Abigail's Sorrow, Victoria's Rage

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 11, Post Number 267

-The outskirts of Oak Town, 7:05 A.M.-

Wearing a hastily assembled outfit of wrinkled blue Steel Matron t-shirt and black gym shorts with no shoes and a backpack containing her iLac, Victoria had hopped aboard her Centaur and zoomed to Oak Town as quickly as she could grab her iLac and backpack. She had driven to Oak Town so quickly that she had not even been able to put her hair up in a ponytail. She had received a frantic iLac call from her friend Abigail Windstrider, who had barely escaped her burning house with only the clothes on her back, her iLac, and her Sky Blade. Now Victoria was here and looking for her friend, who was going to meet her on the outskirts of Oak Town and take her to the Sheridan Estate before returning to Oak Town to get clues from the locals.

Victoria slowed down to 2 MPH as she spotted a blonde-haired young woman wearing a blue Earthland Eagle crop top and blue jean short shorts with no shoes. On her back was a backpack and on her left hip was the scabbard containing her Sky Blade. It was Abigail, who was obviously distraught over what had happened to her. Victoria stopped on the left side of the road and jumped off of the Centaur, rushing over to Abigail.

"Abby, are you OK? What happened?" Victoria asked her friend, who was barely holding it together. Abigail wordlessly reached out for the brunette and hugged her.

"I was asleep when I happened to wake up and smell smoke. The next thing I know I look up and my roof's on fire. I had only seconds to roll out of my bed or I would have been hit by a flaming timber. I couldn't hope to put the fire out in time, so I grabbed my backpack, iLac, and Sky Blade and ran out of the house before it was too late." Abigail told Victoria what little she knew. Victoria's face went pale. She knew her friend's situation was bad if the latter called her early in the morning, but she had no idea that it had been that bad.

"The house was burned to the ground before the fire could be put out. I've lost everything. My parent's belongings, my belongings, all my clothes... it's all gone." Abigail lamented before being overcome with emotion and squeezing the Sabertooth mage tightly. Moments later the blonde burst into tears and buried her face in the brunette's right shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Abby." Victoria tried to console her friend and returned the hug. She stood still and let Abigail cry on her shoulder until the latter stopped crying and went silent. The blonde pulled her red face out of Victoria's shoulder and looked at her.

"You're coming with me to my place, Abby. You can stay there and we'll get you some clothes. I'll hunt down who did this and put them in the ground." Victoria told her friend what they were going to do next. The blonde looked at Victoria with an expression of anxiety as if she was afraid to feel hope.

"But I owe you so much money! I can't do-" Abigail started before Victoria cut off the topic with a right index finger firmly pressed over the blonde's lips.

"I don't care about the money, Abby. I've said that many times and I'm not changing my mind now. You're in a bad place and I'm going to help you out of it." Victoria firmly told Abigail and removed the finger from the latter's lips.

"But-" Abigail managed to utter a single word of protest before she was silenced again.

"No buts, Abby. We're getting on the Centaur and we're going to my place. My older sisters are gonna take you shopping for clothes and you're gonna stay in one of the guest rooms. Hell, you can stay in my room if there isn't an open room." Victoria made it clear that she was not going to budge on the matter. Abigail looked at the brunette in confusion for several seconds before her face changed to an expression of relief and she hugged Victoria again.

"Thanks, Vic." Abigail said while maintaining the hug for at least a minute before finally letting go. After that the pair climbed on board the Centaur and Victoria cranked it up, then turned to head back for Capital Crocus and for home.

-The Sheridan Estate, 11:39 A.M.-

After a long drive from Oak Town the pair had finally arrived at the Sheridan Estate. Victoria had parked the Centaur in the garage and now the two were standing in the living room with Laura and Lorelei. The oldest Sheridan sister made eye contact with the newly arrived mages and noticed Abigail's disheveled look. She then looked at Victoria before speaking.

"What happened to her?" Lorelei asked Victoria about Abigail.

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"Her house caught fire while she was asleep. She woke up just in time to gather a few things and get out before the roof collapsed on top of her." Victoria explained what had happened to Abigail. The blonde stepped forward as if presenting her case to the older Sheridan.

"I lost everything in that fire. All I have now is what you see on me. I've got these clothes, my backpack containing my iLac and charging cable, and my family's ancestral weapon the Sky Blade. I don't have anything else. I don't even have shoes anymore." Abigail confirmed the veracity of Victoria's telling of events. The older Sheridan silently walked over to Abigail and hugged her.

"I'm sorry." Lorelei apologized for bringing up a sensitive subject that was still fresh in the blonde's mind.

"It's fine. I don't have any family left to help me, but thanks to Victoria I've got a chance to get back on my feet and rebuild." Abigail told Lorelei as Victoria listened. The brunette wondered if the cause of the house fire was arson. She would find out when she went back to Oak Town to ask the locals about any suspicious activity that might have noticed. In the meantime she had to get her friend set up with a room to stay in.

"Laura, do we have any guest rooms available?" Victoria asked the silver-haired maid. The latter nodded.

"Yes, Miss Sheridan. We have two guest rooms open." Laura answered. Victoria clapped her hands and turned to Abigail.

"You've got a room now, Abby." Victoria told her friend that the latter now had a place to stay. While that was only part of what her friend needed to get back on her feet, at least she did not have to worry about shelter any longer. Lorelei released Abigail and took a step back before speaking.

"I can take you to Capital Crocus Mall to pick out some clothes if you'd like." The older Sheridan offered. Moments later the kitchen doors opened and in walked Amy, who was dressed in a blue tank top and blue jean short shorts. In her right hand was a bottle of water.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?" Amy asked everyone. Victoria faced her older sister.

"My friend Abby needs some help getting back on her feet." Victoria told her sister the abridged version of the story behind why she was here.

"I was going to go with her to Capital Crocus Mall and help her pick out some clothes if she wanted to. Are you in?" Lorelei asked Amy. Amy looked at Abigail, then looked back at her sister.

"I'm in!" Amy exclaimed. Victoria turned towards her friend for a second time.

"My sisters will help you get some clothes so that you don't have to wear the same thing over and over." Victoria told the blonde. Abigail looked relieved to hear that she no longer had to worry about basic needs like shelter and clean clothing.

"Hey Vic, aren't you gonna go with us?" Amy asked. Victoria shook her head.

"No thanks, Amy. I'm gonna go back to Oak Town and ask around. I don't have any proof to support what I'm thinking, but I'm thinking that Abigail's house didn't burn down in an unfortunate accident." Victoria told her sister directly and the others indirectly. Amy looked at her with an expression of curiosity.

"Do you think it was arson?" Amy asked. Victoria nodded.

"Yeah. I don't have any evidence that it was, but I'm thinking that's the case." Victoria answered.

"My house's electrical wiring was properly installed and it was less than ten years old since my parents had the wiring fixed before they died. My oven was properly installed and all of my appliances had good wiring, so it wasn't an electrical fire." Abigail added a bit of evidence to support her friend's claim that the fire was no accident. Victoria folded her arms over her chest.

"Do you have any old enemies who might have paid you a visit?" Victoria asked Abigail. The blonde shook her head.

"I don't think so. I haven't done very many jobs that involved fighting lately, just some work for Ms. Ashford in Sakuramori." Abigail answered. That answer made Victoria's job more difficult, but it could not be helped. If the blonde did not know she did not know and no amount of asking was going to change that.

"OK then." Victoria commented. After hearing that she was not sure if she should go to Oak Town as originally planned or change her plans to go to Sakuramori and pay a visit to Ms. Ashford to ask if she had seen any suspicious people around her place. Victoria had to decide and had to decide soon because she might not have much time before something bad happened to someone else she knew.

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-Sakuramori, Ms. Ashford's house, 3:31 P.M.-

Deciding to take a gamble and check on an old client, Victoria had set course for Sakuramori as fast as she could go. She had left in such a hurry that she was still dressed in the same outfit she had worn for the trip to Oak Town and her hair was still hanging freely. She was now standing outside the front door to Ms. Ashford's house, which was still intact. She knocked three times and waited for a response. She did not get one.

Victoria took a quiet breath and knocked three more times, hoping that the woman was all right and not lying on the floor unconscious or dead. There was still no answer. Victoria was starting to get worried, but she was not going to panic just yet... Ms. Ashford just might be on the phone with her niece or in the shower.

The Sabertooth mage waited for a minute before lifting her right fist to the door and knocking three more times. This time she got a response when the door opened and in the doorway stood the older brunette, whose hair was shiny like it had just been washed and dried. She was wearing a white bathrobe and it seemed like Victoria had caught Ms. Ashford as she was getting out of the shower.

"I'm so sorry about this, Ms. Ashford, but I had a question for you." Victoria apologized for the interruption to the older woman's routine.

"It's no problem, Victoria. I had just gotten out of the shower when I had heard someone at the door." Ms. Ashford accepted the apology in stride.

"Have you seen any suspicious people around your property lately?" Victoria asked her longtime client. Ms. Ashford tilted her head to the right as she looked at the Sabertooth mage. Nothing was said for a minute or two before the older brunette tilted her head to the left until it was straight again.

"I'm sorry, Victoria. I don't recall anyone strange in the neighborhood. Everything's been normal here as far as I can tell." She answered. Victoria used her ability to read the truth on people's body language out of force of habit and determined that Ms. Ashford was not hiding anything. Victoria felt like should not have done that since the older woman was one of her longtime clients and had been completely trustworthy, but she was looking for answers about what had happened to Abigail's house and was not wanting to leave any stone unturned.

"All right then, Ms. Ashford. I'll be going now. I'm sorry about the interruption." Victoria apologized to the older brunette again before turning to leave.

"See you later, Victoria!" Ms. Ashford bade the Sabertooth mage farewell. Victoria waved goodbye before climbing back onto the Centaur, cranking it up, and slowly going in reverse. She was going to pay a visit to her mentor Florence Manderley's house to make sure it was still standing and the latter was still alive.

-Sakuramori, Florence Manderley's house, 3:51 P.M.-

After leaving Ms. Ashford's home Victoria had traveled to her mentor's home as quickly as she could go and still remain within the speed limit. She had traveled at 5 MPH to give herself plenty of time to react to pedestrians or cyclists and had reached her destination without hitting anyone or anything. Now she was outside Florence's home and had just climbed off of the Centaur. Victoria took a quiet breath and approached the front door, then knocked on it three times.

