The New York Runaway

New York City, New York.
December 17th, 1998.
9:29 A.M.

After luckily securing an apartment to live in and quickly befriending the neighbor across the hall under grim and stressful circumstances—Crowe and Aravali found themselves on a sudden adventure, helping in the search of the neighbor’s runaway daughter.

On this cold winter’s day—they found themselves rather cramped in the back seat of a taxi, the morning traffic moving rather slowly, the tiny young ZeeZee sitting on her mother’s lap, and Crowe sandwiched in between Aravali and Eve, repeatedly readjusting in his discomfort.

“I j… I can’t… ughhn ,” Crowe grumbled as he squirmed in his seat. “Christ alive… I jus… I don’t understand why we’re in a bloody cab. Why aren’t we looking on foot?”

“Because she’ll hide if she sees me looking for her,” Eve informed, propping her daughter up higher on her knee. “We need to be able to look around without her seeing me…”

Crowe turned to her and nodded. “Ah… ‘kay… makes sense.”

Aravali was staring out his window vigilantly as the taxi driver continued to cruise at a moderate crawl in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, and everyone was quiet for a moment.

“So, um… if we do see her,” Crowe muttered over to Eve, giving her a questioning look. “Do we have your permission to, uh… jump out and chase her?”

Eve paused, saying nothing. Aravali turned his head and gave Crowe a look, smacking him once on the arm.

“What? I figured I’d ask first,” Crowe griped at the doctor. “Y’want me to just take off chasing a little girl down on the streets of New York for no reason? Because I don’t plan on getting arrested on my first day here , Ari.”

Eve sputtered out a laugh, giggling and covering her mouth. ZeeZee snickered as well, hugging her mother around the neck and nuzzling closer to her.

“He’s funny,” the child remarked, glimpsing over at Crowe.

“Yes… he is,” Eve agreed.

ZeeZee gave Crowe a curious sort of look, then turned to her mother again.

“How come he talks like that?” the little girl wondered.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Eve replied. “You don’t have to talk about him like he isn’t here, sweety. Just ask him.”

ZeeZee turned back to Crowe.

“Why do you talk like that?” she uttered.

Aravali perked his brow and observed Crowe rather closely, hoping he wouldn’t say something sarcastic in response—as Crowe always seemed to get slightly defensive about his accent—but, surprisingly, he didn’t this time.

“Oy… have you ever heard of a place called the magical land of the UK?” Crowe asked the child. “I was born there, kiddo. People from there talk English English. It’s a little bit different from American English.”

“Oooooh,” ZeeZee nodded, scooting closer and eyeballing him. “What’s your name?”

“Crowe… like the bird,” Crowe smirked. “And you?”

“Zella… ZeeZee… Zambooga… Zappy… Zeena… Zombie! ” ZeeZee proclaimed excitedly, pumping her fist high above her head and accidentally punching the ceiling of the car.

Crowe choked out a laugh.

“She really likes the letter Z,” Eve explained.

“Right,” Crowe muttered. “So just… just ZeeZee, then.”

“Yeah!” ZeeZee beamed. “That’s my favorite one out of all of my names… ‘cuz it sounds like a Z!”

“Ye’ap… it sure does,” Crowe chuckled. “But… why have you got so many different names, kiddo? You’re not running from the law, are you?”

“Nooo… I’m a good girl. I’m not… I don’t break the law!” ZeeZee replied, smacking a hand to her chest and gesturing while she spoke. “My names are for being a superhero! I put on a blanket, and put the mask over my head, face… and then I can be a superhero, and I can fight crimes and stop the bad guys!”

Crowe raised his eyebrows at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!” ZeeZee squeaked, her voice cracking. “Mommy says superheroes have to have a secret names so they can have a secret… identy… and then I can fight, and not anybody can know who I am! Nobody can know who I am for real!”

Aravali and Crowe traded glances, both of them smirking and nodding at the child.

“Well… that sounds like a fantastic plan, kiddo, but between you and me… that’s a bit of a bad job for a kid to have,” Crowe told her. “Trust me… I was a young superhero, too, and that gig was terrible. When you’re a kid, you just get banged up and hurt too easily… and the insurance plan was rubbish. If you ask me, you oughta wait until you’re all grown up before you go around trying to fight crime. Believe me, it’s a lot safer that way.”

“I can do it,” ZeeZee argued. “I’m big! I’m a big girl!”

“Right… but you wanna get to be a bigger girl first,” Crowe tried to explain.

“I’m almost six years old!” ZeeZee exclaimed. “I’m already the biggest girl in the entire world!”

Crowe opened his mouth, shaking his head once and drawing a blank. He then looked to the doctor.

“You wanna help me out here…?” he mumbled.

Aravali laughed. “No.”

“Oh…well, thank you so much, Mr. Child Psychiatrist,” Crowe snarked in response.

Eve, who had been peering out her window for the past few minutes, blinked and turned to face them again, her eyes landing on the doctor.

Crowe caught her lingering gaze, and he nodded at her. “Yeah, he’s a psychiatrist. We’re supposed to go and get his medical license renewed today, actually… so he can get back to work.”

Eve nodded, then looked to Aravali with intrigue.

“Do you have a job lined up?” she wondered.

Aravali opened his mouth to reply, hesitating for a second.

“Ah… well,” he uttered with a shrug. “I did already set everything into motion so I could run my own practice… state-funded. I thought of just doing home visits for people from now on, since not a lot of psychiatrists do that…”

Eve stared at him thoughtfully.

“How much would you charge?” she asked.

“Ah… probably not a great deal, since I have a fairly nice arrangement with the type of government assistance I get,” Aravali lied wittily. “In fact… depending on the circumstances of the person, they may not get charged anything. But… I’ll still get paid either way. It’s a fantastic setup, honestly.”

Eve gave him an interested look—and Crowe stared over at him with a sly half-smile forming, seeming impressed.

“What was your name again?” the mother asked.

