Really Strange Stuff - Afterword - Team Chaos (Patreon)

=::= Cass's PoV =::=

There was a little swirl of magic in the air next to us, which faded a moment later to reveal the goddess Amethyst. She was dressed fairly casual, in a pair of tight black jeans and a black autumn jacket, with some comfortable-looking sneakers on her feet.

We weren't wearing anything special either, just some comfy leggings and our oversized navy blue hoodie. And we had sneakers on as well.

"Hello Cassandra," the other goddess greeted us. "And hello to Cass as well, if you're listening."

My other self smiled as she replied, "She is, so hello from both of us. And thank you for coming."

Before Amy could respond a larger swirl of light appeared a couple meters away, in the middle of the lonely country road. It faded to reveal that huge blue demoness from the halloween party.

She was naked again, and I really didn't know what to make of that. Fortunately this was 'Kid Chaos' business so I could just hang back and let my goddess half deal with stuff like big naked demons.

Lily had a frown on her face as she slowly turned on the spot where she'd appeared, before her gaze finally settled on Cassandra and I. She stated, "This is a public road. I thought we were here to meet that ancient entity you told us about. Why are we in the middle of nowhere?"

"Lily makes a good point," Amethyst agreed. "If this Chel person lives out here then why didn't you bring us right to their home? There's nothing around here but trees and farmland. The nearest structures are over a kilometre away, and they appear to be human dwellings."

Cassandra replied calmly, "I prefer not to teleport directly to their doorstep. It's not far from here, and I find a walk through the woods clears the mind and helps set the right mood."

Amy and Lily both stared at us for another second or two, then the silver-haired goddess shrugged. "All right. So where are we going?"

"It's not far," my other self replied as she gestured across the road, "A couple hundred meters into that nature reserve there."

Amethyst smiled, "It's a little late in the season for hiking, but why not?"

She held out her hand, and a large intricately carved wood staff appeared in a swirl of magic. It had leather wrapped around its middle where Amy was holding it, and it looked as much like some sort of enchanted tool as it did a well-used hiking stick.

Then Amy looked to us and said, "Lead the way Kid Chaos."

Cassandra set off and Amy moved to walk beside us, while Lily hesitated. The big blue demoness remained in the middle of the road for another couple seconds, then with a loud sigh she started to follow along.

None of us spoke while we walked, the only sounds came from the dry fallen leaves crunching under our feet as we made our way deeper into the woods. There was actually a kind of spooky feel to the place, although that didn't come from anything supernatural. Mostly it was because of the season, the weather, and the time.

Typical for early November we had a low overcast sky, but luckily it wasn't raining today. The air was almost still in fact, which made the forest seem unusually quiet. And between the clouds and the fact that it was late afternoon, there wasn't a whole lot of light. If it wasn't dark by the time we got to the cave it would definitely be dark before we left. And being late autumn, the trees had all lost their leaves. Or at least all but the evergreens were bare, which combined with the fading daylight and the cool quiet air made the whole area feel almost dead.

There was even a faint scent of decay from the fallen leaves that had started to rot. It wasn't a bad smell, but it certainly added to the atmosphere. And it made me wonder what the other goddess and demoness were thinking. Like when Cassandra said walking through the woods helped set the mood, I was curious what sort of mood our guests were getting from all this.

Neither of them complained though, and Amy at least didn't seem too bothered by the hike. I wasn't sure about Lily, since she was following a few meters back and we hadn't been looking over our shoulder or anything like that. Mostly we just knew she was there because we could hear her footsteps behind us.

Even though it wasn't that far the hike still took some time, since we had to go up and down through ravines and across streams and stuff. Fortunately the ground wasn't too muddy or slippery, although there were still a few places where we had to watch our step. There weren't any mishaps though, and eventually we came to a halt a half dozen meters from the cave.

"Well?" Lily asked impatiently as she stopped next to Amy and us. "What now?"

My other self gestured towards the cave entrance, "That's the place. They'll know we're here, I'm sure they'll be along any moment now."

"I'd advise against entering the cave," she added, "But it's safe to get a closer look if you like."

Amy and Lily exchanged a glance. Then in a disbelieving voice the silver-haired goddess asked us, "This powerful ancient entity lives in a cave?"

"No," Cassandra shook her head. "They don't live in there. It's just one of many entrances to their realm."

The other goddess and the demon both stared at the small cave entrance, but neither moved any closer to it. They just waited quietly with us, although it was clear from Lily's body language she was impatient and probably close to getting fed up with the whole situation.

Except from what I'd seen of the demoness, both at the halloween party and at brunch the day after, I had the impression that a lot of her attitude and bluster was just an act. She looked like a big scary demon and she tried to act like one, but I couldn't help wondering if maybe she wasn't as dangerous as she wanted people to think.

I was suddenly distracted by something moving past our feet, and we looked down in time to see the kitty Carlos. He was on his way towards the cave, from somewhere behind us.

"Aww," I smiled as I crouched down to pet him. "Hey Carlos, is Chel treating you ok?"