There was no answer, so the brunette waited a minute or two before knocking again. She knocked three more times and was again met with silence. Victoria hoped that her mentor was all right and was just too busy doing something important to open the door right away.

After three minutes Victoria knocked on the door a third time. This time it opened and Florence was on the other end. Victoria's mentor was dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt and knee-length black skirt with black dress shoes. It looked like she was either going to work or going on a date.

"Hi Victoria! It's been a long time since we last saw each other!" Florence greeted the brunette.

"Hey Florence. Listen, I had a question for you." Victoria started the conversation.

"OK, what do you want to know?" The blonde woman asked.

"Have you seen any suspicious people around your place lately?" Victoria asked her the same question she had asked her longtime client a few minutes ago. Florence put her hands on her hips and made eye contact with Victoria.

"I can't say I have, sorry. I've been too busy at work, but my neighbors haven't reported anything out of the ordinary." Florence replied. Victoria's ability to tell the truth told her that Florence was being honest with her. The Sabertooth mage was hoping to get a clue that could help her find whoever burned down Abigail's house, but at least the blonde woman was OK and her house was still standing. Having made sure that both people she knew in Sakuramori were fine and that their houses were still standing, Victoria was going to set out for Oak Town while there was still daylight and see if the locals were in a mood to answer her questions.

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-The Sheridan Estate, 7:44 P.M.-

After picking up Florence Manderley and ferrying her mentor to her home in Capital Crocus Victoria was ready to hit the road and go to Oak Town to try and pick up clues about the circumstances surrounding what had happened to her friend's house. However, the brunette realized that even if she left now and managed to make the trip with no stops for any reason virtually no one in Oak Town would be awake to answer her questions. Faced with that fact, Victoria decided to just stay home and wait until tomorrow morning to hit the road again.

Victoria stood in the living room and faced Abigail, who looked to be in a better mood now that she had gotten some clothing to replace what she lost and had a guaranteed place to stay. She was still wearing the outfit she had worn when Victoria had first found her, but now she sported a pair of white tennis shoes with blue as the secondary color.

"Have you had any luck finding who set fire to my house, Vic?" Abigail asked Victoria if the latter had made any progress. The brunette shook her head.

"Not yet, Abby. I went to Sakuramori to see if Ms. Ashford had noticed any odd characters in the neighborhood. She said no. I asked my mentor Florence if she had seen any suspicious people, but she didn't see anyone either." Victoria reported.

"When you said that you did some work for Ms. Ashford before your house caught fire I decided to start with her in case people I knew were being targeted for arson... or worse. She told me that everything was OK in Sakuramori. Florence said the same thing." Victoria told Abigail what little she had learned today. The blonde folded her arms across her chest.

"I appreciate what you've done for me, Vic. I appreciate what you're doing for me now. Just be careful out there because we have no idea who we're dealing with." Abigail told Victoria to take care while investigating because they had no idea who the culprits could be. Victoria had her guesses, but she had no solid evidence to support them. One of her guesses was that demon cult she had helped fight a couple of years ago, but she doubted that they would go for something as subtle as arson because that would not send a strong enough message to their enemies. Another guess she had was the necromancer cult from which she and Abigail had stolen two of the four instruments needed to revive some particularly powerful long-dead necromancer or something... that adventure was a couple of years ago too.

A third possibility came up and that was the possibility that they might be dealing with that necromancer who had tiny emerald dots for eyes and flesh missing from around the mouth. Victoria hoped that that was not the case, but she could not rule it out. She might need to enlist her uncle's help to watch for suspicious activity tonight.

-The Sheridan Estate, the living room, 10:07 A.M.-

Victoria had asked her uncle to keep an eye on things while she was asleep and after explaining why she made that request he eagerly took on the task of night watchman. So did Larry, who stood watch in the back yard in case anyone tried to climb over the fence. Last night she had spent a few minutes here and there wondering if everything was going to be all right when she woke up, but as it turned out everything was fine. As far as she knew, anyway.

"Hey Vic, I didn't see anything unusual last night. I guess they were only after your friend." Lawrence said to Victoria. The Sabertooth mage frowned. She did not understand why her enemies would go after Abigail but leave her alone. Maybe they were trying to lure Victoria out by going after people she knew, but if that was the case she did not get why they did not go after Ms. Ashford or Florence.

"I'm glad for that, Uncle. I wasn't sure whether to expect trouble or not last night, but I'm glad there wasn't any." Victoria expressed relief that last night had been calm. She would go ask Larry if he had seen anything interesting in a few minutes, but for now she needed to ask her uncle for his help.

"Would you mind continuing to watch over things until I find out who's behind what happened to my friend's house and stop them?" Victoria requested her uncle's aid.

"Sure thing, Vic. I don't mind doing that at all because I'm having a hard time sleeping lately." Lawrence promised to continue helping her until the matter was resolved.

"Thanks." Victoria thanked him for his continued assistance.

"I'm gonna go talk to Larry and see if he saw anything." Victoria informed her uncle before setting out for the back yard where Larry resided after Amy had kicked him out of the garage some time ago.

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-The Sheridan Estate, the backyard, 10:13 A.M.-

Victoria walked into the backyard where Larry was calmly standing inside of the shed that had been built for him. The brunette felt a twinge of guilt when she saw the little war machine standing inside of a shed after being kicked out of the garage by Amy, who had wanted the space so that she could park her car inside of it. Larry raised his left hand in greeting and his camera eye flashed green.

"Hello, Victoria." Larry greeted her.

"Hey Larry." Victoria greeted the robot. He walked out of his home and looked at Victoria.

"Unusual activity was detected around 6:31 A.M. A robed individual attempted to climb the back fence, but my presence frightened them off before they could get to the back door of your residence." The robot informed Victoria that someone had tried to sneak onto the property while she was asleep. The brunette's eyes narrowed and she looked on the ground to find a set of footprints that suggested the person who left them was moving slowly until they encountered Larry. Another set of footprints that was almost on top of the first set suggested that the individual had made a run for it once they had been spotted.

"Nice work, Larry. I'll go to the fence and see what I can find. Watch my back." Victoria told him and began to walk beside the trail left by the unknown trespasser while the little war machine watched her every move. When she reached the fence she noticed a black scrap of cloth hanging near the top. She reached out for it with her right hand and grabbed it, then gently pulled it down to take a closer look.

Right away she noticed that the scrap felt like it was made from a rough type of cloth, perhaps the kind used in robes. Victoria noticed the color and began to think about all the enemies she had encountered over the years. She immediately narrowed it down to enemies who wore robes and had two suspects... the demon-worshiping cult she had fought in the past and the necromancers she and Abigail had stolen some special musical instruments from during a mission to Silent Cemetery a long time ago. She remembered that the demon cult had members who wore black robes, but she could not rule out the necromancers just yet.

Victoria needed to go warn her uncle what they might be going up against, so she left the back yard and went back inside the Sheridan Estate.

-The Sheridan Estate, the living room, 10:22 A.M.-

"You look worried, Vic. What did you find?" Lawrence asked Victoria. The Sabertooth mage held up the scrap of cloth for her uncle to see.

"Someone trespassed on our property last night. They climbed the fence and got into the back yard, but Larry scared them off before they could get to the back door. I found this scrap of cloth caught in the fence." Victoria told him. He reached out and took the scrap from her, then rubbed it in between his index finger and his thumb.

"It feels kinda coarse, like cloth used in robes." Lawrence gave an opinion that seconded the one she had formed earlier.

"I've fought two groups of enemies who wear robes... demon-worshiping cultists and necromancers." Victoria informed her uncle. Lawrence lowered the scrap of cloth and made eye contact with her.

"You sure know how to make dangerous enemies, Vic." The blond man dryly commented to Victoria. The brunette grinned.

"You can say that again." Victoria remarked. Lawrence handed the scrap back to her and she took it into her right hand.

"I'll do what I can to protect us here. I'll keep an eye out for trouble while you look for the trespasser." Lawrence pledged his continued support.

"Good idea, Uncle. I'll leave Larry to watch the back yard so that you can focus on watching the front yard and inside the house. He doesn't need to sleep, so he'll come in handy at night." Victoria offered to leave Larry to help him watch the back yard.

"Good thinking. I'll take all the help I can get." Lawrence accepted the offer of a robotic helper. With that settled Victoria was about to go back into the back yard to follow the trail when Abigail emerged from the kitchen holding a bottle of water. She was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jean short shorts with white sandals.

"Hey Vic, how's the search going?" Abigail asked the Sabertooth mage. Victoria held up the scrap of cloth.

"We had a trespasser last night. They climbed the back fence and got into the back yard, but Larry scared them off before they got to the back door of the house. I'm about to go see if they left a trail after fleeing over the fence." Victoria informed her friend of what she had found so far and of what her next move was.

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-In the backyard, 10:26 A.M.-

After informing Abigail of her findings so far Victoria had grabbed Hellsinger in case she followed the trail and came across necromancers or demons at the end of it. The holster belt was secured around her waist and on her right hip was the large-caliber handgun. She had also brought her iLac to stay in contact with Abigail so that the blonde could pass along important information to her uncle. She was standing in her backyard near the fence and was about to climb it when she had a thought.

Should she look for a trail now or wait until tonight and hide in the backyard to see if the trespasser returned?

Victoria thought about it a few moments and decided that she should look for a trail while it was still there. A rainstorm or other weather could easily wipe it out, so it was a good idea to search for one while she still could. The brunette reached out and grabbed the top of the fence, then pulled herself over while using her feet to gain traction on the surface. A few seconds later she hopped the fence and was on the other side.

-On the other side of the fence, 10:28 A.M.-

Victoria's feet hit the ground and the moment she landed she looked for footprints in the grass. She did not have to look for long because within seconds of beginning her search she spotted a trail of them leading towards the north. It seemed to go on for quite a distance, suggesting that the intruder had went way beyond the city limits. She did not know whether their home was really outside of Capital Crocus or whether it was only a trick to get pursuers to head in the wrong direction, but she was going to give chase anyway.

Victoria fished her iLac out of her left pocket and dialed up Abigail. Within seconds she got an answer.

"Hey Vic, have you found anything?" Abigail asked.

"Yeah, listen. I'm going to follow a trail of footprints I found that lead out of town. Way out of town." Victoria informed her friend of what she was doing.

"OK then. Just be careful and let me know when you reach where you're going. I'll let your uncle know what you're doing." Abigail replied.

