The Adorable Archfae - vol. 01

"I am not going to argue and say I haven’t done some bad things. I absolutely have. But you have got to understand one thing. She ain’t lying. As soon as Micah’s father learns that I messed up, I am a dead man. I won’t be safe under your protection. I won’t be safe in jail. My only hope is to put as much distance between me and him as possible. If you really want to stop him from killing me, you have to let me go."

There is panic in both Sean's eyes and voice. Before either of you has a chance to speak any further on the subject, Mrs. Beradi walks back in from the kitchen.

"It was Sam. He is having a bit of trouble managing both of them while Micah is in this state." She looks from you to Sean and then back. "One of us needs to go help him." It is clear she does not know who would be the better choice and is leaving it up to you.

'..you go. I'll figure out what to do here.' Internally she is relieved that at least everything is okay enough for Sam to call. 'Though be careful. Sam just had an accident, and the boy with him and Micah...I hope he is safe but he just got rescued from whatever Sean and your..Micah's father was doing to him.'

'though before you go... She turns back to look at Sean. '...how bad of an idea would it be for me to confront Micah's father directly. She was probably going to do it anyway, but having knowledge could help.

Mrs. Beradi starts to gather her things as soon as you suggest she be the one to go. It is clear that she is worried about her son and is relieved she can go to his aid. When you ask about Micah’s father, she pauses and turns around with a worried expression on her face.

"I cannot say for certain. You look very capable but... my ex-husband is a ruthless man with nearly endless amounts of money. Mix that with his clever brain and you are seeking a fight with a very formidable foe. If you can even find him." She looks to Sean with a mixture of disgust and sympathy. "Do you even know where he is hiding these days?" Sean just shakes his head 'no' and goes back to staring at his feet.

"I thought as much. I’ll be back as soon as I can." Mrs. Beradi leaves.

Sean clears his throat. "I don’t know where you can find Mr. Beradi, but I can lead you to Dustin."

'Well that is almost a relief. Was half worried he would come look for this one personally' She gestures towards Sean. Okay so it would likely be mooks or Dustin. She wouldn't mind knocking him around a bit.

Sean seemed to be reading her mind as he spoke about leading the way. 'Well I was planning to wait till they came to us, but if I can get the drop on them, then that is better chances for both of us. As long as you don't lead me into a trap. That's going to be a very bad idea. For you.' She wasn't sure if she trusted him but if he could lead her to Dustin, maybe she would be able to find more kids, or more information as well. Plus she would have a surprise advantage, rather than waiting around like a sitting duck.

"I know you think I’m a real poor excuse for a human being right now, but you’re my only hope of surviving. I have nothing to gain by betraying and I have no problem turning on Dustin. That guy is a true slimeball to his core."

Sean starts to detail Dustin’s headquarters. He owns an apartment building not too far from here. You’re familiar with the place. It has a bit of a bad reputation for taking advantage of its tenants and is generally only rented out by people that don’t have much in the way of other options.

He tells you that Dustin lives on the top floor and has his offices built into the bottom floor. In the offices there is a secret entrance to the sewers where he is holding all of the fighters captive.

"I could easily get you in there. You change back into... like not a fairy or whatever, and I can walk you in like your a new recruit. I’ll get you onto the freight elevator. It has direct access to Dustin’s floor. You can’t beat that, right?"

'Even if I wasn't always a fairy, why would I risk you knowing who I am?' Still it was a good idea.. if it weren't for the fact Sean knew Lex. Plus the fact she had already turned Dustin down tonight it could seem suspicious.

A bad plan emerged in her head. She knew two people who would likely be up for helping, but no that was a bad idea. It wouldn't get her entry anyway.

'Are you sure there are no conveniently big airducts or something I can get through. You aren't in the firing line then either' Where he would be she'd need to figure out.. tied up in a phone box somewhere or something.

