The Healing Phase

Mapleview, North Carolina.
November 1st, 2025.
7:04 A.M.

The night of Halloween was terribly, endlessly long after everything was over.

Xena and Raven spent nearly two hours calming Jacob and Daniel down, and after finally getting the boys to stop shaking and sputtering, they eventually fell asleep in one of the spare rooms. Elaine decided to give Aravali a quick vitals check, despite that the doctor said he felt perfectly fine now, and Iggy spent much of the night quietly and glumly cleaning up messes leftover from the party. Mikey wandered around the manor for a while in search of Amory, but he eventually gave up and shut himself in his bedroom—and Amory remained locked inside the checkerboard room all night long, lying on the crooked couch, face shoved into a pillow, and he stayed still there until he eventually fell into a deep, depressed slumber.

The next morning—all throughout the town of Mapleview, the air was rife with excitement. Every local news station was reporting on the mysterious mob of people who had suddenly appeared in front of the police station, as well as a single fresh corpse. The news reported that many of the people had come from a massive Halloween party hosted by Evervale Manor—but when police arrived to the scene, as the news footage showed, the hillside where the manor had always resided was now mysteriously vacant, containing only trees and nothing more. It had become the biggest and most perplexing story in town now, and everyone was discussing it any chance they got.

But separate from the town, inside the hidden manor—a strange, eerie sense of funereal bereavement was in the air, the morning sun shining into the manor’s every large window, casting beaming rays over the main room and the sound system, the decorations and the lights, a bit of dust in the air, the speakers completely quiet, and the neon lights all off, the room only illuminated by the natural light of the sun.

During this morning—Aravali, Elaine, and Iggy did as they always did, the doctor and the orderly sitting at the bar and sipping on their fresh coffees over cigarettes, Iggy at the corner table and sighing as he read through a newspaper.

Crowe and Raven walked about the halls with a broom and a mop, un-eagerly preparing for the long day of cleanup ahead of them as they argued about the current state of the manor.

“What I don’t understand is—if we’re like halfway out of sync with reality now—then how come the power’s still on? Do we still have that internet working too?” Crowe asked. “How is everything still working?”

“How would I know?” Raven laughed. “Ask Amory…”

They both walked into the main room to begin the long tasks of cleaning the floors and removing all the party décor.

Upstairs, Daniel and Jacob remained asleep in their guest room—and Mikey was in his own room, glumly clicking around on his Twitch page and deciding to distract himself from his bad mood by making new sound alerts for it. Just when he opened up the webpage and placed his headset on, however—he heard a knock on his bedroom door, and he rolled his eyes, turning around in his chair and lowering the headset to his neck.

Xena pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“What?” Mikey barked. “I’m tryinna do something.”

“Okay… but I wanna talk to you,” Xena replied, closing the door and approaching him.

“Well… I don’t really wanna talk to you,” Mikey grumbled, facing his computer again.

Xena frowned at him. “What’re you mad at me for…?”

Mikey huffed out a breath, then turned back to her. “Because… you’re kind of a bitch?”

Xena’s mouth fell open. “Whoa. Are you kidding me with that? Watch your mouth.”

“Are you really gonna try to move us out of here?” Mikey asked. “Because if you are—then yeah—you’re kind of a bitch. Sorry not sorry.”

“Don’t get a freaking attitude with me,” Xena ordered. “If you saw what was going on downstairs last night, then you’d understand why I got so mad—”

“Yeah—be mad at the psycho fucks who keep trying to hunt Amory down, because that’s whose fault it actually was,” Mikey cut her off.

Xena paused, releasing a deep, stressful breath. “You don’t understand. This is an adult thing, and adults have to keep environments safe for the kids who’re around—”

“Yeah—except that has never been the way it actually works, especially in our family,” Mikey yelled at her. “In fact—even with everything that’s happened since we moved in here—this is still the safest place we’ve ever been. Xena—life sucks. The world sucks. No place is ever gonna be totally safe, and innocent, and perfect. No place in existence is ever gonna be like that for me, or you, or anybody else—and yes, that includes children too. I know that’s horrible, and bad, and wrong, and evil—but that’s reality—and if you honestly think that being away from Amory is safer than being with Amory, then you might actually be retarded.”

