Rogues

Episode 11 | Aquaika

Aether parked the bus on the side of the road, calling to the rest of the group to tell them that they'd arrived.

After Sunshine had heard what had happened to Sprite, she'd been sent back with a message: The Rogues wanted to talk with the Clergy, aswell as Councilor Shay, but would only do it in Aquaika. They asked Sunshine to remind her Papa of Sprite's visions and that, if any attempt was made to capture them, they would know and would take Sunshine back to talk with her alone instead. Either way, the Rogues would not allow the Clergy to take them back to the ministry or send them to the Council building.

Copia stepped out of the bus first, Sunshine following behind him since she'd been asked to identify them. The Clergy was also nervous from the possibility of a trap from the Rogues instead, so Cumulas and Cirrus had been asked to check over their auras and inspect their intentions. If they had anything other than the simple talk they'd requested planned, the group was to leave immediately and keep Sunshine protected from taking until the Rogues turned themselves in.

Sunshine shivered as a chill breeze hit her. Bismuth had arranged the meeting to be at 10:20, right in the middle of Trudy Judy's shift as bartender, and the winter nights were so much colder and darker than the summer ones. That wasn't the same in their home dimension since 'seasons' is what they would call years, due to the lack of actual seasonal changes throughout.

She felt Bismuth's gaze on her even before she saw him and she turned, immediately catching his eye. He stood from the round table he and the other rogues were sat at, glancing at the rest of her pack and Councilor Shay before turning back to her.

She tapped Copia's shoulder and nodded towards the group, never breaking eye contact. Her Papa nodded, turning to count the ghouls and make sure everyone was there.

"Alright: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...9? Did I count someone twice? Who-"

"Hey, sugar." Sunshine felt a hand wrap around her arm, turning just in time to see Prince's grin before he ghosted them both over to the table, sitting her down and glancing back over at the shocked group near the bus. They stood with their mouths agape, all fully aware that regular shadow ghouls could not do what he'd just done. "Come on, join us! We don't bite...unless you want us to."

Poppy nudged him in the side and he winced at the playful contact, laughing at her flustered expression from his words. She sighed, shaking her head and glancing up at the group that now moved, hesitantly, towards them.

Bismuth maneuvered around the table, holding out his hand for the Papa to shake. Copia reluctantly took it, shaking firmly and letting go as soon as possible. He offered his hand to Councilor Shay aswell, but the older ghoul refused to take it. Bismuth's calm, casual expression suddenly seemed to have a causious hint to it and he lowered his hand slowly before strolling back over to stand beside Poppy.

Copia signalled for Aether, the pack leader and therefore his most trusted ghoul, to stand beside him as he sat down on the other side of the round table. "Was it really necessary to drag my ghoulette over here first?"

Prince chuckled, "No, but your expressions were hilarious."

Poppy nudged him again, turning and giving Copia a warm smile, "Sorry. I can't control him any more than he controls himself, which isn't a lot." She gave Prince a sly look and he grinned at her, showing his fanged teeth with pride.

"Shall we begin?" Shay requested, sitting down on Copia's right. He seemed much less comfortable in the rogues' presence, his expression completely blank.

They talked for a while about how and when they'd traveled to Earth, Copia listening intensely as they described the self purging and a tiny hint of rage slowly became apparent on Shay's face. When it came to discussing why they'd suddenly agreed to talk with them, Sunshine noticed Poppy covering Sprite's ears and holding their head to her chest. Gasps were heard from the other ghouls as Bismuth explained what Santos and his witches had done to them, their hands over their mouths and hugging themselves tightly. No-one should have to endure such cruelty, and it was a much bigger deal in hell. The media representation and misinterpretation of Satan and what hellish creatures were like made all moral issues a much more serious subject than they would have been on Earth, although Copia seemed just a horrified by the story as the ghouls and Councilor Shay were. Even Trudy Judy could be heard silently crying behind them. She'd always told them to stay safe, often having to be talked out of calling the police if they were in danger, so it hurt her just as much to know that her fears had come true.