He had to be somewhere, right?

She’d already checked the school to see if Adam was somewhere around there (considering his new personality changes, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was that patient) and he’d been equally not-present in the area around their house. She’d been running around for hours, that much she knew, but… well, the only reason she knew this is because once she got to Peculiar high, not only was it dark, but the clock hanging on the school said it was about 20. Why hadn’t she just checked her phone? It had died. She really ought to have brought a power bank, but who can remember that?

At least she had a charging cable, as useless as that was. She really should have headed home once the sun had set, but oh no, she just had to check that suburban neighbourhood on the other side of town where she could swear Adam had a couple of friends. The critical flaw in her otherwise flawless plan was, of course, that she didn’t have the sense of direction needed to support her phone-less endeavour. She got lost pretty much immediately.

With a curse under her breath and tired eyes darting about irregularly, she found herself stumbling through street after street, some recognizable, others… not. The moon had long since made its entrance on the stage in the sky, and Jessica could only surmise by its position that it was well past nine, perhaps even ten, judging by how tired she felt. If she didn’t have a goal in mind, she might have done the same as the homeless and fallen asleep on some bench somewhere.

As it was, she wandered, occasionally running just to keep herself awake. Sometimes, the buildings would blur into each other, the old and bricky with the new cement-laden ones, the wooden with the clay, all became one and she felt like passing out, her head spinning like one of those teacup-rides in theme parks. But then, she’d get back on her feet, and keep walking, just a little while more. If she didn’t find Adam, that was alright. He’d find his way home somehow. Probably.

With that said, she sat herself down, for just a moment of rest. Apparently, she was in a little dingy playground, complete with swings and a slide. The part was surrounded by budding bushes, and something about the way two trees hung over each other to form an entrance of sorts made Jessica recall something. It wasn’t quite a memory, more like a recollection of some feeling she’d had many years ago.

Oh, right, that was it! This is… the little playground. Countered by “the large playground” just up the street. Neither was particularly close to Jessica’s house, but she knew she’d been here some time, with… someone. She couldn’t tell who, but… a good friend.

Regardless, if the air hadn’t been so cold, she might have considered staying there for a while to let the memories seep in. But, she had to get going sometime, so-,

“GROWWWRGH-”

Jessica’s head snapped around to face wherever that sound came from. There wasn’t anything there, but she could swear she heard something. And then, it appeared. It was too large to be a wolf, large as a bear and glistening like obsidian. It almost seemed to be running from something, and Jessica just happened to stand right in its way. The only thing alerting Jessica to its presence was its burning eyes and constant growling.

Jessica was stunned, as one would be if a bear-sized wolf-looking creature came running at you. She couldn’t even think about how, if she only reached out in her mind, she might have a chance against it. As it was, she was a pig to the slaughter, just standing there while the creature came barreling at her. Thankfully for her, Petturi had yet to fully lose his mind, and all he could really think of at the moment was that he had to run.

And so, he jumped. He was almost graceful as he flew through the air, flying above Jessica and landing on top of the swings, from whence he gazed down at her with eyes like flaming orbs. Could Jessica properly process this as it happened? Not quite. Despite all that had happened these past two days, she still couldn’t quite get used to odd things happening.

Thankfully, she didn’t need to explain it herself. Only moments after the wolf had hopped onto the swings, someone came running after, as quick as he was, but far smaller.

“Hiiri, what the fuck?!” Jessica called out, although certainly hesitant to pull her eyes from wolf itself. Hiiri seemed to be dressed in that robe she’d worn only hours earlier. Apparently, she had transformed in order to keep up with the wolf. Still, her speed was something remarkable.

“Oh, Jessica! You got my message! Daisy said she’ll be here in just a bit! Why-, how come you haven’t transformed as I wrote?” Hiiri asked, trodding up to Jessica as if she didn’t even see the bear-sized wolf-thing sitting atop the swings. Sputtering for a moment, Jessica gestured at the wolf, back at Hiiri, and at herself a couple of times, never actually saying anything of any real worth. “-What?”

“You-, what-, I just fuckin’ got here!” Jessica stomped her foot into the ground, “what the fuck is going on!?!”

“Did you not-? Doesn’t matter! Just transform already!” Hiiri commanded, acting surprisingly leader-ish. Jessica didn’t really feel like following anybody’s orders at this time of night, but she didn’t have much choice. Considering the damage she did to that noodly thing in the sky yesterday, transforming would be her only chance.

So, grunting and cursing to herself, she reached out in her mind, felt around tried to find that guy, and… nothing. The presence was there alright, but something here wasn’t quite the same as it had been last time.