Xena fell silent for several seconds, processing everything he said and staring at the look of angry disdain on his face.

Then—to her nephew’s surprise—she let out a laugh.

“Wow. I’ve never seen you care so much about something before,” Xena snickered.

“Well—he’s like—he’s like my best friend,” Mikey stammered in frustration. “I don’t understand why you’d wanna just take that away from me.”

“M’kay… well, first of all, I don’t,” Xena replied, folding her arms. “And second of all… I have never actually wanted to leave this place. I just said that when I was mad, because… y’know… there was some sick shit going on here last night. You have to understand how it looked to me, Mikey. I didn’t know about everything else that was happening last night, and I didn’t know that there were actual demon people in the crowd making everybody crazy. I just thought that Amory was throwing a party and letting a big orgy happen around a bunch of kids. I know him well enough to know he wouldn’t actually do that, but… when I walked into the room and saw it… y’know… of course that’s what it looked like to me. That’s just what I thought was going on in the moment. Can you really not understand why that pissed me off?”

Mikey sighed, taking a moment to respond.

“Yeah,” he said. “But I don’t want the option of leaving here to ever be on the table.”

Xena blinked and paused, staring at him in slight surprise. She’d never heard him say anything like that before now.

“I don’t want that for me or you,” Mikey clarified, thrusting a finger at her. “Because you know what? I’ve never been happy before now—and neither have you. I honestly don’t think you could actually leave him if you tried—but I know you’d try to force yourself to if you really thought you had to protect me from something, and I don’t ever want that to be an option in your head. I want us to be here—at home—where we belong—and that be it. No more moving, no more losing friends, no more being sad, and lonely, and broke all the time—just—just here! Just home!”

Xena swallowed, releasing a sigh and remaining silent.

Mikey pushed up from his chair and stood. “And I know you’re trying to be ‘responsible’ and be the ‘grownup’ and all that shit—I know you think you have to put me first and have everybody else be a secondary issue, because that’s parental responsibility—but here’s the thing. That’s not true. Amory is just as valid and important as we are—and he needs good people around him just as much as we do. We can’t just leave him when something bad happens. That’s not fair!”

“I know,” Xena said softly. “I wasn’t gonna leave him, Mikey.”

“Well—you thought about it,” Mikey griped, his tone cracking. “Don’t think about it! Don’t ever think about it again!”

Xena breathed out a sad little laugh, Mikey’s eyes welling up with tears. She sighed and scooped him into a hug, holding him close and combing his short hairs back.

For a long, somber moment, she simply let her nephew cry into her collar.

When he eventually fell silent, he stepped back and removed his glasses, using the sleeve of his hoodie to remove the tears and fog from them. Then, he placed them back on and gazed up at her, gulping and clearing his throat.

“I don’t wanna be here and be attached to everyone if you’re just gonna have one hand on the door the whole time,” he told her sadly. “I need you to promise me that this is our home no matter what, and we’re not gonna leave. Please.”

Xena gazed into his eyes, flashing a warm, contented smile.

“Y’know… I think we have issues,” she smirked, rustling his hairs. “And I think I got way too used to everywhere we go being unstable and eventually turning out to be a bust. I think I’m just wired to have one hand on the door at this point. But… you’re right. It’s time for that to end. We finally found a good place, and good people… and… yeah… we do need to stay. We need a home, and we actually have one now. And, yes, we’re gonna keep it. I promise.”

Mikey nodded and let out a deep cloud of breath. “Okay… okay, good…”

The two of them were quiet for a second.

“You might wanna tell him that, too,” Mikey remarked. “He’s really afraid of losing you.”

Xena stared at him. “How do you know…?”

Mikey breathed out a laugh. “Because he’s deadass in love with you. Are you stupid?”

Xena’s mouth eased open, momentarily speechless.

“And I reeeally think you’re in love with him too,” Mikey added. “You just never let yourself think about it because it scares you too much.”

Xena closed her mouth, swallowing roughly and sighing at him. “You really need to stop being so damn smart. It’s annoying as hell.”

“Well… you really need to go talk to Amory, because he’s not okay, and he needs somebody right now,” Mikey responded. “And you’re the one he’s always relying on for that.”