“Aravali Chavan,” Aravali replied, reaching over and shaking her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You too,” Eve said. “Um… if you do start your own practice, then… when would you start seeking out new patients?”

“Probably right away,” Aravali answered.

“And the only thing we have to do to start is get that medical license renewed,” Crowe added, grabbing the doctor’s shoulder and shaking it. “Right?”

“Yes,” Aravali affirmed. “Then we’re good to go.”

“Well… if I get you all my information, then… could you see if I qualify for your service?” Eve inquired.

“Oh… absolutely,” Aravali agreed with a smile.

“Thank you so much,” Eve said gratefully. “Oh… but, um… you know you can just get that license renewed online, right?”

Aravali’s mouth drifted agape, swapping glances with Crowe, both of them momentarily speechless.

“The internet’s here too? ” Crowe whispered to him. “Fuckin’a, the 80s missed out on everything…”

“Look!” ZeeZee exclaimed suddenly, pointing past Crowe and Aravali out the side window.

All of them peered outside—and they were just able to see KeeKee speed-walking up the sidewalk in between a few other pedestrians, adjusting her tiny backpack and vanishing into the small crowd of people.

“Well—go!” Crowe said urgently, practically shoving Aravali into the door. “Get out get out get ooout! Let’s move! ”

Aravali glimpsed at him before popping the door open—and Crowe pushed him outside, then turned to Eve and ZeeZee.

“Seeya at home!” he grinned before leaping out of the taxi.

They both staggered out onto the road—and Crowe and Aravali quickly moved to the sidewalk, squinting through the people down the walkway and spotting the small girl walking in between several of them a fair distance away.

“All right—I’m gonna get her with telekinesis and then we’re both just gonna grab her and make it look like we’re guiding her back home by hand,” Crowe explained rapidly and breathlessly, turning to the doctor. “You ready?”

Aravali shot him a look. “You want to do that in front of all these people…?”

“Better that than two grown men tackling a little girl full-on and then wrestling her away all violent-like,” Crowe told him, swatting at the sidewalk ahead. “C’mon, she’s getting away!”

He broke into a run.

“Oh, this is such a bad idea…” Aravali grumbled before racing after him.

The two of them sprinted down the sidewalk, whizzing in between people—then the doctor thought to grab Crowe and pull him to a stop.

“Wait, wait, wait… why don’t we just try talking to her?” Aravali breathed. “Because if we both chase after her, then we’re just gonna make her run… some more…”

Crowe hesitated, opening his mouth a few times and glancing between Aravali and the little girl down the sidewalk, who was approaching a crosswalk at a rather large intersection now.

“Oh… fine, all right,” Crowe uttered exasperatedly. “But hurry up… c’mon, before she crosses…”

The two of them resumed their pace approaching the girl, but with a brisk walk rather than a run. As they drew nearer to the edge of the crosswalk, moving in between people as they did, the tallest buildings in the cityscape around them became more visible, as did the array of trees and the elegant stone walkway that resided across this busy street.

Aravali peeked past everyone, making a curious face. “Is that… is that Central Park? Are we in Manhattan?”

“Well, duuuh … lookit where the Twin Towers are from here,” Crowe responded, smacking his arm.

Aravali scoffed. “Oh, well, beg my finest pardon… like I’m an expert on the layout of New York City…”

They drew closer to the girl, who was standing on the edge of the sidewalk in between a few of the adults, all of whom were waiting patiently at the crosswalk for the light to turn green. The crosswalk in front of them was not yet safe to traverse, and the vehicles in front of them were moving through the intersection somewhat quickly, much faster than the adjacent street where their taxi was still at practically a standstill.

Aravali and Crowe traded subtle glimpses, and they stepped toward KeeKee from behind at a slow and calm pace.

Then, the doctor reached out and gently tapped her shoulder.

Just when the traffic in front of them eased to a stop, and the crosswalk light turned green—KeeKee turned around, staring up at the two strangers behind her while the other adults stepped off the curb and began marching across the street.

“Hello,” Aravali said politely, hunching slightly down to her level. “We didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves to you. Crowe and I are your new neighbors.”

KeeKee remained blank-faced, her eyes shifting between the two of them.

“Your mum’s worried about you,” Crowe said, speaking a little harder and blunter than the doctor. “So we’re gonna take you back home.”

“Fuck if you are,” KeeKee snarled.

“Fuck if I’m not ,” Crowe growled through gritted teeth. “Look here, you little shit—you’re lucky to have a mom who does worry, and I don’t wanna hear your smart mouth, all right?”

“ Crowe ,” Aravali whisper-yelled.

“What? I’m not gonna baby her,” Crowe snapped. “You saw what she did to her mom and her uncle. She’s being a little—”

“ Hush ,” Aravali hissed, turning back to KeeKee. “Listen… any problems you have can be talked about, young lady. But they can’t be talked through if you run away from home.”

KeeKee paused for a second, looking over her shoulder and seeing that all of the adults had made it to the other side of the crosswalk now, and the digital crosswalk sign had turned red, nearing the end of its countdown.

The girl smirked coldly.

“You wanna take me back home,” KeeKee sneered, stepping backwards off the curb. “Okay— gotta catch me first! ”

Then—she exploded into a run and bolted across the street just when the crosswalk sign read STOP, and traffic began to move.

Crowe leaped out after her and almost dove in front of the long line of vehicles moving forward—

“ Crowe! ”

Aravali snapped both of his arms around one of Crowe’s and yanked him back with all his strength—Crowe nearly tripping backwards over the curbside.

KeeKee just barely managed to reach the other side of the street before traffic was moving at a steady pace over the crosswalk and through the busy intersection. She wheeled around, made a face at them from across the street, and held up a middle finger before turning on her heel and sprinting off toward Central Park.

Crowe and Aravali straightened up.

“You realize what she almost just did , right?” Aravali griped, swatting him on the arm. “She nearly got you killed.”

Crowe gaped at him in angry surprise, glancing over at the traffic and the crosswalk sign, then glaring at Central Park.

