TO Rewrite: B4 — 16. Thirty-Six Hours (Patreon)

1. Rachel Park (Our Lunar Hare MC!)

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The cut in space constricted, Rachel was the last one to step through beside Grace, who had stayed behind for a few minutes to clean up. She lingered at the edge of the fading tear, the dust and questions cycling behind them. Grace was engaged with the terrified townsfolk in their bar. Well, half a bar.

Yet, something new hit her from her previous quest experiences—disorientation.

“Major, I feel sick…” Nia gagged, her shorts and tank top constricting around her, as if the girl was trying to steady herself. “All the buns are waking up. And how are the pups still sleeping! Ugh… I’m going to puke thread—Major!”

One step forward and the portal sealing behind her with a soundless snap that still rattled her bones. The world steadied into the safehouse’s cramped walls, but her body disagreed—knees buckling, stomach flipping, lungs dragging at air that felt too thin.

I’m fine. Just soul exertion…

Her brother had the same concern in his voice upon seeing all of them—excluding his wife and Scarlet—fall to their knees or butts. “What happened?!”

He struggled to sit up against the headboard, but Alexa was the first to reach her, Scarlet somewhat taken aback by their reactions.

“Rachel, is that blood? Maria, Waka-guy—”

“What’s going on, Rachel? You are bleeding…from your eyes, too!”

“¡No mames, wey! Siento que me pasó un pinche camión encima, de la neta,” the unicorn cursed, breathing hard and holding the rosary dangling around her throat. “Our souls are a wreck, chica… Reminds me of the first time I met you. How the hell are we gonna rescue those two if we can’t even stand?”

Rachel forced a smile, thinking back to that time in the hospital more than a month ago as she pulled herself onto one of the armchairs.

“A lot’s happened since then.”

“Humph. Not as much as you’d like. I’ve had to patch you up from tearing your soul apart basically weekly, Coneja Lunar.”

Rachel aimed a suspicious look her way at the new name, unsure what it meant. She didn’t have energy to waste, though.

Wakalapi was on one knee, sweat beading down his face, but he soon eased himself down, entering a meditative state. Rachel wanted to do the same. Unfortunately, she had to spend energy cooling everyone’s nerves.

Coughing slightly and reaching up to rub the silvery liquid leaking out of her nose and eyes, she huffed. “I’ve had worse. I think I’m actually getting used to it.”

“Liar,” Maria grunted, but there was a small smile on her lips.

Scarlet was swooping in to help support her as Alexa went to Nam so he could hold her, diamond tears starting to leak out of her eyes. “You need to take care of yourself… When you were unconscious, everything kind of fell apart.”

Rachel squeezed her hand to tell her she was fine. It wasn’t that easy, though.

If I stopped bleeding every time someone told me that, we’d all be dead a few times over by now… I’ll find a way to turn the tide.

However, a sparkle of light brought Kid Nia into the room, who quickly lost the ability to stand.

“Nia?”

“Oof! Stupid legs are all numb… Uh, I did it, though! Yes! Yes! I got my projected body back! And she’s totally not thinking about resting!”

“Traitor,” Rachel snickered. She held up two fingers to jab the 8-year-old’s forehead as she tried to get up, sending her to the floor again.

“No! I’m a good partner, and finger-point you!” she huffed as Rachel fended off her attempts to retaliate—much to her own painful amusement. “Stop…blocking me!”

“Ahem…” Nam cleared his throat, holding his wife’s hand and focusing on her. “Sis, you really should take care of yourself…for Mom. What happened?”

Adoncia spoke up, though, sweat slicking her face, and choking, maid outfit showing some damage. “We need to…to save her…”

Nia plopped on her butt and crossed her arms while Rachel gathered her senses.

Leaning back, she closed her eyes and raised her ears, trying to initiate her grandfather’s recovery breathing technique—even a little helped to heal the damage she’d inflicted to herself.

“Patience, Adoncia. And sadly, you’re going to have to get that from the others, Nam… Give me a second. I need to focus…”

The hum of the safehouse never stayed still. Rachel leaned back in the chair, ears cutting past the walls, stitching the city together through sound. Billings was a fractured choir: boots pounding asphalt, radios buzzing clipped commands, sirens crying through streets still choked with smoke.

