A gentle wind swept across Sarah's cheeks as she sat on a wooden bench. She sighed as she crossed her legs, gazing at Rusev throwing pebbles into the creek. Her eyes drifted towards Alice, who was leaning against an oak tree while watching pedestrians walk by. Sarah's face soured as her mind snagged on how she had pissed herself when Emily crawled out of Alice's bathroom mirror.
Sarah's eyes drifted towards the ENGINE in the afternoon sky. Its gears churned as they always do, unbothered by what Emily had done to her. Her chest tightened as her eyebrows narrowed. Cognitive dissonance threaded through her psyche like a mental hammer, reminding her she was but an ant compared to Emily.
Embers singed her pink sweater as her temper rose. Humiliation mixed with acceptance burrowed under her skin. Sarah's thoughts struggled with the disconnect that she was only alive because Emily allowed it. Her mind imagined false scenarios to protect her fracturing ego.
"You alright over there?" Rusev asked as he tossed a pebble into the creek. "You're burning up... literally," he joked as he watched the embers crawl up Sarah's sweater.
Sarah sighed, then rolled her eyes. "Shut up, mop-top," she grumbled as she swatted at her sweater to put out the flames. "Where the hell are they, anyway?"
"Classic deflection, Sarah," Alice said with a straight face.
"And what do you know of it?"
"Did you forget what I do for a living?"
Sarah groaned and then stood up. "Fine, whatever, of course, I am not alright, and neither should either of you!" She screamed as she kicked the trash can nearby. "I feel like we are part of one giant cosmic joke and the ENGINE doesn't even give a damn!" She yelled and then pointed at the ENGINE in the sky.
"I feel like a rat in a cage," she said, then pulled at her hair. Sarah kicked the wooden bench. "We got chosen, told that we all got an equal chance of becoming PRIME, and the rug got pulled from under our feet!"
Rusev shrugged. "I mean, she got a point," he said as he looked at Alice.
Alice averted her gaze from Rusev, staring at the trees and remaining silent.
Sarah slowly blinked as her eyes fixated on Rusev. "And you just show the fuck up out of nowhere and get lucky enough to get the Emily get out of jail free card. She doesn't even fucking know you and yet she trusts you enough to protect you!?"
"You done bitching, flamingo?" Emily asked as she approached from the opposite side of the park.
Sarah's eyes drifted towards Emily, then towards Rachel and Elijah standing next to her.
"Sorry you had to deal with her," Elijah jested as he lit a cigarette.
"Oh, fuck off," Sarah grumbled as she crossed her arms.
Rachel snickered as her mulberry eyes drifted towards Sarah. "Please don't have another meltdown. Nobody is going to volunteer for babysitting again."
Embers radiated off Sarah as she balled her hands into a fist. "I fucking hate all of you. I will not be the butt of this sick fucking game anymore!" She yelled as she threw a ball of flame at Emily.
Emily watched, unmoved, as the fireball evaporated into steam moments before impact. Sarah's eyes widened as she walked backward, then tripped over her feet. Her body quivered as Emily stared at her with an unreadable expression. The wind stopped blowing as Emily just stood there glaring at Sarah, fumbling on the cobblestone path.
"I'm sorry... I didn't," Sarah pleaded with dilated eyes.
Emily's expression didn't change as she stared at Sarah.
"Please...it was a mistake," Sarah whimpered as she backed up into a trash can.
"Get the fuck up," Emily ordered as she rolled her eyes.
Sarah's legs shook like Jell-O as she stood back up. Her heart quickened as Emily approached her. "No...don't! I'm sorry."
"Can you perform without Tilly?" Emily asked as she put her hands in her hoodie pockets.
Sarah blinked as she looked down at Emily. "What?"
"You left your violin, Tilly, in Tyrial, right?"
"I uhhh... yes?"
"Do you need Tilly, or does any violin work?"
Sarah swallowed, then forced a thin-lipped smile onto her face. "Well, I."
Emily sighed, then shook her head. "Fine, I will go get it," she grumbled as her eyes glowed mulberry, then ripped a hole in reality and stepped through it.
Sarah's eyes dilated as she glanced at everyone.
"Here," Emily said as she returned seconds later with Tilly in hand.