“Oh, that is… that is fuckin’ sociopathic! ” he yelled at the park as if he expected the girl to hear him, tossing up a hand.

“Hush, now… get back on the sidewalk,” Aravali advised, pulling him over the curb and sighing at the intersection. “Damn… we’ll never catch her at this rate. She’ll be long gone by the time the lights change again.”

Crowe realized the same thing, taking a side-step and narrowing his eyes at Central Park across the way; he was just able to see KeeKee jogging toward a walking path that stretched alongside the main road, farther down this very street.

Then, his eyes flickered over to the traffic—and he spotted a large flat-bed truck approaching in the lane nearest them.

A mad idea came to him, and he faced the doctor.

“You trust me?” Crowe asked.

Aravali’s mouth opened, glimpsing at the traffic, then at him, feeling a sudden sense of dread.

“No,” the doctor uttered thoughtlessly, shaking his head once.

“Too bad—you’re gonna have to,” Crowe said—then he took a few steps back and braced himself, his eyes locking onto the truck just as it began to cruise in front of him.

“What’re you doing…?!” Aravali breathed.

Crowe didn’t answer; he broke into a run and darted at the truck—making a daring leap and jumping onto the back of it as it drove by.

Several of the people nearby gasped and pointed at him; Crowe rolled over and staggered to his feet, standing on the flat bed of the truck as it continued coasting through the intersection.

He turned back to the crosswalk—focused on the doctor—and raised his arm—jerking it back with a yanking motion—

And Aravali inhaled a sharp gasp—suddenly ripped from his feet and soaring through the air.

He launched over the rooftops of the cars by a force unseen—flying toward the flat bed—

And Crowe snapped an arm around him—both of them stumbling backwards and hitting the rear window of the truck.

Then, they fell still there—standing crookedly in the truck bed with their backs pressed up against the window, both of them heaving rapid and adrenalized breaths as the wind swept over the vehicle and made their hairs dance wildly about.

“Oh… well that was inconspicuous,” Aravali yelled over the wind, shooting him a glare. “Give me some warning next time!”

“Okay—I’m boutta do it again,” Crowe panted, turning and gazing over the moving traffic next to him. “You’re warned.”

“What? No, y—”

Aravali ate his words; the truck suddenly shifted beneath his feet, making him stagger and quickly grasp onto the rear window for support.

Then, he looked over—seeing that Crowe was turned around, gazing over the side of the truck with his hand raised above the truck’s roof, his eyes locked onto the lane beside him.

The truck was being forced into the next lane; the burly driver inside it made a face and raised his hands from the steering wheel, his eyes widening as he began to curse up a storm—and the traffic in the right lane suddenly slowed down, seeing that this truck was apparently going to cut them off, many of those drivers now cussing as well, their passengers leaning out of their windows to scream in anger.

Crowe’s fingers were arched, craned over the truck’s rooftop, his power focused solely on the vehicle he rode upon, a single tear of blood rolling down his cheek as he guided the huge truck off to the right.

Slowly and steadily—the truck overtook the right lane, then leveled itself out in a straight forward cruise, now driving directly alongside Central Park.

Crowe choked out a breath—suddenly lowering his hand and ceasing his power, grasping his forehead with one hand and the back of the truck with the other.

Aravali stared at him, seeing that Crowe had made himself momentarily dizzy—so he reached out and yanked him closer to the center, away from the edge.

Crowe pressed his back to the rear window and opened his eyes, pausing for a second and gathering himself. Then, he looked to the side again—and he spotted KeeKee on the nearest walkway of Central Park, just beginning to vanish from sight as she strolled into a wooded area.

“It worked. We’re hot on her tail now,” Crowe uttered, turning to the doctor. “One more heart attack.”

Aravali gave him a look of grave anticipation.

Then—Crowe stood upright and summoned all his energy—running off the tuck bed at top speed and leaping toward the grass along the edge of the park.

He jumped clear over the sidewalk—hitting the cold ground and making a swift roll over the grass before springing back to his feet.

Then—Crowe held out his hand and made another yanking-back motion—and Aravali was jerked off of the flat bed—shooting through the air over the sidewalk.

Crowe caught him again—both of them staggering over the grass and barely managing to remain standing.

“ God … I miss Amory,” Aravali panted as he straightened up, clasping his chest. “I’ll take teleporting over this any day…”

Crowe didn’t reply; he instantly ran toward the nearest walkway of the park, one that led into the trees in the near distance. Aravali sighed and sprinted after him.

They two of them dashed past the open areas and the little black fences that ran alongside the walkways—and they found themselves racing down a path surrounded by woodlands and rocks, no longer able to see the buildings of the city or the vehicles of the New York traffic. They kept running for a few minutes—unsure of how deep they were traveling into the park—but eventually, they came to something of a clearing, and KeeKee appeared directly in their view, straight ahead.

After running down a long, curved arch in the path—this area was more spacious amidst the trees, making it easier to see and harder to hide, the walkway wider, and the path ahead was mostly a straight-shot, the little girl just down the way.

KeeKee glanced back at them—then hurriedly broke into a run.

“Oh— screw this ,” Crowe snarled through gritted teeth, marching forward and reaching out with his fingers arched.

Suddenly—KeeKee’s tiny pink shoes skidded atop the pavement, and she found herself jerked to a stop, unable to lift her leg to take another step, frozen entirely in place.

“Crowe—be careful,” Aravali exhaled, stopping just behind him and watching anxiously. “She’s a child.”

“She’s a demon ,” Crowe growled—whipping his arm back.

KeeKee was yanked backwards almost violently—gliding over the walkway and pulled directly toward her pursuers.

About five feet away—the little girl came to an easy stop, and Crowe twisted his hand, making KeeKee’s still body slowly turn around in place, forcing her to face him.

“Now… let’s try this… again ,” he rumbled, cocking his head angrily at her, a tear of blood now running down his other cheek as well. “And I would really suggest you back the hell off before I call in the heavy reinforcements, because I know I’m talking to a lot more than just a bloody kid now.”

