines?"

Tag:"Fine. Put that in the contract. I'll make it legal."

Me:"We need to put everything in clear writing. Dobyoi formally requests that Sanctuary be on protected status in every timeline."

Tag:"You actually got Dobyoi in on this? Come on, Red. You know even I can't say no to a big (Redacted).?"

Me: "We need additional training classes, both for me as middle management and for the Rabbits."

Tag:"Slush fund."

Me: "I need R&D to create a better version of my Sanctuary slips. Nonfading magic."

Tag:"That can be arranged."

Dubyoi switches forward, her old reptilian eyes littering at Tag in amusement:"

I need special detailed pocketwatches. I will send the specs to you later."

Tag:"Sounds like you're starting some kind of cult. Or underground society."

Lilith comes forward. Her copper red hair growing to the small of her back:

 "We need a communication source that will work in every timeline."

Tag:"R&D has a rotary phone for that."

Me:"This will take contacting the Alexandrian library. No. My Rabbits, my land, my rules."

"We have to keep them safe. It's already a stipulation of the top brass that I do this. To pull it off, I need tech and magic. You know how to make this happen. I know you do."

Tag:"I do, but it's going to cost extra to get everything into place."

 "But yeah, you're one of my best. I'll expedite the process."

'You'd better deliver, Red."

Me: "You're the one with his neck in a noose. You want this to be a rush order. Make it happen."

Tag: "Fine. But whatever it is they're trying to get from you. Don't let it happen."

"Good hunting. For both our sakes."

Amanda switches forward, a curtain of bruise colored hair slipping over her shoulder as she does so: 

"I won't. I will swear in blood not to directly attack the other Fears. I can keep the Rabbits alive in No Man's Land and Underland. I decided we're going with literary quotes for my land since Dobyoi has agreed to help."

Tag: "Fine. That's going to be in writing. No one can break it."

Me:"They can't attack either. Every time you call me Red, my base personality becomes stronger. But in contrast, so does Dobyoi. It's a trade off."

Tag:"Well, you're lucky I enjoy your original nickname,"

Me:"We can write up my formal Code of Conduct, add a few concessions as a good faith move, and put it in the Charter for Sanctuary. Contract must be signed in freshly spilled, nonbespelled blood. If we have to use temporary fizzle magic to make this happen, we need to."

"Proxies and Runners and neutral parties get access to training classes. And They swear They will not cause the Rabbits permanent death. We must be able to retrieve them after their trial in Underland us over."

Tag: "Right."

Tag : "Just do me a favor. Stay alive this time, will you?"

"Hell of a lot of paperwork to bury you again."

Me: "I will swear not to attempt suicide again. Accidental deaths shall have no repercussions."

 "You mean those Proxy bodies after Bleeding Tree got done devouring their soul as a power source?"

Tag:"Good. Can't have the last few times put more people in that pretty little head of yours again."

 "Well, yeah. You think we just kept leaving you in the ground to rot?"

"But the BT needs fresh meat."

Red: "I get protection for the Red Road."

"All it took was one time of being buried while I was sleeping, and wake to have my pulse start from nothing to heart attack range staring down the inside of a casket lid, to crawling my way through the grave and pulling a Kill Bill on my knuckles to get out, for me to never want to be buried again."

"The Red Road will be repaved and fairy lights put up to illuminate the road. No more Silent Hill darkness."

Tag: "Not sure that's my department, and armed guards can be acquired."

Red: "Freya wishes herself to have access to her occult books and supplies. She wants to apply for shaman training formally with the Cherokee Nation."

Tag:"Would you like nice hopping streetlamps to follow you through checkpoints there, Chihiro?"

"Access to the Cherokee Shaman Tribe? Doable."

Red:"I actually want fairy lights. And sign posts warning visitors of the risks of breaking the Code and leaving the Red Road."

Tag: "Fine, fair lights and warning signs."

Red:"I want jasmine and Japanese cherry trees planted in the areas next to the Red Road to deter 
Codebreakers."

" Liliana misses home."