“What?” Xena laughed. “Are you crazy? Dude… he’s got people with superpowers all around him, and he has a good psychiatrist, and he also has a literal angel as a mentor. He’s not relying on me. Trust me.”

“Xena… you were the first person he met in 2025. In fact, you were the first person he met in the entire outside world since he left that lab, right after everybody he knew was suddenly just gone, presumably dead, and he was just somehow stuck in a whole different world than before,” Mikey explained. “And then you showed up and just made him feel better. Do you know how that affects people coming from traumatic situations? And the fact that you’ve been that person for him more than once now is kind of important, too.”

Xena fell silent again, unsure of what to say.

Mikey studied her thoughtfully.

“Are you afraid of getting closer to him?” he tried to guess. “Because that’s what it seems like. It kinda seems like you’re keeping him at arm’s length and making excuses not to get as close as you wanna get to him.”

“Well… you’ll understand when you’re older,” Xena mumbled. “The more you get hurt and let down, the harder it is to get close to people.”

“Yeah, because I’ve totally never felt that before,” Mikey snarked. “You just promised me you wouldn’t keep one hand on the door anymore. I didn’t just mean that for me and you. I want you to quit doing that with him, too. He needs you.”

“Well, y’know, I never had the luxury of just doing what I really want to do,” Xena informed. “Everything’s always been about just scraping by and making sure me and you are all accounted for. Going and getting super attached to other people isn’t something that I’ve ever actually had the ability to do. I never had the time, and I had to prioritize…”

“Okay—but you have time now,” Mikey stated. “And everything’s accounted for for both of us, and you’re going to college for a job that pays really good, and you don’t have to pay for anything at all right now. You’re good . The door’s wide open for you to do what you want now. So you know what you should do? Just fucking do it. You know what? Get out. Get out of my room. Just go freaking talk to him. Get out. Get out! ”

He pushed and shoved her toward the door, making her stagger and almost trip.

Xena laughed and smacked his hands away, nodding and walking out of the room.

During this morning, while everyone else was awake and tending to their own average tasks amidst the quiet, isolated manor—Amory remained asleep and alone, still lying on the lopsided couch, sunlight gently casting into the checkerboard room from the windows along the back wall, the doorways through time all around him, and everything in the room was still, quiet, and peaceful, a gentle breeze sending a few autumn leaves coasting by outside.

He was, for the first time in a fairly long while, lost to a deep, lucid dream.

And inside the dream—he was lying in the very same position, resting on his stomach with his head turned slightly to the side, hugging the red square pillow and gazing tiredly out at the scenery. He was laying along the edge of a high rooftop in Mapleview—the very same rooftop he was on during his first ever dreamed encounter with Zyon.

The morning horizon was brilliant over the treetops, just a few buildings visible in the far distance, and Amory sighed, not wanting to stand, to move, or to get a better view; he merely lay there on the cold concrete, feeling and doing nothing.

“Sleeping in the waking world and in your dream?” a familiar rasp of a voice spoke from somewhere nearby him. “Well… that is simply not like you at all.”

Amory didn’t react, his eyes open, but dreary and distant, still staring out across the sky.

“I seem to remember a very energetic boy running amok in all of these dreams,” Zyon remarked, standing on the rooftop behind him with his hands pocketed inside his black trench coat. “Even into adulthood, and no matter where the dreams took us… you always had the very same energy you did at thirteen years old.”

Amory still didn’t reply.

“There were many reasons I wanted you to remain in Canterbury for as long as I did, Amory,” Zyon told him. “Yes, it was partially because I needed your help there… but it was also because… while I was able to protect you from the worst aspects of the lab, the lab itself provided a sanctuary away from the terrible realities of the world beyond. The world corrupts people, hurts people, wounds them… it chips away at every righteous aspect of a person, their trust, their compassion, their innocence… until they devolve into what most of them simply call an adult. An adult in the modern world, during any decade or century, is expected to be in that broken, ruined state so they can function alongside a wicked world. You are simply not compatible with that. And… now that you’ve been out in the world for a while… it’s trying to do to you what it does to countless other people out there.”

“It’s working,” Amory murmured glumly.