The scent of recycled carpet and faint bleach washed over her, so painfully mundane it almost mocked the weight pressing her chest. Her head rang with the hollow echo of Grace’s story-realm snapping shut, the resonance refusing to leave her ears.

North side—Green’s engine snarled as she cut toward the airport, her voice crisp and cold on the phone. Southeast—Tom’s tone carried through military channels, hard steel wrapped in fatigue, calling squads to ring the Crystal, every word a countdown to a siege.

And Barbara? Silence.

Not on the streets, not in the chatter. Either buried in the bunker or already swallowed by the Crystal’s glow as she coordinated on the other side.

Rachel’s jaw tightened. If Barbara was gone, then the timelines had already started to overlap, and every thread tugging at her ears whispered the same warning: the battle royale would begin whether they were ready or not.

Too soon. Always too soon, and never enough time to actually recover… I miss that week we had in DC, just chilling. There’s a ticking time bomb, though.

Vision opening, she took in every person, letting her breathing connect with her unstable spiritual flow. All eyes were locked on her. Her tail flicked once, sharp.

She broke the silence, speaking to someone not in the room.

“Green, change of plans. Snow was captured. I’ll explain at the bunker.”

She could almost see the woman’s hare ears fly up, the sound brushing against the ceiling. “Snow was—impossible. She’s already in the air… Dammit…”

The car swiftly made a U-turn.

Alexa was Rachel’s first visual target, mind moving each puzzle piece into her developing plan with misfortune swirling around them.

Her sister-in-law’s angelic, teen form sat curled against Nam, wings twitching, sparks bleeding from her feathers, no matter how tightly she tried to fold them.

Rachel’s chest pinched; family or not, she couldn’t cover for that again.

“I’m sorry to say, Alexa, but you’ve got too much power without the control, even with Butter’s power—like a star, ready to flare at the wrong moment. I’m going to have to bench you for now.”

“No…I understand,” she whispered, halo dimming as she squeezed her husband’s hand, swallowing a lump in her throat. “I learned a lot from that… A whole lot.”

Rachel nodded. “We’re not done, but just take it easy. We’ll need that power for the Crystal. And Maria…”

The unicorn’s rosary dangled in tired fingers, her breath still ragged, horn dim from overwork but somehow still showing. She’d bought miracles on credit, and her body showed the debt. Reliable as ever, but breaking. A healer who couldn’t even heal herself properly.

“Don’t say shit, chica… I know I look like hell. You ain’t much better.”

Rachel exhaled slowly, copper tang heavy in her throat. The truth pressed down on her shoulders—she had to trim the team further. Delegation wasn’t optional anymore; it was survival. Thirty-six hours at most before the Crystal war began.

“I hate using you like a battery and hauling you around only to put your life on the line when you’ve got a brother and block to take care of…”

“Shut it.” Maria snapped, silvery irises bright with annoyance. “Who do you think is keepin’ this ship from sinkin’? Yeah, I got my block on my back—Scarlet’s the one funding this shit, and you’re the one gettin’ the connections. Es jale de la banda, culera, no me vengas con mamadas pa’ hacerme sentir mal. What’s the play, genius?”

Rachel didn’t catch that part of that but the meaning was clear enough, which put a smirk on her lips as Adoncia watched with growing anxiety.

“Fair enough, chica. I need you to heal up so you can at least put us back in the fight. Think you can do better than the Seed when it comes to absorbing sunlight? It’s pretty bright outside.”

“It might burn, but what the hell? We do what we gotta. You ain’t the only martyr so don’t go forgettin’ it, bitch,” the unicorn grinned, rolling around her stiff shoulders before forcing herself up to head for the backyard. “You’re lucky that blonde chick’s sun shield is still workin’.”

“True,” Scarlet whispered, looking down at the small film covering Rachel and her skin. “I’m not benched. Right… Right, Rachel?” she asked, almost desperately, fangs poking through. “I know it could fail any second, but…”

“No, I don’t see us winning without you, Major Fangs,” Rachel joked, making Nia throw up a grin and thumbs up from the floor—no doubt taking credit for the nickname. “Now, we need to get to the bunker, and you’re our best transport vehicle at the moment.”

“Nope. Aww, hell no!” Maria shouted from down the hall. “Ustedes pueden venir conmigo, pero ni de pedo me meto otra vez en ese pinche portal bien creepy, wey.”

Rachel didn’t need a translation for that.