The cat stopped in his tracks and purred. Then he turned around and moved closer while I gave him more pets and some ear scritches.

"That's no normal cat," Amethyst stated. Then with a frown she asked, "Is that another god in feline form, like Siggy?"

I shook my head, "Not exactly. Carlos was a demi-god who worked with the Council. He's the one who kept pushing them to attack me and my friends."

The silver-haired goddess asked warily, "And is this what Chel did to him?"

"It wasn't Chel," I grimaced. With my cheeks heating up I admitted, "Carlos hurt Kaylee, so I um, drained all his magic then turned him into a cat. All Chel did was make sure he stayed that way. And um, they've been looking after him? Now Carlos and Chel keep each other company."

By that point both Amy and Lily were staring at me with expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces.

"How is that possible?" the demoness asked. "How could you drain another god of his power?"

That made me cringe as I mumbled, "I didn't drain him completely, he's still a demi-god. He'd have got his magic back eventually, it was just slow because he didn't have any worshipers..."

The cute little spotted kitty suddenly stopped purring and dashed for the cave. For a moment I thought I'd upset him, but then I saw the real reason. He was rubbing himself against Chel's ankles as they stood just inside the mouth of the cave. They were in the young pilgrim girl shape again, and they had a little smile on their face as they watched us.

I pulled back so Cassandra could handle the introductions, "Hello Chel. Allow me to introduce Amethyst, goddess of trans and queer people as well as demi-humans, and Lily, a demoness and also a supporter of trans girls."

"Hello Amy, Lily," the young titan greeted our companions. "It's wonderful to finally meet you both."

Amethyst responded, "It's nice to meet you too. I've been curious about you ever since Cassandra and Kaylee first mentioned their mysterious backer."

Meanwhile the demoness looked wary again as she frowned at the small blonde, "It's barely been a week since Cassandra asked me to consider working with her. Why do you make it sound like you've been waiting a lot longer than that to meet me?"

Chel sighed as they regarded the big blue demon, "There are so few of your kind left Lily, that I've been monitoring all of you for millennia. I was relieved to see you and your wife both restored. And while I regret that Armaros and Verothilas were lost in your place, I understand your reasons for ending them."

Neither Cassandra or I recognized those other names, and I doubted Amy knew anything about them either. Lily definitely knew them, and from the way her features hardened and her face got darker it was clear she wasn't happy to hear them.

"Do not speak of them in my presence again," she growled. "What do you know of demons anyways? Why do you monitor us, why do you care what goes on between us?"

The young titan gave Lily a sad look, "If the last of your kind die out then the gods of the status quo will win. Magic will fade from the Earth, the smaller gods will find themselves starved of faith, and supernaturals will wither and die."

"Wait what?" I asked as I accidentally slipped out front again. "All the big gods have to do is kill off the last few demons and they win?! You never mentioned that before!"

Chel nodded, "That is one option available to them. Fortunately demons are very hard to kill, so while there are only five left on Earth I'm confident the world isn't in immediate jeopardy just yet."

"Isn't there more than that?" Cassandra asked as she took over. "Just counting the demons we know there's Cass, Nina, Kaylee, Lily, Eva, Mara, and Mira."

This time it was the blue demoness who looked sad. She shook her head, "My daughters are not natural demons. They borrow from my own demonic essence, but both were born into this life as humans."

"Oh," I frowned. "Same as Kaylee. So that just leaves me and Nina, plus you and Eva? And I guess there's one more we don't know yet?"

The young titan shook their head, "Your circumstances are different from those of Kaylee, Mara, and Mira, but your demonic essence originated with Nina. You are not a natural demon any more than Kaylee is."

Hearing that left me feeling confused and uncertain again. Cassandra had some questions too, since she was a goddess the same way I was a demon. And if I wasn't a true demon then it left us wondering if she was really a goddess after all. Except neither of us had time to process that stuff just yet, since the conversation was still going on around us.

"Then who are the other two demons?" Lily asked with another wary tone.

Chel replied, "I think it's best if I keep that to myself for now. Suffice to say, you are not in any danger of crossing paths with either of them. Their territories are far from here, and far from your wife's new home as well."

Lily obviously didn't like that answer, and she ended up glaring at the small blonde girl.

"Ok," Amethyst spoke up after a few awkward seconds. "I feel like there's some background here that I'm missing out on. Chel, can you maybe fill us in on who and what you really are? And maybe you can explain how you know about that balance stuff, what the big gods are up to, and what you're hoping to achieve? And why you need my and Lily's help?"

The young titan nodded, "Of course."

As it grew darker out, Chel told Amy and Lily the same stuff they'd told me and Cassandra and Kaylee when we first met them just over two years ago. They explained how they were an elemental force of chaos, and the last of their kind. They talked about the cataclysm that happened over seventy thousand years ago, and explained how the gods and demons came from the remains of the others like them. And they told of how the world's magic began to drain away as gods syphoned it off to the heavens. Finally they explained that they wanted to restore magic to the world like it used to be tens of thousands of years ago, back before the schism happened.

