“I swear, it feels like every time we leave you alone for longer than a couple of days, you summon up some kind of eldritch terror to run around... No offense, Spidey.” Natasha said, leaning against a wall in my cabin as I changed.

One of the worker drones Natasha had affectionately named Spiderbots was hanging from a wall to be at eye level. It responded with a soft whirr, which Natasha correctly interpreted as a positive response.

“It’s not that bad.” I replied, but as I straightened my suit, a black tendril slithered up from the shadow beneath me and started fussing with my hair until I let out a low hiss, “Not now.”

I turned around, hoping Natasha hadn’t noticed that there was yet another eldritch creature currently present.

But sadly, she was already staring at me with a deadpan expression, looking at where the now slightly chastised tendril receded into the floor.

“Uhuh.” she responded incredulously before picking the spiderbot off the wall and leaving the room.

***

“I’m really hoping the hearings went well and you’re just here to say welcome to the neighborhood and drop off a housewarming gift.” I called out, walking into the spacious living room.

I had gone a bit overboard during the design phase of the cabin, the central space spanning two floors, creating a mezzanine like space.

The Drones had gone above a beyond outfitting the room with everything from padded furniture that would be right at home at one of the clan’s fancy hotels, to a fireplace large enough for me to stand in.

Although it was to be expected considering the utterly enormous energy budget I’d set, which had absolutely nothing to do with my growing inferiority complex towards the Eve clan when in came to interior design...

“The hearings went well. For now, the dissenters plan to wait and observe the situation. Although the majority of the clan are in favor of our little merger, as long as nothing unexpected happens, everything should go according to our plans.” Katya replied as she carefully picked up a teacup offered by one of the few spiderbots milling around the room. Her expression was skeptical, but as she took a sip, it switched to pleasantly surprised.

“God, I’m proud of those little buggers, making Daddy look good in front of company.” I thought to myself with a snicker, making sure to completely ward off my consciousness.

I noticed Natasha looking suspiciously between Katya and myself. I could see the wheels slowly turning in her head.

“Wait, what have the two of you been planning?” She all but accused.

“Natasha, I will need you to keep calm during what we’re about to tell you.” Katya said delicately, which only served to freak Natasha out even further.

“Oh god, what’s happening? Is it the Council? Or the humans? Please tell me it’s not another war. We barely managed to avoid the missile crisis last time!” Natasha ranted.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Katya pleaded with her hands raised, trying to calm her down.

“It is a little like that, though.” I corrected, earning myself a sharp look from Katya as Natasha threw her hands in the air and walked over and plunked down in a sofa chair with a groan.

“Okay, sorry, continue.” She said with visible concern on her face.

“It’s the heirs, proximity and volume... It can... affect us.” Katya whispered to me discreetly.

I nodded slowly still a little worried about Natasha as she stared at us, slightly miffed at being cut out of the conversation, it was unusual to see her like this, but I guess it wasn’t exactly new, I’d seen the same reaction in Silas the night Sasha had blackmailed him into taking her to my workshop.

“Okay, it might be best to just lay it all out there, so bear with me.” I suggested, collecting my thoughts.

“For the past three weeks, I’ve noticed a gradual increase in the ambient energy in the air, regardless of location. It’s a common precursor to a correction, a phenomenon that happens when either the Material or Immaterial realms are imbalanced. This would be a correction led by the extreme population boom this world has experienced in the last fifty to a hundred years. The number of sentient, thinking beings has risen eightfold in this relatively brief span of time, which I believe is the reason for this change.” I paused to gauge her reaction, but was met with a blank stare. I looked to Katya for support, but simply received a gesture for me to continue.

“This correction will manifest in several ways and would be impossible to predict accurately, although its base of origins is with thoughts, therefore the thing that the most people expect to happen is likely the template for what is going to happen- “

“Most people are scared, and think the worst.” Natasha interjected, without inflection.

“-Yes, that is most often the case. Although, as I said, it will only serve as a template, a method to introduce energy to this world in an easily comprehensible format.” I finished.

“What are the most common formats?” Natasha asked, seeming to have calmed down a little.

“Incursions, manifestations, and crystalized energy.” I responded, hoping the vague answer would be accepted without too much fuss.

“So invaders, monsters, and a carrot to keep us coming back for more?” Natasha sighed and leaned back in the chair while closing her eyes.

I could see her vice-like grip on the cushions and could swear I even heard the reinforced wood crack under the pressure.

“Now it’s not all bad, more ambient energy will mean that the world around us will be strengthened, I suspect if my experiences are anything to go by, that most supernatural creatures will find new heights to their powers and abilities, and of course Sentires would be among them.” I tried to cheer her up, but it had the very opposite effect as she practically jolted forward, glaring at me.