Grace soon exited, thumbs hooked in her pockets, boots clicking like she’d just walked out of a rodeo instead of a reality-bending nightmare. She looked disgustingly fine compared to the rest of them—probably the perk of being a Legend and used to portal whiplash.

“Woo-wee,” she drawled, rolling her shoulders loose. “That ride shook me harder than a fresh-milked heifer on a cold mornin’… ’Cept this cowgirl don’t spill a drop.”

Scarlet nearly choked on nothing, Maria snorted loud enough to echo down the hall, and even Nam’s ears went red. Alexa buried her face in his shoulder while Nia blinked on the floor, innocent mind not connecting the dots.

Rachel pinched the bridge of her nose, tail flicking once. “Grace…”

“What?” the cowgirl said, flashing a grin as wide as the Montana sky. “Y’all are just dirty-minded. I was talkin’ about milk.”

That only made the laughter worse.

Reaching over, Rachel poked her outfit’s ears, making the girl jump. Her head tilted up in a ridiculous position to stare at her.

“What?”

“I need my cellphone, cotton ears.”

“Oh, yeah… Mmm. It’s hard, though…”

“C’mon…”

“Okay…”

Her face went red, eyes closing and head shaking as if she were going to blow a gasket. The results? A flash of sparkly light, and the phone materialized in Rachel’s lap.

“Ugh… When can we get the Seed stuff back?” she complained. “This sucks.”

Around her, Scarlet and Grace were examining themselves with the particular fascination that came with their level-ups. The cowgirl brought up the subject while studying the meditating Native American.

“We got levels,” Grace whistled, tipping her new black hat back to studying them. “That was some wild ride. What should we do about it? I feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train and fed honey at the same time.”

Scarlet nodded enthusiastically, raven hair weaving with the motion. Rachel broke into their conversation while tapping on Tom’s number.

“You can do whatever you want with it. I’ll look into it when I have time,” Rachel muttered, keeping her voice casual as she activated the call. “There are things I want to test first inside our Soul Sanctum. I’m pretty sure we can test out the options before selecting.”

Both Scarlet and Grace’s eyes widened at that, quieting as Rachel put it on speaker—misfortune’s tug told her this wasn’t the best decision, yet still in their favor.

Sometimes, you just need to roll the dice, and we don’t have time to play it safe. Speaking openly and taking action is better than nothing.

Adoncia’s blue eyes were practically spinning, and Rachel’s enhanced hearing could pick up Green’s mutters, trying to make calls to the satellite phone on Snow’s plane. No one was picking up.

Tom’s voice crackled through the phone and reached her moments later, thanks to her enhanced hearing, tired but alert. She leaned back with a grin, arm resting against her stomach.

“Rachel! It’s like you’re my wife with how often you expect me to be free.” That bone-deep exhaustion that came from managing supernatural crises on a global scale. “What fresh hell do we need to discuss after your Legend Quest? Did the High Queen blow up Grace’s world?”

Grace tilted her head with a grin in a way that said, not far from the truth.

“I mean, has there been a time when I’ve called and at least a few hundred people’s lives weren’t on the line?” Rachel asked with a slight chuckle. “That or the whole world might end. Literally. I’d say that’s more important than a wife call.”

“Ha. When you’re married, there isn’t much of a difference.” Tom’s laugh held little humor. “I get it. I’ll be in the bunker in twenty.”

“Eh…”

“…Five minutes.”

“See you then.”

Rachel's gaze swept the room as she ended the call, Scarlet already forming a portal and holding her elbow behind her back with a toothy smile.

“Here we go again?”

“Sugar,” Grace snickered, “let’s just try not to destroy an entire realm this time.”

“No promises,” Rachel returned.

Wakalapi opened his eyes and rose to stand near the window, his weathered face contemplative as he gazed toward the Montana landscape.

Nia broke the illusion of stoic grandeur as she pointed at him. “What’s up with him being totally fine! I’m exhausted…”

The Native American’s lips tugged upward as his dark eyes drifted to the rabbit kid.

“I am far from ‘totally fine,’ young one. Ms. Park, I will meet you at the bunker after reporting to my chief.” With that, he turned and moved to the door. “Old Man Coyote may have words of wisdom concerning Butter’s loss and what it means for the Crystal situation.”

“Good,” Rachel nodded. “We’ll need all the intelligence we can get. Adoncia…”

The maid’s defocused, horrified eyes snapped to her, clearly in an existential crisis, thinking about how she was supposed to report this to her empress.