Zyon gazed down at him, huffing out a breath and flashing a faint half-smile. “And… who exactly are you trying to fool? Me? Or you?”

Amory said nothing.

“You cannot change who you are, Amory. Even in the midst of your angriest and most vulnerable moments… you just cannot bring yourself to truly become what the world always tries to make you into,” Zyon told him assuredly. “The Lord says to be as a child, and to retain your innocence in life… and that is what you do. That is what you feel is right to do. That is why… you have holy power that no other man has ever known. You are in a state of hurt and fatigue right now, but you have been through it before, and you always come out brighter and stronger on the other side. The bad times never stay, and this too shall pass.”

Amory was quiet for a second longer. Then, he made a face, turning over slightly, still lying on his side, but gazing up at the angel strangely.

“You’re awfully chatty all the sudden,” he commented.

“Well… you’re awfully depressed all the sudden,” Zyon replied, tilting his head and staring down at him. “You dream of this rooftop anytime you wish to return to the time and the mentality of the child you were when you first dreamed of it… and if you’re longing for a place of comfort and familiarity again, then that can only mean you’re feeling another bout of hopelessness in your waking life. I do not wish that for you.”

“Well, what the hell do you expect?” Amory griped, pushing himself upright and scoffing. “Do you not understand what’s been happening? No, of course you don’t, because you were dead to the world for the whole damn thing.”

“I’ve seen it in your mind all night long,” Zyon informed. “I know full well what has transpired in Evervale Manor… and you’ve done something incredibly risky in your efforts to hide. It was sensible, but it was also very… potentially… problematic. Time and reality is already unstable all throughout the century-long fracture… and putting the manor in a vulnerable position between solidity and unsynchonization will make everything even more unstable the longer it is kept in that state. It’s best we don’t keep it this way forever.”

“Don’t care,” Amory mumbled, turning and sitting on the edge of the building, facing the scenery of Mapleview.

Zyon stared down at him and sighed. “I know you want to make absolutely sure nothing can find any of you again… but you must understand… putting the stability of the entire universe at stake is something that could unravel the world.”

Amory didn’t reply, folding his arms atop his knees and huffing out a breath.

“Well… I’ll make a new place for everyone once the whole ‘children of time’ thing is over with,” he muttered. “After everything is done, I’ll fix the manor, and I’ll find someplace new where everyone can be safe. All the children of time and everybody from Moonvale can all have some brand new place where they can live without me and all my problems being there, and Xena and Mikey are gonna leave and get on with their lives somewhere else, anyway… so… in the long run… who really cares.”

Zyon gazed at him from behind, sighing deeply.

“Why do you feel so convinced that Xena and Mikey will leave you?” the angel asked.

“Because they should,” Amory said in a quiet, painful voice, his tone cracking.

Zyon’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t believe that at all. You’re speaking out of fear, Amory. You’re afraid they will leave you… and you’ve already convinced yourself that they will… so you want to… ‘get it over with,’ so to speak.”

“Who cares,” Amory murmured sadly, clutching his arms and glaring at the dream scenery as his eyes began to burn with hot, angry tears. “Raven left. Crowe left. Vincent left. Everyone leaves. I can’t imagine why Xena and Mikey wouldn’t, too.”

Zyon made a quizzical face. “Raven and Crowe didn’t leave… and Vincent faced an internal conflict with Valek. He did not leave by choice.”

“Zyon—you were there when Raven left,” Amory countered, turning halfway around and glaring up at him. “She left me in Canterbury to just sit and worry to death about her for years… and then Crowe went and did the same damn thing. And who the hell even knows what happened with Vincent. It really doesn’t even matter. It doesn’t matter if they choose to leave or not. The fact is—they leave. They always leave. Everyone does. So why would that ever change?”

“You’re only speaking out of hurt now,” Zyon understood. “You know very well that they have not all fled from your life. Most of them are still here now… and Xena cares a great deal for you, Amory. More than you know.”

“Psh. Yeah, right, sure,” Amory grumbled, facing away from him again. “She certainly sounded like it last night.”

“She was speaking through blind emotion… the same way you are now,” Zyon stated. “Not to mention, there were demons affecting the behavior of everyone in your home last night. You cannot let your hurt feelings cloud your judgment right now. You’re letting yourself believe a lie. You are telling yourself she hates you when she absolutely does not.”

