Chapter 204 Black or Red

Rachel stopped in front of the glass window of the shop her team was in, spotting the gang enthralled by a dollhouse Fiona was exploring; it had been a topic amongst the fairy, Scarlet, and Alexa, since Fiona was having trouble in a world designed around the average human size and strength.

Rachel thought back to the wealth of study and discussions Selvaria, Fiona, Scarlet, and her sister-in-law had had on the whole vampire aspect of the vespertine reaper’s abilities. They’d gone down some insane rabbit holes and even frightened Kid Nia a bit, since she was eavesdropping on their conversations.

It all spiraled down a rather troubling angle: this funeral was a powder keg waiting to explode.

Tom has been careful to keep things under wraps, but the Scarlet Hand has had decades to prepare. Sure, I caused some kind of disruption, yet Relica admitted they didn’t see anything off until The Oscillation, when everything started to collapse in the wrong direction... starting with Scarlet. My misfortune damaged their network but was far from destroying it.

Scarlet was broken by her parents... They intended for her to be some destroyer of worlds and savior of multiverses, or something along those lines. She had the skillset and aptitude to be a true end boss, and Veronica proved how effective she could be when fully utilized only hours after the change, she internally reasoned, listening to the fanged girl laugh at the handcrafted, high-value items Fiona commented on.

Fiona currently sat on the furniture in the dollhouse, acting out her daily activities, using a cell phone as a TV/streaming device in her tiny front room. Seemingly, the doll shop had been open 24 hours over the past week, having seen a lot of customers lately with the fairy, pixie, and other small Faekin that now found their giant homes a bit much.

A lump dropped down Rachel’s throat, her ears tilting to the left as Nia pointed her out, and she smiled and waved. Jeanne had noticed her already but probably figured she was waiting outside for a reason.

Whatever the Scarlet Hand has planned, they haven’t made any moves that I can tell yet. Scarlet should be able to keep her eyes out for any vampires in our vicinity, though.

As she entered the store, the shop owner welcomed her, a bit surprised as Nia changed her into a loose blouse-and-skirt outfit; even without the usual sweat—which was weird enough—the clothes felt nice, letting air around her skin. She settled in with the crew, Fiona showing off some of the items the store had— The Fairy Queen was diving headfirst into the world of dolls. The store owner was by their side in saleswoman mode, discussing some of the custom orders and things her business was working on providing for other ’little people.’

Rachel fully invested herself, nodding and commenting where needed as Fiona reassured the woman that they’d return later to make more detailed orders. The fairy only purchased a black dress and garments that she’d ordered tailored to her figure three days prior, thanking the woman as they left. It was surprisingly liberating to let herself get swept up in the women’s energy, with Jeanne diving headfirst into friendship territory, which was sweet.

On their way to a few late-night outlets, Rachel had to laugh as Maria brought up something interesting.

"Aye, you tryin’ to move some chica into my pad and set up my bro, Liebre Jefe?"

Ears falling forward as she tilted her head to give the unicorn a questioning stare, she asked, "What’s going on? You’re talking about Zoe?"

"Oh!" Scarlet snickered and gave her a twinkling smile. "Apparently, Felix is a cat guy, and Zoe found out he has a bunch of game cat girl posters, so... Hehehe."

Fiona, Alexa, and Jeanne nodded emphatically, snickering with the reaper, as Maria balked.

"Yo, no! I had no clue Felix be posting up that gaming shit, and what the hell’s he talking about, eh... Fantasy fourteen? Damn, I feel out of the loop. I swear, chica, if I go back and he’s got claw marks or hickies... Rach!"

Rachel held up her hands defensively, giving her a look that asked what she was supposed to do about her brother’s love life, and Nia chuckled, guiding them into another store, twenty minutes before she reverted back to a kid.

"How is his cat-girl thing my problem? Is Zoe into it?"

"Seems that way, Hops. Hehe. Apparently, she’s a shy tease with her tail. Oh, it’s in here—and you have to choose between the black and the red, because those are the only colors you like."

"Oh, shut up," Rachel snorted, rolling her eyes and seeing the other girls give each other nods, ganging up on her. "I have plenty of other colors in my wardrobe."

"You mean that your mother bought you?" Alexa jumped in, the blonde getting surprisingly forward with her now that the girl group was backing her. "Last time I saw you come home with shopping bags, it was training shorts and five sports bras since you ruined some of your others. Guess what color, Nia?"

"Black?"

"Black."

Rachel waved them away, humor shaking the other girls’ frames. "Okay, sue me! I know a lawyer," she added, winking at Fiona. "Besides, I don’t think red will do for the occasion."

Nia presented it as the employee produced it for her from behind the counter, showing the red and black colors. "Easy solution... We’ll get both! You can just dress yourself rather than having me dress you like a toddler, Major."

"Damn, girl," Maria laughed, bumping fists with her. "Girl needs some moon balm for that burn; liebre can’t even dress herself!"

"Ha-ha," Rachel laughed, taking out her card to pay for it as Nia swiped it out of her hand to dance to the dressing rooms. "Hey!"

"First, you need to try it on! You do have a bigger bust and tail than me, so we have to check!"

"Okay! Okay! I’m going."

She allowed the girls to bully her into the changing room for a fashion show that Little Nia soon absolutely loved, jumping up and down at the many outfits Big Nia had picked out. Without a doubt, the woman would require her to present them in their internal world tomorrow. Rachel felt bad they’d only had a short time together; she had a lot to make up for, but she absolutely did need to take those thirty minutes to punch herself in the face.

As they finished up, Rachel’s mind drifted back to their Green Beret buddies as their night wound down; the soldiers would be joining them at the funeral, and it wasn’t hard to hear a few of the off-duty ones spread around DC, still up at this hour with loved ones who had flown in to be with them. It made sense after what happened to Vincent— They didn’t know if this would be the last time.