“Hmm? We’re reporting to your general, then going to rescue the High Queen?”

Breathing out a long stream of air, feeling the restorative cycle of her spirit reach the point where she could move again—if with some strain. She’d need to keep up the exercise.

“That’s the plan…but plans can change. Let’s go. We have a goddess to rescue and a magic show to crash. I’m starting to get excited.”

Rachel stood up and led the way without a second’s hesitation. Nia jumped up and skipped beside her, despite her earlier complaints; she’d been doing the same breathing exercise, attempting to further help their betwixt soul heal.

The uncomfortable sensation of hands folding over, through, and around her entire being gave way to the blinding sunlight of the supercenter parking lot. Hands finding her pockets, Rachel tilted slightly to view the ominous Crystal gateway, its surface gleaming with an ominous jungle expanse.

Why does it feel like that thing is going to be worse than a Tier-3 Legend Quest? Something unholy is brewing inside it… Nike?

“Yes, Rachel?” the winged Personification of Victory whispered, sounding tired herself.

Misfortune tightens around my throat if I envision a future where we go into that without Butter… What do you feel?

“Unfortunately, the same. I would actually be working against you if that were to happen. A slave to victory itself is what that means to a Personification.”

Nia shivered and hopped a little next to her. “That’s so sad… I don’t want you to be against us!”

Yeah, well, life is life, Little Bun, Rachel mumbled, shifting her posture to see Tom heading their way, accompanied by soldiers. Green wasn’t too far away, either. Fate keeps getting louder, the Crimson Tide, the Ever-Shifting Mists, and dozens of other snakes hiding in the shadows… All we can do is keep up the fight.

The MPs allowed her inside as she neared, Nia, Adoncia, Grace, and Scarlet following her once the vampire girl’s blood returned to her body—even it was surrounded by Butter’s barrier.

The bunker’s fluorescent lights hummed with their usual mechanical persistence and magical wards as Rachel passed through multiple concrete layers, each footfall echoing in the closed-off space.

Taking a pen from the expansive white boards surrounding the inner chamber, she began making quick diagrams that would make explaining easier. The others swiftly took their seats, watching her silently while waiting for Green to arrive.

Tom stood near the central table, his uniform rumpled from too many sleepless nights managing crises that no military manual had prepared him for. He rubbed his bald head from time to time, clearly a sign of exhaustion, as he followed her scribbles.

Green swept inside, ears alert, vision narrowed, sitting rigidly in one of the cushioned black chairs. Adoncia paced near the far wall, arms crossed, maid’s outfit showing more damage from her occasionally picking at it—stress.

Scarlet perched on the edge of another chair, her raven hair still looking perfect. The vampire’s red eyes held an intensity as she scanned past the bunker to the outside.

“Alright,” Rachel began without preamble, settling into a chair that protested slightly under the weight of her exhaustion. She pointed at the board and went through her internal thought process. “Adoncia, I know you’re thinking we should contact the Susime for support.”

The oni maid straightened, her bright eyes flashing. “The High Queen—we have our forces that can help! They—”

“Were recently conquered, correct?” Rachel cut her off gently. “Think about it. What happens when they hear that the woman they consider invincible has been captured? A race of toad people, with unfamiliar customs, who worship life and death?”

Adoncia’s mouth opened, then closed. The implications rippled across her features like stones thrown into still water. “They—they think she cannot be defeated. If they learned she was taken…”

“Panic,” Tom supplied grimly. “Mass desertion, potentially, and from what little she told me, there was already an internal power struggle before she took control. If she’s out of the picture—this soon—it will be a complete breakdown of command structure. Earth has seen it before when seemingly invincible leaders fall… Many times.”

“Exactly.” Rachel leaned back in her chair, feeling the cold foam through her tank. “So we don’t tell them. Right now, we need stability. They’re guarding the other side of the Crystal. Let’s keep it that way. Our goal is getting Butter back, not managing an interdimensional civil war.”

Adoncia started to pace. “But surely their powers could overwhelm the enemy? They have a lot of power if appropriately channeled. Without the High Queen’s support, they’re fighting for someone who could be considered an enemy. And if our souls are walled off—you from your Seeds and me from my empress’ aiding power…

Why are you helping me? This is exactly what you wanted,” she asked, almost close to tears as she backed away. “Is it because of the Seeds? You need her to remove them? That magic lady, she told me you were on the same side… You want the same thing.”

