Blood Debts [Dresden Files / The Return (SM, R.5)]

[moon so bright]

I look forward to it! Also, I'd like to thank you for the hard work you put into crafting this tale - it has been gripping, funny, and so very worth reading.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

I look forward to it! Also, I'd like to thank you for the hard work you put into crafting this tale - it has been gripping, funny, and so very worth reading.

Click to shrink...

Excellent! Thanks for commenting, it's nice to hear that the work in the story has paid off. This was an interesting project as it had a set arc and I got it to the end.

And with the first person POV I was able to do some things different, and work as a re-introduction to the Return.

Which contributed to me starting the Return Rewrite project.

That said, with Blood Debts done, I can start working on the next part of the story.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Epilogue: Opening Consequences



I stood on the sidewalk, hands in my coat pockets. I didn't really need to. Sure, there was a chill in the air, and a light shower fresh snow gave everything a crisp look. But I was pretty insulated against the cold.

Before me was a picturesque white colonial-style house complete with a white picket fence. The Carpenters had a lovely home. It was a wonder Michael was able to maintain such a place within the city. But good living did have its benefits. Though recently, on one of his knighting missions, hopefully his last, he had had an unexpected windfall.

Still, I didn't see any splurges recent of wealth. But Michael and Charity weren't the "let's buy a sports car and a ski boat" kind of people. They were more "save away for the college funds for our many children".

I glanced about the house. It was a nice place, full of love. Hells Bells, when I was dead, well mostly dead, they had adopted Maggie. And if I wasn't... available, I couldn't think of a better place for her to live. Though... I now had a close second I suppose.

The walk from the gate to the front door had just been swept. Otherwise I would have seen Butters and Sanya's footprints. At my insistence, they had gone ahead. They were Knights, Michael and Charity would know they hadn't been mentally compromised. They also could show the photo album my sisters had made for me.

More importantly, Charity liked Butters and Sanya. She wasn't so fond of me, and that's back when I was still a human.

If Molly was available I would have had her come too; she was their eldest daughter. But I hadn't met her yet. Given the warm reception Mab gave me, and the downright ostentatious follow-up when we got to Arctis Tor, I was pretty sure the other Queens of Winter would approve.

Still, I was apprehensive.

Just because the Mantle of the Winter Lady would find "Dame BlackStone" intriguing doesn't mean that Molly Carpenter, my old apprentice, would like the changes. And she was having enough problems dealing with her Winter nature pressing against her persona.

I was her Knight as much as I was Mab's, or Mother Winter. I would have to meet her, but not today.

I sighed and shifted a bit of salt with the tip of my boot. I could feel...

Well, the threshold around the Carpenter residence was formidable. About the strongest I had seen. Not to mention, I could sense several things, like bundles of Soulfire around the property.

They were wary, but made no move against me. Then again, I was on this side of the gate. Across the street was a twinge of UnSeelie. I gave the safe house a bare glance. They were well-concealed, but their car was too new, the house looked a bit too neat.

Even the Carpenter's place had a bit of the natural distress that came from having a house full of kids. Michael did his best to keep up on home repairs, but he was only human.

It also helped that when a downright glamorous raven-haired woman exited the fae safe house, she openly stared at me before bowing her head and gliding to her car.

Yeah, "Dame BlackStone" wasn't exactly a secret around Winter. I was going to have to meet Molly sooner rather than later; odds were she already knew.

The sidhe indicated that Molly had kept her promise to provide her own protection for her family.

But my attention wasn't really on the angelic or fae guardians. Despite being invisible, my horns tingled at the people inside. The sensation was muffled, but I could feel my daughters. My hand clutched the gate and I kept from myself from sighing.

I stepped back and glanced around. Since the sidhe woman had driven off I was alone on the street. Or at least it looked that way.

"If I could have a moment of your time?" I asked the empty air.

There was a shift of the wind and I felt someone standing next to me. I slowly turned. A young man with dark gold hair hanging messily over silver blue eyes nodded to me. He wore old boots, faded jeans, a white shirt, and a heavy parka with a stitched patch bearing the name Jake on it. A snow shovel was propped against one shoulder, held like a soldier absently carrying a rifle.

"Dresden," Uriel nodded.

I took a moment to study the archangel. I had met him several times before. There was something hideously absolute about him.

Stars and Stones, Mab liked him. That showed you the kind of Angel he was: serious, dedicated, on-mission. This was Heaven's black ops guy. The last time we had met was after he had taken a role, not a direct role of course, that wasn't his place, but a role in the downfall of Nicodemus.

Which meant...

"You had a hand in this?" I asked gesturing over myself.

The Archangel smiled, the expression softening the sharpness of his cheekbones. "Must we go over this again?"

I crossed my arms and turned to face him. "Yeah, yeah, I know you're all about free will and choice. That's not what I meant."

Uriel inclined his head, as if to admit he had spoke to soon.

"I get Winter Mother sending me off on this mission. She fights Outsiders too. I'm her knight as much as Mab's. And, given she's a fae queen, I'm sure there's plenty other reasons why she did it."

Each fae court has three queens: the queen who was, the queen who is, and the queen who will be. Winter Mother, the queen who was, is the most powerful, but also the most constricted from interfering in mortal affairs, the most remote.

The blond man nodded.

"I also get Lady Pluto's actions. She couldn't stop Tessa from getting in, but she could help the one person on her planet who had fought Tessa before. She was the one who made sure I even landed in the right time-zone. And I'm sure she did more than just hire the bearded-Spock-universe me. Like Mother Winter, she's got her own schemes too."

"The Gate and Key is devoted to the line of Serenity. One hopes the heir treats her better than the Mother," Uriel said, a bit sadly.

I blinked at that. Yeah, there was a lot more to Lady Pluto than just a spooky girl. "Which brings us to you."

"Me," he amiably repeated. "What troubles you?"

"It's not that you were working behind the scenes. You did that with the Nicodemus thing, and it's because he killed Deirdre, his and Tessa's daughter, that mantis girl went on her rampage."

The archangel tilted his head slightly.

I waved my hands. "Whoa, I'm not blaming you! That dysfunctional Fallen-beholden family made their choices. I'm only saying that you if you felt like you needed to help in the first case, you'd feel the same need in the second."

Uriel's smile returned and he gave a non-committal shrug.

