"They certainly ringed Glendale with more defenses then what Kurse did on Big Bad Island," Lawrence commented, "a ring of living trees, the maze of thorn bushes, Leomen armed with bazookas, the child familiars, Free, and then the witches themselves... Kurse merely gathered up us and you and the other passengers from the yacht to use as troops."
"Yes," Marie-Eliza nodded, "and Marie Cruz and her comrades would spend much of the rest of July working out a plan. Thankfully, they would receive some help."
"Running-Bear?" Alice asked.
"He did hope that his foster daughters could be saved, but knew that not only was that unlikely, but that things would be worse if it wasn't done," Marie nodded, "He would do what he could to help them, much as Mal'akh did what she could to provide them with information."
"Would she try to go back for her sister?" Abbey wondered.
"Let us leave that for when the battle arrives," Marie sighed.
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1689
"It is a nice day," Katherine commented as they sat out in the sunlight so that they could converse with Vatican.
"I suppose," Marie sighed, "but it isn't why we're ought here."
"Putting together a plan?" Linus asked.
"Any help would be appreciated," Marie sighed, "there are a lot of things that need to be overcome. And what has been my best advantage is not there."
The others nodded.
"The worst of it will be the child familiars and the witches," Draco commented, "they've given those children the ability to channel the witches' magic for them... which means they have close to twenty little witches running around there."
"Yes, but they don't generate the power," Linus answered, "they take it from the witches themselves. Once the witches are dead, they shouldn't be a concern."
"True," Marie nodded, "but the witches won't be on the front line. We will have to get through them before we can even get close, and the only one of us who is in no danger of being transformed by them is Draco."
"That may not be as much of a trouble as you think," came Running-Bear's voice as he slowly made his way out. He was carrying a series of small talismans, mostly made of some fur, feathers, and beads, and held together by string.
"What are these?" Katherine asked curiously as Running-Bear handed them the first talisman.
"Specialized trinkets that will help protect you from harm," Running-Bear spoke, "My people used them in our traditional medicines to ward off evil spirits. They should provide you with some protection from the powers that my daughters are unleashing on the world."
"Are they one hundred percent effective?" Linus asked curiously, remembering how they weren't able to sneak into Glendale's cemetery undetected.
"I can not be certain," Running-Bear admitted, "my people were never haunted by spirits this powerful or malevolent. My best guess is that if they truly focus on you they might be able overpower the wards... but even there, it would slow them down. If you move quickly, you shouldn't have a problem."
"Thank you," Marie answered, getting the sense that the trinkets would help.
"You needn't feel so guilty," Draco told them.
"I probably could have and know I should have done more," Running-Bear spoke, "and now MY failure is costing the people Glendale, dearly. I must do what I can."
"And we are thankful for your help," Marie spoke, "Most thankful."
"How are we do deal with the child familiars though?" Linus wondered, "with as many as they've kidnapped, it will be hard to knock them out one by one."
"That is what we will HAVE to do," Marie sighed, "they are victims of the witches. We can't just kill them."
"We all know that," Linus warned, "but the witches have taken things to the point where what is coming will be a war. Not a sneak in sneak out mission. We don't have the possibility of that even working, and if we try it, we'll end up in a position that will cost us dearly."
"Linus, they're children," Marie spoke, "the forces you fought for Bavaria didn't send children to fight you."
"I know, and this isn't easy for me to say this, but you must know it is true," Linus sighed, "if we are to beat the witches, we must make hard choices... choices on what can be saved and what can not. We would need nearly one hundred well armed and well trained men, with most of them being Leomen or Lupmen and possibly another gargoyle or two to accomplish what your suggesting... to simply subdue them. The child familiars, the Leomen, the gargoyle, the witches have likely driven them all to fight to the death to defend them. And sadly we may have to kill many of them in order to survive... if only to save the rest of the town."
"Sacrifice the few for the needs of the many," Vatican surmised.
Linus nodded, "it's why my guardian was so against wars and soldiering. Generals play with people's lives for causes that he thought to be greedy."
"That won't work with the parents when they're free of the witches' spells," Marie spoke, "they'll turn on us for killing their children."
"The only other option would be to break into their house and get to the witches before many of them can fully respond," Linus sighed, "which would rely on the witches placing all the child familiars along the outer edge of their defenses, which is unlikely. They might have one or two there, but most will be inside the house."
"Then maybe we could distract them," Katherine offered, "Vatican can deal with the Leoman while we render the child familiar closest to it, and then leave one of us to draw their "fire" while the rest fake a retreat. The child familiars would then be sent our distraction and while they are busy running after the distraction, the rest can sneak into their manor."
"And who would do that?" Marie asked, feeling a nervous knot form in her stomach.
"I would," Katherine spoke, "Much of Armando's training involved running... A LOT of running. Felman and Leomen may not naturally have the endurance to run for long distances the way Lupman do, but that doesn't mean we can't train... I can keep them distracted. Trust me, Marie, it's the option we have that isn't surrendering or killing innocents."
Marie only sighed.