"Thanks, Abby." Victoria thanked her friend for passing along the information to her uncle.

"I'd gladly go with you, but I lost the Silver Falchion your uncle bought me in the fire, so if I ran into ghosts or demons I wouldn't be of much use." Abigail lamented her inability to contribute beyond relaying messages to her friend's uncle.

"Don't worry about it, Abby. I can handle myself. Besides, I need someone to let my family know where I'm going." Victoria informed Abigail that the latter did not need to be with her to help out. She understood that her friend wanted to get revenge in person instead of using Victoria as a weapon, but if the pair ran up against demons Abigail might not be able to do much against them. That would put her at risk because Victoria would have her hands full and she might not be able to come to Abigail's rescue should the latter get into trouble.

"Just be careful out there." Abigail said before hanging up so that the Sabertooth mage could get back to the task of following the trail left by the trespasser. Victoria pocketed her iLac and began following in the trespasser's footsteps in the hopes of tracking them to their hideout. Maybe she would find a lone arsonist and not a demon cult or necromancer cult.

-Outside Silent Cemetery, 6:43 P.M.-

After following the trail all the way from Capital Crocus Victoria had reached Silent Cemetery, home of a zombie population that was nothing to sneeze at. The sun was just about to set and the temperature was dropping. Her t-shirt and gym shorts did not offer much protection against the elements, but the weather was not the only problem she would face. She would still have to contend with human enemies once she reached the trespasser's hideout. But before she continued she needed to get into contact with Abigail. Victoria reached into her left pocket, fished out her iLac, and called her friend.

"Hey Vic, have you reached the end of the trail yet?" Abigail asked.

"Yes and no. The trail led to Silent Cemetery, but I've still gotta go through Silent Cemetery to get to where I need to go." Victoria updated her friend on where she was. A groan came from the other end of the line.

"Great. You've gotta fight through a bunch of walking corpses." Abigail sourly remarked.

"Yeah, but that's OK. It could be worse." Victoria casually replied. She could think of much more dangerous enemies to fight than reanimated corpses. For example, she could have been going up against werewolves if the trail had led to Lycan Woods.

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"You're one of the only people I know who could say that about zombies. You're so calm that you sound almost bored." Abigail remarked on her friend's casual attitude towards what she was about to face. Victoria had fought them in Silent Cemetery and Fat Monsterland before, so it was not like this was her first encounter with walking corpses. The brunette was not sure whether the arsonist was by themselves or part of a group, but she would need to be somewhat stealthy while following the trail. However, there was one problem with that approach.

Victoria's magic did not give her any suppressed weapons except for a sniper rifle.

It was great for fighting at a distance because of its range and punch, but up close it tended to suffer against all but the slowest opponents. It was semi-automatic and its rate of fire was fast enough to possibly save her life in a close encounter, but it was still a long-range rifle that might be pressed into service at a range it was not suited for. The Sabertooth mage had no choice but to use it if she wanted to avoid alerting her human quarry before she stormed their hideout with weapons that were louder and more her style. She would have to plan her approach carefully.

"This isn't my first rodeo, Abby." Victoria asserted calmly.

"That might be so, but I'd still suggest being careful." Abigail replied.

"OK. I'll be careful." Victoria assured her friend in a serious tone of voice.

"All right then. Be careful out there and I'll talk to you later. If things get too dicey don't hesitate to get out of there." Abigail said before hanging up, leaving the Sabertooth mage to get to work. Victoria silenced her iLac and put it in her left pocket, then brought out her Sniper Rifle for the first time in years and gripped it in her right hand. As she did so she felt a vague sense there was a reason she had not used it in so long. She quickly shook the feeling off as apprehension about fighting a cemetery full of zombies and approached the cemetery gate on the right, opened it with her left hand, and quickly entered before closing it behind her as quietly as she could.

-Inside Silent Cemetery, 6:47 P.M.-

Victoria spun around to search for zombies and found two in front of her that were three meters apart, one to the left and the other farther down the path and to the right. She quietly raised her weapon and steadied the crosshairs on its temple, then fired a single suppressed shot that hit the target. The zombie flopped to the ground with its friend none the wiser, so she quickly took aim at the other one and waited until she had a clean shot before firing at its temple. She scored another kill and watched it do a dramatic quarter-turn before falling to the ground.

Victoria lowered the weapon and looked all around her to make sure that her tunnel vision did not let other zombies slip up on her, but none were around other than the two she had just killed. She felt the wind rustle her long ponytail as she began to slowly move down the path and look for the trail left behind by the trespasser on her property. She was not seeing it until she reached halfway down the path, where she spotted a trail of bodies leading left. All of the bodies had heads with wounds inflicted by an edged weapon like a sword, suggesting that the person she was after used one.

The Sabertooth mage quietly moved down the path and kept an eye out for more zombies as she moved down the left path, following the grim trail that had been left for her.

-Down the left path, 6:51 P.M.-

Victoria stopped a short distance down the path and peered ahead of her with her Sniper Rifle to try and spot any threats or clues. She did not see any clues, but she did see more dead zombies lying on the ground plus a "live" one in a moldy black burial suit that was shambling mindlessly about while facing away from her. Perhaps it was shambling after whoever had killed its friends, but it was not going to get a chance to track its assailant down. The brunette quickly raised her weapon, aimed for the back of its head, and fired a single shot that punched through its skull for an instant kill. It paused in place and awkwardly fell onto its face, leaving the path clear.

Victoria quickly moved on and began to slowly move past rows of above-ground burial vaults that were thankfully closed... at least for now, anyway. She quietly took a breath and held it as she moved, watching and listening for any zombies who might be lurking further down the path or closer by at the burial vaults. She reached the end of the section and passed deeper into the cemetery. Ahead of her loomed an area like the one she had entered, which was a long corridor of rows of tombstones on the left and right with a path down the middle.

-In the next section of cemetery, 6:58 P.M.-

Victoria paused just inside the next section and dropped to one knee to assume a lower profile. She spotted a quartet of zombies ahead, but they were spread out down the path and she could pick them off one by one with little effort if she kept calm and had a steady hand. Victoria quietly set her weapon on the ground and slowly crawled towards the nearest tombstone to hide behind it and give herself a moment to think before she began eliminating the zombies in the area.

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-7:01 P.M.-

Crouching behind the tombstone on the left row she had chosen to take cover behind, Victoria carefully raised the Sniper Rifle into position, making sure not to move too quickly and draw attention to herself before she was ready to shoot. Her chestnut brown hair stood out amongst the gray tombstones, dark wrought-iron fencing and green grass, but zombies were not known for paying attention to their surroundings or noticing brown hair peeking out from above a tombstone like someone had left a wig on top of it. As a result Victoria had went unnoticed and was now in a better place from which to pick off the shambling corpses in front of her.

Victoria quietly aimed her weapon at the forehead of a male zombie dressed in a black tuxedo with a withered flower of some kind pinned to their lapel and steadied her aim before firing. Its milky white eyes made eye contact the moment she fired and the shot ripped through its forehead, killing it on the spot. It fell backwards and hit the ground with a soft noise, leaving only three zombies left to deal with before this section of cemetery was safe to traverse.

Victoria looked for the next target and found a female zombie in a white dress with a missing right arm shuffling mindlessly five meters away on a row of tombstones that looked weathered from exposure to the elements. She waited until she had its left temple in the crosshairs before firing another suppressed shot, quietly eliminating it without any of the other two realizing what had happened to their friend. The next zombie was five rows of tombstones in front of her and was dressed in a blue three-piece suit, clothing which made it stand out from its surroundings a lot more than Victoria's hair made her stand out.

It was facing away from her, so the Sabertooth mage waited until it turned to face her before aiming at its forehead. When it faced in her direction and paused for several seconds she took the chance to aim for the forehead and steadied her aim before firing a shot that hit it between the eyes for an instant kill. It seized up and flopped backwards onto the ground, leaving only one zombie still standing.

The last one was at the very end of the path and facing away from her, but it was still within range of the Sniper Rifle. It was a young female zombie with gray hair wearing a pink dress, a choice of garment that made its location painfully obvious to the brunette. Victoria aimed for the back of its head and waited until it turned to face her before firing at its forehead, scoring another instant kill with a shot between the eyes. It crumpled to the ground and Victoria stood up, dispelling the Sniper Rifle for the time being before quickly moving on to the next part of the cemetery at a brisk walk.

-In the next section of cemetery, 7:09 P.M.-

Victoria arrived in the next section to find herself standing among yet another area like the one she had just left behind, but the major change was the complete absence of zombies. There were no living zombies, dead zombies, or ones emerging from the ground to feat on human flesh. Aside from the tombstones this section was completely empty.

The brunette thought that to be strange because in previous visits to Silent Cemetery she could not go anywhere without spotting a walking corpse, but right now there were not any here. She stood in place for a minute or two in case some were going to rise from their graves, but when none did she decided to take a risk and move down the path. She hurried along at a jog and passed through the area without having to fight, which was a rare occurrence in this place.

-In the next section of cemetery, 7:13 P.M.-

Victoria stopped in place when she spotted a large granite angel statue standing in the center of the area. Its arms were raised to the sky and its wings were spread as if it were about to take flight. Its eyes were raised to the sky as well. In front of it were a few stone benches and around the area were small sections of neatly arranged tombstones and small mausoleums.

Victoria looked around for zombies but did not find any here either. The brunette put her hands on her hips and wondered why she had not run into any opposition in the last section she had passed through... not that she was complaining. Victoria would gladly take any break she could get.

She needed to look for clues that would lead her to the arsonist's hideout, but she had no idea where to begin other than in this area. Maybe the hideout was hidden in one of the mausoleums. Before she started her search Victoria stood in place a bit longer to catch her breath... she was beginning to get tired from all the walking she had done in the cemetery so far.

[Post Word Count: 858]
[Total Word Count: 6,862/10,000]

-Silent Cemetery, 7:25 P.M.-

Victoria had made a lap around the area and had spotted nothing that would help her find her quarry. She was currently standing in front of a burial vault and was taking a break when her eyes began to wander around. She looked at the door and looked down it, pausing when she noticed a crucial detail she had missed her first time around.

It was not completely closed.

Victoria frowned and put her hands on her hips, then reached out to grab the edges of the door. She pulled it open as slowly and quietly as she could to avoid alerting the arsonist that someone was at their front door. When it was open enough for her to slip inside Victoria did so, then pulled the door back the way it had been left.