"Two Knights of the Cross helped me both times. And there was the whole miraculous artillery barrage."

"One might say that was due to the skill of the canon operators, or a nice young woman giving precise firing coordinates," he mildly said.

"Or maybe a miko using her Faith and one of your Swords to invoke a blessing," I countered. "I also recall my sister surviving a point blank Hellfire shot from Tessa. What, did everyone get one free protection with each blessing?"

Uriel amiably spread his hand. "We're still not at what's bothering you."

"Right. I get your involvement but..." I bit my lip. "I'm a demon."

"I hadn't noticed."

"Really?" I snorted and putting my hands on my hips leaned forward. "I think it's pretty clear there's something different about me."

"Maybe on the outside." Uriel smiled.

"Just for that, I should make you take me out shopping for new clothes."

The angel blinked. "Well, you did once try to bill me."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off. "When found out I still had my Soulfire, I figured you were okay with all... this."

"Ah," Uriel swiveled the shovel down onto a patch of snow and leaned on it. "We come to your concern."

Once, when we had talked, he had explained how he could predict people's lives. It wasn't exact, people had Free Will and all that, but it was like knowing the contours of a hill. Given that, you could guess where water would flow from the top to the bottom.

Someone could always damn the river, or cut a ditch, or do something to change the terrain, but, in general, if you knew the lay of the land you could predict where the water would go.

"Did you..." my eyes darted to his. "Did you expect me to become a demon? Is this part of some plan of yours?"

His smile returned. At least he managed to keep from laughing. "No plan. I saw it as a possibility, but not among the likely ones." Uriel pursed his lips and he looked down at the bit of snow his shovel had pierced. "Perhaps my estimation was wrong."

I laughed. "Come on, Mr. Sunshine, I got injured."

"You often walk with the chance of grave injury. Just recently, you could have died in battle against Tessa or her summoned Outsiders. You could have died in Lomar. Even your first fight against Tessa could have ended badly; she did throw a safe door at you."

"Yeah, or I could have been gutted by those fake FBI wolves when I first arrived. Or their giant machine gun could have cut me in half.

"Still, you know the kind of decisions I make when I find myself unable to fight but needing to fight."

He nodded. "Which is why I expected you to exploit the bond you had already bargained for the last two times you had been grievously injured."

I blinked. "Oh." That was what Mab had meant when I asked her to heal me and she told me I had my full measure of Winter power. Mab had healed me after I had gotten shot. Sure that took a long time, but it was possible.

"So... you expected me to go all uber-Winter Knight?"

He looked at my choker and gave me a pointed look.

"I'm a different kind of Knight now." I winced. Empty Night. Both he and Mab had expected me to do one kind of foolhardy grasp of power in a desperate attempt to heal. Embrace the Winter Mantle and... what? Use it to force some type of change into my body?

Or would it have been a less physical transform? Maybe I would have simply had a lot more ice powers and could have been wheeled about the battlefield like a cross between Professor X and Iceman.

"Fine." I huffed. "I'm still a demon."

The worst part was that those two were right. I had embraced the Winter Mantle and used it to change my body. But it was done in addition to the succubus change.

"It was your choice," he said mildly, his attention back to the snow on the ground.

"My sisters and Butters made that abundantly clear," I said, not pouting.

"They were right."

I shook my head and stomped a foot. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You set it up so that Nicodemus and Tessa were offered a chance, a way out. But their Fallen blinded them."

Uriel's grip tightened on the shovel handle. "When one has borne a coin for so long, has taken the lies of the Fallen into their heart, it can be all but impossible to reach them."

"But not impossible." I looked back at the house. "At least Imariel's in the penalty box."

Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the Fallen are destined to get back into circulation. At least make sure the coins Butters collected stay locked away. I mean, Lasciel got out way too quickly."

The Archangel frowned.

"I'm not asking you to violate your rules," I said soberly. An Archangel doing that would... well, recall the last time one of those guys broke the rules and Fell.

Uriel seemed mollified. "But?"

"But between your whispers, your dead cop friends, and other spooks, you might get the opportunity to balance the scales." I shrugged. "Maybe that could help buy some time to keep Imariel locked away a bit longer."

"Ah." His tone wasn't exactly disapproving, but it wasn't approving either.

"Hey, I made sure Butters took all the coins back with him, and I let him keep them."

"Your family wanted no part of those things. Rather wise of them, for the Denarians are not for their world. And you learned the dangers of containing a single coin let alone over half a dozen."

"I might not have," I pouted. Sure, I no longer had the subbasement where I buried Lasciel's coin in the concrete for a few years. But now I had a spooky island. An island that was really a supernatural supermax prison.

I was already storing some holy relics there. Part of me thought I could keep unholy relics there. But... the problem is the Fallen's coins were fated to eventually escape. That's what they did.

Given that, keeping them on my scary island was a bit too much like putting a helicopter with keys in the ignition just outside the prison yard. Sure, the prisoners shouldn't be able to get to it, but the combination was just begging for trouble.

Uriel nodded. "Your concern is noted."

"I just wanna make sure you do right by Butters."

The angel looked up. He seemed a big surprised.

"This was his first big mission as a Knight; he bagged a lot of coins. It'd really suck if less than a year later he has to fight all the same Fallen all over again."

"He wasn't there to 'bag coins' as you put it."

"I know; he was there to help me. Tessa still died. I still became a demon. I'm more Mab's than ever before." The last part was said a lot less bitterly than I expected. At least I didn't purr as I said it.

"Ah, back to your fear." He looked at me. "I once gave you a bit of advice."

"Seven words." I tapped my fingers against the gate. Lasciel had broken the rules. She contacted me when I was at my lowest directly, secretly, without me touching her coin.

With only seven words, she pushed me over the edge; convinced me that I couldn't handle being the Winter Knight. That push drove me to suicide.

One upside was that since she broke the rules, it allowed Uriel to balance the scales.

When I most needed it, he told me seven words and saved me from falling into hopelessness. "Yeah, but the difference is back then I didn't want to... serve Mab."

He glanced at me.

I was certain that he knew what Mab had done when she welcomed me back into Winter, including after she had given Butters and Sanya rooms to rest after our travel. Lea didn't hold anything back when she reported and Mab was... prepared.

"Embracing the Mantle was your choice."