“I’ll believe that when she says it,” Amory sighed.

Zyon paused, observing him with a curious visage.

“By the way… I must ask,” he uttered. “How were you able to heal Aravali?”

Amory continued to gaze across the horizon for a moment, then turned his head back and stared up at Zyon again, looking confused.

“You know how,” Amory replied. “You’re the only reason I ever found out I could heal people. That’s something that we can both do.”

Zyon made a small, faint nod, his expression rather thoughtful and intense now.

“Yes… but I believe he was poisoned by Devil’s Venom,” the angel remarked.

“Yeah?” Amory said, giving him an odd look.

“And yet, you still managed to heal him,” Zyon reiterated.

“So…?!” Amory muttered, still totally lost.

The two of them stared at each other for several seconds.

Zyon raised his eyebrows expectantly at him.

Amory paused, glancing down in thought—and then, it clicked in his mind.

“Oh,” he breathed, looking up at Zyon again, his eyes shining with a sudden spark of inspiration. “ Ooooooooooh! ”

At once—Amory leaped to his feet with a beaming smile spread across his face, grasping Zyon by the arms and practically jumping in place.

“Ohhh, I can heal someone who’s poisoned with Devil’s Venom! Oh my gosh, I can actually fix that!” he exclaimed, grinning and looking positively giddy. “I had no idea! All this time, I just kept waiting and hoping and seeing what would happen— but I can heal you myself! ”

Zyon smiled and nodded. “It would seem so.”

“Ohmigosh—ohmigosh, I have to wake up,” Amory yammered excitedly, turning to the edge of the roof. “I have to wake up right now—!”

He moved to leap off of the building—and Zyon grasped him by the arm and yanked him back.

“Now hold on just a minute,” the angel laughed. “It might not be so easy when you’re attempting to heal me. I am in human form, but I am also far more complex than an ordinary human being… and human beings are already pretty complex to begin with. Not to mention, I’m still working four decades worth of doses out of my system. You’ll probably expend a lot more energy trying to heal me than you did with the doctor.”

“So?!” Amory said happily. “I don’t care! I wanna do it! I wanna do it now! ”

“Well… you might not be able to do it all now,” Zyon told him. “You may have to do this a few times before it is actually fully done. It takes a lot to heal a thing like me.”

“Then let’s get started!” Amory said impatiently. “Come ooon… you could wake up and guard the manor while we’re all out looking for the children of time! It’s perfect!”

“Yes… but I do not want you to overexert yourself, Amory,” Zyon said. “And… I believe someone else would like to speak to you before we get to this.”

The angel raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

And suddenly—the dream world vanished all at once, and Amory found himself blinking awake on the couch, swallowing a yawn and turning over on the cushions. He squinted at the sunlight washing into the room from the back windows, stretching and extending his legs over the arm of the couch before he sat up properly and combed his hairs back.

Seconds later, his eyes ventured upwards, and he only just noticed that someone else was in the checkerboard room with him.

Xena had just walked inside and eased the door shut, leaning against it and staring at him.

Amory met her gaze. “Oh… hi.”

“Hey,” Xena mumbled. “Um… are you… okay? Nobody’s seen you or heard anything from you since you disappeared last night…”

“Oh, yeah… yeah, actually, I just figured out something fantastic,” Amory smirked, reaching his feet. “When I healed Ari last night, it was from Devil’s Venom poison… and if I can do that, then I should be able to help Zyon get better, too.”

“Really? Whoa… that’s awesome,” Xena replied. “I’m happy for you. I know it’s been really bothering you that he’s just constantly sick all the time.”

“Yeah… but I can do something about it now,” Amory breathed with a laugh, running his hands down his face. “Oh man, I so needed some good news…”

Xena nodded, crossing her arms, and the two of them were quiet for a moment.

“So, um…” she uttered, shifting in her stance. “Do you wanna go and do that now , or…?”

“Y… ah,” Amory sputtered, gulping and hesitating. “Ah, well… I wanna do it soon… but did… did you wanna talk?”