“How is that a good thing?!” she all but hissed at me. “We can barely keep the secret as it is, not to mention that our enemies will gain these increases in strength as well. It’ll be an arms race a hundred times worse than the Manhattan project!” She exclaimed as she buried her face in her hands.

“But this time we’ll have someone already familiar with these advancements.” Katya chimed in for the first time.

“Your speech.” Natasha muttered in realization. “This is what you meant?” Natasha turned back to me, giving me a hard look. “Alright Rune-boy, what do you have that can get us out of this mess?”

“I’ve already started. The biggest issues will be ones of logistics, the entire world will face a crisis at the same time, we will need to be self sufficient before that happens, and have an impenetrable defense, In a few days I’ll have finished the first of hopefully many such defenses.” I explained, ignoring the terrible nickname.

“But likely the biggest problem we will face is keeping our natures secret, our splintered and fractured world will have to face a catastrophe of never before seen proportions, and some might be tempted to use a common enemy to unite the masses in the hopes of keeping their power.” Katya added.

“You think someone would out us to the world in the middle of an apocalypse to up their voter popularity?” Natasha questioned.

“I do, and once that happens, it won’t be these manifestations that will prove our worst enemy, but the almost billion humans on this continent.” Katya stated gravely.

“Fuck.” Natasha whispered, stunned.

***

Katya spent almost an hour instructing Natasha on how to properly hide away the incendiary information she’d learned, as to not accidentally let it slip and cause a panic, continually testing her mental fortitude by wearing her down, it wasn’t until she was completely certain that Natasha would be able to resist that we finally left the cabin.

The frankly intense topic we’d had was a stark contrast to the scene outside, though, and almost made me forget about what was ahead of us.

Down by the driveway Silas was furiously chasing Spiderbots away from the expensive town car they’d all arrived in, when he’d chase one off, another would simply approach, and almost tauntingly tap the waxed paint, the small scratches would like be imperceptible while driving, and easily fixed.

But nonetheless, a slightly sweaty Silas was chasing after the individual drones, cursing furiously as they quickly scuttled between and under things to escape his pursuit.

“Sorry about them. They’re new and curious.” I apologized to Katya, not at all hiding the fact I found the whole situation hilarious.

“Don’t worry about it... I’ll send the bill later.” Katya retorted, casually walking past me as I stared blankly into space.

“But I don’t have any money?” I thought to myself, worriedly.

“I’m aware!” Katya chortled as she continued towards the car.

***

I joined the group on their return trip after hearing that Sophia had taken to treating the young Innate I’d found two weeks ago.

I was at a point in my work where her abilities might soon prove useful... Given a little training, of course.

The drive was pleasant, passing through the touristy central valley.

Where the Lower Valley reminded one of a big metropolitan city, space conserving and busy, the Central Valley was more akin to an old European city like Amsterdam or Copenhagen.

Quaint little footbridges, some even decorated with lights and ornaments, crisscrossed the canals flowing through the city from the clear mountain rivers, colorful buildings dotted every street, none of the busy lifestyle or the highrises from the Lower Valley were present.

The only thing breaking one out of the relatively serene environment would be the discreetly armed Sentire guards spaced out every three hundred feet.

Evening came as we crossed into the lower valley and it wasn’t long before Silas pulled over, allowing Natasha and I to exit the vehicle.

“I have business to attend to for the upcoming gala, so I can’t join you... Don’t cause any trouble.” Katya warned, her attention entirely on me.

“I don’t cause trouble. I usually just settle it once it finds me.” I retorted with a slight hint of indignation.

Natasha snorted next to me, letting out a “Yeah, right.” As she headed towards the building behind us.

***

The elevator dinged, and we stepped off onto a quiet hospital floor.

“You sure this is the right one?” I asked carefully.

“Yes.” Natasha answered unhappily.

“It’s just, you know... This is the third floor we try.” I teased, enjoying myself immensely at the role reversal.

“I know... This is the right one.”

“You said that the first time as well... One would think you knew where your own wife worked.” I could practically hear her gnashing her teeth.

“I haven’t had time to visit the last two weeks. In fact, I haven’t seen her at all during that time.” She growled through gritted teeth as we walked down the corridor.

“Why not? You should know the key to a healthy relationship is making time for each other.” That finally set her off as she hissed back at me.

“I’ve been too busy doing damage control because someone decided to let lose a bunch of dark-riders-of-death-and-destruction who then wreaked havoc all over the valley, freaking out elders and causing no end of headaches for me, and because my boss was lent two terror-birds who chase off anyone with complaints, by that same person I might add, they all complained to me instead!” Natasha turned around after her little tirade and froze, noticing a nurse giving her a curt look as if to ask her, Are you done?

Natasha blushed completely red and found something very interesting on the floor as she muttered a quiet and embarrassed, “Sorry.” While sending me a discreet and very intimidating glare.

The nurse clicked her tongue at us and shook her head before asking as if for the thousandth time, “Name of the patient you’re visiting?”