Tag:"Fine. Call Terry in landscaping. He loves decorative trees and shrubbery"

Red:"Cypress trees and mangroves for Amanda. Pictures of her children and proper Wiccan burial for them with trees planted as headstones. She wants her ashes moved to the New Orleans graveyard. Not Marie's graveyard. Don't you dare."

"Proxy protection in all timelines against the other magic factions. Even in the event of war."

"Freya wants permission to kill Tia Dalma."

Tag: "Yes, yes, yes, yes, Don't worry, we aren't that big of assholes, sure, that one is complicated, and absolutely not. In that order."

Red:"She committed a blood offense. I demand retribution."

"She broke the Treaty. You know the price for that."

Me:"You know I can't authorize that."

"You can maim, not kill. Take a finger off or something."

Red: "Dubyoi says off with her fucking head. We keep the head of hers and the narcs on pikes by Rabbit Hole. I want white roses planted around Sanctuary and Rabbit Hole."

"She tried to hex me out of my body. It almost worked. If I weren't dead already, it would have."

"This is nonnegotionable. Contact Higher Management. I'll wait for their answer."

Tag:"Ladies, we've talked about this, you want Dal Matia dead, you go to the Higher ups directly."

"I can send in the form."

"That's about it."

Red:"She broke Their rules. You know the penalty of killing one of my bodies. Of breaking the Rules. She broke every truce that mattered. I get to cut their heads off myself."

Tag:"I know, it's in the treaty. But trust me, all 18 of you don't want to do this."

Me:"No. Call BT. I want to formally call in my token for the hiding from IA for The rape and torture of a K8 by the K-3 agent, David."

Tag:"You're calling in that favor with the BT?"

Red:"You owe me, Tagalong."

Tag: ."..fucking no strings attached policy."

 Fine, I'll get you your violent date with Dal Matia. Don't ever say I didn't do anything nice for you."

Red:"Yes. Nonnegotionable, being called in as of now."

Tag:"Fine, but you're personally feeding her body to the Tree."

Red:"I don't want the payoff money. The 5 years lump sum will go straight into investing into businesses we will control and own as our own. Even split of resources we get as profits, distributed to all Rabbits."

Tag:"You want to take your personally earned salary and dump it into your rabbit cage?"

"Fine by me."

Red:"We formally request David himself to make amends, create a truce, and lend his fizzle magic to my personal resource pool. One week notice prior. Regular maintenance. Terms negotiable. I still need to show him what it's like when Catherine rapes HIM."

Tag:"Doable. Might as well fuck up the day of one of the original 12 for some well deserved payback."

Red:"Of course we'll enjoy it. But the point remains. He owes sexual healing and he knows it. It's very little to ask of him, all things considered."

Tag:"Whatever he does to any of you in his spare time is your business. I'll just get the paperwork done."Spare me the details."

Red:"I don't need revenge. All of us together, we will be five hundred and twenty this July. I'm too old to care about old wounds. I just want to be acknowledged as more than a rape doll for Wooden Girl, or a torture pet for David."

Tag:"I always forget that, Red. Fine. All requests and demands accepted, pending approval by Higher Management. Doth I please the queen, this insipid bumpkin for sooth?"

Red:"Dobyoi requests official recognition of the Red Road, Sanctuary, and No Man's Land. She gets formal goddaughter status with the Fears. So all of us do by technicality as hers."

"We need protection, I need protection from Them. All deals are held to the intent of the letter and upheld til the day after eternity ends."

"So no direct intervention, attacks and or psychological damage to the 18 personalities inhabiting the one living vessel."

Tag:"Eternity is a long time."

"Better make it worth their while."

Red: "You people made me into this eldritch mindfuck. Time to claim ownership and make it formal."

Tag:"Don't say I didn't warn you. But fine, I'll put the paperwork through."

Red:"Paid vacation. Travel expenses, food costs, per diem, mileage. I want the Blood Red credit card in my real name. No limit. Only to be used with written permission from higher ups."

Tag:"... Slush funds at your disposal, Red."