"Yeah, and the one you thought I'd make," I said a bit tartly.

Uriel shifted his shovel scooping a bit of snow. "That is true. If you got hurt, I did consider you taking charge of the Mantle being your most likely way to heal. Joining House BlackSky was far lower. After seeking aid from the Lunarian Court."

I laughed. "I was tempted by the magical girls. But Lady Pluto was just a bit too worrying. Maybe if Ranma had said no."

He nodded. "I certainly didn't put great odds you would both embrace the Winter Mantle and join BlackSky."

My gaze lowered. "I screwed up the change. My sisters warned me I'd have to turn myself into a succubus. They'd provide energy, the blueprint, all I had to do was follow through. I'm a frikin' wizard and I couldn't handle magic so basic anyone could do it."

I rubbed my forehead. "And now I'm alone." I could feel their absence gnawing on me. Sure I had my daughters, friends, and family, but they weren't succubae. There were things they wouldn't understand.

Hells Bells, they were twitchy enough when I came back after taking up Mab's job. How would they react with me being a literal demon? They'd be afraid I wouldn't be Harry anymore, and they were right to be afraid.

"Harry Copperfield BlackStone Dresden," Uriel said, perfectly capturing my Name. He shook his head. "Remember: wherever you go, there you are."

"Buckaroo Banzai again?" I laughed. He had given me that line when I was a ghost and had asked for some advice just before.... Just before I had stepped into the darkness and into Mab's arms.

And it was then that he used those Seven Words: Lies, Mab cannot change who you are.

"I'm still me? But..." I touched my slender, pale fingers to my choker.

Uriel lifted his shovel. Leaning back a bit, he glanced over and nodded. "Who else would you be?"

"A demon." I stated. Mab's pet a part of me whispered. Which I suppose was better than: Mab's pet monster.

"That's your species, not who you are. And it was your own doing."

"My sisters helped," I said a bit bitterly. I didn't like what Cecilia had done, but I wasn't sure she was wrong.

The angel nodded.

"Still... what about Michael?" I went back to looking at the house. The Threshold around it was something impressive.

Uriel blinked. "He accepted and still helped you when you possessed a coin."

"Yeah, but that's kind of his job. The Knights are supposed help those sad-sacks with a Fallen on their back get rid of the damned bits of old currency." I spread a hand and let some talons form. "It's not like I can give this up."

"Ah." His tone was non-committal, as if he didn't quite believe me.

I hadn't put too much thought into turning into a human, but there might be a way. I mean: wizard. And for my age a real powerful one and no slouch in skill. So, if I really thought about it I might figure something out.

Not to mention, I had far more experienced people I could bug. My grandfather, Ebenezar, has centuries of experience and had written the book on training wizards. Or, at least, one of the better ones.

Hells Bells, when it came to transformation magic there was another Senior Councilmember I could pester. "Injun-Joe" Listens-to-Wind was amazing at shapeshifting. He could turn from human to eagle, to wolf, to bear the size of a mini-bus.

And if shapeshifting didn't pan out, well, I knew where I could get an Unravelling. That was a powerful bit of magical cloth that when unthreaded would take any bit of magic with it.

I had thought I could use it to cure Susan of her latent vampirism. True, that had been about the only cure I had found for the half-vamps of the Red Court.

Regardless, things... didn't work out. Instead of using it on Susan, I had to use the item to turn a young woman from stone back to flesh. And, well, things didn't work out well for that girl in the end either.

I sighed. I had lost so many over the years.

Worse, I only knew one place where I could find an Unravelling: the hut where Mothers Winter and Summer lived. And, given I'm pretty dang sure Mother Winter had a hand in me being all perky demon goth, bugging her for a way to turn back human might not be smart.

Of course, if I didn't limit myself to humanity, the easiest thing I could do was go fully sidhe. As it was, right now I was a mortal who was part fae. There's another word for that: changeling.

Theoretically, I could embrace my fae side.

"That choice would have complications," Uriel said mildly.

"Tell me about it," I shook my head. "I kinda like being mortal. I'm not like Molly, I never saw the big deal about cell phones." As the Winter Lady, Molly didn't have to worry about her magic interfering with technology.

"But yeah, that'd get me even more into Winter, and I'd stop being the Winter Knight."

"That position is open only to mortals." Uriel nodded.

"Mortal," I snorted. "I'm amazed demons count."

Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I know we have Free Will and aren't bound by our natures. Which says some pretty interesting things about the origin of my current species. And how we stack up against other demons."

The Angel gave a little smile. "Mab has informed you of her preferred replacement for you?"

"She implied Thomas would fit the bill." I snorted. "Which makes total sense now, what better follow-up to a succubus Winter Knight than an incubus Winter Knight?"

I withdrew my claws. And that could be the real irony of me going full fae to "cure" myself. Plenty of supernatural things rocked the succubus and incubus act. Only some of them were demons. Knowing my luck, I'd still be a succubus. I'd still have the same urges and hungers.

But I'd be a succubus without the connection to my sisters.

That was not something I wanted to give up.

"It is good to consider your choices, but in this case it's all hypothetical, isn't it?" Uriel gently prodded.

I flexed my fingers. "Well..." He was right. I eyed him. "Of course, you don't care. I mean, to you, the soul's what counts, not the body."

Uriel gave me a very patient nod. "Yes, you are a soul that has a body"

Suppressing a smirk, I noted as he said that he looked me over. "Maybe later I'll look into a way to change back. Maybe I'll spend that time looking into getting free of Winter, that may be more productive."

Even I could tell my heart wasn't in either of those statements. But Uriel didn't challenge me on that.

"But right now I have friends to talk to, family to meet," I smoothed my shirt down.

Uriel leaned his shovel against the fence. He put a hand on my shoulder, opened the gate and led me through.

Upon my first step on the walkway, the front door opened. Three Knights of the Sword stepped through. Michael the retired Knight, Sanya the current Knight, and Butters the newest Knight.

Michael Carpenter was a large man who despite his cane and limp still looked powerful. He was also tall, and as I neared I realized he was now taller than me. He had a quizzical expression as if his mind was only now processing what Butters and Sanya had been saying.

As they stepped onto the porch, three more followed but held back in the doorway. Charity, Michael's wife, stood in the middle, a tall Valkyrie-style blonde.

