The Ball is held at the Citadel. They arrive just after sunset, when the moon’s risen just above the clouds to cast an ethereal glow upon the floating fortress. Quite a few heads turn their way as Beau guides the beanstalk towards the landing platform. Mara takes in a deep breath, lifting a hand to fumble with the skeletal clasp of her cloak.

“Remember to smile”, Beau reminds her. He lifts his head high, his stride strong and gallant. “Keep your answers vague yet upbeat. And no matter what, do not say you’re a necromancer. People tend to only react a certain way when you say that.”

A smile tugs at her lips, her own steps carefree when she replies, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were embarrassed of me”.

“I could never be embarrassed of you.” His eyes turn teasing. “Save for your singing, of course.”

She just rolls her eyes. “Careful. I think I saw a karaoke bar on the way in.”

“Mr. Baxter! Mr. Baxter!”, a voice interjects then, and Mara finds herself thrown off-kilter by the sudden flicker of lights as several people rush towards them, holding phones and cameras alike. “What are your thoughts on the increase in undead activity in Miracle City? The Citadel continues to deny the trend, but it’s undeniable.”

A reporter with a microphone shoves past the first, her eyes wide with glee when she says, “Rumor has it that the increase correlates with the arrival of your new partner”.

“Well, that’s ridiculous.” Beau doesn’t afford them so much as a sideways glance. “Tombstone has been a great ally since her arrival. I, and Miracle City, am all the better for it. And so far as the undead activity, I can’t comment on the Citadel, but my partner and I have been working around the clock to counter the threat.”

Fighting back a blush, Mara folds her hands in front of herself and smiles. “We have been studying the increase, and we’ll release more details concerning it at a later time.”

“But what about your relationship?”, another reporter interjects, and Mara all but feels the air vacate her body.

Beau grits his teeth, his smile strained when he thinly asks, “What about our relationship?”

“Well, you have to’ve heard the rumors. You were spotted in a secluded area during the Parade.” The reporter makes a smug sneer whilst Mara simply grimaces. So much for the Library. “And recent pictures of you two show you closer than before. Is there anything we ought to know about?”

A laugh erupts from the crowd, only to immediately give way to silence. “Well, that’s disappointing.” The crowd parts to reveal Val at the chocolate fountain, her wings beating lightly as she saunters over to them. “I think we should take this party inside. The wind out here is just dreadful.”

“Thank you”, Mara says, a relieved breath escaping her as her friend grabs her by the hand and drags her up the stairs and indoors. A protest climbs to her lips as she turns her head around, her stare longing when it falls upon Beau. “Wait. We forgot-”

But Val just continues walking, her tone insistent when she remarks, “He knows how to work a crowd, trust me”. Her eyes then soften, her stare knowing. “He likes you, you know.”

“Stop it.” She lets out a sheepish smile. “Beau and I, we, we’re just friends. He doesn’t like me like that.”

A smirk crosses Val’s lips. “Trust me, dove. I’m a cupid.” She winks. “We tend to have a good ear for these things.”

“It’s not you I doubt, it’s me. You know I can never get these things right”, she says with a tired sigh.

Val just tosses an arm over her shoulder, raising her pink eyebrows for emphasis before she responds, “Trust me. You got it right this time”. The warmth in her eyes fades as she catches sight of something behind her, a rustle passing through her feathers. And if her curiosity wasn’t already piqued, it most certainly is by the next words to fall from her lips. “Be cool, okay? And remember why you came here.”

“Well, that’s not ominous at all.” She turns around and feels the air drain from her body at the sight of Damian rounding the corner. A cup of molten chocolate gets shoved into her hands, and she happily accepts it, grateful for something to focus on. With a shaky breath, she lifts the cup to her lips and takes a long sip.

When at long last he pauses before them, he does so with a smug smirk upon his feathers. “Tombs. Feathers. What a surprise it is seeing the both of you here. I didn’t realize they’d gotten so lax with the guest list.”

“Neither did I if they’re letting in the likes of you”, Val mutters as she sips at her own glass of hot chocolate. Her stare is dismissive when she looks him up and down. “Finally caused enough damage in Calamity City, did we?”