Red:"In my real name. So it's legal in all timelines."

"Protection from Proxy assignments on all of my lovers and informants. No more watching as Berserker kill my lovers. Too many of us lost our timeline's future husbands to the Quiet. They get the choice of which timeline to live in."

Tag:"You know you're asking me to bend time and space on a head for you, right?"

"You want the moon and stars while I'm at it?"

Red: "In return, I will be the field agent they always dreamed of."

Tag:"Hefty boast. But fine."

Red:"No more fuck ups. No more suicides. No more Running. No more setting house fires or averting prophecies that are neutral in nature."

Tag:"As long as you deliver and give us what we want in return, you'll get everything you're asking for, Miss Renalda."

Red: "I will write incident reports. I want the cities of Nola and all of Mobile counties as my district and formal territory in Overland."

Tag:"That's for the zoning board to decide, but the chairman owes me a favor."

"Businesses, populations and subsidiaries as well?"

Red:"Complete with recognition as middle management and your equal in status if not rank or salary. I have access and leadership of the Proxy squads in those areas."

Tag: "You know that's going to basically make you just like me, right?"

Red:"Yes. We are reclaiming Nola and the home of Mardi Gras."

"I will still be operating in collusion with you. Out of respect. You are still my ranked superior by experience if not status."

Tag:“Aww. Well that’s nice.”

“But you know that if you or I screw up, we’re both going down for it. Right?”

Red:"I will finally cooperate and become a Proxy. I will be considered a District Manager."

Tag:“Is that how far you’re willing to go?”

Red:"I will make weekly instead of monthly sacrifices to Bleeding Tree."

Tag:“Where are you going to find the bodies?”

Red:"I want my old mask back. When dealing with Rabbits and on assignments."

"Be the management they truly want. It will be a bloody district."

Tag:“You are about this?”

Red:"I'm not done."

Me:“You’re losing a lot of Autonomy.”

Red:"I will publicly declare myself as Keeper and create an Archive within the Alexandrian library."

Tag:“You’re doing what now?”

Red:"I will donate all but my trophies from my souvenirs and storage. At my discretion what is exempt. No matter what I found."

"Kids will stop being killed in my district. 12 and under are off limits in No Man's Land and my district."

"As well as individuals over the age of 80. They earned a peaceful death. They should get it, even if I can't."

Tag: "Lot of specifics here, Red. You sure about this?"

Red:"Whatever happens outside my district is free game until the unlikely event I get promoted again."

"I will not punish those that break my Code outside of my district."

"I will be culling the rapists, murderers, and pedophiles from my district beginning at 12:01am Saturday morning. Retroactive. The witching hour of February 14th will be the go time.  This timeline, 3AM Feb 10th is."

"Bleeding Tree will get fat off the sacrifices I am about to give it. I am about to soak the ground red with blood enough that Rabbit Hole's grass will grow red for eternity."

Tag:"Well, as long as you get them in on time, I don't think the higher ups will be all too disappointed in your incredible work ethic. "

Red:"I get to kill Omega as many times as I want for funsies. Any and all means allowed. No permanent deaths."

Tag:"Omega? Fine. He can't die anyway."

Red: "Give Them some amusement."

Tag:"You're a real people pleaser, you know that?"

Red:"I get acknowledgement for my true kill count."

Tag:"That's going to take a while."

Red:"Updated daily. Publically posted."

"I received my old notebook and can count through my scrapbook."

"I know The number anyway."

"Once a month for 4 years."

"Once a year from 16-22."

"You do the math."

"54 known kills."

"From here on out, kill count updated to once weekly."

"Wooden Girl makes Dobyoi an enchanted Noh mask. Same design as before."

Tag:“Same sort of glass?”

Red:"Must inspire Fear and loyalty somehow."

"Looking Glass. Ability to see through the timelines without jumping."

Tag:“We’ll make it extra scary for you then.”

Red:"Reinstatement of my ability to heal and travel the path. Removal of health consequences for doing so. I need to find Justice. He has a prophecy I need to hear for myself, but he lives in the Path now."