It was funny. I knew two other tall, prim warrior blondes that did the Valkyrie look. Both were mercenaries to boot. Though Gard was a literal Valkyrie.

I was momentarily distracted by the idea of Gard, Eve, and Charity having dinner together and spending the bulk of the time complaining about my idiocy.

Blinking, I realized that Charity's expression wasn't the normal hostility, frustration, or begrudging almost-respect she had for me. She knew her husband and daughter did dangerous things and they had both gotten hurt trying to help me.

This time...

She looked to her husband then to the person helping me up the walkway.

I only briefly studied the swirling emotions emanating from her. My attention zeroed in on the two figures flanking Charity. One was a dark-haired young girl and the other was a ghostly feminine form. My daughters. And behind them was the giant shaggy form of my dog, Mouse.

Uriel's grip on my shoulder released as I crossed the remaining few yards and went up the steps to them. The knights parted. Maggie was confused, but she wasn't scared. Bonnie on the other hand recognized me immediately.

I drew them both into a hug. Mouse also pressed against us, his tail thumping against my legs. I had to actively resist letting my own out. And, I might have gotten Charity swept into it as well. Still, I figured I had time to get things straightened out.

I was home.

***************


My brother pulled the hulking black SUV into the parking lot. His grey eyes flashed over me.

"Thanks for the lift," I smiled. "I'll make it up to you when I get a replacement car. Like, three drop-offs or pickups at the airport."

"You better get something bigger than a crummy Beetle then," Thomas said as he put the vehicle in park in front of a modest brick office building.

It was a bit more expensive than where my old office was, but that place had been blown up by the Red Court a few years back. Stupid vampires.

"It was a classic," I huffed. "And you know how I can't own a new car." Human, demon, I still had plenty of techbane.

He eyed me, a bit of silver twinkling. "You can afford better. Buy a real classic." Even when disapproving, my brother was way too pretty. Tall, tumbling dark hair, effortlessly muscular. It was interesting; I knew he was a White Court vampire. I had even seen his Hunger when we Soulgazed many years ago.

But now... now I could understand.

"I don't even have a driver's license yet. Stupid Council."

"How have they taken the..." he gestured, his hand brushing over my coat and blouse.

"They don't know yet." I crossed my arms. I had waited a couple days to tell my contacts on the Council. Well, Butters, Sanya, and Michael had written their letters.

I had thought that getting Ebenezar, Rashid, and Luccio to meet with me, sight and voice unseen would have been difficult, but the Gatekeeper had been, for once, easy to get a hold of.

Which confirmed my suspicions that there was some connection between the Senior Councilmember who watched the Outer Gates and Lady Pluto. Maybe there was some sort of mailing list for people who guarded supernatural doorways.

My brother raised an eyebrow.

"I told Ebenezar, Rashid, and Luccio."

My grandfather, another member of the Senior Council, read the three letters from three Knights of the Cross, active and retired, stating I was who I said I was, including the almost insultingly terse one Sanya had written.

He must have seen my mother, his daughter, in my face because the big, grumpy man hugged me. The moment was ruined a bit when Lucio Captain of the Wardens, and one of my bosses, burst out laughing.

Thomas nodded. "Sensible of you. Lemmie guess, they told you to shut up and let them handle it?"

I frowned thinking of Lucio. She had once been an older, extremely hardass combat wizard with well over a century of experience, but a fight with a body-swapping necromancer had left her in the body of a young blonde woman.

We had dated for a time, and I might have teased her about her dimples. Which explained her mirth when she saw that my younger form also had dimpled cheeks. The levity was cut short when Rashid pointed out how... complicated my change was.

"Yeah... that's why it's taking so long."

"Half the Council already thinks you're some not-so-secret Warlock. And that was before you started working for Mab," Thomas shook his head. "Empty Night, you really didn't think this through?"

I glared at him but then wilted a bit. "I just wanted to stop Tessa."

He squeezed my hand. "At least some good came outta this." His hand was cool, and pale. It looked a bit like something carved from marble.

At least it complimented my own snowy white fingers and sapphire nails. Stars and Stones, neither of us had the little imperfections that made our flesh look truly human. The contact tingled as both of our Hungers nipped at each other.

It wasn't the mutual connection I had with my sisters: succubae shared within the brood and formed bonds. White Court vamps backstabbed even their closest family members.

I sighed. "I might be kicked out of the Council." I had been critical of the Council for decades. I had spent much of my life living under a probation, something they cheerfully called the Sword of Damocles, waiting for the time some grey-cloak Warden would come in and lop off my head.

But now the prospect of being given the boot, hurt.

"It is a humans only club," Thomas' tone was unexpectedly bitter.

"Those three said they'll see what they can do. Eb thinks he can keep me in. With only two Senior Council votes it may take some... horse trading. But if I don't get kicked out of the Council itself, Lucio'll make sure I'm still a Warden. I might have a demotion, but, since no one was reporting to me anyway, I had already lost my Regional Command in all but name."

"Harry, do you want the job?"

I frowned. "It is a source of money."

My brother snorted.

"I'm also deeper in with the Council. It makes it harder for the Merlin's cronies to lob accusations I'm some danger when I'm a wizard cop."

He poked me in the chest. "That's not why you want it. You like helping people."

I pouted.

"And you like being able to stick it to the Merlin and his chums. You know he's gonna turn all purple when he finds out about this right?"

I gave an innocent smile. That dimple of mine really helped sell it. "Hadn't crossed my mind."

He laughed. "So, that's what it takes to get you to hold back and let someone else do things for you?" Putting his hand on my shoulder his expression sobered. "Lucio isn't going to spend the political capital to have you keep your job out of the goodness of her heart."

I put my hand on his arm. "I know," I said quietly.

"She's head of the Wardens; she'll have political or at least strategic goals. And a Warden with Winter's ear is valuable, not to mention the... demon side. That's a rare asset to her."

"She'd never ask me to do black magic!" I said hotly, my eyes flashing.

Thomas pulled back ever so slightly.

"Hells Bells, she taught Morgan; she hates black magic as much as he does." Donald Morgan the scary, now deceased, Warden who spent over a decade stalking me, sure I was going to turn evil. We, sort of, made up before he died. Well, we killed a traitorous dark wizard mole together. That counts as bonding, right?