Rachel stayed quiet for a moment, allowing the weight of the question to settle over the room. The bunker’s ventilation system hummed in the background, circulating air that tasted faintly of concrete dust and military coffee.

Then she smiled—a sharp expression that held no warmth, only calculation.

“Adoncia, think a little. Saving Butter so she removes the seal on our Seeds is actually the weakest argument for rescuing her. That ‘magic lady’ had made what should have been a sure-fire way to get us on her side—removing the biggest threat. You’re right. We should be locking you up, because the greatest threat is now dealt with.”

The South American woman’s muscles tightened, keeping eye contact, and no doubt wondering if she should escape and rally the Susime herself.

The statement hung in the air like a challenge. Green’s eyebrows rose slightly. Tom shifted his weight. Scarlet leaned forward with interest, ready to intervene if she acted out.

“But,” Rachel went on, ears angling forward to cut shadows across her eclipse eyes, “Queenie made a grave error.”

“And that is?” the oni mumbled.

“Let me lay it out for everyone…” Rachel continued, her voice gaining strength despite her physical exhaustion.

“First: she didn’t know that Butter’s very presence upgraded the Crystal. Butter knew that, though, didn’t she?” Rachel snickered, rubbing her forehead. “That woman is the most frustratingly instinctual strategic person I’ve ever met, and she almost does it without looking as if she is trying at all.

“In short, we’re dealing with something far worse than what we initially expected. In—” she checked her phone’s clock. “—roughly thirty-six hours, four factions of comparable power to Butter herself will emerge from enhanced Crystals worldwide. We need her strength for that battle.”

Adoncia’s shaking hands ceased, and she took a deep breath. When she let it out, her quakes eased, control taking the place of fear.

“I see. You’re saying the High Queen maneuvered us into the perfect position to be invaluable…as frustratingly open and reckless she may appear on the surface.”

“Oh,” Rachel snickered, holding up a second finger, “she is most certainly reckless, but not without reason or forethought. Second:

“Butter has information and understanding that’s throwing everything we know on its head. She’s dangled it in front of us like bait on a hook…”

Her vision narrowed, lunar eyes flashing with sudden seriousness. “And I cannot allow that knowledge to fall into anyone else’s hands, especially not without me being privy to it. Knowledge is power. I only got to this point because I leveraged my knowledge and recklessness to get it. Queenie may not be my enemy…but I’m guessing others in her circle certainly are invested in clipping my tail.”

Rachel shrugged, the gesture carrying mock casualness. “It’s as simple as that. Maybe if she’d taken me along when they kidnapped her, we’d be having a different conversation right now. Obviously, they don’t want coordination but full rights to your High Queen.”

Adoncia bristled at the implication, her defensive instincts flaring. “You cannot seriously suggest—”

“Stop kidding around,” Scarlet mumbled, but her voice carried affection rather than reproach. She looked down at the protective life shell that surrounded her like liquid sunlight, Butter’s divine energy still maintaining its barrier against harmful UV radiation. “Plus, she allowed me to feel the sun again… We owe her, Adoncia, and Rachel’s pride wouldn’t let that go.”

“Scarlet,” Rachel groaned, scratching the base of her ear and shooting a light glare her way, “you’re giving away my psychological profile—how to strike at me—to a potential enemy… Think a little?”

“Oh… Sorry!”

The simple admission carried more weight than any tactical argument, but it did expose her in a totally unnecessary way—Scarlet was too new to leverage. In a world of cosmic politics and interdimensional warfare, you had to change like the seasons and use every windfall you had available. But…misfortune’s coils eased more from that slip, which was confusing as hell.

“In any case, Butter operates in a way that naturally draws people to her,” Rachel observed, watching the various reactions around the room. “It’s obvious from all our interactions. There’s something about her approach—conquest through inspiration rather than force—that makes people want to follow her. That, and she’s got power to back up her word.”

“Great. Now that’s settled, “Tom sighed, practical mind cutting through the philosophy and psychology, “How exactly do we intend to rescue her? They just demonstrated capabilities that neutralized a goddess-level entity. Yes, with prep and what appears to be a tight vulnerability window, but the point stands. Our conventional assets won’t even register against that kind of power. Your team is crippled, too.”