"I uhhh.... thanks?" Sarah mumbled as she grabbed the violin. "You're not mad?"
An unsettling grin formed on Emily's face, but she did not respond.
Sarah's eyes drifted towards the ground as goosebumps crawled up her spine. "Right... of course you are. I am just an ant."
"I very talented ant who is really making me regret giving you my word that no harm will come to you," Emily flatly replied, then grabbed her wrist.
Sarah's body trembled with primordial fear as Emily clutched her wrist.
"You're on thin ice, Sarah," Emily threatened with a straight face. "Do you understand?"
Sarah nodded as tears trickled down her cheeks.
Emily released her wrist, then sighed. "Good," she replied, then walked over to Elijah.
Sarah gazed up at the sky, then wiped the tears from her face. Her eyes drifted towards Emily moments later, noticing Elijah whispering something to her. Emily rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and then glanced at Sarah.
"Fine, sourpuss," Emily grumbled as she rolled her eyes, then walked towards Sarah.
Sarah's eyes widened as she swallowed hard as Emily stood in front of her.
"I am sorry," Emily mumbled as she ran her hands through her hair. "I went too far."
"What?" Sarah muttered with a raised eyebrow as Emily stretched out her hand.
Emily shrugged. "Sourpuss thinks I went overboard, and he is right. I shouldn't have threatened you."
Sarah blinked, then looked at Elijah and back down at Emily. Her grip was weak as she shook Emily's hand. The primordial fear coursing through her body did not dissipate despite the apology.
"Apology accepted... I guess," Sarah replied, her brain short-circuiting like a blown fuse. "So, what does this mean?"
Emily sighed, then glanced at Elijah before focusing her gaze back on Sarah. "It means you're safe. I actually need Sarah, not a broken flamingo, Sarah."
Sarah blinked hard. "You do not know how terrifying you are, do you?"
Emily shrugged. "Apparently not."
Sarah chuckled. "Of course you don't...you still think you're an orphan."
Emily's eyes widened as she stared into Sarah's eyes, but she did not say a word.
Sarah's eyes drifted towards Elijah, then at Rachel, before she looked down at Emily. Her eyebrows narrowed as Emily could not meet her gaze. Emily rubbed her arm as she stared at the ground in a trance. Sarah's mouth opened as she realized for the first time the complete disconnect of Emily's psyche. She bit her lip as her mind attempted to rationalize how something so powerful could think itself the ant.
"She's not faking it," Sarah thought to herself, bewildered as she glanced at everyone with a raised eyebrow. "She really has no fucking clue how wide the gap is between us, and her is."
"We should get going," Alice suggested as she stopped leaning on the oak tree. "We will most likely have to change disguises once we are inside."
"Why is that?" Rachel asked.
Alice tugged on her flannel shirt. "The lack of a mask and these casual clothes will get us in the door. But if we are going to spy on Lex and the others, then we will need to look like employees."
"Makes sense," Elijah replied as he smoked. "Probably have to split up to find where they store them."
"Can't Rachel or Emily just handle this?" Rusev asked.
Rachel shook her head. "I can't portal us there; I haven't been inside the Imperial Hotel since I was little," she explained, then shrugged. "And despite Emily just ripping a hole in reality again for a violin, she doesn't want to abuse her powers."
"So she wants to do hard mode then?" Alice asked.
"You wouldn't understand," Emily replied. "Just because I can do it does not mean I should do it."
Alice's eyes narrowed. "No, I get it. Great power comes with great responsibility, and often those with the power abuse it."
Emily rubbed her neck. "Yeah... something like that."
Alice nodded and then looked at everyone. "Alright then, this is my domain. Any objections to me taking the lead?" She asked.
Everyone shook their head.
"We split up into teams to cover more ground," Alice insisted. "Rusev, Emily, you are with me. Elijah, you get Rachel and Sarah," she ordered as she gazed at Elijah.
"Don't like it, but I get it. Keep the flamingo, and Emily separated until they cool their jets, right?" Elijah asked as he flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground.
Alice nodded. "Exactly, plus if anything goes sideways, each of our teams has a nope button."
Rachel chuckled. "I take it that Emily and I are the nope buttons?"
"Yup," Alice replied.