"Yeah," he looked into my eyes. We had already Soulgazed. That event had confirmed he was my brother, and revealed a message our mother had saved for us. "She can't stand black magic and now she's got a non-evil demon? If, somehow, you get to keep your grey cloak there's a lot you can do for her that no one else can."

I exhaled.

"Look, you still need paperwork. And you don't have to wait for Council intrigue to straighten out. My sister can help you get an ID, transfer your business license so you don't have to sneak into your own office."

I scoffed. I didn't need to sneak. "And what will that cost me?"

He shrugged. "You can pay it."

I gave him a wicked smile and shifted. My hair darkened to glossy black. I lost a bit of height but added a hint more breadth to my shoulders and filled in my proportions. Cheekbones became less sharp as my lips became fuller, darker. As the rest of my makeup changed to complement a more natural, if still pale, complexion my eyes shifted to a shining silver.

"I suppose I can," I purred.

Thomas stilled. That is for a moment he was statue-still. If anything, this got his Hunger more confused than anything else.

"What, you'll spend the night with her?"

"For a whole night I'd better get more than some paperwork," I gave a haughty sniff and idly fluffed my hair. "I'll meet her on my terms, keep the surprise."

Thomas shook his head. "Look, Lara already knows."

I eyed him.

"No, I didn't tell her. But come on. You've been talking with people since you've gotten back. And you might as well meet her, she already knows all about the new you."

I smiled, flashing my teeth. "No, Lara has stories about some sidhe succubus claiming to be Harry Dresden. She has no idea."

He gave a long blink. "Oh, Empty Night, you're going to look like this when you meet her aren't you?"

"Maybe." I gave him a coy smile as I let the glamour slip and returned to normal.

My brother shook his head. "Well, if you don't say anything she might not figure it's you."

I gave him a dismissive sniff and certainly didn't pout. "You and Justine still on for day after tomorrow? I know she's..."

"Yeah, and she's doing good," his grip on the wheel went a bit tight. I put a hand on his arm. Justine was Thomas'... well, she was very close to him. She was also carrying his child. It was difficult for White Court vampires to conceive and the pregnancies were complicated.

Just another downside to being a White Court vamp.

I didn't say anything. I wasn't even sure I knew what I was offering, but I did know that if things went bad for Justine or the baby I'd help.

Eyes flashing silver, Thomas nodded. "I don't know if it'll come to that," he grumbled in almost a growl. His Hunger nipped at mine, as if feeling territorial at the contact. No wonder the Raith family members were so prickly with each other.

He relaxed his grip. "Will Murphy be there? How's she handling dating a chick?"

"It's not a date! You and Justine will be there, as well as Maggie and Bonnie."

Mr. prefect six-pack despite-never-doing-a-situp brother gave me a confident, winning smile. "I wasn't talking about Tuesday's dinner." He then laughed at my blush.

"Complicated. She's..." I shook my head. "Butters and Andi are helping a lot. I think Murph wishes she'd been the one sent to help me."

Murphy was Catholic and she had carried a Sword in battle. She also used to be a cop and worked with mercs before. All good points that meant she would have been handy to have had on that mission.

On the other hand, she also kinda caused one of the Swords to shatter. In the end, that gave Butters a nifty lightsaber. "She says that if she'd been there I wouldn't have done some fool thing."

"Maybe," Thomas nodded. "Or maybe you would have done something stupider, behind her back just to spite her."

"Ranma wouldn't have let me." This time I'll admit I pouted.

"Ah yes, the crazy sister," he shook his head. "Redheads."

"Come on now, you'd like her."

"Sure." He gave that winning smile again. "Butters says she loves teasing you. I figure that's enough in common to get along great."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled and opened the door. "Thanks for the lift." I stepped out of the giant vehicle. The vertical drop felt high enough that I had to suppress the urge to release my wings.

I still had to pull my duster around myself again after it billowed out behind me. At least my skirt settled down on its own.

"At least you're no longer unkempt and disheveled," Thomas' tone was dry as he handed over my staff.

"You're just jealous because you're no longer the pretty one," I stuck my tongue out. "

The vampire put his hand to his chest. "Right. That's like me being jealous of your sisters."

I smirked, he was so jealous I totally got the better batch of succubus sisters.

"I like Inari," I said. Though Thomas' baby sister wasn't really a vampire. As far as I knew she had yet to feed, and could very well be free of her Hunger.

"She's not really one of us," Thomas said echoing my thoughts.

I tilted my head, wondering if by "us" he was including myself and my- Oh Hells Bells, he was.

"And Natalia isn't that bad," Thomas added.

I laughed. "Later."

He nodded. "Later, Harry."

I closed the door and he drove off.

Shrugging my duster and adjusting its belt, I slipped into the lobby. The tiles echoed on my boots. There were a couple of people waiting by some threadbare chairs and someone going to a counter with a bank of mail slots behind it. The lobby was a bit worn, but the floors were clean and the plants were watered. There was the scent of fresh paint on half the walls. The other half had been sanded and prepped.

I nodded to man behind the counter and got an enthusiastic wave. Manny was an older, burly, built-like a bulldog Portuguese fellow with a cheerful disposition.

I had just gotten my private investigation service reopened before being sent off on that Winter mission. Unfortunately, so far, vanilla mortals had a harder time accepting that I was Harry Dresden than the supernatural community.

For the latter, a wizard becoming a pale, blue-tinged woman was a possibility, for the former that was simple madness. That said, Manny was the building supervisor and primary repair-guy and didn't take much sweet-talking to let me deal with my cousin's business.

It helped that Manny knew Michael, one construction and repair professional to another. And Michael was able to say with complete honesty that I was taking over the business once all the paperwork was in order.

He also didn't seem to mind that said cousin carried the same staff as a certain Harry Dresden. Upside to Cecilia and her girls tweaking my duster's style, I didn't look like I was trying to wear the coat of a much bigger man.

I went through a hallway and passed an elevator with some longing. I had bad luck with elevators, especially in my last office building. I really didn't want to bother Manny with having to deal with an elevator car getting crushed by a giant scorpion.

Besides, it was only a few flights of stairs and it would make for good practice. Though by the second level, I was cursing my boots, and getting a bit jealous of Lara. Thomas' sister could run in high heels, on gravel.

Stupid, cheating vampire.

