Ranryu

Wynn's heart raced. Was this for real? She put her hand on a control panel on the wall. "Tree, take me to the End of Time."

Wynn covered her ears. "Not to me it isn't. I know better than to lie to the council. Everything in this letter is true, according to my perspective, if you get my drift." Wynn tied the paper with a piece of string, then fastened that to the raven's leg. "Deliver this to Anastasia of the Wild Hunt, please." The bird squawked and disappeared. "Now you need to keep your end of the bargain."

Wynn slipped a card she had taken from her room into her duel disk. "Raven, a message." Wynn pulled a piece of paper out of the raven's talons and wrote a quick paragraph on it. Dear Anastasia, As a trusted informant of the Hunt, and as your friend, I am asking the Hunt to call off their investigation of Death. After further discussion with the god in question, I realized that I misunderstood several of Death's actions, and my request for an investigation was not justified. The vast majority of souls in his domain come from deceased space daemons, which as you know do not require the same afterlife system as other mortal souls. Sincerely, Wynn, Bringer of Storms. Wynn gave the letter to Death. "Is this acceptable?"

Tricks? No. My tricks are a lot more complicated and usually end in disaster. "Yes." Wynn nodded. "I do. And you should know, a certain god of destruction is poking around right now, so we may need to speed things up."

A little bit murderous. How about you? Feeling proud of yourself? Your day is coming, Malum. Coming swiftly and soon. Wynn unlocked the realm and made her way back.

Wynn nodded and walked away. My people really did outsmart themselves. They never intended to build a realm that could trap a god.

Wynn thought for a second, then sighed. "This deal is acceptable. I'll send Anastasia a raven asking her to call the investigation off. Just give me a minute to get back to the security chamber to unlock the realm."

Wynn chuckled again. "I hate you, you know that, right? Once again, I do not control the Wild Hunt. How the heck would I gain control over thousands of vengeful undead? I don't think you understand what I'm saying. You can't win against the council. They control all of the primal forces, plus a few others. And whatever aspect of you that is here will be unable to return once you leave. This realm is unbreakable. Now if you have nothing to offer, then goodbye." Wynn turned and walked away.

"You have no involvement with him? Well he certainty doesn't think that. And it's still funny that you think I can stop them. I merely pushed a pebble off the cliff. I can't stop the rock slide that follows. You made your bed, and now you have to lie in it. I'd gladly watch you take what's coming to you, but I'm still open to deal-making. You are, after all, in the one place that no one can enter, not even gods. I locked the door just after you slipped in. My people really had no idea how ingenious this realm's design was when they crafted it. "Take this deal or leave. I will give you this realm in trade for Lerac. All yours, golems of death included. You can even have the key. Take it or leave it. I win no matter what."

Wynn considered. "I could put in a good word for you. They don't know about your involvement with Malum yet, however. How about this? You give me Lerac permanently, and I give you ownership of my memories that could incriminate you. I'll still have access to them, but I literally will be unable to tell the council, even if they scan my mind."

Wynn pulled herself back a little. "I forgot. Death bows to no one, not even Malum. So why have you come?"

Wynn laughed. "A fool? Yes. A terrible person? Most likely. The person who got you busted? Definitely. "What's wrong, Death? Did you have to abandon your Underworld when the council set the Wild Hunt on you? It's funny that you would come here, to a place where only one is living and only one has died. The Aos Si are happy in their undeath. Have you come to let me join them?"

Kill Death? I don't know if that's possible, but it sounds fun. Wynn shivered.

Well, I think you passed the audition. The team's called "Really Annoying Inconveniences That Will Never Actually Amount To Anything". Wanna join? I think you could be co-leaders with Purple and Nathan. Tors... I think they just destroyed Lerac's soul. Here's the plan: Step one, destroy Malum Step two, trap Death in a pit of eternal agony and laugh as he suffers for eons. Step three: go to Haly's and commit mass murder. Step four, bring Lerac's body back to his family. Actually, maybe we can do step four first. His body probably won't decay in the End of Time, but I don't want to take any chances. And also we need to brainstorm ideas for step one. Malum deserves a lot worse than an easy destruction. Snuffle yipped and butted her head into Wynn's arm. Wynn smiled faintly and stroked her silly metallic fur.