Aravali gave him an odd look, then faced the little girl again.

KeeKee grinned from ear to ear, a wide, toothy, wicked sort of smile that hardly looked like it could suit a child’s visage.

“I can’t believe you knooow me,” she said in a light, sing-song voice, tilting her head at him. “Little lost Crowe… far from his nest … ehehehehehehehehe…”

“Oh… I’d know it anywhere,” Crowe glowered. “ This is what happened to my friends! ”

Then—he began to raise his arm up—and KeeKee lifted off the ground, hovering midair at least five feet above the pavement of the walkway.

“Crowe,” Aravali uttered, gazing up at the floating girl and grasping tightly onto Crowe’s shoulder. “Please…”

“Beee… careful! ” KeeKee teased, pointing down at the doctor. “Do what the sweet caring doctor man says! You don’t wanna kill a chiiild …!”

“There’s hardly a child left in you,” Crowe snarled. “You’re nothing but Canterbury’s rubbish .”

KeeKee seemed entirely unbothered, kicking her feet playfully to and fro in the air as she began to hum a melody.

“It seems pretty damn clear to me which one of you is savable and which one isn’t ,” Crowe stated. “Your sister has Zyon… but all you have is a bloody demon parade in your head.”

The little girl simply continued to hum a song.

And then—Aravali made a strange face, a light powering on in his mind, his anxiety at the situation suddenly subsiding as he gazed up at the girl with intrigue. The melody she was humming—he was certain he’d heard it somewhere before.

“I don’t wanna kill people anymore… I really don’t… and I’m definitely not in the business of killing kids,” Crowe ranted. “But I am not about to let a thing like you run free.”

“ You’ll ne-ever know what hit-you ,” the girl sang faintly.

Aravali’s brow hardened as he gazed up at her—and the memory instantly returned to him.

“Lily,” he murmured.

Then, the doctor stepped past Crowe, moving closer to the little girl and staring fixedly and thoughtfully at her.

“You’re the one,” Aravali said. “You’re the one who spoke to me through Donna… back at Moonvale.”

“Can’t be,” Crowe grunted, his face slowly becoming bloodstained as he maintained his focus of power. “Zyon removed that demon from Donna… and that same demon couldn’t have latched onto this kid and got sent here during a time when it was still in Donna. Can’t be the same one.”

“Awww,” KeeKee laughed mockingly at him. “Look at the little lost Crowe… acting like he knows how it all works. I’ve been around for even longer than your stupid fucking winged friend, Crowe. Time is an illusion… and people are all wide open to me. You think I can’t possess more than one person at a time? I am limitless … and on top of that… it is never just little old me. It… is… we .”

Suddenly—several shuffling noises echoed from nearby.

Aravali looked around—seeing people emerging from within the nearby bushes and from behind the closest trees, some of them homeless, tattered, and dirty, others looking as if they’d simply been loitering in the park all night long, with white wife-beaters and baggy pants, one of them reaching into their pocket and grasping onto something that nobody else could see.

Nine random strangers, all thugs and vagrants, slowly began to encircle Crowe and Aravali on the walkway, all giving them the very same stare—a cold, dark, and unfeeling one.

“We… rule… this world,” the demon said through KeeKee’s mouth. “We… are… Legion .”

“Bring it on,” Crowe rasped, his arm still raised and his power still locked onto the little girl, his face positively shining with streaks of blood now.

“How much more fuel do you have in your tank? How much more do you really think you can do? ” the demon laughed. “You’ll have to let me go if you wanna fight all of them.”

“No chance,” Crowe growled.

“Then I guess I get to kill your doctor,” KeeKee grinned.

All of the strangers suddenly quickened their paces toward them—one of them pulling out a handgun—

And Crowe made one hard stomp to the ground—not releasing the girl or even taking his eyes off her—yet a great thunderclap of power seemed to have erupted out from where he stood—and every single vandal and vagrant nearby them went flying back with great force.

The strangers shot high through the air—vanishing into the woods and the shrubs and instantly disappearing from the scene.

Aravali watched in awe, choking out a breath and turning back to Crowe—who still had a firm psionic grasp on the girl.

“Underestimate me now,” Crowe challenged. “I dare you.”

“It doesn’t matter—you won’t kill a kid!” KeeKee laughed insanely, throwing her arms up and cocking her head. “You still can’t do anything to me, you worthless little unwanted bastard child! You couldn’t hurt your mommy —you couldn’t hurt your John —and you—can’t hurt—poor—widdle— KeeKee! ”

Crowe gritted his teeth—and he made a hard flourish of the wrist—KeeKee suddenly whizzing straight to him.

The little girl stopped barely a foot away from him, hovering in the air directly in front of him, her eyes perfectly level with his.

Aravali watched with nervous vigilance, his eyes darting between the two.

Crowe gently raised his head, reading and surveying the warped, maniacal expression that was strewn across the child’s face—and then, his own visage darkened into a distant, stoic, and unreadable one.

“No. I couldn’t hurt my mother… because… she was… my mother,” he muttered in a low, strange tone. “And I did my best not to hurt John, I really did… but… if you remember …”

He leaned slightly closer, staring deeply into the child’s vacant, unfeeling eyes.

“I… ended up feeding John… directly to his exorcist ,” Crowe rumbled through clenched teeth. “And I’ve been really curious about something ever since I did that… and ever since Amory did it to Vincent, too. Because, y’see… despite the fact that some emotional mental-block bullshit is keeping me from being as strong as Amory is… I still became one with an angel when I was in Canterbury, my friend. So, now… I really wonder how much it might hurt…”

Crowe then slowly raised his free hand, holding up two fingers and steadily moving them toward her.

“If I were to do something like this ,” he said definitively.

He summoned even more power inside—a brief spark of blue shooting through his eyes—and he pressed his fingers to the child’s forehead.

At once—a terrible wailing scream exploded out of the girl—shrill and hoarse as her voice cracked in pain and her limbs flailed madly about.