I got to my floor with the minimum of wobble. My sisters would be proud of my impromptu training and not quitting. Well, Ranma and Cecilia would. Eve would simply point out that any heel elevation was a tactical disadvantage.

As I approached the door, I muttered about hypocritical big blondes. My sister wore high heels, like, all the time.

I sighed at the glass inset on the door. It said "Harry Dresden. Wizard."

It had been a good moment when the painters had put that up. It showed that I was back in business. Now... now I had to have the name changed.

I could still go by Harry Dresden among the supernatural set, but with mortals? Again... gender aside, no one would buy that I lost five inches and over fifty pounds of bone and muscle.

I unlocked the door. My nose flared.

Oh, Empty Night.

Him.

I closed the door behind myself and let my Winter power ease out. Like my old office, this one had an antechamber waiting room in the front. But unlike my old office there wasn't any furniture or table. It was empty. The paint was fresh and the floors had been polished and Manny had put a plant in one corner. It sat on the floor in a little pot all alone.

I had to keep my introduction to magic pamphlets on a large cardboard box. I frowned. I needed a better display. I also debated if I should put some of the Silva Succubus ones Cecilia had helpfully supplied me with.

On the one hand, I might not be the only true-succubus here. On the other hand, I wasn't sure I wanted to advertise that bit about myself to quite the same level as my Wizardness.

Either way, I went to the door that led to my cramped inner office. I would have loved to have kicked the door down. But, Stars and Stones, it was my door. I didn't want to pay for replacing it.

My nostrils took in more of the intruder's scent. The smug bastard was waiting for me.
Knowing my sisters, they would have gone around and come through the window. Or maybe something crazier like blasting through the floor or the wall.

But... well, it says a lot when I find their collateral building damage excessive.

I simply opened the door and stomped in.

A man with strong, handsome features sat behind my desk. He had dark hair tinged with silver and cold eyes. He wore a black suit. I had known his tastes were expensive but thanks to Cecilia and old-man-assassin me I had a better idea just how expensive that elegant, bespoke suit of his was.

A thin grey rope dangled from his neck like a half-done bolo tie.

He was Nicodemus Archleone, leader of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Tessa's former husband. All of this, the trip to another world, Tessa's mad revenge scheme, over a hundred deaths, my becoming a demon, was all because Nicodemus had murdered Deirdre his and Tessa's daughter.

The bastard clasped his hands on my desk.

I slammed the door behind me.

"Once again, I must thank you for your assistance, Dame BlackStone," his voice was resonant but there was a raspy undertone to it. He gave a shark-like smile, but his shadow flickered about.

I flashed my own teeth at him.

"Ah, yes," he nodded slightly. "Congratulations on joining the winning side."

I snorted at him. Given my new family had helped me kill a whole mess of Denarians, I had my doubts that they'd be on the same side as his. Hells Bells, his own little Order was rife with factionalism. Tessa being the prime example. Lasciel also hated his guts. Also, I'd be willing to bet good money that BlackSky wouldn't be too fond of old Nick.

Marching up to the desk, I lifted my staff off the floor. "Get out of my seat," I hissed as my tail slipped out. I thunked the end of my staff onto the battered surface of my desk.

He chuckled, watching my horns emerge "My, did I pick the right coin for you," he leaned back, his shadow spreading beneath him, pooling all over the base of my chair.

"Lasciel didn't do this to me." I narrowed my eyes. "Out."

"Pity. I suppose she lacked the imagination to offer what you really wanted." The old monster pulled off a reasonably wistful tone. It was disturbing. "Shame. She could have made you quite lovely, but this form will do."

"My chair." I flicked my staff out with one hand. Once its end swept past the edge of my desk I slammed it down. The carved length of wood skittered but it slammed right into the floor between the wheels of my desk-chair.

Right on Nicodemus's shadow. Which was the manifestation of his Fallen: Anduriel.

My hand clenched and silver and blue flames burst from my staff's runes and brightened the room like dozens of miniature spotlights.

The shadow screeched as Nicodemus bolted from my chair. He stood behind the desk with perfect composure, but I could smell just a bit of apprehension on him.

"You just here to gloat?"

He made a disappointed noise. "Dresden. Must you be so childish? We've worked together."

"Yeah, you betrayed me and my friends in the vault and tried to kill us."

"The arrangement was that we would work together until you retrieved the Grail for me." He bowed his head. "Thank you, by the way, it's been most... useful."

I growled. Mab had loaned me to the old monster. And we had both adhered to the letter of our agreement. We worked together to rob Hades's vault to acquire the Holy Grail.

Old Nick had planned to betray us from the start. And the Grail wasn't even his real target. Sure he could get up to all sorts of mischief with it, but what he was really after were the other holy artifacts on display in Hades' vault. Artifacts that, unbeknownst to Nicodemus, I stole right before he got to said display.

His cold smile grew. "Now, if I recall, it was you who recruited the Skinwalker, before I even met the man. Goodman Grey was critical to the operation, and from day one he was your mole."

He was right on that. Though I had help, Mab and a certain powerful, gift giving member of Winter had setup the meeting with Grey.

"Yeah, and Hanna was a ringer for Lashiel. What's your point?" I shrugged. It had been disturbing to see Lashiel again, especially when possessing a pyrokinetic Practitioner.

"You've always been devious, deceitful."

I kept a straight face. Okay, I could run a scheme, but I wasn't a great liar.

He smoothed the rope that dangled around his neck. "Now, you are literally demonic."

I glared at him.

He gave a smooth, pitiless smile, but his shadow jerked like a marionette. "People were always afraid of you. Ever since you burned your mentor to death. Well, everyone thinks Justin DuMorne is dead. And from those young days you just keep piling on."

The old monster shook his head. "You've been Winter Knight for less than three years, and now this? People will talk."

I snorted, leaning on my staff. Sure it wasn't the most elegant stance to take, but I didn't care. "Big words from you. Last year you lost your rep, your minions and your daughter."

Hate flashed across his dark eyes, but Nicodemus simply nodded. Even his shadow seemed restrained. "And then my former wife went mad and tried a most unconventional scheme. You know Tessa's style."

I frowned. The late mantis girl was more "charge in and eat your face". Her cadre of Nickelheads were more the cause havoc and pain now, while Nicky's crowd were the long term plotters.