-Inside the vault, 7:27 P.M.-

Victoria found herself standing in near total darkness, but she could barely make out a sloped path ahead of her. She brought out her Sniper Rifle to have a suppressed weapon handy in case she ran into trouble, then began carefully walking down the slope. There was a chill in the air that made the hair on her arms stand up and the darkness was not helping matters, but the Sabertooth mage pressed on. She eventually reached the bottom of the slope and found herself peering down a hallway with a sinister red light at the end. Since there was no other way to proceed other than forward.

-In the next room, 7:31 P.M.-

Victoria entered the room with the red light to find that it was an open one that had multiple red lights in the form of lanterns with blood red lights hanging on metal hooks protruding from the walls. Also hanging on the walls were black banners of crossed red axes with a grinning red skull sitting above them. The Sabertooth mage instantly recognized that banner as one belonging to a demon cult that she had been fighting off and on for the past few years. Scattered around the room in no particular pattern were rectangular stone altars that looked to have been set up hastily, but there were also corpses lying on top of them and it did not look like they had been grabbed from the cemetery.

In fact they looked to be recent additions to the place. Victoria mustered the courage to approach the closest altar and recoiled when she took a glance at the corpse lying on it. It was a young woman with black hair that extended to her ears and green eyes... her torso was bloody and judging from the large cut in her chest, her heart had been carved out, presumably as an offering to demons. The brunette turned away from the sight and felt sick to her stomach.

How long had this human sacrifice operation been going on?

Victoria did not have much time to think about that because she looked ahead of her and saw a shadowy figure approaching. With nowhere to hide she crouched down where she was to present a lower profile and aimed towards the opening, hoping to catch one of the demon cultists in her crosshairs. In a minute or two her patience was rewarded when a black-robed man walked into the room and looked around. She moved the crosshairs onto his head and steadied her aim just as the man happened to spot her. A look of undisguised shock flashed on his face a second before Victoria put a shot through his forehead for an instant kill.

The robed man fell backwards onto the floor and Victoria wasted no time in quietly moving over to him and dragging the body out of sight by grabbing him by the left ankle and pulling. She stashed the dead cultist beside one of the altars and quietly moved over to the hall the man had come from, then peered down it with the scope of her Sniper Rifle. It was a straight hallway that was wide enough to accommodate two people walking side-by-side and it had more red lanterns coating the passage in a blood red glow. There was a single wooden door at the end of the hallway and it looked like it was about to open, so Victoria hurried to the far left corner of her room, took a knee, and readied her weapon to take out the next cultist before he knew what hit him.

[Post Word Count: 746]
[Total Word Count: 7,608/10,000]

Victoria waited patiently for the next target to appear and her patience was rewarded when another black-robed cultist walked into the room and looked around in a perfunctory manner. As he looked his facial expression showed that he was bored out of his mind and would rather be doing anything else, so he did not spot the crouching brunette until it was too late. Victoria fired a single shot and hit him between the eyes, scoring another instant kill.

The cultist crumpled to the ground and Victoria hurried over to him, then dragged the corpse out of sight and dropped him next to his friend. She returned to her hiding place and waited a minute or two for anyone else to happen along, but when no more robed men wandered into the room the Sabertooth mage decided it was time to move on. She stood up and scurried down the hall and opened the door with her left hand, then quietly closed it behind her.

-In the next room-

Victoria turned around and found herself in a large empty room that had very little in it except for numerous red torches to provide lighting, cult banners hanging proudly from the walls, and a single door in the back of the room. The brunette hurried to the bottom right corner of the room and crouched down, then aimed her rifle at the door. After a few minutes another black-robed cultist wandered into the room, but this one was more alert than his predecessor because his face showed a look of focus like he was expecting trouble. Perhaps they had caught onto the fact that the first two men had not returned from the other room and were on the lookout for intruders.

Victoria was kind enough to wait until he shut the door before aiming carefully for his head. She held her aim until she had a clear shot and the moment she got one she took it. The man went down with one shot and she hurried across the room to move his body away from the door. She seized his left ankle and dragged him clear of the door just in time because it opened again and in strode another man, but this one was wearing brown robes and carrying an iron mace.

The brunette barely had time to turn around and aim for his forehead before he spotted her. She quickly fired her weapon and by some miracle hit the target exactly where she had aimed, scoring another kill. The Sabertooth mage took a quiet breath to calm down after that unpleasant surprise... she had almost been discovered before she was ready. She then hurriedly dragged her latest kill off to the left, dropping him beside the black-robed cultist she had killed moments ago. After that she collected his mace and put it on top of his chest before turning back to face the door and waiting to see if anyone heard the commotion and came to investigate.

Victoria remained where she was both to wait for any enemies to appear and to give herself time to calm down and think about her next move. She was considering switching to either her Submachine Gun or Light Machine Gun because she might not be able to get much further with stealth. It was becoming apparent that the cultists suspected there was an intruder in their base and they were sending armed men to search for their missing people. Victoria decided to bring out her Light Machine Gun and did so, then set it down to her right while still hanging onto the Sniper Rifle in case she encountered another lone enemy.

The Sabertooth mage did not have long to wait because soon the door burst open and in moved a team of nine brown-robed men wielding melee weapons such as maces, swords, and even a burly individual wielding a two-handed sword. Victoria was not going to be able to take them all on with her Sniper Rifle, so she silently dispelled the weapon and took up her Light Machine Gun; the ammo belt in the box rattled as she lifted it, alerting the men to her location. They all spun to face her and the brunette stood up, holding the weapon at her right hip before lifting it to her right shoulder.

"GET HER!" The burly cultist shouted. Victoria quickly lowered her weapon to her right hip and used the Suppressing Fire ability to even the odds, spraying the area where the cultists were standing with a stream of bullets while the barrel glowed red. All of them did a grim mockery of dance as they flailed and wobbled under the hail of lead until the Light Machine Gun's barrel stopped glowing, signaling the end of the ability. All of the cultists fell to the ground and did not stir, meaning that all of them were dead.

Victoria was pretty sure the display of firepower had blown her cover, so she dispelled the Light Machine Gun in favor of bringing out her Submachine Gun. Once the new weapon was in hand she turned for the door and hurried through it. She did not know how long she had before she ran into more enemies, so she had to move quickly. She had to kill as many of the cultists as she could before they could flee to another base.

[Post Word Count: 900]
[Total Word Count: 8,508/10,000]

-Inside the hallway-

Victoria was rushing through a hallway like the one she had taken to get to the previous room and as she hurried she noticed that there was no one to greet her. She had expected the hallway to be flooded with enemies looking to stop her before she could get any further, but she had not fought anyone since the last room. Maybe the cultists were letting her think that she was going to encounter only light resistance before she entered a room packed with armed and angry cultists waiting to subdue her and drag her off to a sacrificial altar. Or maybe she was overthinking things and she had raided a secondary base instead of the headquarters, which would explain the bored men she had killed earlier and the lack of opposition up to this point.

Victoria had almost reached the door when it swung open and in stepped a cultist wielding a longsword. The man almost immediately spotted the running brunette and took a step back while calling for help. She raised the Submachine Gun in her right hand and opened fire, missing with the first seven shots due to firing one-handed while running but hitting with the next dozen shots to the cultist's torso. He dropped dead in the doorway, helpfully propping the door open for the Sabertooth mage. The brunette leaped over his body and landed in the next room.

-Inside the next room-

The Sabertooth mage had just landed when she looked around and quickly surveyed the room she was in. It was somewhat larger than the one she had left behind and there were fewer red torches in metal sconces dotting the walls, but in the end it was not too different except for one crucial detail. Unlike the last room she was in this one had a small army of enemies waiting on her.

Victoria spotted over twenty brown-robed cultists and five black-robed ones preparing to attack; all five of the second type of enemy seemed to be preparing fire-based spells because their hands glowed red. The brunette knew that her current weapon would not cut it against such a large group, so she dispelled it and brought out her Light Machine Gun. She did not hesitate in lifting it and opening fire on the mass of enemies with her weapon's Suppressing Fire ability.

She had more enemies facing her this time, so the ability hit eleven out of the twelve brown-robed cultists closest to her. It would have hit all twelve had one of them not realized what was coming and ducked under the long burst of bullets as she swept the weapon back and forth, but she was not going to argue with the results. One long burst later and the eleven men she had caught in the ability's range were lying dead on the floor with numerous bullet holes in their corpses.

The man who had ducked under the Suppressing Fire popped up and sprinted towards her with longsword drawn back and ready to swing at her neck. Victoria dispelled the Light Machine Gun and quickly raised her right hand, then put her fingers into the shape of a gun to use a Derringer spell. The man smirked as he closed the range, but the brunette got the last laugh when she fired the spell and hit the man right between the eyes with the resulting shot. The man pitched forward and landed on the floor, his momentum carrying his body right up to Victoria's feet before it stopped.

The sight of their colleague being struck down by the Derringer gave the black-robed enemies pause, giving the outnumbered brunette just enough time to prepare and cast a Claymore Burst spell before the brown-robed cultists began moving towards her with weapons ready to turn her into an unidentifiable mess on the ground. The blast of steel ball bearings moved through the air and two of the men managed to duck under the spell, but the other eight were riddled with projectiles in various vital spots of the body and were dead before they hit the floor. Victoria's opposition was again surprised by how much firepower one mage could produce, but they were not about to let her pass without a fight because the door in the back of the room opened and in rushed a new wave of melee weapon-wielding men who were clearly ready to kill Victoria if she did not act quickly.

[Post Word Count: 746]
[Total Word Count: 9,254/10,000]

Feeling confident that their numbers would give them an insurmountable advantage over the brown-haired intruder standing before them, some of the cultists began to move towards Victoria. The brunette had to think about what she wanted to use against them and think fast. After spending a couple of seconds on that question her answer was the Claymore Burst spell.

Channeling gray magic into her hands, once the spell was ready Victoria pushed outwards using both hands and fired a burst of steel ball bearings towards the enemies who were trying to close in on her. Seven out of ten of the brown-robed men were hit with several projectiles to vital spots and their lifeless bodies fell to the ground; the surviving three all dropped to the ground and popped back up none the worse for wear. The brunette then brought out the Light Machine Gun and used it against the surviving three enemies from the first group plus a few more who had been emboldened to take their chances thinking that their fellows could soak up her shots and they could close in and kill or disable her before she could target them.