“Uhm, actually, I’m visiting Doctor Jensen.” Natasha said timidly.

“Uhuh, what is the nature of your visit?” The nurse replied, clearly out of patience.

“I guess, marital?” Natasha replied with a grimace.

“Ms. Jensen doesn’t give marriage counseling.” The nurse stated flatly, giving me another once over.

“Mrs. Jensen,” Natasha corrected, having found her usual confidence again.

“Miss, do you even have an appointment?” The nurse asked with a tired sigh.

I felt the intent building in Natasha and heard the familiar chime as she cleared her throat, getting ready to just compel the woman. Luckily, someone called out to us before she could get the chance.

“Natasha?” Sophia questioned, surprised, before a brilliant smile adorned her face and she hurried towards Natasha, embracing her tightly.

“Oh god I’ve missed you.” Sophia said, breathing in deeply. Natasha seemed to almost melt into her as the tension left her body and a serene expression bloomed on her face.

When they finally separated, I got a better look at doctor Jensen she had her hair tied up in a tight bun and wore a white coat over her usual skirt and shirt combo, not to mention she was practically glowing, exuding a calm and relaxing aura.

“Doctor Jensen, are these acquaintances of yours?” The nurse asked.

“Oh, they’re a little more than that Berta, this is my wife Natasha and... Uhm, our acquaintance, Aleks.” Sophia replied, stumbling briefly on my description.

Sophia quickly led us away towards a break room, walking with her arm linked with Natasha’s, appearing absolutely giddy at the surprise visit from her spouse.

***

The two of them commandeered a couch and spent almost half an hour in a constant stream of disjointed conversation as their minds shared more than just words.

During this time, they didn’t separate, always maintaining a physical contact, as if afraid the moment would disappear and the other person would simply vanish in front of them if they didn't.

It was honestly quite sweet, although I did feel like quite the third wheel as I sipped my coffee at a table on the other side of the room giving them as much space as I could without resulting to roaming the halls of a psych ward... Who knew, they might decide to keep me.

“No. He can forget it. She’s not even remotely well enough to leave yet. Two weeks ago she was suicidal for god’s sake! She’s submitted to a thirty day psych hold, and she’s not going anywhere until then.” Sophia stated adamantly.

“You actually think she’s gonna get better staying couped up in here like some nutcase, while a bunch of quacks poke at her?” I thought to myself, realizing too late that I wasn’t warding my thoughts.

I winced a turned to see Sophia glaring furiously at me, as if trying to set my head on fire with her eyes.

“She’s. Not. Leaving.” Sophia said, leaving no room for argument.

Something about that rubbed me the wrong way, some primal defiance flaring up. It was only then that I realized she’d leaked out a miniscule amount of intent in her voice, probably unintentionally, hopefully unintentionally.

I felt my blood heat up and my heart hammer in my chest. I finally gave in and flashed her a pleasant, agreeable and entirely fake smile as I got up and walked out of the room, practically broadcasting my intentions for all to hear.

“You wouldn’t dare!” She practically threatened as Natasha’s eyes widened at the sudden escalation.

I didn’t reply, simply marching forward, power flooding my body, lending it a momentum like that of a loaded cargo truck.

“Aleks, STOP.” She ordered behind me with the weight of compulsion behind the word.

I couldn’t see her, but I could feel the almost physical pull and the subsequent snap like a rubber band, as it had nowhere near the power to even slow me down.

Irritated cursing followed as she quickly attempted to catch up with me.

I came to a secure plexiglass door with a keypad and simply yanked the handle hard enough to bend the frame and let the bolt pass by freely.

It wasn’t hard finding her room, the frequency she’d released that night on the rooftop had only grown stronger since, I paused outside the door moments before simply mangling it open, but thankfully I still had enough commonsense to not just burst into a young woman’s room unannounced.

I knocked three times and waited. A low voice replied uncertainly, “C... Come in?”

I twisted the handle as I had done before, sparing a glance down the hall, seeing Natasha playing a bit of defense for me while having a heated discussion with Sophia.

I walked into the small dorm-like room with a bed and a desk, as well as a camera in the corner of the ceiling.

“So much for privacy, I guess.” I thought before pointing at it, mimicking a gun with my hand before the camera fizzled out.

Tessa looked between me and the camera wide eyed.

“You... You were real? All of that was real?!” she asked in understanding.

“Of course. So, you ready to get outta here?” I replied with a grin, promising nothing but trouble.

I worried for a moment whether I might have overwhelmed her, or at least I did, until her face broke into a grin with a mad edge to it.

“Fuck yeah I am.” She replied, and for a moment, I saw something in her eyes, a familiar madness, just an ember for now, but should I take her with me she would one day walk a path similar to my own.

“We each choose the roads we take, and I won’t force you to take mine, but I also won’t block your path should you choose to tread it.”