Xena went quiet, staring at him with a heavy, remorseful expression. Quite honestly, she felt a terrible guilt weighing on her; she certainly didn’t intend to hurt his feelings last night, and at the time, she had no clue how many other things were going on. She didn’t know that the obscene situation last night was the result of something that was entirely beyond Amory’s control—and now, she felt terrible for having blamed him for it, even though she’d only said it in a moment of impulsive anger and frustration. She’d found herself following her first instincts as a guardian and instantly jumping to the conclusion of separating her nephew from yet another dysfunctional place—but truly, in reality, she knew better. Evervale Manor was not another toxic and terrible place that she needed to remove Mikey from, and she now understood that she did, indeed, need to adapt to living here without having one hand on the door.

This was clear to her now—because Mikey was fully attached to his new family, and admittedly, she very much was too. It would be nice if she could live here with no fear of getting closer to the people she’d come to love. Mikey had made it very clear that he was all in on this family, and he never wanted to leave. So, it seemed, it was time for both of them to be all in.

“Amory,” Xena said softly. “I saw a freaky thing last night, and I just reacted… but I never had any kind of resentment building up for you, and I’ve never even thought about leaving here before. Not until last night, and even when I said it, I really didn’t want to. I never want to.”

Amory’s smile faded, and he remained silent.

“And Mikey never wants to leave, either,” Xena continued. “I’m pretty sure he basically just threatened to hate me forever if I ever even considered moving us out of here. He said you were his best friend. He really loves you. And I…”

She paused and looked down, clearing her throat and sighing.

“I do, too,” Xena told him wholeheartedly, her tone shaking just the slightest bit.

Amory merely stared, expressionless, and Xena returned his gaze in silence, forcing down the urge to cry. For a long, endless moment, the two merely stood, saying nothing while feeling a wild bombardment of things.

“He made me promise to take the option of leaving here fully off the table… and it didn’t even feel like a promise I should’ve had to make,” Xena told him. “Because deep in my heart, it doesn’t feel like it ever was on the table. I don’t want it to be. I want… to be here… for you, and with you… and so does he. We don… we don’t…”

She stopped again, releasing a trembling sigh.

“We really don’t want to leave,” Xena managed, her tone quaking even more, and her eyes beginning to water. “But if you want us to …”

“What? No,” Amory said suddenly, shaking his head at her. “No, no, no… I never wanted you to leave. I definitely don’t.”

Xena sniffed and swallowed. “Well, last night, you said… something about us taking money and leaving, or… something…”

“That—no—that was if you wanted to,” Amory stammered. “That’s not what I want. Not by a long shot. Xena—if I had my way, we would all be here together forever. I just—I know that’s not a fair thing to expect, considering the way everything is—so I—I don’t know. I was just trying to give you an out if you wanted one, because you seemed like you did.”

Xena choked out a sob and shook her head sadly at him, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“I never want that,” she choked. “Ever.”

Amory gazed deeply into her, his heart making a jolt, and his expression beginning to fracture.

“Really…?” he said wispily.

“ Yes , really,” Xena croaked, smacking him on the arm. “Why do you think I’ve been here this long? We love you, stupid. We love you so much.”

Amory took in a shaky breath, emotions welling up inside, a fantastic sort of joy that he hadn’t expected to feel today.

He breathed out a laugh and pulled her forward—trapping her in a spine-snapping hug and embracing her as if he’d never let her go.

Xena choked out another sob, coiling her arms warmly around him and closing her eyes, nuzzling deeper into him and feeling suddenly more at peace than ever.

“I love you too,” Amory murmured, gingerly cradling her head.

His eyes eased closed, and he savored every last second of holding her, feeling more grateful and relieved than he could’ve thought possible of himself on this day.

No, evidently, she was not going to leave him; Xena and Mikey wanted to stay with him throughout it all, everything else in the world just be damned.

After what felt like an eternity, they both leaned back, still holding onto one another, and meeting eyes again, their faces only inches apart now.

Amory lost himself in her cerulean stare, and he felt a spiral of anxiety shooting up and down him like lightning, wanting to lean closer, to press his lips to hers, to…

Click.

The sound of a camera and a brief flash of light caught both of their attention.