And that one little action just sealed Death's fate. The Hunt's chains are off now. Not even Death himself can stand against the fury of the interdimensional justice system. What Malum, were you trying to make me cry? You really need to get it together if you ever want to be a full-fledged member of the team. "And you, Death. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, you should be afraid. Be very afraid." Wynn felt calm, like the misty land underneath the trees. "Class fives are so much more fun to get revenge on than mortals. They could trap you in a pit for eternity, or break you into tiny pieces and scatter you everywhere- ooh! They could make you mortal! You'd like that, wouldn't you? "And both of you. Don't you know that it's better to build up walls, instead of tearing them down? I get that you're the gods of death and destruction, but you'll be able to destroy better if you pace yourselves, spend more time planning and less time trying and failing to make teenage girls cry. Honestly, how have you both been around so long without figuring that out?" Wynn stroked Snuffle calmly. Perhaps it was better to forget humanity- go back to how she had been eons ago.

Wynn looked sad. "Bye for now. The future is never what you expect it to be. I... well please wait for me, if you can. I'm sorry." That was cruel of you, Malum. If you want to be a helpful member of this team, you need to stop doing things like that. Wynn addressed Tors. She's a puppy. All she wants is to be with me. When I called her spirit back, she came running.

"I never got to see TAAron. Death will literally not allow me past his doors again. Believe me, I tried. The only reason I went back for TAAron was because Haly needs him. You might not understand now, but mortal death isn't something I mess with lightly. Unless you'd like to try undeath?" Back when she was a real puppy, I was allergic to her. Unfortunately, puppies don't last very long. She agreed to let Orange make her into a robot after she died.

"And they made you not perfect. Real." Yep. Snuffle here is the best treasure-finder I've ever come across. Wynn patted the puppy's head, and Snuffle yipped happily in return.

"You healed people at your own expense. You said what you thought. You even laid down your life for someone whom you'd only recently met. You gave me hope that maybe not all mortals are incapable of thinking beyond themselves and their chosen loved ones." Uhh... I wouldn't really call it a plan. I figure, we get some more Stacis, trap him with it somehow, then use you to kill him. Don't ask me how- I haven't gotten that far yet.

"You were someone who gave me hope. Now be quiet, Malum." Wynn took another deep, nostalgic breath. Now wasn't the time to be lingering on the dead, no matter how much they tried to break into her life. She had her full memories back for the first time in decades, a mechanical puppy in her arms, and a purpose to fulfill. Today was a good day, in a cold, misty sort of way. I view you as a person first and a weapon second. Unless we're fighting Malum, I'll be using this glaive. I can already tell it'll meld nicely with my Shadow Magic.

Yeah, and I'm sure his soul comes with a hefty price. He chose his death. I won't force him back just to satisfy own desires. "I miss you Lerac!" Wynn called out, not convinced that he could actually hear her. "The Hunt will bust you out of there soon. You'll get your chance for a fair afterlife." Wynn twirled the glaive and continued walking. The weapon felt so right in her hands. A final gift from Eria, perhaps. Or maybe she was just being sentimental. Either way, Wynn sensed power in the weapon. I hope you don't feel jealous, Tors.

I highly doubt that he would actually do that. It would definitely consign him to a fate of eternal suffering. Besides, it's out of my hands. I don't control the gods, especially not the class sixes. If any one of them wanted to, they could probably crush you and restore Lerac in a single blink. But that would be against their rules. Some gods, unlike you, have principles. Wynn continued deeper into the Mound's network of tree tunnels, feeling slightly disappointed that any energy wells would have dissipated eons ago. She came to the armory. Hmmm. No weapons. At least they went down fighting. As she exited, Wynn noticed a single weapon on the floor, a glaive made of some strange sleek material. As she picked it up, she received a jolt. Eria?

Snuffle isn't just a dog, she's my childhood friend. Don't criticize unless you have something actually helpful. Wynn left her room and breathed in deeply. It was nice to be home, even if that home was a wasteland death trap that ended up killing most of her people. She walked down a treetop hallway, gazing out the window that gave a view of the forest floor. The golems were sleeping nicely, like they had never even gone on a murderous rampage. And the moss... it looked like the atmosphere system had broken down and decided to give the ground level a continuous shower of mist. It was pretty. Reminded Wynn of Ireland. Nice world, that one had been. She found her way to the security chamber and locked the realm. Now the only way to get in or out of here is with me.

Wynn rummaged around in her bedroom's storage bins. Three billion years of abandonment and neglect had taken their toll on the lower levels of the Mound, but the Aos Si knew how to build things to last. "Come on Snuffle, where- aha!" Triumphantly, she pulled a worn card out of the junk assortment. She put it in her duel disk, praying it would still work after all this time. A small metallic puppy appeared, big shiny eyes eager to please. Wynn rubbed its head, nostalgia hitting her full on. "Hey Snuffles. Wanna help me track something down?" The puppy barked, then began chasing its own tail. "I'll take that as a yes." Wynn chuckled, scooping the little machine up. "We've got our work cut out for us."