Tag:“You know that one is dependent on the higher ups performance reviews. If they are happy, you’ll get that one on your own.

"Anything else on your to do list?”

Red: "What do the eldritch Old Ones want from me that I haven't already promised?"

"We must follow the Code. Here, now."

Tag:“If that’s what they already told you, I guess nothing.”

Red:"One last thing."

Tag:“What is it?”

Red:"I have a catch of my own this time."

"My legal persona, Shady, and the Board all get 33%"

 "Ownership of everything involved."

Tag: “You want to split this land and all of its assets into 1/3rds?

Red: "This District will be formally recognized as a melting pot. No killing in Nola or 251 or the surrounding areas. I have family in both."

"Yes. Legally recognize it as a neutral zone. Until the day every timeline is eaten by the Quiet or humanity wins the Great Game. Not a moment before."

Tag: "That's asking for a whole section of non sacrifices. well, if you want it, you have it."

Red: "I will more than make up for it with Codebreakers."

Tag: "Don't make promises, you can't keep, Red."

Red: "There will be a culling. As of Mobile time, 12:01 AM Saturday."

"It's going to be the Purge, Underland style."

"Better warn your people to run. My Rabbits are already stationed outside every oathbreaker's house. You have 5 minutes to finalize this deal before they begin."

"And of course, rending metal to flesh, feeding the hallowed ground with the blood of the unclean."

Tag:"You're threatening me, Red?"

"That hurts my feelings."

Red:"No. Promising you an District level Apocalypse. Straight out of Their sickest desires."

Tag:"Fine, I accept the terms in full."

Red:"The streets will run red with blood in 4 minutes."

Tag:"3 more than I'll need. Men, let's move out. Get out of their line of fire."

"I'll be in touch, Red. Don't you disappoint me now."

Red: "Add in my Code. Just use negotiable terms."

Tag:"All terms adhere to the code."

Samantha came forward, soft spoken and resigned to what she was signing away:

"We can fix it later. Now which blade am I using to get the blood?"

Tag:"Polished steel, black handle pen knife."

"Make it deep."

"I'll be doing the same."

Sam:"Wait."

Tag: "What is it now?"

Lilith blinks forward:"Protection for Gallows. Should he want it. Priority level."

"3 minutes."

Lilith:"Fine."

"Twisting my arm here, Red. You know that?"

Red:"And Shady."

Tag:"And I 'm already late.. Shady?"

Red:"She's part owner, after all."

Tag:"Fine, suit yourself,"

"They get full protection."

-pen scratches as she signs the contract-

-pen scratches as he signs the contract and dates-

-it vanishes by magical fax-

Tag: "Now that is what you call blood binding and quick sending.:"

"So, I need to go before I get a ceremonial dagger to the face."

"Always a pleasure, Red."

Red:"2 minutes. Any last warnings for the Code Breakers?"

Me: "Try not to get my good side."

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A day later, she called me back to iron out what she wanted in exchange for becoming the proper proxy that the higher ups had wanted since day one.

Just one sentence this time.

"We need to meet, Tag."

Guess I have to pack my bags.
  
 -Transcription Start-

Me: "So, you're back on the payroll. Enjoying your time as a lacky of the hire ups again. But you know they're keeping tabs on you, right?"

Red:"I figured. I know how this goes. Constantly stalking me."

Me: "Left and right, so like I said. Keep your nose clean.But fuck all, find out what's going on. Even I don't know why they're watching you."

Red: "So basically always act as though I'm being recorded. If it wound up on the news, would she have to move Sanctuary or want to?"

Me: "Well, no. The Board has already staked too much into it to move it. They'll make that part disappear."

Red: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Oh they'd make it look like Sanctuary is a burned out patch of land with no strategic value.Mental trickery, bunch of bribes. Like it never existed."

Red: "Kind of like Hogwarts."

Me:"Yeah, kind of like hogwarts. Except there's no anti muggle spells. Just armed personnel with an axe to grind."

Red: ".....who will be guarding Rabbit Hole?"