KeeKee continued to scream and writhe—and Crowe kept her held in the air, kept his fingers to her forehead, and kept glaring into her as she screamed and punched wildly at him.

Then suddenly—her agonized screams stopped—and she fell limp and silent, her head slumping forward, her arms and legs drooping, and her eyes now closed, her consciousness having very quickly abandoned her.

There was a long, tense silence.

Then, Crowe slowly lowered the now unconscious girl, laying her gently onto the pavement and finally dropping his arms by his sides. KeeKee now looked as if she was simply sleeping on the walkway, lying on her back, completely unharmed.

Aravali stared down at the little girl, releasing a relieved cloud of breath.

Crowe gazed down at her with an expressionless visage, and seconds later, his head began to spin, swaying slightly in his stance, eyes attempting to drift shut. His leg buckled, and he fell back, utterly drained now.

“Oh—Christ,” Aravali gasped, just barely managing to catch him and slowly lowering him to the ground.

Crowe lay crookedly against him, his head slumped back over his arm, and his eyes shut.

“Crowe—hey, hey ,” Aravali exhaled, giving him a light smack on his blood-streaked cheek. “Wake up, now—stay with me. Try to stay awake. Crowe! Come on!”

Crowe’s mouth barely moved, looking as if he was trying to talk, but he was simply too exhausted to.

Aravali sighed and fell silent, glancing over at KeeKee, then down at Crowe again, shaking his head. Here he was, sitting on an isolated Central Park walkway and wondering what on earth he was supposed to do now. Crowe was too tired to even move anymore, and the little girl had fallen fully unconscious. He couldn’t reasonably drag or carry both of them all the way back to the apartment complex on his own.

He ran several ideas through his head, but none of them sounded good. He couldn’t leave Crowe in a place like this unattended, and he certainly couldn’t leave a little girl here. Calling the police to help would cause them even more problems, and he didn’t have Eve’s phone number…

He looked to the sky, peering up at the winter overcast as the meek sunlight shone in between the branches of the trees.

Thinking of what Zyon had told them all, and feeling slightly foolish for even trying such a thing, Aravali sighed again, making a mild shrug and shake of the head.

“Well… you told me to pray if we needed any help,” Aravali said to the empty space all around him. “So… here I am… praying… hoping you can somehow hear me across the country… and across literal time … hellooo…?”

He adjusted his grasp on the unconscious Crowe, continued staring upwards, and simply waited, his fingers beginning to feel frostbitten in the cold as his adrenaline began to fade.

Aravali huffed out a breath and lowered his head. “Fine…”

“Don’t be so doubtful,” a voice spoke above him—making him jump in place.

“ Good —Lord,” Aravali breathed, looking up and suddenly seeing Zyon directly in front of him.

There was a small pause.

Zyon stood on the walkway just beside the sleeping girl, his hands pocketed in his black trench coat, and his eyes moving down to KeeKee, staring at her for a second before he returned his attention to the doctor.

“You must pray to The Lord with faith if you expect his soldiers to arrive,” the angel advised. “Doubt is the antithesis of faith… and it is the repellant to all of God’s power.”

Aravali stared at him wordlessly for a second, then breathed out a faint little laugh.

“I suppose a doubt a day keeps the angel away,” he remarked.

Zyon narrowed his eyes at him, missing the joke.

Aravali shook his head and sighed again, using his free hand to motion between the two unconscious people. “I need to get them both back home. Would you mind taking us there?”

Zyon didn’t reply to him right away. He merely turned, staring down at the little girl for a long, curious moment, examining her rather intently.

Then, the angel lowered to one knee, hunching over the child and eyeing her even closer.

Aravali watched, his gaze shifting between Zyon and KeeKee.

Zyon slowly reached out, looking as if he was about to lay hands on the girl.

“Don’t—don’t touch her,” Aravali yelled, his heart jolting.

Zyon stopped and turned his head, squinting questioningly at the doctor.

“Don’t do that. Not now. Please,” Aravali pleaded. “If you do to her what you did to John—then she very well might die. I know you can probably tell what’s inside her, but just—just let me enact my whole plan here before you try to remove anything from her. She needs to be truly willing to let it go before she can actually be saved from it, right?”

Zyon made a nod.

“Then just—just wait, please,” Aravali requested. “I’ll be able to give her therapy soon—and then maybe I can get her to the point where she’s ready to let it all go. I just need time.”

Zyon nodded again, looking to the girl and gently shifting a few of her bangs from her face.

“I wasn’t going to lay hands and enact her deliverance right now,” the angel muttered.

Aravali let out a breath. “Oh… okay…”

“The time for that will be…” Zyon murmured thoughtfully, slowly standing upright. “Later.”

He turned to the doctor and snapped his fingers—and Aravali swallowed a gasp—suddenly finding himself sitting on the floor of James’s apartment, his back now against the wall by the window, still holding onto Crowe, and KeeKee was now lying on the living room couch just across from him.

Zyon, stood at the edge of the coffee table, lowered his hand.

“Time you need… and time you will have aplenty,” the angel disclosed, giving the doctor a nod. “None of you are limited in the amount of time you can spend on this side of your respective doorways. Take all of the time that you need.”

Aravali nodded at him, glancing down at the unconscious Crowe in his arms.

“Can you… do something for him?” he asked, giving Crowe a light shake. “Can he be healed right now, or…?”

Zyon’s eyes flickered down to Crowe.

“There is no injury to heal,” he stated. “This is fatigue… from a slight overuse of his power. But… he will be perfectly fine.”

“Right,” Aravali sighed, gazing down at him for a moment, then giving the angel a quizzical look. “But, can I ask… why is it that Crowe has such a harder time of using his power than Amory? How is it that Amory almost never runs on empty the way Crowe sometimes does?”

Zyon pondered on this, staring down at Crowe thoughtfully.