+++++++++++++
Present
The night went well for nearly everyone. Penny found it a little odd sleeping in a bed that had been a guest room for her folks since she had grown up and had an apartment of her own, but it only lasted for a little bit. Gillie struggled with eating raw meat, and mind was even more surprised when her taste buds LIKED it just as much as cooked meat. But, with her grandparents there, she decided to hold her protests down and try to enjoy some company.
And for the Darla, Julie, and the Pack's night-shift the work went on. It was slightly more monotonous then the day shift as everyone in the Medical wing had gone to sleep for the night, although Joy and Julie ended up having to rush to keep Brian from rolling out of his bed in his sleep. He briefly woke up, said "thank you" and went back to sleep.
And for Sunny and Luna... well, it would be simplest to say that they had a good time with Kira.
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1689
"Happy Birthday, Joella!" Golgotha, Gomorrah, and Gaal announced as they surrounded Joella in a "loving" hug and regressing her back one year, though it didn't do much to change her appearance.
"Thank you," Joella said politely, "Can I take this blindfold off now?"
"No," Golgotha said, "not yet. It would spoil the surprise."
"What surprise?"
"You'll see," Gomorrah smiled and gently ushered her forward while she held Gaal's hand.
When the blindfold was removed Joella was greeted to a massive "surprise" shouted by all the child familiars, both the mad children and the former mob members. Even the Witch Pride and their cubs were there. Benjamin and his family stood close to a table with his family nearby. Magdalena was holding up a large cake that seemed to be covered in chocolate and some strange icing that looked like various flowers. The only person from the witches' circle who was not there was Free, who had said she couldn't leave her post. In the background Joella noticed a mountain of gifts, all wrapped in brightly colored paper.
"Happy Birthday, Joella!" everyone in the room cheered.
"Thank you," Joella said slowly as she looked around the room. She found Aimiliona playing with the ear of one of the Witch Pride cubs. She was otherwise alone. Mal'akh had not come to visit... and to her surprise, Mal'akh's absence seemed to hurt her more it would if all of the child familiars were not there, "where is Mal'akh?"
"Mal'ak?" Gaal asked.
"Aimiliona's sister," Joella answered.
"She is with her family," Gaal spoke, "Only once we've freed the world will she care about you."
Joella didn't understand what that meant.
"But she's my friend," Joella protested, "she should be here."
"She will be," Golgotha promised, "when everyone free, and the Dog is dead."
The party then proceeded with somewhat expected. Cake was served to everyone, though none was eaten by the Leomen, Francis, or Juliana. What followed were the presents. Alissa and Samantha gave her a toy horse and promised Benjamin would take her horseback riding someday.
Aimiliona gave her a set of antlers from a Gold Deer buck that had been killed that had holes at the base where they could be sewn onto the cape made from a Gold Deer buck's golden brown coat as an adornment. Magdalena promised to sew them onto the hide wherever Joella wanted them.
They then settled into a series of games, some of which were some of present's just opened. For some reason Joella always seemed to win. But to a certain extent, even with everyone around her, Joella felt lonely.
+++++++++
"Lonely?" Maddex asked, "you've said Joella was the one the witches really cared for. They made all their child familiars and the Witch Pride's cubs be friendly with her... and maybe they were friends..."
"Yes, sir," Eliza spoke up, "but even at times one can feel alone among a crowd of people. When Marie and I are separate... i feel alone, no matter where I am or who is with me..."
Maddex didn't entirely get the line, as Eliza was speaking about her link with her daughter. Marie-Eliza picked up the explanation to try and clarify things.
"It is true that one could feel alone in a crowd," Marie spoke, "it is an odd sensation, but certainly possible. And while Joella did make friends with the child familiars and the Witch Pride cubs, their friendship toward her was entirely inspired by the witches, not by true friendship..."
"So she didn't really like them?" Samantha asked.
"No, she DID like them," Marie explained, "but with the exception of of the former mob members, much of her interactions with the child familiars was like a nurse or a physician. Now, metaphorically speaking, her heart was so big that even with that mentality she still had some bonds of friendship with them, but with the mad children, Joella found herself doing a lot of things that the witches themselves should have done if they were raising children. Especially in the condition that the mad children were in. Looking after them, keeping them out of trouble, etcetera, etcetera. Joella was friends with all of them, but with the mad children, Joella would also feel the burden of responsibility for them as well."
The others slowly nodded.
"Mal'akh, however, was someone that Joella didn't need to look after, one that Joella felt she could really be friends with, even more so the the child familiars," Marie finished, "a real sign that even with magic or some other form of power political or physical, you can not "make" someone your friend. True friendship takes time and effort, on both sides. Joella didn't need to do that with the child familiars. The witches had insured that they would always love Joella and would protect her, if possible."
"What happened to Joella?" Cassandra asked.
"After the battle?" Marie answered, "That would be best suited as an epilogue to the tale of how the game came into being... as it may be the closest thing this tale will have to a happy ending."
++++++++++++
Joella looked over her shoulder as she slipped out of the room. Her "mothers" had engaged in the antics of the other children and weren't really paying attention to her. She quietly slipped out and made her way into the yard.
"Why do you fear me, Mal'akh?" she thought to herself as a tear went down her cheek.