“Hiiri, I can’t transform!” she barked at the excited woman staring at her.

“Did you tell him you were going to merge?” Hiiri asked as if that was just something you did.

“I-, no,” Jessica grumbled, crossing her arms. She really hated this. At least the wolf didn’t seem too inclined to attack them the moment they moved or anything. If anything, it seemed almost passive where it sat, staring at them like a curious owl.

So, she turned inwards once more. But, this time, she opted to not just reach out.

‘Hello? Buff guy inside me, are you there?’

“...”

‘Dude, just fucking say something, we gotta beat some fucking wolf up!’

“Hkjn ijpämnubi pqokspo?”

‘What the fuck. Sure, whatever, let’s go,’ Jessica thought and reached out. And, to be sure, she did transform this time. He did reach back. In a flash of bright red light, much like fire, her outfit, personality, skill set, and memories all merged with Kratos. “I am… sweaty. I was training, wasn’t I?”

“It would seem so, Jessi-, Krato-... hmmm… what is your name?” Hiiri(?) asked, frowning slightly. They hadn’t really thought about it before, but they weren’t quite themselves, were they? No, although they felt pretty normal, they couldn’t say they were the same person as either component of themselves, much as how a child wouldn’t be a clone of either parent.

“My name is,” the cogs in their head turned slowly (not very well-oiled), “-Sikrat. Henceforth, call me Sikrat.”

“Alright, then you can call me… Nightshade!” she said, twiddling with her robe to make it twirl, which was probably supposed to come off as cool.

“I am not calling you Nightshade.”

“...Fine! But if we ever get to have titles, that will be my title. As for my name… Uhm… I dunno, Lily? That's-, that’s pretty cool, right?” Lily said, almost desperate in how she wanted to seem cool.

“Understood. Now prepare for battle, Lily, for help may not arrive in time.”

The beast snarled, it’s mind seemingly torn between lunging at the two and simply continuing to observe them. Perhaps a third, almost fully repressed part of it wanted peace. Lily might not have recognized what type of beast this was, but the battle-hardened Sikrat, or at least the Kratos part of them, could tell what it was. It was a Black Wolf. Ordinary name, to be sure, but that was because the creature itself was an ordinary Beast of the World. It couldn’t use Magick, and the only reason it was a foe to be feared was its large size and aggressive nature. The beast was, strangely enough, a loner type which dwelled in the mountains, where prey was somewhat rare, thus its aggressive tendencies.

But something about this particular specimen seemed… wrong. Sure, Black Wolves were large, but not this large. Furthermore, the limbs of the animal seemed almost perverted in shape, with the paws being more like hairy human hands, the same being true for the feet, not to mention how one arm was a bloody mess of crushed bone and torn flesh. It felt ominous, wrong.

Sikrat reached out, and from the cold air, they grabbed a broadsword. The action felt natural, as regular as grabbing the hand of a lover. The sword was heavy, as heavy as a steel hunk of metal should be, but it felt right. Sikrat knew they could use this weapon properly, and they didn’t hesitate. The arena was laid out, it was time.

Sikrat dashed at the slides, hopped up on top of them, and lunged at the slides where Petturi sat, sword raised high above their head. The wind was rushing through their ears, but they knew combat as they knew themselves. The eyes of the beast flashed, and with speeds worthy of an animal, it dodged the blow. The broadsword struck the bar of the swingset, metal hit metal, embers flew like fireflies. Petturi flew down the swings and dropped down to the sandy ground.

For a moment, the two combatants stared at each other, momentarily having traded places. Beside them, Lily gawked in awe and fear, stunned by the intercourse. The moment passed.

Once more, Sikrat lunged at Petturi, clasping the sword so that the tip was pointed straight down at Petturis unprotected back. But the wolf was not an idiot, and it once again dodged Sikrats attempts. The sword embedded itself into the sand, leaving Sakrat on their knees. Petturi took took moment to attack back, his body heaving back to launch a deadly counterattack. His jaws opened wide, his muscles rippled, but he bit into steel. Sikrat grinned, their legs trembling only slightly at holding back the immense force of the bear-sized wolf.

Petturi scoffed as if amused by Sikrat’s feeble attempts. His jaws could bite through rock, grind bones, crush skulls! A sword like this would pose no problems for him! And he was correct. It took all the strength he could muster into his jaw, but the sword cracked under the force of his will, shattering into shards of magically-created steel.

Sikrat huffed and jumped back, now being the one to take distance instead of being the one to close it.