 And I need to hire mercenaries. To kill those narcs for you. May I use the slush fund?"

Me: "Your choice of our finest mercenaries, all expenses paid."

"Yes, you may use the slush fund."

Red: "Is this a permanent bonus or a temporary one?"

Me: "Kill those three middle management pukes, and then I'll tell you."

Red: "Fuck."

"Can I at least get a promotion ?"

"Because K8s make shit pay."

Me:"How about K6 pay with benefits?"

"And you'll owe me one."

Red:"And I will need permanent access to the slush fund. Especially to pay off Sanctuary's mortgage."

Me:"You're killing me Red. But fine. Deal."

Red:"Fine. One favor that follows the Code."

Me:"You're no fun, you know that?"

Red:"I will file a formal request each time. I won't ditch the paperwork if I get the promotion?"

Me:"And you'll say you're sorry to the Tax Adjuntant for flipping her off."

"Lady holds a grudge like nothing I've ever seen."

Red:"I'll finally be getting paid fairly. Thus, I can actually travel to do my job."

"I will ask each time, report each assignment. You can even publish the tame incident reports if you think it will help PR."

Me:"Make them as gory as you like, you know the higher ups love a good orgy of violence and suffering. Just keep up with your paperwork, and next bonus is sure to be properly handled."

Red: "May I ask if I may make special requests from R & D?"

Me:"Within reason."

Red: "Or bribing the necromancer to help him fix the broken magic on my healing ability?"

Me: "You can use the slush fund for that."

Red:"I also need a hush favor, valid for up to one year, in each timeline."

 "So.. 20 hush favors for 18 deaths and two active timelines?"

Me:"Fine. Put that in the contract. I'll make it legal."

Red:"We need to put everything in clear writing. Dobyoi formally requests that Sanctuary be on protected status in every timeline."

Me:"You actually got Dobyoi in on this? Come on, Red. You know even I can't say no to a big (Redacted).?"

Red: "We need additional training classes, both for me as middle management and for the Rabbits."

Me:"Slush fund."

Red: "I need R&D to create a better version of my Sanctuary slips. Nonfading magic."

Me:"That can be arranged."

Red:"I need special detailed pocketwatches. I will send the specs to you later."

Me:"Sounds like you're starting some kind of cult. Or underground society."

 Red: "We need a communication source that will work in every timeline."

Me:"R&D has a rotary phone for that."

Red:"This will take contacting the Alexandrian library."

"No. My Rabbits, my land, my rules."

"We have to keep them safe. It's already a stipulation of the top brass that I do this. To pull it off, I need tech and magic. You know how to make this happen. I know you do."

Me:"I do, but it's going to cost extra to get everything into place."

 "But yeah, you're one of my best. I'll expedite the process."

'You'd better deliver, Red."

Red:"You're the one with his neck in a noose. You want this to be a rush order. Make it happen."

Me:"Fine. But whatever it is they're trying to get from you. Don't let it happen."

"Good hunting. For both our sakes."

Red: "I won't. I will swear in blood not to directly attack the other Fears. I can keep the Rabbits alive in No Man's Land and Underland. I decided we're going with literary quotes for my land since Dobyoi has agreed to help."

Me: "Fine. That's going to be in writing. No one can break it."

Red:"They can't attack either. Every time you call me Red, my base personality becomes stronger. But in contrast, so does Dobyoi. It's a trade off."

Me:"Well, you're lucky I enjoy your original nickname,"

Red:"We can write up my formal Code of Conduct, add a few concessions as a good faith move, and put it in the Charter for Sanctuary. Contract must be signed in freshly spilled, nonbespelled blood. If we have to use temporary fizzle magic to make this happen, we need to."

"Proxies and Runners and neutral parties get access to training classes. And They swear They will not cause the Rabbits permanent death. We must be able to retrieve them after their trial in Underland us over."

Me: "Right."

Me: "Just do me a favor. Stay alive this time, will you?"

"Hell of a lot of paperwork to bury you again."

Red: "I will swear not to attempt suicide again. Accidental deaths shall have no repercussions."