Rachel’s grin widened, sharp enough to cut glass. “Oh, not nearly as crippled as I look. You know I’ve pulled shit together with less in the past. Besides, Green already has the object we need for that. Evidently, our opponents didn’t know about it, or they’d attack that weakness first.”

All eyes turned to the current, acting CEO of Fable. The woman’s confusion lifted into a smile, and she reached into her combat jacket with deliberate precision.

“That’s why you didn’t want me to get on the plane…”

The object she withdrew looked deceptively simple—a key carved from what appeared to be crystallized mist, its surface shifting between solid and vapor with each breath of air.

“The Misty Key,” Scarlet breathed, recognition dawning. “The one Astra gave you—my mom’s key! Of course! Direct access to Fable realms without needing the Fable’s permission.”

Adoncia stared at the artifact with a blank expression. “So, that gets us in?”

“Kind of. It’s one of two steps, but Rachel probably has the second already covered,” Green explained, sliding it to the hare across the table. “Fable Seeds create pocket dimensions based on narrative logic and Eldritch energy. The Misty Key bypasses those narrative requirements, allowing direct entry regardless of story position or character role. It can only be used where they entered the realm, though.”

“Your Ali Baba vengeance trip comes back in our favor,” Tom nodded with a sigh. “It makes sense. You can’t use a key without a door. You know where it is to get backdoor access.”

Tom’s words hung heavy until Grace tipped her hat back, boots thunking against the chair leg as she leaned in.

“Well now, reckon that’s where lil’ ol’ me comes in,” she drawled, grin crooked. “Y’all remember, they slid into our world ridin’ my story like a busted fence rail — hell, like a bull that don’t care what pen it’s in. If that ain’t a loophole, I don’t know what is.

“’Course…” she shrugged, eyes glinting with mischief, “maybe they figured cowgirl logic don’t count in the fine print. What if the key don’t work in a Legend World?”

Scarlet groaned, and Nia shot her a thumbs-up, blissfully unaware that Grace had just tossed a real wrench into the plan.

Rachel’s left ear twitched. Threads tugged across her ribs like strings tightening. “Obviously, they opened the gate here somewhere — probably. Worst case, the key finds it for us. It’ll just cost time.”

“Then it’s settled.” Green straightened in her chair, shoulders squared. “I’m coming with you.”

“No.” Rachel’s reply was immediate, tail stiff. “Too risky. Fable mechanics stacked inside themselves? You’d be a liability the second they opened one inside another. We barely scraped out of Ali Baba’s world with my threads intact.”

“Yeah!” Nia chimed in. “I almost died!”

“And I lost my gun, mom’s hat, and my bloom’n sanity with it!” Grace laughed, pulling a flask from nowhere and raising it in salute before taking a swig. “Ain’t even sure we’re still out. Had a nightmare about that mess. Spooky, huh?”

“Recursive dimensional pockets,” Tom muttered, running a hand over his tense shoulder. “I had a scientist liken it to a Russian nesting doll, made of reality itself. Yeah, let’s avoid that particular nightmare scenario.”

Grace blinked at him, her grin faltering. Not exactly what she’d meant, but now she’d spooked herself too.

Rachel turned her attention to Green, her expression softening slightly. “I need you to take the jet and report to the Fable Board of Directors about what happened. Tell them exactly what went down—Snow’s capture, Butter’s kidnapping, the whole situation.”

She leaned forward, her voice gaining the edge of command authority. “Make it clear that Omen doesn’t work for free. When this is over, we’ll expect you to return the favor or answer some of my questions. But I can count on you to handle the political side while we handle the rescue. Right?”

Green nodded slowly, understanding the division of responsibilities. “I’ll make sure they understand the gravity of the situation. And the debt we’ll owe… They don’t like stepping outside the org, though. Bah. I’ll figure something out. They will freak out once they learn White was taken by some unknown organization… She knows everything.”

“Good. Well, not the vulnerability question that is bound to get some morally dubious responses from your Board, but sure.”

Rachel stood, her legs steadier now despite the lingering exhaustion.

“Maria and Alexa will stay with Nam—Alexa’s power fluctuations are too unstable, Tom. And Maria’s too drained from constant healing duty. Black and Red need to be kept in the dark about Snow’s capture, Green, especially given Red’s current instability.”