They turned—seeing Raven standing in the doorway of the checkerboard room, leaning halfway inside and holding up a Polaroid, a precious smile spread across her face.

“Aw… I’m sorry… but you guys look so cuuute ,” she giggled.

“Raven!” Amory exclaimed, his cheeks turning red. “Why can’t you knock?!”

“I don’t know,” Raven laughed. “Why can’t you make a move? Do it already.”

“ Shush! ” Amory yelled. “And that—hey— that’s my camera! ”

“Nuh-uh,” Raven smirked. “I found it in my closet. That means Mom and Dad left it to me, not you, smart one.”

“Then how come I found one exactly like it in my closet?”

“Um, because there might have been more than one camera in this whole entire house and in all the junk they left us? Did you ever think of that?”

“Oy!” Crowe shouted from the main room, approaching the open doorway and leaning inside as well. “Amory, you wanna help us with all the cleanup out here? Seeing as how you’re the only one who can… y’know… literally just make it disappear?”

He paused, narrowing his eyes at Amory and Xena, who still hand their hands placed on one another’s waists.

“Oh.” Crowe grinned at them. “What’s goin’ on in heeere …?”

“Nothing. Shut up. Go away,” Amory griped, instantly withdrawing his hands and swatting at them. “Go! Get out!”

“N’awww, has our repressed little prude finally learned how to do the backwards tango?” Crowe teased him.

“The answer is no ,” Raven told him, making Crowe instantly burst with laughter.

Amory huffed and stormed toward them, shoving them both out of the room. Crowe and Raven walked off, snickering and wheezing the entire way.

When Amory turned back to Xena, she was blushing and giggling, shifting her bangs back.

“Well’p,” she said, hooking her arm around his and leading him out of the room. “C’mon. We need to go fix our angel.”

The two of them walked across the main room—where Crowe and Raven were using their power to remove the decorations that hung from the highest parts of the ceiling—and they headed up to the third floor together.

When Amory and Xena arrived to Amory’s room and walked inside, they saw Zyon lying in the very same position he’d been in when Amory had transported him here last night.

The angel lay on his back, a hand draped over his stomach, his coat slightly crumpled up beneath him, and he was lost to a deep, sound sleep, the record player still softly playing music in the corner.

The two of them approached the bed, standing beside it and staring down at the angel.

“Amory,” someone called from behind.

Xena and Amory looked back, seeing Aravali and Elaine both entering the room.

“Sorry if we’re, uh… interrupting something,” Aravali said, glimpsing between Amory and Zyon. “We just wanted to… check in…”

“I’m fine,” Amory assured, placing a hand on Xena’s shoulder. “Everything’s fine now.”

“Oh… good, good,” Aravali nodded, trading glimpses with Elaine. “Well, we also wanted to ask if you could, um…”

He turned to the orderly again, wearing a quizzical face.

“How do I ask this…?” he mumbled.

Elaine flashed a flattened sort of smile.

“Aravali would like to know if you could help to… unbarricade both of the vehicles outside,” she informed. “The KIA and the Mustang are both rather trapped inside of a massive conglomeration of trees now, and we can’t go into town.”

Amory choked out a laugh. “Oh, wow, I’m sorry… I didn’t even think of that. Um…”

He looked down in thought for a moment, and then he frowned.

“No… actually… I’m sorry, but I don’t think you should go into town right now,” Amory realized. “I think the cops are probably gonna be waiting right outside the property line. There’re probably all kinds of police swarming all over the area and trying to figure out where the manor is right now. They can’t see or interact with the building at all… but if you drive off, then… they’re probably gonna stop you. They’ll be looking for anyone who lives here.”

Aravali stared at him incredulously.

“I sent everyone to the police station last night,” Amory explained. “All the kids, all the adults, all the cars, and the… the dead body…”

“The what …?” Aravali breathed.

“Someone got killed here last night,” Amory said gravely. “I had to cover tracks somehow…”

“Oh, good Lord…” Aravali sighed, running both of his hands down his face.

There was a pause.

“I suppose we’re all living in hiding, then,” Elaine surmised. “Well. I’d better go and take inventory, and figure out how much food and coffee we have before someone has to make a secret trip to the market for us…”

She turned on her heel and left the room.