"You think this is related to the attack on Arctis Tor?" About a decade ago, Stars and Stones, has it been that long, the Heart of Winter was breached? On mission to rescue Molly, I had only come in to catch the aftermath, but I could tell that Hellfire had been used.

Like I said, the Denarians were a fractious bunch.

I studied Old Nick's face, careful not to get caught in a Soulgaze. "Hells Bells. You're afraid?"

"I have concerns," he said crisply.

"Yeah, I mean, with Tessa and Deidre dead, you've gotta be the oldest host still around. I mean, geeze, what if someone were knocking off the senior members of your little club?"

My glib question covered up my introspection. Okay, the old-snake was right. There was something off about Tessa's actions. Thorned Namshiel had been the key player in giving her spell support up in Canada. The guy was also behind some other pretty shady dealings. But right now that Fallen's coin was without a host.

Problem was, said coin had a nasty habit of getting loose and finding hosts, even by Denarian standards. So sure, there might be a conspiracy that pushed Tessa into trying to summon some Outsiders. Not to mention that Tessa had been tricked into summoning giant frog-squid creatures instead of a more... pliant eldritch horror.

Thing is, I knew all for certain that there was a conspiracy to get Tessa out of the picture. Sure, Uriel wanted to give her a chance at redemption, but Winter Mother just wanted her off the board, and Lady Pluto took the mantis girl's intrusion personally. But all three agreed that Tessa had to be separated from her Fallen, one way or another.

And just last year Gentleman Johnny Marcone and Queen Mab had conspired against Nicodemus. The mobster wanted payback for being kidnapped and tortured by Nicky and his goons. Meanwhile, my Queen wanted him hurt. She was the one that set it up so that Deirdre would die and die by Nicodemus' own hands.

So yeah, there totally was a conspiracy to knock off the senior members of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. I was okay with that. I wondered if Molly would be the one to orchestrate the fall of Old Nick himself.

I smiled at him. "Gee, maybe you're right. You could be in terrible danger."

He glared at me. "I am capable of taking care of myself."

"You must be, given you're in the same room with both Deirdre and Tessa's killers."

"Do you have any idea what would be unleashed in my absence?" he demanded.

"Honestly?" I prodded his shadow with my staff again. "If Tessa's plan wasn't so apocalyptic I was gonna sit back, make popcorn, and watch her take you out."

"Dresden this is-"

I cut him off. "Seriously. I offered to help her kill you. She didn't take the deal. Maybe it was because her Fallen was busy lying to her. Maybe it was because I ate her leg." I shrugged.

"You have no idea what you're meddling with," his tone was frosty.

"That makes two of us," I said as my tail flicked about. I stepped to the side "Now, get out."

"Dresden, you are throwing away a great-"

I made a fist and let icy gauntlets grow around a forearm. Runes flared into existence and flames started to lick out as I pointed the weapon at him. "Nicky, you can ether walk straight ahead and out the door, or I can blast you out the window."

His lip pulled back in a snarl.

"Your choice. I mean, we're only three stories up. You'll be fine." That much was true. He had a magical artifact that, above and beyond his Fallen's help, made him all but invulnerable. Now that little noose had its weakness.

The millennia old monster tensed. I shifted slightly; if he decided to throw down I was going to fill the room with blinding light, pounce, then strangle him with that rope he conveniently dangled down his neck.

Let his little shadow buddy Anduriel deal with a total absence of shadows. My tail twitched as icy blades started to extrude. Right, might as well jab his guts with that: disemboweling was distracting.

The tension eased slightly as Nicodemus strode past me. The door closing behind him was surprisingly quiet.

After a moment the tension eased and I let my tail and shoulders loosen. Looking around the office I realized I was going to have to sweep the whole place, maybe the whole floor just in case Nicky had left behind any surprises.

"Maybe I should have just attacked him," I grumbled.

***************


Satisfied with the chickens, I put the big iron pan back into the oven and closed it. The appliance was gas and probably would be okay... as long as I didn't think too hard about explosions. My old apartment had a wood stove and an ice box, but a Practitioner had setup this place. And while, at the time, her techbane wasn't quite as bad as mine, it was still a problem for her. Still, I used the mechanical egg timer instead of the timer built into the stove itself.

Brushing my hands, I unslung the apron and went from the kitchen section of the broad apartment to the cluster of chairs, couches, bookcases and tables that made up the living room. Unsurprisingly, it reminded me of my old place, just with nicer materials.

I had gotten used to second hand furniture and living in a basement with spotty heating, so a bright airy flat with fancy wood furniture and leather seating was still... off-putting.

Course the whole place was a loaner.

Though that didn't stop me from flopping onto the couch.

Murphy looked up from the album she was leafing through. Only a hair taller than my eldest sister, she had a similar wiry build. Her blonde hair was cut short. I wouldn't say it was a pixie-cut.

But that was because I knew actual pixies; they tended to have much longer hair. And, more importantly, the ex-cop would beat me for saying that. Murphy might look like someone's favored aunt, but she was one of the toughest mortal humans I knew.

Murphy looked over, her blue eyes drifting across me and pausing at how I had crossed my legs. She then went back to the album. The current page had a group photo.

"How many nieces did you pick up?" she asked.

"Fifteen. Split among three sisters, so it's not that bad."

She snorted. "I come from an Irish Catholic family. You don't need to bother with excuses."

I mumbled something.

She turned to another page. This one had me slumped, looking exhausted, wings splayed out behind me. In the picture my head was on Eve's lap and I was gnawing on a protein energy bar. Murphy gave me a quizzical look.

"That was after flight training. It's, uh, really draining," I said as I shifted to slouch down a bit more on the couch.

She nodded. "You took off your apron."

"I only needed it-"

"Yes to keep your clothes from getting dirty."

I grumbled something.

Murphy looked up at me and laughed. "You're so cute when you try hide that you're being domestic."

"Eh?"

Murphy gestured. "You flopped down on the couch like a clod, and then tried to sprawl out to hide your height and look slovenly."

I frowned.

"But despite that you cross your legs at the knee and your hands move down your thighs in a smoothing motion as you sit." She arched an eyebrow. "Even though you're wearing pants, you're acting like you've got a skirt on."

"Um... well, Miss Murphy, it's like you're a detective."