“Stop that! You can’t fight him!” Lily suddenly said, moving in between the duelling pair, arms raised in an attempt to quell the fight. “He’s my father! I don’t know what happened to him, but you can’t hurt him!”

“Whatever you believe is irrelevant, for he is no longer the man you once knew! Cast aside your delusions and join me in battle!” Sikrat commanded, drilling their eyes into Lily, who could barely stand the pressure as it was.

“No-, I-”

“Watch it!”

With a growl befitting of any feral creature, Petturi, or rather, the wolf, threw itself at Lily, eyes flaring, claws ready and teeth bared. But it couldn’t get close enough to Lily before Sikrat threw a punch into its jaw, sending it flying into the swings, the bar bending under its humongous weight. Lily whimpered at the sight, her eyes wide and full of fear and worry.

“D-, da-”

“Accept fact, Lily. Those eyes harbour no human intellect. Join me in battle, or leave this place,” Sikrat said, and although the words were cold and harsh, the way they said it was almost tender. Lily’s heart skipped a beat. She clutched at the heavy fabric of her skirt as if seeking guidance from some unseen god. She looked back up at Sikrat, her eyes determined yet filled with tears.

“I will fight,” she said, casting her gaze at the growling wolf before them. She knew what to do. Much like how Sikrat had summoned a sword as naturally as they breathed, she could feel the movements of the shadows, how they flickered and danced with the sparse light of the yellow lanterns around them. As they danced with the light, she commanded them to dance with her, and they did.

Thick, rope-like tendrils of darkness shot from the ground, entangling the limbs of the black wolf, forcing him in place. The wolf growled at the sudden attack but could do nothing to end it. If it hadn’t been as wary of its human attackers as it had been, it might have chosen to gnaw at the ropes. However, even if it had done so, it would not have helped.

Sikrat grinned and summoned two broadswords. One in each hand, they rushed at the wolf, both swords held high. The wolf could not dodge. All it could do was brace for the impact, making sure the damage was not to any important part.

The swords dug themselves into the wolf’s shoulder, drawing blood and rending flesh. The wolf howled, and Sikrat’s grin grew only broader. Lily, however, could not stand it. One of her parts was not used to the blood, the violence, and so, the whole of Lily was destabilized. With a cry of pain, she clutched her head, the ropes around the wolf’s limbs weakening.

The wolf realized this, and easily dislodged itself from her weakened grip. Sikrat jumped back, readying themselves for further battle. The wolf flexed its muscles and prepared to pounce. But before the battle could progress further…

“Goodness, to think you two could barely handle a Lupus Nigrum on your own. Very well, I may as well assist you.”

Floating high up in the air, illuminated by three shining yellow orbs, was Daisy. Or, a combination of Daisy and whoever her Alter was. Nevertheless, the floating priest-looking character mumbled something, drew out strange golden circles in the air, and with no warning, about ten white spear-looking things shot out at the black wolf, not only embedding themselves into its body but also searing its flesh with power and heat unimaginable.

The wolf couldn’t even give out a whimper before it died, the spears fading along with its final breath of life.

The sorcerer touched ground, meeting the two with a passive smile.

Lily glanced at the dead wolf and back at the sorcerer. She wanted to cry. This meant her father was dead. And she could never tell her mother about it, or even her baby brother. Why? Why had this happened? Tears welled up in her eyes. The mind of Hiiri overpowered Ramona, and she transformed back into herself.

Perhaps Ramona could have taken it better, Hiiri was not that strong. She was quiet, but that did not mean her sorrows were quiet as well. She collapsed into the sand, wailing. Sikrat observed, and so did the sorcerer. Neither had any ability to comfort. Only one out the four present had recently felt such pain.

Jessica released her grip on Kratos, and bent down. Hiiri had balled herself up, her back heaving as her body rippled with the pain of losing her father. Jessica wrapped an arm around her back. Maybe Hiiri didn’t want it, maybe she did, but whichever she wanted, Jessica forced her up to a sitting position, and wrapped her other arm around her as well. A hug. That was all. Two girls sitting in a desolate playground, in the middle of the night. Neither minding anything except each other.

This continued for a good while into the night. In the end, Daisy transformed back as well. Hiiri pulled herself from Jessica, eyes red and face red and heart red and sore and still hurting. It would probably hurt for a good while longer, but for now, they had to act.

They decided upon a plan. Hiiri and Jessica would head home, and Daisy would anonymously call the authorities to report the wolf. That was the plan. Simple, easy. Nobody could know what they did. Why? Well, Hiiri said it was a necessity, but Daisy settled on the “no hassle” part, and Jessica figured not being experimented on was a good deal.

The day ended.