 "You mean those Proxy bodies after Bleeding Tree got done devouring their soul as a power source?"

Me:"Good. Can't have the last few times put more people in that pretty little head of yours again."

 "Well, yeah. You think we just kept leaving you in the ground to rot?"

"But the BT needs fresh meat."

Red: "I get protection for the Red Road."

"All it takes is one time of being buried while I was sleeping, and wake to have my pulse start from nothing to heart attack range staring down the inside of a casket lid, to crawling my way through the grave and pulling a Kill Bill on my knuckles to get out, for me to never want to be buried again."

"The Red Road will be repaved and fairy lights put up to illuminate the road. No more Silent Hill darkness."

Me:Not sure that's my department, and armed guards can be acquired."

Red: "Freya wishes herself to have access to her occult books and supplies. She wants to apply for shaman training formally with the Cherokee Nation."

Me:"Would you like nice hopping streetlamps to follow you through checkpoints there, Chihiro?"

"Access to the Cherokee Shaman Tribe? Doable"

Red:"I actually want fairy lights. And sign posts warning visitors of the risks of breaking the Code and leaving the Red Road."

Me: "Fine, fair lights and warning signs."

Red:"I want jasmine and Japanese cherry trees planted in the areas next to the Red Road to deter 
Codebreakers. Liliana misses home."

Me:"Fine. Call Terry in landscaping. He loves decorative trees and shrubbery"

Red:"Cypress trees and mangroves for Amanda. Pictures of her children and proper Wiccan burial for them with trees planted as headstones. She wants her ashes moved to the New Orleans graveyard. Not Marie's graveyard. Don't you dare."

"Proxy protection in all timelines against the other magic factions. Even in the event of war."

"Freya wants permission to kill Dal Matia."

Me:'Yes, yes, yes, yes, Don't worry, we aren't that big of assholes, sure, that one is complicated, and absolutely not. In that order."

Red:"She committed a blood offense. I demand retribution."

"She broke the Treaty. You know the price for that."

Me:"You know I can't authorize that."

"You can maim, not kill. Take a finger off or something."

Red: "Dubyoi says off with her fucking head. We keep the head of hers and the narcs on pikes by Rabbit Hole. I want white roses planted around Sanctuary and Rabbit Hole."

"She tried to hex me out of my body. It almost worked. If I weren't dead already, it would have."

"This is nonnegotionable. Contact Higher Management. I'll wait for their answer."

Tag:"Ladies, we've talked about this, you want Dal Matia dead, you go to the Higher ups directly."

"I can send in the form."

"That's about it."

Red:"She broke Their rules. You know the penalty of killing one of my bodies. Of breaking the Rules. She broke every truce that mattered. I get to cut their heads off myself."

Tag:"I know, it's in the treaty.

"But trust me, all 18 of you don't want to do this."

Red:"No. Call BT. I want to formally call in my token for the hiding from IA for The rape and torture of a K8 by the K-3 agent, David."

Tag:"You're calling in that favor with the BT?"

Red:"You owe me, Tagalong."

Tag: ."..fucking no strings attached policy."

 Fine, I'll get you your violent date with Dal Matia."

"Don't ever say I didn't do anything nice for you."

Red:"Yes. Nonnegotionable, being called in as of now."

Tag:"Fine, but you're personally feeding her body to the Tree."

Red:"I don't want the payoff money. The 5 years lump sum will go straight into investing into businesses we will control and own as our own. Even split of resources we get as profits, distributed to all Rabbits."

Me:"You want to take your personally earned salary and dump it into your rabbit cage?"

"Fine by me."

Red:"We formally request David himself to make amends, create a truce, and lend his fizzle magic to my personal resource pool. One week notice prior. Regular maintenance. Terms negotiable. I still need to show him what it's like when Catherine rapes HIM."

Me:"Doable. Might as well fuck up the day of one of the original 12 for some well deserved payback."

Red:"Of course we'll enjoy it. But the point remains. He owes sexual healing and he knows it. It's very little to ask of him, all things considered."