They were wrong.

Victoria raised the Light Machine Gun to her hip and used the Suppressing Fire ability to rake the area in front of her with bullets, catching twelve enemies in its path. The hapless men "danced" as they were riddled with bullets and when the ability stopped they all crumpled to the ground in unison, leaving a dozen corpses lying on the ground before her. There was now a patch of a few meters between Victoria and the cultists that had become a no-man's land occupied by the corpses of cultists who had tried to close the distance with her and the rest of the men seemed to catch onto that because they hesitated to try their luck. The black-robed men near the back of the room finally took action and began casting fire-based spells at the brunette.

The first one was a fireball that soared over Victoria's head when she dropped to one knee to avoid it. The second one was another fireball that was cast at her a moment after she dodged the first... she hurried to her feet and moved right to avoid it, but she was too slow to dodge it completely because her left shirt sleeve had been burned away and her left shoulder was burning like she had just developed a nasty sunburn, but she would have to deal with that later because there were cultists moving in on her now.

Eight of them were bold enough to try their luck in getting to her and were rushing towards her, ignoring the bodies of their fallen fellows. They should have taken more care because Victoria stood up and dispelled the Light Machine Gun in favor of her Submachine Gun and raised it at the closest enemy before firing a Three-Round Burst directly at their head. The burst hit and one more dead cultist joined the ones lying before her.

The remaining seven continued to move towards her while the enemy mages cast more fire spells at her. Victoria moved to the right to avoid another fireball and fired five shots at the head of the closest enemy, hitting with four of them. She jumped to the left to avoid a rushing cone of flame and when she landed fired a burst of seven shots at the mage in question, hitting him with two to the chest and three to the head for the kill. She then turned her attention to the closest enemy and shot at them with a burst of eight shots.

All of them hit the target in the torso and he fell to the floor never to move again. The rest of them began to reconsider what they were doing until a new wave of projectiles flew towards the brown-haired mage; when that happened they regained their courage and pressed forward again. Victoria would make them regret their decision when she expended the rest of the magazine on two of them and killed both, leaving five of them still standing.

Victoria dispelled her empty weapon and put her right hand behind her back. Since the situation was not desperate enough to warrant using the Grenade Launcher or her Mega Beam Cannon spell she would use a Stun Grenade instead. That should give her a little breathing room in which to bring out another weapon or cast another crowd control spell.

[Post Word Count: 754]
[Total Word Count: 10,008/10,000]

Seeing that they were not being subjected to another hail of gunfire or another spell, the cultists began to get bolder. The black-robed men stopped casting spells while seven of their brown-robed colleagues moved in with their weapons held in a ready position... meanwhile Victoria prepared the Stun Grenade. When it was ready the brunette lobbed it into the center of the group and quickly threw her left arm up over her eyes to try and protect herself from what was about to happen. The gray cylindrical device went off seconds later and produced a bright flash of light along with a sudden deafening noise; Victoria's ears rang and her vision was momentarily affected, but she was still in better shape than the cultists, who did not have time to protect themselves.

When she focused she could see most of the room holding their ears and trying to recover enough to either attack her or defend themselves, but Victoria was not going to give them the chance. She quickly summoned her Light Machine Gun and used its Suppressing Fire ability to gun down twelve more targets; she took out the seven men moving towards her plus five more who were too dazed to take any action. That was not a fair fight, but when she was outnumbered twenty-to-one or worse, she was not going to fight fair.

Victoria had just dispelled the weapon when she saw the magic-wielding cultists begin to return fire... literally. A fireball sailed towards her torso and she took a big step to the right, dodging it just in time to avoid being caught in it. She dodged another cone of flame that rushed across the room by another big sidestep to the right and spotted the attacker in the back left corner of the room. The Sabertooth mage brought out her Submachine Gun and aimed at the man in question, who did not stand idly and wait to be mowed down. She quickly fired a Three-Round Burst that hit the wall behind him thanks to his quick reflexes... he ducked just in time to avoid taking the shots to the torso.

Two of the enemies wielding melee weapons rushed at her and the brunette diverted her attention to them. She aimed at the first and fired a five-round burst to his chest that brought him down, but the second managed to get within arm's length of her and swat the weapon out of her hands with a swing from his mace. The disarmed brunette took a step back to avoid being hit with the follow-up swing and quickly formed the fingers of her right hand into the shape of a gun, then aimed for his head and fired a Derringer spell. The shot hit him in the forehead and he crumpled to the ground, but she did not have time to celebrate because six more enemies were running towards her.

The brunette quickly channeled gray magic into her hands and prepared a Claymore Burst spell. When it was ready she pushed outwards with both hands, firing a cloud of steel ball bearings that ripped into her opponents and laid them low with multiple wounds to vital spots. The remaining men saw that they were throwing lives away to no noticeable benefit and began to have sudden doubts about the wisdom of fighting her; a few of them took a big step back and the men closest to the door turned and bolted for it.

Victoria watched the men retreat starting with the magic users, who all fled while four of the brown-robed men stayed behind to delay the brunette. She did not have time to waste, so she produced her .44 Magnum Revolver and took it into a two-handed grip, then aimed for the head of the closest enemy. The shot found its mark and the target dropped to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut, but three men were still active and were sprinting at her.

Victoria recovered from the recoil and aimed for the chest of a man wielding a shortsword. When she had steadied her aim she took the shot and fired, hitting him in the center of the chest with lethal effect. He fell to the ground and the remaining two took advantage of the weapon's barrel snapping upwards to get too close to comfortably use the large-caliber handgun. Despite that she quickly took a step back and did a one-handed snap shot aimed at the closest man's head.

By some miracle the shot hit and the man fell to the ground with a hole in his forehead, but her right arm had been snatched backwards by the recoil and she could not target the last enemy, who was now within arm's reach of her. He lunged towards her with a longsword and she stepped to the left just as the blade passed by her right side. She spun towards him and aimed for his head in a hastily assumed two-handed shooting grip, then fired the revolver.

The shot hit his left temple for an instant kill. Victoria breathed a sigh of relief when the last enemy dropped and spun to the left to face the door on the opposite side of the room. She dispelled the revolver and moved to retrieve her Submachine Gun. The moment she reclaimed that weapon the Sabertooth mage began to jog across the room while doing her best to avoid stepping on bodies as she went. The fight with the quartet of cultists had proved to be more of a delay than she thought it would have been and she needed to catch up with the rest of them before they could get away.

[Post Word Count: 952]
[Total Word Count: 10,960/10,000]

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 12, Post Number 296

-Deeper in the cultist base-

Victoria had exited the room she had turned into a morgue and was hurrying through the hallway the cultists who had survived the fight with her had retreated through. The hallway was as wide and long as the previous two and she was encountering no resistance of any sort, not even an enemy or two hanging back just to delay her. She was glad for that because the fight with four enemies in the previous room had taken more time than she had anticipated to finish, but now she was making decent time and with luck might catch up to the others before they could get away.

Victoria reached the end of the hall and came to a stop outside the door. She had gripped her Submachine Gun in her right hand and grabbed the doorknob with her left hand and about to barge into the room when she had another idea, one that involved throwing a Stun Grenade into a room likely populated by people who wanted her dead.

Why not take advantage of the door to even the odds?

She could use the door as cover from both enemy attacks and her own Stun Grenade. All she would have to do was toss the grenade in, shut the door, and wait for it to go off and disorient any cultists unfortunate enough to be caught in its blast radius before opening the door again and going in weapons blazing. Victoria was badly outnumbered and deep in hostile territory, so that would be the most sensible plan of action.

The brunette set her Submachine Gun down on the floor, turned her body so that her right shoulder faced the door, created a Stun Grenade in her left hand, and used her right hand to quickly open the door. She heard surprised shouting on the other side and quickly tossed the grenade in with her left hand before slamming it shut and seizing the Submachine Gun at her feet. She took it into her right hand and heard the BANG seconds later followed by screaming. That was her cue.

Victoria used her left hand to yank the door open and hurried into the room to take out as many enemies as possible before they recovered.

-Inside the room-

When Victoria hurried into the room she spotted a brown-robed man to her immediate left and raised the weapon in a one-handed grip, aiming for his head. She fired two shots that caught him in the forehead, scoring an instant kill. She faced the right and spotted another brown-robed cultist wielding a longsword. He had recovered and was sprinting towards her, but a burst of four rounds to the head stopped his charge for good as his legs shot out from under him and he slammed onto the floor with his back landing before his head. She faced forward and saw a group of seven men waiting on her... they were a mix of six brown-robed ones and one black-robed man.

The brunette quickly raised her weapon and began firing on full auto, sweeping it back and forth in a "spray and pray" fashion. She managed to kill two of the men with lucky shots to the head before the weapon ran out of ammunition, but the other five were still alive had shoulder and torso wounds that ranged from minor to moderate. Despite those wounds they were still capable of fighting and she needed to stop them for good. Seeing a chance to swarm their opponent with numbers, four of the men charged at her while the magic user hung back and prepared a spell.

With little time to spare she tossed the empty weapon to the right and prepared a Claymore Burst spell, then fired it at the charging men. The spray of steel ball bearings slammed into the vital points of the men and this time none of them survived, leaving only the magic user standing. By the time she drew Hellsinger and aimed at the man a cone of flame was heading right for her, forcing Victoria to dive to the right to avoid getting scorched. She landed on her stomach and quickly rolled to the right for two full rotations before scrambling to her feet.

The moment Victoria stood up she spotted a fireball racing for her. She quickly dropped to one knee and hastily assumed a two-handed grip on the long-barreled pistol, then fired a single shot at the cultist's head. The round found its mark and a hole the size of a quarter was punched through the man's forehead. As Victoria recovered from nearly falling backwards due to Hellsinger's considerable recoil and forced the barrel back down after it had flipped up she saw that the man was lying on his back and making no movement whatsoever... he was definitely dead.

Victoria got to her feet, then dispelled the empty Submachine Gun lying on the floor and sprinted for the door on the opposite side of the room. When she reached it she grabbed the doorknob with her left hand, opened the door, and hurried through it. However, she was not going to get to the next room without a fight because there were already enemies waiting on her in the hallway. It did not matter, though... she was committed to wiping out the people who had burned her friend's house down and would likely do the same to her home if she did not kill them all while she had the chance.