Sean looks dejected and shakes his head. "Dustin is paranoid of capes. Sets a pretty tight watch on the roof. He’s got armed guards and a pretty sophisticated security system watching every inch of the roof. Superheroes always go through the roof. Why is that? Doesn’t matter. What is important is that he is lax in security from the bottom up. After all, you never hear about the Warden swimming through the sewers. But you go down there dressed like that and word is going to quickly get to him. He’ll be long gone by the time you reach the penthouse."

It is clear that the wheels are spinning inside Sean’s head. Fear is a very powerful motivator. "Don’t worry about putting me in the line of fire. Anything Dustin does to me will be like being tickled with a feather compared to what Mr. Beradi would do.

"If I can get to the top floor, I am reasonably sure I can get you past the guards on the roof. Only problem is that Dustin is pretty upset with me right now since I sprung that one kid loose. I gotta make that up to him. Replace the lost merchandise..." He can’t look you in the eyes as he says this. Even if he believes the ends justify the means, he knows he has done awful things. "I gotta either take a couple of new recruits up to meet him or supply him with a big ol’ batch of Micah’s healing juice if I’m going to get an audience with Dustin on the top floor."

Archfae looks at her wings. 'Hey if I'm forced to be a fairy, you can bet I'm going to get my mileage out of the wings. She shrugs. If she went from the bottom up Dustin may be gone, but didn't Sean say something else about the bottom.

'You know what change of plan. Dustin is fucking ass, and I will gladly take him down, but that's not what's important right now. You say the fighters are behind a secret entrance? You're going to show me that entrance. We're getting them out. Then Dustin has a choice of saving his hide, or coming to stop us getting them out. After all I imagine Mr. Beradi is going to be pissed if all the merchandise is gone, no?' Though getting this many people out.. she may need others to help kid them... maybe if Micah had calmed down he and Sam could.. otherwise it was Brian and Magpie and that was getting them involved.

'...wait what do you mean by Micah's healing juice.'

Sean seems a little worried at the change of plan. "I can’t argue with that logic. If Dustin loses all those capt-- all those fighters, then it puts him in my shoes. He’d be forced to stay and fight to keep hold of everyone or accept defeat and run for the hills in hopes that Beradi never finds him."

When you mention Micah’s healing juice you can see the regret on Sean’s face. He wished he never mentioned it. "Micah has a superpower. This amazing healing ability. We’ve been... sort of extracting blood from Micah... unbeknownst to him. Dustin uses it to heal up the fighters that win. He and Beradi hope to someday use the juice as like... I don’t know. A fountain of youth? Mr. Beradi, powerful as he is, he still fears aging and death like any other man. He wants to conquer death itself; no matter the cost. Even if it means torturing his own son." Sean hangs his head low once again.

Archfae grins. 'That's the plan. Why chase someone when we can bring him to us.' There was the problem if he chose run. She couldn't protect him if he chose that. Well she could try to find him. Still it was the wellbeing of several captives versus his. It was an easy choice.

'I see. I had though that Micah had been a prototype, which is why they shared the healing, but his blood being used also makes sense. And confirms how much of an asshole you are. Micha trusted you, even while you were leeching off him, off his cause. I can't even start to think of your justification'

She stands as she draws in a breath. 'We will go for the captives. We should check on the others, she if they ae clamed down enough to help guide them out.' Sam and Micah, they were already involved. Better use them as help if she could, rather than other option,.

You and Sean sit in silence while waiting for the others to return. Eventually, Sam, Micah, and Mrs. Beradi walk through the door. She informs you that Todd has been checked into the hospital. Sam adds that he called a trusted friend, and member of the organization with no connection to Sean, who is keeping watch over him.

Micah is still in Fido mode. He has a big goofy grin on his face as he sits down next to you. Mrs. Beradi explains that there is no way to be certain of how long he will remain in this condition but it usually lasts for for at least several hours. She will stay here and watch over him during this time.

"So I guess it is just you and me to the rescue," Sam says with some doubt in his voice. "I’m letting you know right now that I am no fighter. If it comes to that I’m going to have to seek cover. But I am a bit of a tech wizard. So if there is anyway I can put that to work to help us out, let me know."