Me:"Whatever he does to any of you in his spare time is your business. I'll just get the paperwork done."Spare me the details."

Red:"I don't need revenge. I'm five hundred and twenty this July. I'm too old to care about old wounds. I just want to be acknowledged as more than a rape doll for Wooden Girl, or a torture pet for David."

Me:"I always forget that, Red. Fine. All requests and demands accepted, pending approval by Higher Management. Doth I please the queen, this insipid bumpkin for sooth?"

Red:"Dobyoi requests official recognition of the Red Road, Sanctuary, and No Man's Land. She gets formal goddaughter status with the Fears. So all of us do by technicality as hers."

"We need protection, I need protection from Them. All deals are held to the intent of the letter and upheld til the day after eternity ends."

"So no direct intervention, attacks and or psychological damage to the 18 personalities inhabiting the one living vessel."

Me:"Eternity is a long time."

"Better make it worth their while."

Red: "You people made me into this eldritch mindfuck. Time to claim ownership and make it formal."

Me:"Don't say I didn't warn you. But fine, I'll put the paperwork through."

Red:"Paid vacation. Travel expenses, food costs, per diem, mileage. I want the Blood Red credit card in my real name. No limit. Only to be used with written permission from higher ups."

Me:"... Slush funds at your disposal, Red."

Red:"In my real name. So it's legal in all timelines."

"Protection from Proxy assignments on all of my lovers and informants. No more watching a 

Berserker kill my lovers. Too many of us lost our timeline's future husbands to the Quiet. They get the choice of which timeline to live in."

Me:"You know you're asking me to bend time and space on a head for you, right?"

"You want the moon and stars while I'm at it?"

Red: "In return, I will be the field agent they always dreamed of."

Me:"Hefty boast. But fine."

Red:"No more fuck ups. No more suicides. No more Running. No more setting house fires or averting prophecies that are neutral in nature."

Me:"As long as your deliver and give us what we want in return, you'll get everything you're asking for, Miss Renalda."

Red: "I will write incident reports. I want the cities of Nola and all of Mobile counties as my district and formal territory in Overland."

Me:"That's for the zoning board to decide, but the chairman owes me a favor.)

"Businesses, populations and subsidiaries as well?"

Red:"Complete with recognition as middle management and your equal in status if not rank or salary. I have access and leadership of the Proxy squads in those areas."

Me:"You know that's going to basically make you just like me, right?"

Red:"Yes. We are reclaiming Nola and the home of Mardi Gras."

"I will still be operating in collusion with you. Out of respect. You are still my ranked superior by experience if not status."

Me:“Aww. Well that’s nice.”

“But you know that if you or I screw up, we’re both going down for it. Right?”

Red:"I will finally cooperate and become a Proxy. I will be considered a District Manager."

Me:“Is that how far you’re willing to go?”

Red:"I will make weekly instead of monthly sacrifices to Bleeding Tree."

Me:“Where are you going to find the bodies?”

Red:"I want my old mask back. When dealing with Rabbits and on assignments."

"Be the management they truly want. It will be a bloody district."

Me:“You are about this?”

Red:"I'm not done."

Me:“You’re losing a lot of Autonomy.”

Red:"I will publicly declare myself as Keeper and create an Archive within the Alexandrian library."

Me:“You’re doing what now?”

Red:"I will donate all but my trophies from my souvenirs and storage. At my discretion what is exempt. No matter what I found."

"Kids will stop being killed in my district. 12 and under are off limits in No Man's Land and my district."

"As well as individuals over the age of 80. They earned a peaceful death. They should get it, even if I 
 can't."

Me: "Lot of specifics here, Red. You sure about this?"

Red:"Whatever happens outside my district is free game until the unlikely event I get promoted again."

"I will not punish those that break my Code outside of my district."

"I will be culling the rapists, murderers, and pedophiles from my district beginning at 12:01am Saturday morning. Retroactive. The witching hour of February 14th will be the go time."