Aravali watched her go, then faced the others again.

“Also,” the doctor said. “I did want to thank you, for…”

“Hey… Ari,” Amory smirked, waving him over. “I should be thanking you. You know why?”

Aravali made an odd face, stepping closer. “No. Why?”

“Because what happened with you last night made me learn something really important,” Amory grinned. “I can heal a person who’s been poisoned by Devil’s Venom. And now that I know that… guess what I’m about to do?”

Aravali’s mouth drifted open, eyes shifting between Amory and the angel again.

“Oh,” he exhaled.

Amory beamed and nodded, turning to the bed and outstretching his hand above Zyon.

“He talked to me in my dream… and he told me it might take more than one healing session, since he’s got a whole lot more of that poison in his system than you did, and he’s more complicated inside,” Amory elaborated. “But I know I can do it. I am gonna heal him the absolute best I can right now.”

All three of them stood at the bedside now, Aravali glancing over at Amory with a skeptical look strewn across his face.

“Ah… well… listen,” the doctor muttered. “If Zyon told you that himself, then… you probably need to be exceptionally careful, and don’t go overboard. You did push yourself beyond your own limits once before, you know.”

“Aw… that was different,” Amory said dismissively. “That was just me being too hungry and sleepy. But this… this is all angel power, and I’m not hungry or sleepy at all.”

“I mean… you did do a lot of stuff last night,” Xena recalled.

“Oh, come on… would you guys stop worrying?” Amory smiled confidently, glimpsing between the two of them. “I can do this. I’m not gonna stop until I do.”

Then, he took a deep breath and placed his hand to Zyon’s chest, his eyes beginning to shine a brilliant blue just before they eased shut.

Amory concentrated as hard as he could—and somehow, he could feel every cell in Zyon’s body, every surge of his life force, and he could feel precisely where the evil inside him resided, the very same toxic nastiness that had made his stomach churn with nauseous agitation the night before.

He focused harder—isolating, locking in, mentally grasping a viselike hold on every shred of evil he felt inside the angel—and then, his hand began to glow as well, and he forced great waves of holy power into Zyon, burning, attacking, and mercilessly eviscerating every spec of demonic poison he felt.

He could practically see it in his mind—a clear map of everything in the body, everywhere the blue light of God resided, and every area that was infected with black. He knew just where to target, and just where to aim his power.

It was the very same as last night—only far more intense, because the longer he maintained his focus and targeted his power, the more he realized that it was taking much longer to actually remove any toxicity from the body this time.

Yet still—he maintained, he unleashed power, he focused intensely on the dark areas, and he continued, unsure of how long he carried on.

His stomach contracted, a sick feeling rising up in his throat, but he ignored it; he felt and saw the darkness inside the angel beginning to shrink away, very slowly, but absolutely surely.

Then, Amory inhaled again, and then he pushed even harder; he released even more energy, sending a raging fire of holy power throughout the angel, the poison fading just the slightest bit more.

Xena and Aravali both watched him attentively—and within a minute, Zyon’s eyes opened, blinking and turning his head, staring up at Amory.

“Enough,” Zyon grunted in a hoarse rasp. “ Enough now…”

“Amory, he said enough,” Xena said, grabbing Amory’s shoulder and giving it a shake.

“He’s telling you to stop,” Aravali said, placing a hand on Amory’s back.

Regardless of everyone’s warnings—Amory did not stop or even slow down. His hand remained planted firmly to the angel’s chest, a hot white power radiating from it, and his eyes began to open, the spiraling blue lights amidst them suddenly rapid as they shot wildly around both of his pupils like tiny bolts of lightning.

“I can do more ,” Amory growled through gritted teeth.

He stood rooted to the spot, the sick feeling intensifying terribly, and a wave of dizziness beginning to overtake him.

But—he summoned every remaining ounce of his strength—and he released one final burst of power into the angel, seeing, feeling, and knowing that the blackened poison inside him was being eaten away steadily more.

Zyon grabbed Amory’s wrist and ripped his hand away from his body.

Amory then staggered back, his eyes returning to normal, and his expression now heavy and dreary. Everything felt to be spinning, the room blurring around him… eyes closing as his leg buckled beneath him…