“That was a given…”

“Right,” Rachel muttered, spinning the key between her fingers, “the last thing we need is Fable problems distracting us while we’re dealing with Regina…”

Green’s eyes widened. “You mean—if she regains her powers…”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Rachel snorted, rolling around her neck and reflecting on Ali Baba’s realm's collapse. “I think…there’s another solution, though. We’re dealing with desperate, hopeless people, trapped in an illusion of reality… Their whole world has been ripped apart to reveal the sorrow, a broken promise of life… They’re staring into an inescapable void. But maybe not…”

She looked up with a small smile. “I’ll figure something out. I always do. Wakalapi sounds like he’s going to join—he’s on the way back—and then we have Grace, myself, Scarlet, and Adoncia.”

“I think Grace might be better kept in reserve,” Tom suggested carefully. “If you’re right, then reinforcements can only be sent in if she’s not with you. Give her the key, and then Barbara can join when she returns.”

“We’ll see,’ Rachel replied noncommittally, but the logic was sound. “I want to keep our options open. I’ll consider it.”

Scarlet spoke up, her voice carrying newfound confidence. “I always wondered where the Fable Key went. It makes sense that you gave it to Green—backup plans within backup plans.”

“Before we finalize team composition,” Tom interjected, “what intel do we have on goddess hunters? Know your enemy.”

Green consulted her phone, scrolling through files with practiced efficiency. “From what I understand, there is an organization that primarily focuses on hunting deities, but we haven’t gotten much info on them.”

“We’ve heard similar cases with high-profile incidents linked to an organization invested in studying deities across multiple jurisdictions,” Tom added, his military intelligence coming through. “But they operate in decentralized cells. It makes them difficult to track or predict. The Myth of Frankenstein is…troubling me, though. I’ll have a research team dig through his pop-culture links. Still, even I know how deep that runs.”

“That makes it all the more interesting. And decentralized authority structure, huh?” Rachel mused. “That suggests coordination without central vulnerability, but they can also step on each other’s toes. They’re bound not by unified goals but by individual goals. Once that end is met, so is their partnership. That’s a dangerous vulnerability.”

Rachel's smile turned predatory, her misfortune threads already reaching out to trace probability paths through the immediate future. The sensation was like running fingers through cosmic spider webs, feeling for the vibrations that indicated opportunity or danger.

“They’ll have countermeasures, but we’ll walk into their trap so hard it breaks,” she chuckled, ears rising higher. “They’re expecting us to be cautious, to probe for weaknesses, to try clever tactics. I like to switch things up.”

The room fell silent as the implications sank in. Tom’s expression cycled through skepticism, consideration, and finally grudging respect. Green’s corporate instincts clearly wanted to object to such a high-risk strategy, but her recent experiences with Rachel’s unconventional successes seemed to make her hold her tongue.

“That’s…” Wakalapi spoke slowly as he stepped into the room, his expression thoughtful. “Either brilliant or suicidal. Possibly both.”

“The best plans usually ride the line of luck and misfortune,” Rachel replied with dark humor. “Sure, we’re locked out of our Seeds, a bit on the stressed side, and stepping into unfamiliar ground, but Butter’s training in spiritual cultivation opens up a lot of opportunities.”

She stood, her arms rising as she made a satisfied grunt, stretching out her tight muscles.

“They think they have Butter locked down, that we’ll spend time planning and gathering resources to even attempt to enter Snow’s realm, which they probably think is nearly impossible. Instead, we move fast and direct.”

“What about the risks?” Green asked, staring at the key in her hand. “They could know about the Misty Key and Ali Baba’s realm's collapse due to her mirror. Hell, they could be watching us right now.”

“Maybe! But something tells me they’re too busy celebrating. Regina has Snow, and they’ve got their deity. Everything has risks, though,” Rachel replied matter-of-factly. “The difference is whether we’re taking calculated risks or just hoping for the best. This plan puts us in control of the variables that matter most. Oh, and, Tom, can you get my grandfather on a plane? I need his help.”

“I…suppose that can be arranged?”

Great! We ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” Nia chimed, crawling onto the table and striking a pose that was just like the rabbit child. “It’s time for the bunny to scare the magician!”

Coral appeared with her orange, ghostlike grin atop her head, snickering.

Adoncia stepped forward with a deep frown. “I am putting my trust in you.”

“Alright, the mission’s a go…”

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