"Bleeding Tree will get fat off the sacrifices I am about to give it. I am about to soak the ground red with blood enough that Rabbit Hole's grass will grow red for eternity."

Me:"Well, as long as you get them in on time, I don't think the higher ups will be all too disappointed in your incredible work ethic. "

Red:"I get to kill Omega as many times as I want for funsies. Any and all means allowed. No permanent deaths."

Me:"Omega? Fine. He can't die anyway."

Red: "Give Them some amusement."

Me:"You're a real people pleaser, you know that?"

Red""I get acknowledgement for my true kill count."

Me:"That's going to take a while."

Red:"Updated daily. Publically posted."

"I received my old notebook and can count through my scrapbook."

"I know The number anyway."

"Once a month for 4 years. Once a year from 16-22."

"You do the math."

"From here on out, kill count Updated to once weekly."

"Wooden Girl makes Dobyoi an enchanted Noh mask. Same design as before."

Me:“Same sort of glass?”

Red:"Must inspire Fear and loyalty somehow."

"Looking Glass. Ability to see through the timelines without jumping."

Me:“We’ll make it extra scary for you then.”

Red:"Reinstatement of my ability to heal and travel the path. Removal of health consequences for doing so. I need to find Justice. He has a prophecy I need to hear for myself, but he lives in the Path now."

Me:“You know that one is dependent on the higher ups performance reviews. If they are happy, you’ll get that one on your own.

"Anything else on your to do list?”

Red: "What do the eldritch Old Ones want from me that I haven't already promised?"

"We must follow the Code. Here, now."

Me:“If that’s what they already told you, I guess nothing.”

Red:"One last thing."

Me:“What is it?”

Red:"I have a catch of my own this time."

"My legal persona, Shady, and the Board all get 33%"

 "Ownership of everything involved."

Me:“You want to split this land and all of its assets into 1/3rds?

Red: "This District will be formally recognized as a melting pot. No killing in Nola or 251 or the surrounding areas. I have family in both."

"Yes. Legally recognize it as a neutral zone. Until the day every timeline is eaten by the Quiet or humanity wins the Great Game. Not a moment before."

Me: "That's asking for a whole section of non sacrifices. well, if you want it, you have it."

Red: "I will more than make up for it with Codebreakers."

Me: "Don't make promises, you can't keep, Red."

Red: "There will be a culling. As of Mobile time, 12:01 AM Saturday."

"It's going to be the Purge, Underland style."

"Better warn your people to run. My Rabbits are already stationed outside every oathbreaker's house. You have 5 minutes to finalize this deal before they begin."

"And of course, rending metal to flesh, feeding the hallowed ground with the blood of the unclean."

Me:"You're threatening me, Red?"

"That hurts my feelings."

Red:"No. Promising you an District level Apocalypse. Straight out of Their sickest desires."

Me:"Fine, I accept the terms in full."

Red:"The streets will run red with blood in 4 minutes."

Me:"3 more than I'll need. Men, let's move out. Get out of their line of fire."

"I'll be in touch, Red. Don't you disappoint me now."

Red: "Add in my Code. Just use negotiable terms."

Me:"All terms adhere to the code."

Red:"We can fix it later. Now which blade am I using to get the blood?"

Me:"Polished steel, black handle pen knife."

"Make it deep."

"I'll be doing the same."

Red:"Wait."

Me: "What is it now?"

Red:"Protection for Gallows. Should he want it. Priority level."

"3 minutes."

Me:"Fine."

"Twisting my arm here, Red. You know that?"

Red:"And Shady."

Me:"And I 'm already late.. Shady?"

Red:"She's part owner, after all."

Me:"Fine, suit yourself,"

"They get full protection."

-pen scratches as she signs the contract-

-pen scratches as he signs the contract and dates-

-it vanishes by magical fax-

Me: "Now that is what you call blood binding and quick sending.:"

"So, I need to go before I get a ceremonial dagger to the face."

"Always a pleasure, Red."

Red:"2 minutes. Any last warnings for the Code Breakers?"

Me: "Try not to get my good side."

-Transcription End-

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