[Post Word Count: 924]
[Total Word Count: 924/7,000]

-Inside the hallway-

Victoria left the door behind her open because she did not have the time to close it, not when fifteen cultists were waiting on her. A black-robed magic user immediately cast a lightning bolt at her and the brunette dropped to one knee, feeling it pass so close beside the left side of her head that she could feel the static charge make her hair stand out. She replied by forming her right hand into the shape of a gun and grabbing her wrist with her left hand for support, then aimed for the mage's head before preparing and firing a Hand Cannon spell. The shot sped towards the target's head and hit squarely between the eyes for an instant kill. The cultist swayed on their feet for a moment before falling backwards, leaving fourteen more enemies in her way.

Five brown-robed enemies wielding longswords rushed at Victoria and she stood up to prepare a Claymore Burst. When both of her hands were gray she pushed outwards and fired a blast of steel ball bearings that riddled their bodies with projectiles and killed them on the spot... all five collapsed in unison and the men behind them showed signs of panic. A few of them took a step back and two black-robed men even turned to look behind them to make sure their escape route was clear before they turned around to face her again. The Sabertooth mage drew Hellsinger and aimed at one of the melee weapon-wielding men in front of her, who was wielding an iron mace.

He ran towards her with the mace clutched in both hands and a dagger-wielding man joined him not long after. Victoria aimed at the first man's torso and fired a shot that hit center mass, causing the man to pitch forward in mid-run and fall on his face before skidding forward a foot. His colleague kept running while Victoria was recovering from the recoil and by the time she could lower the barrel of the handgun again he got in her face and used his left hand to grip Hellsinger's barrel and force it down towards the floor so that she could not aim it at him. The brunette let go of the handgun and took a step back and to the left as the dagger was thrust at her throat.

She was fast enough to avoid a lethal stab, but she was not fast enough to avoid getting her shirt punctured. There was a hole near the collarbone that showed a bit of flesh and seeing one of her favorite shirts damaged made the brunette clench her teeth in anger. She drew her right hand back and formed a fist before the cultist attacked again, this time throwing her own weapon at her face before moving in for a stab. Victoria blocked Hellsinger with her left forearm and took a hard hit before stepping to the left to avoid a stab at her heart. When he missed Victoria stepped in and punched forward with all her might, hitting the cultist in the left side of his head and making him drop the dagger while bellowing in pain.

The infuriated Sabertooth mage quickly summoned her .44 Magnum Revolver and aimed it at the man's head as he quickly faced her for a split-second, then rushed at her with both hands extended towards her throat. She fired the revolver and the shot punched through his forehead for an instant kill. When the enemy was down she spun left and spotted two more men rushing towards her from four meters away: one was wielding a shortsword and the other was holding a two-handed sword.

Victoria aimed for the enemy with the longer sword and aimed for his head, an action which caused him to dart right. She aimed at him a second time and watched as he darted left, then quickly darted right. The brunette saw the other cultist racing towards her while she was preoccupied with what she saw as the greater threat, so she had to act fast. The second man raced at her with the two-handed sword held out and she aimed at his head. He ducked to throw off her aim, but this time she was ready for such an evasive maneuver and quickly aimed down at his head before firing a snap shot.

She hit the target and the surprised man fell to the ground with a bullet hole in his head just above the right eye, but she did not have long to celebrate because the second man closed in and used his shortsword to bat the barrel of the .44 Magnum Revolver sharply to the left. Victoria retained control of the weapon and took a step back, then aimed at his torso with her right hand before firing at him at point-blank range. She scored a hit that dropped him on the spot and caused the barrel of the handgun to jerk sharply upwards, but she had taken out quite a few of the enemies in the hallway and the rest of them were beginning to flee.

Victoria took a quiet breath and dispelled the revolver, then hurried over to Hellsinger and picked it up before holstering it. She then brought out her Submachine Gun and held it in her right hand. After taking a quick breath she sprinted across the room and flung the door open, then hurried inside.

-Inside the room-

Victoria found herself standing inside a large room with a single door in the back of the room and another group of angry cultists that numbered approximately thirty. Most of them were brown-robed men holding a mix of melee weapons, but a few of them were carrying crossbows and standing off to the side where they had a clear shot at her. There were also a few black-robed magic users standing closer to the back of the room. The brunette raised her Submachine Gun as some of the enemies charged at her and the crossbowmen readied their weapons.

[Post Word Count: 1,008]
[Total Word Count: 1,932/7,000]

Victoria did not have much time to think and even less time to worry about precision, so she was going to "spray and pray" and hope for the best. She took aim at the first charging enemy with her Submachine Gun and fired a Three-Round Burst into his head for a kill that was virtually instantaneous as his feet shot out from under him and he was dead before he hit the ground. The next one she dealt with by firing six rounds into their chest on full-auto. They spun a quarter-turn left and flopped to the ground, leaving her to deal with at least five more who were closing in, but melee weapon-wielding enemies were not the only ones she had to deal with. The crossbowmen were taking aim and the one on the far left fired a bolt.

The brunette ducked under it and fired back with seven shots on full-auto and killed him with five hits to the torso, but dealing with him left her vulnerable to the approaching enemies. She fixed that mistake by dropping the Submachine Gun and backing up to give her space to prepare and use the Claymore Burst spell. She prepared it and when it was ready and her enemies were too close to avoid all of the projectiles she cast it, firing a spray of steel ball bearings that riddled their vital points and killed all five of the men closing in on her and wounded five more who were in the distance.

Now that the immediate threat was taken care of Victoria picked up her Submachine Gun and sidestepped another crossbow bolt, which whizzed by her left ear and hit the wall behind her. Victoria aimed her weapon at the offender and fired off the rest of the magazine at them, hitting them with eleven shots to the torso and killing them. She dispelled the empty weapon and quickly summoned her Light Machine Gun to clear out more of the enemies before they could muster enough courage to charge at her or reinforcements could arrive.

Victoria immediately used its Suppressing Fire ability to hose down the area in front of her, firing until the weapon's barrel stopped glowing red and it was empty. She dispelled the empty weapon and saw twelve of the enemies in the room drop dead from numerous bullets to their vital spots, leaving her a mix of crossbowmen and melee weapon users along with a pair of mages. One of the ranged weapon users fired at her left shoulder and she ducked under the bolt just enough to avoid it going through, but the tip of the bolt cut the top of her shoulder and she felt blood begin to run from the wound. The Sabertooth mage clenched her teeth and summoned the .44 Magnum Revolver, then took a two-handed shooting stance and aimed for the enemy, who was busy frantically reloading their weapon.

Victoria took aim at his head and fired a shot as he was trying to pull the bow back after loading a bolt. The shot hit and he collapsed to the ground, prompting the two black-robed mages to flee along with the remaining crossbow users and some of the melee weapon users. Three of the brown-robed cultists stayed behind to buy time for their fellows to retreat deeper into the base, but Victoria was not going to get bogged down with them like the last time she had faced off with a trio of enemies.

The brunette quickly aimed and fired at the head of one of the men before he could raise his mace and charge, dropping him on the spot with a lethal wound to the head. The other two enemies quickly rushed at her from five meters away and she aimed at the head of a longsword user, firing and killing him as well. The third man got within two meters of her before she recovered from the recoil and quickly aimed at him before firing a snap shot to the head. It found its mark and the cultist pitched forward in mid-sprint, landing on the ground face-first and his feet arching above his head for a moment before falling down.

Victoria saw that despite dealing with the enemies a lot faster than she had the last trio the rest of them had still managed to flee, forcing her to chase them again. She clenched her teeth and hurried through the room, running past the corpses of the cultists she had dispatched. When she reached the door that had been helpfully left open for her she kept running into the next hallway.

-Inside the next hallway-

Victoria passed through the doorway without breaking stride and noticed the lack of enemies waiting on her. At the end of this hallway was a single door that was closed. She suspected that there were enemies on the other side who were waiting on her, but she was not sure that that was the case. After mowing down forty or more cultists up to this point maybe they had given up on trying to stop her and were just trying to delay her long enough for at least some of them to escape her rampage and flee to a safer location.

[Post Word Count: 878]
[Total Word Count: 2,810/7,000]

-Outside the next room-

Victoria had reached the end of the hallway, where a shut door was the only obstacle between her and the cultists. She had expected a small army of robed men to pour out of the door in a last-ditch effort to stop her once and for all, but to her surprise no one had sallied forth. Maybe she had killed the bravest of the cultists and as a result the rest were only concerned with running for their lives.

She clutched the revolver in her right hand and took a quiet breath to steady her hand and to dull the pain she was feeling in her shoulder before reaching for the door with her left hand. The moment she grabbed the handle and pulled it she felt her heart skip a beat. She took another quiet breath and opened the door, then went inside the room.

-Inside the next room-

Victoria was now standing in yet another large room, but unlike the previous ones this one had three doors. One was on the left, one was in the center of the back wall, and the last was on the right. That meant that the Sabertooth mage had three directions to choose from and she did not have any idea which one to go in to find her quarry. The brunette took a few moments to try and decide which way to go and as she waited the left door opened. She aimed at the doorway and heard loud voices before anyone stepped through it.

"Hey, let me go! Get your hands off of me!" A female voice protested. She saw part of a brown-robed man's body emerge through the door and reach back to grab at something. Victoria aimed where their head would be but was not going to fire until she had a clear shot. The cultist was unaware of her presence and she did not want to throw away the element of surprise on a hurried shot.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" The female repeated as the cultist struggled with someone. The brown-robed man gradually moved from beyond the door as he pulled someone behind him. The female was putting up a fight because the man was beginning to swear profusely and she heard the beginnings of a struggle. Victoria wanted to intervene so badly, but she had to wait until the right moment so that when she did act it was a decisive intervention.

Victoria heard fabric rip and heard a furious scream.

"THAT WAS MY FAVORITE JACKET!" The female shouted in anger.

"GO TO HELL!" She shouted again before the cultist was shoved from behind the door and out into the open. He staggered backwards for four steps and was about to go towards the other person when he sensed he was being watched. He turned to look at Victoria and a look of horror crossed his face a split-second before she fired and a .44 Magnum bullet punched through his forehead. The dead man leaned back, then slightly leaned forward as if trying to stand up straight again for a second or two before succumbing to death and crumpling to the ground. The young woman hung back for fear of being the next one to receive a bullet and Victoria kept aiming at the other two doors in case more cultists came running.