“And it sounded like he… knew something about this,” Aravali added. “Like… he knew that some mental baggage was holding him back, in some way. That’s just… not something that I ever knew about him. I was just wondering if… you did.”

“Oh… yes,” Zyon said, nodding mildly. “I am the one who told him so. He has… doubt… and he has… issues with anger, forgiveness, and relinquishing control. However… today…”

He took a slow stride forward, sitting on the edge of the coffee table and continuing to gaze down at Crowe with a sigh.

Then—Zyon flashed the faintest hint of a half-smile.

“He made… very good progress today,” the angel remarked. “He did not react with anger when Lilith attempted to bait him… and he did not listen to her false, chiding words or her attempts to shake and wound his spirit. He simply focused on the issue at hand… and he did what needed to be done… through The Lord… and through me.”

“Yes… he certainly showed more restraint than I’m used to seeing of him,” Aravali commented. “He had me a bit worried, if I’m being honest… although… I suppose I shouldn’t have been. I can’t imagine him ever actually hurting a child…”

Zyon nodded quietly, and the two fell silent for a moment.

“Zyon,” Aravali said, giving him a serious look. “Who… who exactly is Lilith?”

Zyon met his gaze, sighing gravely.

“One who… like Valek… did not start out as what she is now,” he told the doctor. “One who hated and acted against The Lord’s plan… someone who rebelled, fled, and lusted after the fallen angel, Samael. The two of them both rebelled against Heaven together… and, over time… they became exceptionally problematic working hands of the Legion.”

“So she’s just… a higher-ranked demon like Valek,” Aravali tried to surmise.

“In… a way,” Zyon uttered, nodding sideways. “She is not of the status Valek is. Lilith was human, and became demonic. Valek… was Samael … and became demonic. That is why Valek can form his own body while Lilith cannot. However… Lilith has been running amok and infecting human beings for a very long time… long enough that she has… mastered it.”

“She called herself Lily when she first spoke to me… she somehow possessed Donna and this little girl at the same time,” Aravali knew, staring at the girl on the couch with a disturbed look. “She infected this child and Donna while they were both at Canterbury Lab…”

“Oh… she has afflicted far more people than just those two,” Zyon told him grimly. “She likes to believe that she is something of a puppet master… and she is very good at calling upon the other demons in the human world at a moment’s notice… people who have no idea that they are one with a demon. People who might have never lost control of themselves once in their lives would find themselves suddenly acting on their worst instincts and impulses, following a wicked, whispering voice that is pleading and nudging for them to do so. Demons cannot remove free will… but they can manipulate people into choosing the worst things that they can possibly choose to do. It is… their way.”

Aravali gave the child on the couch a long, troubled stare, letting out a deep cloud of breath.

“I’m starting to understand why I’m a part of this,” he mumbled reflectively. “More and more…”

Zyon made a nod. “You… have been quite instrumental in all of their healing, likely more than you have ever seen, or even considered possible. You provide a type of healing that even I cannot do. Calming the spirit is purely and wholly divine, as is mending a basic wound… but actually helping to change the finer intricacies of a human being’s mindset is far more complicated. And you are… very good at it.”

Aravali made a mild shake of the head, opening his mouth and wanting to say something, but it took him a moment to figure out exactly what that was.

“I never would have guessed that it was… so much,” he said, meeting Zyon’s eyes. “I’ve always known that mental health was important and all… and I’ve always been bothered by how greatly overlooked it seemed to be… but I never thought it… I dunno… I never thought about it being so… incredibly monumental. Just… purely all-determining… in all of this.”

“That is because… of what every single aspect of the constant spiritual battle between good and evil all boils down to,” Zyon said knowingly, raising a finger. “It all… comes down… to free will. What a person chooses is what will always determine the rest… and you , Aravali… you mend their ability to choose .”

Aravali’s mouth hung slightly agape, looking down and feeling somewhat mystified. “I’d… never really thought of it that way. Well, not until… today, of course…”

“Your involvement in the children of time has paved their better paths for them. One example is… had you not decided to have a talk with Crowe about how he had been… taking lives,” Zyon said severely. “Then he would have started going down a far darker path than the one he is on now. And thjere are many other examples, Aravali. I could go on… and I could tell you very detailed stories of what might have happened to Crowe, or Amory, or Raven, or Xena, or Elaine if not for you looking after both their physical and their mental wellbeing… but… I believe you understand the point. Any doubts you’ve had in yourself are unfounded… and I am glad that you are truly beginning to understand why you are here, because…”

The angel glanced down, sighed, and met his eyes with a look of sincere and solid honesty.

“It really is of the greatest importance,” Zyon disclosed. “Just keep doing what you always do… and not just for the young girl. For her sister and for Crowe as well.”

Aravali made a nod.

“Call upon The Lord… and his soldier will arrive,” Zyon concluded, reaching his feet to leave. “Anytime you need me… I will be there.”

He closed his eyes and prepared to disappear—but then, he stopped, blinking and looking hesitant all the sudden.

“Oh. Ah…” Zyon uttered, scratching along his cheek. “It was requested of me that I ask you… if you are able to… entertain any… company… here.”

Aravali made an odd face, narrowing his eyes at him. “Entertain company…?”

“Yes… I am supposed to inquire if, um… if you are able to have visitors from home come by here,” Zyon tried to clarify, glimpsing briefly around the interior of the small apartment.

Aravali eyed him. “From Evervale Manor…?”

“Yes.”

“Who asked?”

“Elaine did.”

Aravali made a slow, understanding nod, then smirked and let out a laugh.

“Oh… certainly,” the doctor agreed. “Tell her that she can come by to visit whenever she likes. It’s apartment number twenty up on the third floor of the red building. Let her know that from me, if you would.”

“Of course,” Zyon nodded. “Godspeed, Aravali.”

Then, his eyes shone a brief blue—just before he vanished from the apartment.

Aravali let out a long, thoughtful sigh after he was gone, staring directly ahead and quietly mulling over everything that Zyon had told him.