His smile is as sharp as his suit before he responds, “I must’ve done something right. Hey, who knows? Maybe one day, I can be a hero in Miracle City”.

“Yeah.” Val rolls her eyes. “When hell freezes over.”

His eyes darken before they turn upon Mara. “Well, they accepted Tombs here, didn’t they? Or did they? You know, I heard you’re only here as a plus one.” He laughs, and it’s a sound grating to the ears. “Still, it must be a great honor.” 

“I’m glad you made the list”, she says, willing herself not to stoop to his level. “Really, I am.”

Val just scoffs before asking, “Yeah. Who’d you have to possess to make it happen?” 

“I always enjoy these conversations of ours, pigeon.” He steps closer to Mara. “But I was actually hoping to have a private word with my friend here.”

Incredulity fills Val’s eyes, and she opens her mouth as if ready to tell him to go to hell. But Mara lifts a hand to her shoulder, a gentle smile crossing her lips. “It’s okay. I got it from here.” When Val just raises her eyebrows in disbelief, she shrugs. “I love you. But this is something I gotta do on my own. Okay?”

“...Okay”, she says after a moment. She then draws close to her, her voice lowered to a whisper. “I’ll keep the doves on stand-by if you need them.”

Mara just smiles, shaking her head fondly at her friend as she ventures back to the chocolate fountain. She then turns her stare back upon Damian, her smile vanishing when she says, “You said you wanted to talk”.

“I did.” He crosses his arms over his chest, a heavy scowl settling upon his face. “You’ve made your point, whatever it is. It’s time to stop this nonsense and come back home.”

The breath that escapes her is one of disbelief. “Is that what that was?” She lifts a hand to clasp at her skeleton pendant. “I told you before, D. I’m done with Calamity City.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Calamity did everything for you, and you’re just going to turn your back on it?”, Damian remarks. His lips then twist into a sneer, his stare full of malice as he looks down at her. “Oh, don’t tell me. You actually think that little twig actually likes you. Is that it?”

Her cheeks grow warm, but she doesn’t waver. Lavender clings to her irises as she holds his stare and calmly states, “He listens to me. He trusts me. He isn’t afraid to tell me when I’m fucking up, and he congratulates me when I succeed”. She narrows her eyes. “Why would I leave?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” He steps closer, his smile losing strength when Mara takes a step back. With a deep inhale, he then looks away, shaking his head as if in disbelief. “It’ll never work. You’re polar opposites, Mara. He’s life, you’re death. Creation, destruction. I’m sure this has been a nice little experiment or whatever, but you’re out of your mind if you think anything long term could come from it.”

Angry tears well in her eyes. She thinks of the five years she spent at his side. She thinks of the countless missions they went on together, of the many times she bandaged him up after a fight, of the instances where she downplayed her own strengths to make him look or feel better. She thinks of it all. 

And the only regret she has is that she didn’t leave sooner. She looks up at him and sighs. “I wish you all the best, Damian. But I meant what I said. Miracle City is my home now. And I don’t plan on leaving it any time soon.”

“...You only say that because you’ve forgotten how much fun it is in Calamity”, Damian says as she turns to leave, and she pauses in her stride to look back at him, dread pooling in her stomach. He smiles, but there’s no happiness in it. “But that’s okay. I mean, when I found out you were in the market for a new partner, I had a feeling you’d turn your sights on Bramble. A couple of outcasts like yourselves, it makes sense you’d be drawn towards each other. So it only made sense to make sure that when you’d arrive, it’d be a place more fitting for someone like you.”

In the far distance, Mara can detect the sound of Beau calling her name, but it doesn’t quite break through the fog that’s settled upon her. She stares at Damian, her head spinning when she asks, “What are you saying?” Realization dawns upon her, and she takes a step back. “It’s you. You’re behind it all. The ghosts, the haunted houses. It was all you.”

“Of course, it was, dummy.” He steps back into her space, and just like that, she finds the world slipping away as she collapses to the floor, his words ringing out emptily amongst Beau and Val’s frightened shouts. “Who else would it be?”