The door in front of her opened and in burst a brown-robed man carrying a mace. She quickly aimed at his head and fired before he could shout a warning, raise his weapon, or do anything to react to her presence. The man promptly fell backwards and his weapon clattered to the ground. After he was killed Victoria aimed at the right door and was rewarded when a black-robed man burst into the room and stared at Victoria in shock a fraction of a second before catching a bullet to the head and joining his fellow cultists in the afterlife.

Victoria dispelled the empty revolver and brought out the Submachine Gun. The pause in the shooting prompted the young woman whose voice she heard to speak.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Came the question. Victoria's eyes darted back and forth between the two doors and when no more robed men came through them she looked towards the left door.

"Yeah, it's safe. I'm not going to shoot you." Victoria replied. From behind the door stepped a young woman with long black hair, golden eyes that reminded her of Florence Manderley, and a white jacket over a black blouse and long gray skirt. The left sleeve was barely hanging on by a thread... it was almost completely ripped off at the shoulder and only a few tenacious threads kept it attached to the rest of the jacket. The young woman's hands were bound in front of her with rope.

"Who are you?" The young woman asked Victoria.

"I'm Victoria Sheridan. I'm a member of Sabertooth." Victoria replied with her name and guild.

"I'm Clara Jensen." The dark-haired young woman gave her name in return.

Clara Jensen:

[Post Word Count: 848]
[Total Word Count: 3,658/7,000]

"So, what brings you to this dump, Clara?" Victoria asked her.

"I was kidnapped from Capital Crocus roughly a week ago. I was walking home from Capital Coffee after getting a latte and some sketchy guys grabbed me and pulled me into a back alley. The next thing I know I wake up here with all these weird robed guys who keep talking about human sacrifices to some infernal lord to regain his favor." Clara gave the brunette the story of how she came to be taken to Silent Cemetery. Victoria frowned when she heard that the cult might be dabbling in human trafficking. That gave her even more reason to kill as many of its members as she could come across.

"Do you think they've kidnapped more young women like you?" Victoria asked. Clara nodded.

"Yeah, I know for a fact they did. Unfortunately for them they were all sacrificed before me. I'm the only one left." Clara reported the grim news.

"Damn it!" Victoria cursed while looking at the ground in a moment of dejection. The brunette's anger was tempered with regret for not getting here sooner to save more people from the cult, but it was too late to save their victims now. The best Victoria could do was wipe out the cultists in this base to minimize the chances of them returning to Capital Crocus and abducting more young women.

"Hey, listen. I know it doesn't help anyone else, but I'm glad that you came here, Victoria. I didn't expect to leave here alive, but you saved me from joining the rest of the other young women on an altar. I can't thank you enough for that." Clara thanked Victoria for rescuing her. Victoria looked up again and faced the young woman. It was at that moment she detected that Clara was a mage whose power level was fairly weak... perhaps she was a novice mage.

"Before we do anything else, let's cut your hands free." Victoria said. The second she stopped talking the door in the center of the room opened and in jumped a brown-robed man who had leaped over the body of the last enemy to try and enter the room. Victoria quickly raised her Submachine Gun in her right hand and fired a Three-Round Burst to the head that killed him before he could even take a step forward. He fell to the ground and dropped a dagger that had been clutched in his left hand.

"He was such a gentleman." Clara remarked sarcastically. Victoria walked over, picked it up, and walked back over to the waiting young woman. She began to carefully cut at the rope with the dagger held in her left hand, taking care to avoid hurting Clara in the process. Soon the ropes binding her hands gave way and the black-haired young woman rubbed her wrists while Victoria watched for any more cultists.

"Thanks, Victoria. I see you have a nasty cut on the top of your left shoulder. Thankfully I know some healing magic that'll fix that." She said. Victoria turned her back to Clara and she saw a glowing blue light that pulsed at the rate of a human heartbeat fill the room. She felt the wound begin to stop bleeding and then felt a cold sensation that took her breath away and caused her to drop the dagger she had used to free Clara's hands.

"I've stopped the bleeding with my Ice Heal spell. You should be fine now. The cold will subside in a few hours or so, but it won't affect you too much." Clara informed the Sabertooth mage that bleeding would no longer be a problem. Victoria shivered a bit.

"Thanks, Clara." Victoria thanked the other mage for the assistance.

"No problem." Clara replied calmly.

"So, what do you want to do from here? Do you want to leave while the going's good or do you want to tag along as I go after the cultists?" Victoria offered Clara a choice.

"As much as I'd love to see you give those robed guys lead poisoning I'd only slow you down. I'm kinda tired from spending the past week or so here and I won't be much good in a fight. The only reason I'm able to talk to you is because I'm running off adrenaline... that guy you killed was gonna drag me off to an altar and cut my heart out." Clara explained the reasoning behind her choice. In the past Victoria would have sent Clara on her way while she continued her quest to kill the cultists, but Silent Cemetery was full of zombies and she did not want to risk the life of someone she had just rescued to settle a personal grudge. She would stop while she could and get the young woman home safely.

"All right, Clara. Let's get outta here." Victoria told Clara. The young woman embraced Victoria around the neck and held on for a few moments before letting go.

"I can't wait to get home! I want to get back to shopping and lattes and dating guys!" She listed everything she wanted to do when she got back to Capital Crocus.

"OK then. Follow me." Victoria said as she turned around and began walking towards the door she had used to enter the room. Clara almost ran Victoria over as she hurried to follow her rescuer. Once both of them were through Victoria quickly shut the door behind them and began retracing her steps to the crypt entrance.

[Post Word Count: 924]
[Total Word Count: 4,582/7,000]

-Outside Silent Cemetery, 1:35 A.M.-

Victoria had expected to be swarmed by angry cultists while heading for the exit with Clara, but to her surprise she had not encountered any. Perhaps they did not know that she had left the crypt and were waiting on her to arrive at yet another hastily assembled line of defense. Perhaps the survivors had already fled and all the brave cultists had died trying to slow her down. She did not know why the robed men had not pursued her and in a way she was glad they had not. True to her word Clara started to slow down due to exhaustion from her ordeal and she was moving so slowly that the brunette had to almost carry her out of the crypt.

After dealing with a few isolated zombies with her Submachine Gun the brunette had managed to get herself and Clara to safety outside the cemetery gates, which she had shut firmly behind her. Victoria dispelled the Submachine Gun and guided Clara to the road that would take them out of the area and set them on the path to Ace Of Spades. She should have brought the Centaur, but in her haste to chase down the person who had burned down Abigail's house she had forgotten to drive it.

It was going to be a long road back to Capital Crocus.

-Capital Crocus, the Jensen Residence, 3:55 P.M.-

After a very long walk with quite a few rest stops the pair had finally arrived in Capital Crocus around two hours ago and after another walk they were standing outside the Jensen Residence, which was a modest two-story house in the good part of town. It had a brown wooden door and a brown welcome mat on the doorstep with the words "WELCOME" printed in large black letters. Victoria guided the exhausted Clara over to the door and rang the doorbell mounted on the right side of the doorframe.

The door opened and out stepped a bespectacled young woman with short black hair wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and knee-length black skirt with brown sandals. She took a look at the pair of mages and rushed over to Clara.

"CLARA! YOU'RE ALIVE!" The bespectacled young woman exclaimed and took her from Victoria, who released her so that she could be supported by the third young woman. Clara smiled weakly.

"I'm alive, Ada. I'm alive thanks to Victoria here. She rescued me from the people who had kidnapped me and took me to Silent Cemetery." Clara told "Ada" that the brunette had rescued her from Silent Cemetery. The bespectacled young woman made eye contact with Victoria.

"Clara's my older sister. When she went missing I feared the worst. I asked all around Capital Crocus but no one had seen her. I had almost given up on ever seeing her again, but now Clara's back home thanks to you." Ada told the Sabertooth mage.

"I can't thank you enough, Victoria. I really can't. I can't pay you enough for returning Clara to me." Ada said before the brunette had a chance to speak.

"I don't want your money, Ada. I didn't save your sister for any kind of reward." Victoria emphatically turned down the offer of a reward. She hated slavers and human traffickers more than anything in this world and she would gladly kill them for free. While she had not been able to finish off the cult she was fairly certain that losing so many members would slow them down for a bit and perhaps even discourage them from returning to Capital Crocus any time soon.

"Thank you, Victoria. Thank you so much. I'll find a way to repay you for what you did for us. I promise." Ada thanked Victoria from the bottom of her heart before guiding Clara into their home and shutting the door. With Clara Jensen delivered safely to her home Victoria began the return trip to the Sheridan Estate. She was going to be in for a long trip back, but that was not a problem.

-The Sheridan Estate, the living room, 4:23 P.M.-

"Miss Sheridan! You're back!" Laura exclaimed as Victoria stood just inside the front door. A grin crossed Victoria's face.

"Yeah, I'm back." Victoria replied. Seconds later Amy, Lorelei, Lawrence, and Abigail entered the room from the dining room. The Sabertooth mage faced them.

"Sorry it took me so long to get back, guys. The person who burned down Abigail's house went to a crypt in Silent Cemetery filled with members of a demon cult I've fought a few times in the past." Victoria reported to her family.

"A demon cult? You fought a demon cult BY YOURSELF?" Amy asked in shock.

"Yeah, it's a long story." Victoria casually replied.

"You'll have to tell us this story." Lorelei stated in a tone that indicated that she would not take no for an answer. It sounded like the second-oldest Sheridan sister was asserting her authority. The youngest Sheridan shrugged her shoulders and grunted in a "suit yourself" tone.

"OK, but I hope you guys have some time on your hands." Victoria warned her family that the story was not going to be a quick one.

[Post Word Count: 870]
[Total Word Count: 5,452/7,000]

-The Living Room, 5:35 P.M.-

It had taken awhile to tell the whole story because of all the details that needed to be included to make it understandable to her sisters and Abigail, but Victoria had told her family the tale of how she had ended up clashing with a cult of demon worshipers. She had also warned everyone to be careful while in the city because she had been unable to eliminate all of the cultists in the base, so some had survived and might return to Capital Crocus to try to collect more potential sacrifices. Amy and Lorelei seemed shocked by what they had just been told, but Abigail and Lawrence did not seem particularly upset... that was probably because they knew the dangers of the mage trade just like she did.

"I can't believe that you went after an entire cult by yourself!" Lorelei started the next phase of the conversation after a minute or two of awkward silence.