His eyes shifted over to the couch, and the tired little KeeKee snoozing lightly atop the cushions, looking strangely tranquil and normal compared to how she had been earlier.

Then, the doctor looked down, staring at the sleeping Crowe who still lay in his arms, the thick, crooked streaks of blood down his face now beginning to dry, his mouth slightly open, and his expression uncharacteristically peaceful.

The longer he gazed down at Crowe, the more the doctor found himself thinking back to the moment it had all started—that fateful and ordinary day in Mapleview, when he first arrived to Moonvale Mental Hospital for a simple job interview. It was almost completely unbelievable how his life had been then compared to how everything was here and now.

But—beyond the incredibly drastic and mindboggling ways that life had changed—another thought stood out from that one, a thought that now seemed firmly undeniable to him.

He most assuredly had made an important difference in all of their lives, and he certainly was not done doing so yet.

Aravali let out a breath, gently laid Crowe on the floor, and slowly moved out from under him, approaching the front door and pulling it open. Then, he turned and lifted the tiny KeeKee off of his couch, cradling her in his arms and walking out of the apartment with her, pulling his door shut behind him.

He then stepped across the hall over to apartment nineteen, and he gave the door a few knocks. He wasn’t sure if Eve had found her way back home yet, but he was hoping she had.

Thankfully—the door swung open, and Eve stood there, still wearing her winter jacket, looking as if she’d just gotten back home moments ago. Her eyes shot down to the little girl in the doctor’s arms, and she let out a faint little gasp, placing her hands together and pressing them to her mouth as she gazed worriedly down at her unconscious daughter.

“Oh my goodness… is she okay?” Eve breathed.

“She’s all right,” Aravali assured, adjusting his grasp on her. “She ran into Central Park and had a bit of a shouting match with us, but… ultimately, she decided to give up on running away. She fell asleep on the ride home.”

Eve clasped her chest and let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank God… and thank you . Thank you so much…”

“No trouble at all,” Aravali replied with a smile.

Then, he glanced down—only just noticing that KeeKee was beginning to blink herself awake in his arms.

Aravali and Eve both stared intently at the child.

KeeKee, looking fairly groggy and disoriented, blinked thrice more as her sleepy gaze wandered up to the doctor.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Aravali said warmly. “Do you remember me? My friend and I decided to bring you back home… and you just couldn’t keep your eyes open anymore once we got in the taxi. But… that’s all right. You’re home now, safe and sound.”

KeeKee stared up at him for a long, quiet moment, not with an angry or guarded visage, but merely with a confused one. Then, as the seconds passed by, the girl’s face seemed to soften slightly more, and her eyes began to water.

“I’m sorry,” KeeKee choked in a light, meek voice, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Aravali bit his lip for a second, feeling an ache in his chest as he gazed into the girl’s remorseful expression. Then, he offered her another comforting smile.

“It’s all right, sweetheart… it’s all right,” he told her sincerely. “We’ll work it all out… but, for now… I think we’re all just glad you’re safe and back home.”

KeeKee welled up, choking out a sob and reaching up to him, and she coiled her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly and burying her face into his collar.

Aravali hugged the child closely, placing a hand to the back of her head and releasing a heavy cloud of breath.

Eve watched, seeming surprised, her eyes moving between the two of them with a genuine look of astonishment.

“KeeKeeeee!” ZeeZee screamed from within the apartment, sprinting out from the back hall and staring up at the doctor with a beaming grin. “KeeKee’s hooome!”

“Yes… she is,” Eve murmured, looking to ZeeZee and motioning to the doctor. “Dr. Chavan brought her home for us. Tell him thank you.”

“Thank you!” ZeeZee said happily.

“Oh… you’re quite welcome, sweetheart,” Aravali replied kindly. “Your sister could use some love and support right now… so be sure to be extra nice to her, all right?”

“Yeah!” ZeeZee exclaimed.

KeeKee continued to cling onto the doctor for a moment longer. Then, when she finally straightened up and leaned back, she wiped her teary eyes with her sleeves and met his eyes, giving him a saddened sort of stare.

“Wha’ happen to Crowe…?” the little girl whimpered.

“He’s perfectly fine, dear,” Aravali told her, adjusting his grasp on her again, as she was now sitting perfectly upright in his arms. “He’ll be all right… he’s just lying down to rest. And he’s glad you’re… feeling a bit better now.”

KeeKee stared silently at him, her eyes shining with guilt.

“I s… sorry for being mean to you,” she murmured. “Can you please tell him I’m sorry…?”

“Of course, sweety… but he’s not angry at you,” Aravali assured. “Neither of us are. We’re just glad you’re safe. But… could you do me one little favor right now?”

KeeKee sniffled and nodded.

Aravali raised his eyebrows at her. “Please tell your mother you’re sorry… because she was really worried about you, and she loves you very much. Can you do that for me?”

KeeKee nodded and tried to turn around, but she couldn’t quite face her mother in Aravali’s grasp. So, the doctor gently handed the girl off to her mother, and KeeKee found herself sitting upright in Eve’s arms instead.

“I s… I’m sorry, Mommy,” KeeKee said in a soft, honest voice, her tone trembling. “I sorry… I didn’t mean to be so mad… I just a bad girl… I’m sorry…”

Eve’s lip trembled, her own eyes beginning to water, and she choked out a faint little breath, shaking her head and giving her daughter a smile.

“You’re not just a bad girl… you’re not,” she told KeeKee lovingly, leaning closer and gently resting her forehead to her daughter’s. “You are not bad… you’re just… having a hard time right now. But… we’re gonna fix it. We’re gonna get you all better, and we’re all gonna be happy. Okay, honey…?”

KeeKee nodded and revealed a broken smile, snapping her arms around her mother and embracing her tightly.

Eve held her daughter as if she would never let go, sealing her eyes shut and releasing a deep, contended breath.

Aravali smirked at them, taking a quiet step back and preparing to close their door, hoping to give the family some privacy now.