It was dark out by the time the history lesson ended. We could all see in the dark just fine though, so we all saw the smile on Chel's face as they regarded Amy and Lily. "Now you're here. Goddess, demon, and titan. Meeting and hopefully working with one another, for the good of the world. Which brings us to how you can help."

After a brief pause they focused on the demoness first, "I hope this isn't too forward of me Lily, but the best thing you can do is keep yourself and Eva safe while you have more children. The world needs more demons, to help bring it back into balance."

That actually left the big blue scary naked demon blushing. She even seemed a bit flustered. She didn't argue though, instead she looked almost thoughtful.

Meanwhile the young blonde turned their attention to Amy, "You may have the impression that I don't like gods, or that I blame the world's current situation on them. Not so, I know it's only a few dozen gods who are directly responsible for the state of things today. Although many others simply go along with it because they don't know any better."

"Balance was broken by the gods ages ago," Chel stated. "The gods behind the status quo are actively making things worse. They're the ones who want to see the world stripped of all magic and wonder. They would leave mortals with no hope, save that which is taught in their so-called holy books. A lifetime of slavery and toil in return for the promise of paradise in the afterlife. They would see any who dissent or are simply different enough not to fit in simply perish or be stamped out."

The titan shook their head again, "You Amethyst are proof that change is possible. And Siggy is proof that you can teach others to change and adapt as well. Even May Hawthorne was swayed by your words. You can help by teaching other like-minded gods how to adapt and change. Perhaps Siggy's old friends would be a good place to start?"

By the time Chel was finished Amy had a thoughtful look on her face too. She definitely seemed to be considering everything she'd just learned, about how the titans turned into the gods and demons, and all that other stuff.

Then Lily spoke up with another question, "So where does Cassandra fit into all this? The way you just explained it makes it sound like Amethyst is the divine representative while I'm the demonic one. Yet you've allegedly been working with Cassandra for two years, and she claims to be both."

"You're correct Lily," the young blonde nodded. "Amethyst is an ascended goddess, and you are a natural demon. Cassandra and Cass are neither."

Hearing that left both Cassandra and I confused, and a little of my old anxiety started to surface once more. I couldn't help feeling like we were about to be exposed as fakes, or some sort of freak or monster.

Then Chel turned to address us, "As an amalgamation of both demonic and divine, you have more in common with me than either Amy or Lily. You used the term 'titan' to describe me, but it fits you just as well. I am the last of my kind, perhaps you are destined to replace me in time? Chaos flows through you as much as it does myself."

The old titan turned to face the demoness once more, "To answer your question Lily, Cass and Cassandra play the leading role. With my experience and knowledge I am here to provide them advice and guidance, and I'll help in other ways when and where I'm able. But Cass and Cassandra are the driving force, bringing magic and equality back to the world through the power of chaos."

Once again my other self and I had a bunch of thoughts and emotions from all that.

Speaking internally so nobody else could hear us I told Cassandra, "I guess that sort of answers our questions, about whether or not we can really call ourselves a demon goddess? But the answer feels a whole lot bigger than I was expecting."

"I'm not sure why you're surprised Cass," she responded just as privately. "Chel already told us we're like them, back when we first met two years ago. The only difference is now they're sharing that with another goddess and a demon."

I grimaced internally, "They make it sound like we're supposed to lead a rebellion."

"We are," Cassandra stated confidently. "And we're going to win."

Then we both focused outwards again and my other half replied out loud, "Cass and I appreciate your support Chel. So that just leaves us with two questions. Amy, will you continue to work with us? And Lily, are you willing to join the team?"

The petite silver-haired goddess and the large blue demon looked at each other, then both looked to us. Amethyst nodded, "Yeah I'm in. You can count on Tess and Raven too. And I'm sure Siggy is still on board as well."

"I'll do what I can to help," Lily announced after a slight pause. "And I believe Eva will agree as well, once I've passed on everything I've learned here."

Then the demoness sighed, "I'm quite certain my daughters are already out there promoting chaos as we speak. At least if I'm on the team I might have a better chance of keeping the two of them out of trouble."

That made Chel and I smile.

My other half was smiling too as she said, "Welcome aboard Lily, and thank you Amethyst for the vote of confidence. I know we're not going to change things overnight, but cracks are already forming in the status quo and it's starting to fray around the edges. The day it shatters will be the dawn of a new age."

"Yeah!" I blurted out as I got caught up in the moment. "So let's go stir things up!"

~ The End ~

** notes: i can't say for sure when or where we'll next catch up with the RSS crew, Team Chaos, and the DLP, but i can say that we definitely haven't seen the last of them. sooner or later the status quo will fall, and we're as excited as you are to see what the world is like when that happens! **

** for Chel's full explanation / history lesson, please see club luna ch.164 "primordial chaos": https://www.scribblehub.com/read/418828-club-luna/chapter/926680/ **