"Maybe, but someone's gotta do it. Otherwise the cult would just keep growing and growing until they couldn't be stopped. And they won't stop abducting people until someone makes them." Victoria countered.

"Why does it have to be you?" Lorelei asked.

"First, they sacrifice young women to summon demons. Second, they kidnapped young women from Capital Crocus and I don't want any of you to be grabbed off the streets. Third, they burned down my friend's house and I'm gonna make them pay for that." Victoria summed up the reasons she was continuing to fight the cult despite the danger of fighting a group of people who appeared to be everywhere and could summon demons.

"I didn't stop them for good, but killing forty or more of them should buy us a little breathing room." Victoria summed up the results of the raid on the cult's base in Silent Cemetery.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Amy asked, pointing towards the Sabertooth mage's left shoulder. Victoria looked at it for a moment before looking towards her sister.

"A crossbow bolt grazed the top of my shoulder and drew blood. Luckily the young woman I rescued was able to heal the wound for me." The younger brunette answered the question calmly and factually.

"You rescued a young woman from that place?" Lorelei asked.

"Yeah, I did. A local named Clara Jensen. She's a mage, but she's not nearly as strong as I am. She told me that several other young women were taken from Capital Crocus but the rest of them had been sacrificed before I got there. Clara was the only one to survive and that was because I showed up at just the right time to rescue her." Victoria told Lorelei.

"I'm probably gonna regret asking this, but I'm curious... how were the others sacrificed?" Amy reluctantly asked Victoria.

"I found several young women draped over an altar with their hearts carved out. I don't have any proof, but my guess is they were still alive when it happened." Victoria answered plainly. Amy, Lorelei, and Abigail all recoiled with disgust while Lawrence looked at Victoria with a grim expression.

"Yeah. The cult's bad news and that's why I have to help stop them." She added. The others soon recovered from their disgust and Lorelei was the first one to speak.

"You do what you have to do, but be careful." Lorelei gave her blessing to her younger sister's work but also told her to exercise caution when fighting her enemy.

"Yeah. We can't stop you, but be careful. It sounds like that cult's not an enemy to take lightly." Amy seconded her older sister's opinion. Having received the blessing of her older sisters, Victoria had a new and personal reason to continue the fight against one of her oldest enemies. From now on she would be fighting to protect her family as well as to avenge the burning of Abigail's house. Victoria's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell and Laura went to answer the door before anyone else could react and opened it just as they turned around to face it.

"Hello, Laura!" Florence greeted the maid. The blonde was wearing a long-sleeved white blouse under a black jacket and black knee-length skirt with matching black dress shoes. In her right hand was an overnight bag, suggesting that she planned to spend the night here.

"Hello, Miss Manderley. Welcome to the Sheridan Estate." Laura greeted her. Lawrence walked past everyone else and stopped in front of the blonde woman.

"Um... hi, Florence. You look great." Lawrence greeted her with a meekness that clashed with his burly appearance and no-nonsense demeanor. Florence smiled at him.

"It's been awhile since we last spoke, Lawrence." She said to him as the others stood by and listened to the conversation unfold.

[Post Word Count: 802]
[Total Word Count: 6,254/7,000]

"Yes it has." The burly man replied.

"I came here because I wanted to talk about us and it'll be a lengthy conversation." Florence told him the purpose behind her visit and hinted at why she was carrying an overnight bag. The Sheridan siblings, Abigail, and Laura were all intrigued by that and watched the proceedings with renewed interest.

"Talk... about us?" Lawrence asked with uncertainty. Florence smiled again.

"Yes, Lawrence. I think it's time to discuss the next step in our relationship." The blonde woman replied. The burly man's face turned a light shade of red.

"Oh. Um... I see." He commented with obvious awkwardness. It was clear that he was embarrassed and uncertain as to where the conversation would go.

"Where would you like to talk... talk about this?" He asked the blonde woman.

"We can go to your room if you'd like." Florence answered. Victoria and the others wondered what was so special that her uncle and mentor/mother figure could not discuss it in front of them, but she figured that it was something significant to them, so she did not say a single word. Neither did anyone else who was spectating.

"Of... of course." Lawrence agreed to the idea. Lawrence led the way to the stairs and started climbing them while Florence followed behind him. Once the two were gone the Sheridan sisters, Laura, and Abigail began to talk amongst themselves about what they had just seen and heard.

"Do you think that means they're gonna talk about getting married?" Amy asked anyone who cared to answer.

"Maybe." Victoria opined. She had another thought as to where the Lawrence/Florence relationship might go, one that she did not voice yet.

"I am not certain, but it is improper for me to offer speculation on that subject because the Sheridan family is my employer and I do not want to bite the hand that feeds." Laura contributed to the conversation in her own impeccably polite way.

"Maybe things have already progressed to that point and they're just making it formal." Abigail offered, voicing the idea Victoria had but did not say aloud. Lorelei blushed furiously.

"Abigail! How could you say that?" The Sheridan with heterochromatic eyes asked with indignation.

"It's entirely possible." Amy seconded Abigail's idea. Lorelei turned her gaze on her younger sister.

"Don't be such a prude, Lorelei." Victoria defended her friend with a jab aimed at Lorelei. The oldest sister looked towards her with indignation.

"Look, Lorelei... Lawrence and Florence have been seeing each other for awhile now. I don't know how far things between them have gotten, but that's really none of my business. All I'm saying is that maybe they're going to take things to the next level." Victoria calmly defended her opinion to her older sister. The Sabertooth mage did not fear her sister because the former was among the most powerful mages alive and was the official owner of the Sheridan Estate, so while Lorelei had status as the oldest sister Victoria had actual power in more ways than one. Lorelei sputtered for a few moments before stopping and collecting her thoughts.

"I'm not that much of a prude, guys. I just think it isn't right to jump to conclusions." The oldest Sheridan sister defended her statement. Amy shrugged her shoulders.

"Uncle Larry's got a lady friend who's interested in him. We'll find out how things will progress soon enough." Amy told everyone. Victoria simply grinned.

"Yeah, we will." Victoria remarked.

"What if they're talking about getting married?" Abigail asked everyone.

"I wouldn't mind if they did. I'd finally have a mother and father figure under one roof." Victoria commented. Everyone turned to face her.

"I don't remember my parents at all. All I know is their names and their favorite kinds of alcohol." Victoria stated without missing a beat.

"You don't remember them at all?" Lorelei blurted out a question. Victoria shook her head.

"Not at all." Victoria replied truthfully.

"Victoria was only six when her world was turned upside down by us having to scatter. I don't think she remembers much before then." Amy chimed in.

"Oh, that's right!" Lorelei stated as if she remembered something she had forgotten. Victoria did not say a word as Lorelei turned to face her.

"Maybe I can tell you more about them." The oldest Sheridan sister offered to fill her younger sister in on their parents.

[Post Word Count: 734]
[Total Word Count: 6,988/7,000]

-The Sheridan Estate, the basement, 6:46 P.M.-

The Sheridan sisters and Abigail had relocated to the basement slightly over an hour ago and were partaking in the one thing that the three Sheridans had in common, which was a preference for alcoholic drinks. Amy was seated at the bar drinking her usual Long Island Iced Tea, Victoria was standing behind the bar and sipping from her second Screwdriver, and Lorelei was standing a short distance away drinking a Strawberry Daiquiri. In contrast to the Sheridan sisters Abigail was drinking a Cherry Charge soda since she did not want any of the drinks Victoria was serving. The brunette could respect that and let the blonde drink her soda without trying to coax her into trying a mixed drink.

"You make a good Strawberry Daiquiri, Victoria." Lorelei complimented her younger sister on her bartending abilities.

"Thanks, Lorelei. I have quite a bit of bartending experience and can make a variety of popular drinks plus a few of the less frequently requested ones." Victoria accepted the praise with ease. She knew many different recipes and could easily make them if she had enough time and the proper tools.

"What drinks can you make, Victoria?" Amy asked.

"Long Island Iced Tea, Screwdriver, Strawberry Daiquiri, Dirty Ashtray, Bloody Mary, Boilermaker, Silver Bullet, Blue Hawaii, Hurricane, Tequila Sunrise, Singapore Sling, Martinis with either gin or vodka, Pina Colada, Margarita, Mimosa..." Victoria started to list the drink recipes she knew before being cut off by Amy raising her hand in a "Stop!" gesture.

"That's quite a list you have there." Amy said in a playful manner. Victoria showed amusement on her face as she took another sip of her Screwdriver and set the shotglass down.

"Yeah. Bartending's a pastime of mine. When I'm not working for Sabertooth I sling drinks at the Red Dragon Inn. Working there has taught me a lot about the trade, including a lot of new recipes." Victoria told her older sister how she had learned to make so many mixed drinks. Abigail set her can down and made eye contact with the Sabertooth mage.

"You sure know a lot about alcohol, Vic." Abigail commented. Victoria simply laughed.

"Yeah, Abby. Before I became a mage I used to sling drinks to earn money. My uncle introduced me to that trade as a way to earn a living in case I ever got tired of being a mage... or got too badly hurt to continue being one." Victorian informed her friend. The brunette heard the door to the basement open and in walked Lawrence and Florence.

"Speak of the devil..." Lorelei playfully commented on the timing of the blond man's appearance. He and Florence walked to the approximate center of the room and stopped. The Sheridan sisters and Abigail faced them and waited for them to speak.

"Guys, there's something Florence and I would like to tell you." Lawrence started off as Florence stood at his right side and smiled. Everyone looked at them with rapt attention.

"You might have already gotten an idea of what I'm about to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Florence and I have decided to make things official. We're dating now." Lawrence told everyone in his usual to-the-point fashion. The Sheridan sisters all began to smile.

"Congratulations!" Lorelei congratulated the couple on them making things official.

"Congratulations, Uncle Larry!" Amy told the male head of the household.

"I think you two will be happy together." Victoria opined with total sincerity.

"I agree with Victoria." Abigail chimed in.

"Thanks, everyone. I've known Lawrence for years and he's rough around the edges, but he's a good man. We'll be happy together. I know it." Florence replied optimistically. Victoria knew that her uncle was a good man from the moment he saved her from slavers when she was ten years old. He had stood up for her when no one else would and had done his best to raise and educate her despite not being prepared to raise a girl or being a teacher. Lawrence deserved happiness and she was certain that he would find it with Florence.

[Post Word Count: 688]
[Total Word Count: 7,676/7,000]