Eve opened her eyes just in time to see the doctor step back out of the apartment—and she moved forward and place a hand on the door, giving him a look.

“Hold on… don’t go yet, please,” Eve requested, then turned and placed KeeKee down on the floor. “Here… ZeeZe, take KeeKee to go pick out some clean clothes so she can hop in the bath, okay? She’s got dirt all over her good jeans now, and she’s been out in the cold all morning.”

“Yaaay, bath time!” ZeeZee rejoiced, taking her sister by the hand and hurriedly leading her down the back hall.

Eve watched her daughters go, waiting for them to be out of earshot before turning back to the doctor.

“Okay… I… I have never seen anyone be able to do that,” the mother conceded, lowering her voice and giving him a serious look. “I’ve never seen anyone be able to just… get through to her like that. She’s talking to me right now the way she used to talk to me… like she’s actually… herself again.”

Aravali nodded mildly, pocketing his hands and glimpsing down for a second.

“I don’t know what you did, or how you did it… but thank you,” Eve said wholeheartedly. “Thank you… so so much.”

Aravali pondered on this, the image of Crowe placing his fingers to the girl’s forehead flashing through his mind.

“It was no trouble… although, I have to say… Crowe helped quite a bit, too,” the doctor remarked. “He’s fairly good with children, and I… I just know how to level with them and understand the way the mind works in general. We usually make a good team in this way, honestly.”

Eve nodded faintly, sniffing and looking emotional, a tear cascading down her face.

“I want you to…” she uttered impulsively, then looked away and shook her head, sighing and running a hand down her face.

Aravali eyed her, knowing for certain what she wanted to say.

“I know it… it’s probably asking a lot of you,” Eve sighed. “But I’m at the end of my rope… and I desperately need help right now. My brother was the last person I could ask to help me after my ex and a handful of other people did… and none of them could stand dealing with KeeKee for longer than a couple of weeks, at best. My girls both just got kicked out of their daycare because they couldn’t deal with KeeKee, either… and my brother’s been the one watching the girls and taking them to school while I’m at work for the past couple of weeks… but now, I… I don’t know what I’m gonna do… and KeeKee needs help… she needs real help that I can’t just…”

Eve stopped and shook her head again, releasing a trembling breath and massaging her temples for a moment, looking like she was trying with all her might to keep her emotions from bursting fully out of her.

“Well… the good part is that I’ll be saving a small fortune on daycare services now,” Eve added. “So… I can pay you. I will find a way to pay whatever you want to charge… I just… I need someone to be around to look after the girls, and I need someone to give KeeKee some help. I don’t care if your medical license is expired, and I don’t care if you both have to have a key to my apartment, and I have to just trust that you won’t run off with all my jewelry or something… I genuinely just don’t care. You’ve both been such an amazing help today, and I just… I will find a way to make it worthwhile to you if you continue to help me out right now. I really jus…”

“Miss…” Aravali started, pausing and giving her a questioning look. “I’m sorry, what was your last name?”

“Sterling,” Eve said.

“All right… Miss Sterling,” Aravali said, huffing out a breath and giving her a serious look. “How about this. You just pay us whatever you can afford to… after all of your personal finances are accounted for, meaning bills, and groceries, and whatnot… and we will consider childcare and child psychiatry to be our full-time work-from-home occupation here.”

Eve stared at him, her mouth drifting slightly agape, making a faint shake of the head and narrowing her eyes at him with perplexed surprise.

“But then how will… you have all of your personal finances accounted for?” she wondered. “You wouldn’t even know how much you’re getting paid every month. It’d all be up in the air.”

Aravali’s mouth curled into a half-smile, thinking of all the cash they’d brought with them here to 1998, as well as the absolute mountain of it that still resided in Evervale Manor.

“Well, we are getting some money from elsewhere… and we’ve saved up quite a lot, too,” he informed. “I’m not particularly worried about money right now.”

Eve made a slow, thoughtful nod, gnawing on her bottom lip.

“I’m more concerned with just… doing the job that I was put on this planet to do,” Aravali said definitively. “And… if I’m being perfectly honest… I’m lucky enough to not really need your money, and truthfully, I don’t even want it. So… whether you pay a little, a lot, or nothing… it really doesn’t matter in the slightest. What matters is… yes… regardless of finances, we will help you. Frankly, I would love to.”

Eve sputtered out a sobbing sort of laugh, shaking her head once more and staring at him with a baffled smile.

“God is really looking out for me,” she breathed. “He sent me the perfect people I needed, I swear…”

“He most certainly did,” Aravali smirked. “Well, I’ve got something to tend to right now, but… feel free to stop back by and let me know your schedule, and maybe we can all exchange numbers. We should get this all set up soon.”

“Yeah… definitely,” Eve agreed, grasping her door. “Thank you again… you’ve no idea what a Godsend you two are being for us. I’ll… um… see you later.”

“See you later,” Aravali nodded.

With a final smile and wave, Eve shut the door, and the doctor turned on his heel and strolled back into his own apartment.

After closing and locking the door, Aravali walked over to his friend and slid his hands beneath his arms, pulling him steadily over to the couch and carefully managing to maneuver him onto it. Moments later, Crowe was lying on his back atop the couch with a hand draped over his stomach.

Next, Aravali walked to the bathroom in the back, finding two clean and folded washcloths on the back of the toilet. He ran them under water, returned to the living room, and cleaned all the drying blood from Crowe’s face while he slept.

After that—Aravali fixed himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, hoping James wouldn’t mind, and he stood at the living room window for a while thereafter, the curtains now open, gazing out at the city’s skyline and sipping on his coffee as he pondered on everything to come.

This was the first day of many that he and Crowe would spend here—living across the hall from the children whom needed their help, and assisting in their lives however they could. Their time in Manhattan surely wouldn’t go to waste.

And, as Aravali made a few mild nods to himself, he took another swig of his coffee, staring out at New York City and feeling fairly confident in the mission at hand.

“Well,” he said with conclusive resolve. “The doctor is in.”