She snorted. "Thanks to the Chicago Alliance, I've been spending time with succubae. I can see the signs, more than the obvious ones."

"Raith vampires don't count. They've got the moves but they're not the real thing," I said, petulantly.

Murphy gave a "see what I mean gesture".

"Does it help? Your time leading the Alliance I mean?" The Chicago Alliance was something Murphy, Butters and a few others, including Gentleman Johnny Marcone and Lara had organized after I had, well, died.

Without me around, plenty of supernatural threats started crawling out of the woodwork. Especially the Fomor, a bunch of magical, froggy creeps that came out of the seas. Course the Fomor, and their creepy hybrid monsters, were a world-wide problem.

See some fool had destroyed the Red Court and that left a power vacuum.

"Oh sure," Murphy said with a smirk. "I know from dealing with Felicia what to do if you get all hungry succubus on me."

She was confident. And, in truth, she had been able to handle the cute little Raith girl. Except, Murph's tone was a bit forced.

I couldn't help but pout. If my tail was out it'd be curling up. "Yeah, you can handle one of us."

She hit me on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Stop being such a mope." She glared. "You think I'm suddenly scared of you because you're some gangly demoness?"

I didn't give an affronted gasp. "Well..."

She hit me again. "Harry, you've always been intense and scary."

I frowned. Okay, as a human I had been basketball player tall, muscular and scarred. It's not like being intimidating was hard. And that was before you counted in that I'm a wizard.

"Maybe now, you'll at least be mindful of how other people could see you."

I crossed my arms and gave her a wry look. Then I pointedly glanced down.

Murphy scoffed. "Please, your chest isn't that fabulous. You're still way too tall, especially with those legs."

"I didn't realize you preferred legs," I smirked.

Murphy cocked her head. "Well, I certainly don't have much interest in breasts. Already have a set, thank you very much."

I frowned, derailed for a moment. "So... what you're saying is you're jealous of my legs."

Murphy then blushed a bit.

I leaned over leering. "No need to be embarrassed Karin," I said using her first name. "It's natural," I purred.

Clutching the album, she shifted her seating and I could feel her heartbeat quickening.

"It just means you're jealous of my height. Perfectly natural reaction for shrimps."

And then Murphy smacked the heavy photo album against my forehead.

"Ow!" I said and pulled back. My concentration slipped and my horns and tail eased out.

"That redheaded sister of yours is short. How does she deal with you being such a brat?"

"By throwing me out of flying helicopters and planes," I grumbled.

"Dad, she kicked you out of the plane," Maggie corrected as she stepped out of her room. Mouse lumbered next to her and Bonnie's translucent image hovered at her shoulder.

"Err... how much did you hear?" I asked, my tail swishing awkwardly.

"You mocking Miss Murphy's height by comparing her to a crustacean," Bonnie said.

Mouse lumbered over to me and chuffed until I put my hand on his neck and started scratching. His tail began to thump and wag, which was a bit infectious.

I noted that Maggie's eyes had moved up to my horns.

"I can hide them," I offered.

Maggie looked at me, her dark brown eyes seeing something. Then she shook her head and ambled over to the couch. I slid over to the middle and she sat on my left. Her nimble hands deftly took the album that had fallen into my lap.

She started flipping through it. I noted her attention was mostly on the earlier section, back when I was human.

Bonnie hovered by pondering the images. "These are almost all candid," she noted.

"Er, yeah. My sister's friends like taking photos," I offered. That was a bit of an understatement. The effect I had on technology, only slightly slowed down the Company's near obsession with surveillance.

Murphy held her tongue. She had been a cop a long time, and had spent time with Kincaid, Einherjar, Chicago Outfit hitters, and other types of assassins and mercenaries, both mortal and otherwise.

Maggie was looking at a picture of me with my sisters. It was a group hug, and all our... accoutrements were out. It was the kind of image Eve would grumble about infosec, opsec, or some other portmanteau that I secretly suspected the blonde made up on the spot. But this time she was as happy as her sisters. It was a rare unguarded picture of her.

"You came back," Maggie noted.

My tail twitched. "I learned my lesson," I said and pulled her into a hug.

She stiffened for a moment, but only out of surprise.

Finding out about Maggie had changed my life. And not just because she had been kidnapped by vampires, and said vampires decided to blow up my office, burn my house down, crush my car, and try to kill me and all my friends.

I had done things to save Maggie.

Shame and guilt held me back. I wasn't sure the Winter Knight would be the proper parent for Maggie. Sure there were other things that kept me from seeing her, but even after I stopped being, mostly, dead I couldn't bring myself to meet her. But that had changed last year. I wasn't going to let a little thing like being a gangly demoness keep me from my daughters. Though... as I pulled Bonnie into the hug, part of me wondered if I had really learned my lesson.

Or if my demoness nature was overpowering my apprehension.

I almost pulled Murphy into the hug but she arched an eyebrow at me, and either way the embrace ended when Maggie started to squirm.

She closed the album and placed it on the coffee table. "It's a shame you got hurt, Dad. But it's good that you found a way to get better."

"And this form does reduce the probability of permanent damage," Bonnie helpfully added.

Murphy shot me a look. She had gotten the unabridged versions of my training under Ranma and the final battle against Tessa. Yes, there were no permanent injuries, but not for lack of trying.

"Another upside is Dad can't make up excuses when it comes to clothes shopping." Maggie gave me a devious look. "Or makeup."

"You're too young," I automatically said.

Pouting, Maggie pointed to my lips, then to my eyelids.

"I uh... Don't really know how it works. Sorry, kiddo, it's just part of this body."

She looked to Murphy for conformation.

"Does your Father look like someone who would have a clue about lipstick, let alone mascara and eyeshadow?"

"Stupid fae magic," I grumbled.

"What is objectionable about our magic?" a clear high voice asked as a small figure buzzed in. Over a foot tall, Lacuna was a gorgeous pixie. Fine black hair was in a braid almost as long as she was tall. Her skin was almost succubus pale with shifting deep purple tattoos. She had long, lean features that gave her an elegant, predatory beauty.

If she hadn't looked that way when she was working for me when I was still human, I would have worried my nature was rubbing off on her. It wasn't quite the same as with Toot-toot, the head of the Za-Lord guard.

He had changed when I swore to my Queen, going from wyldfae to Winter. The rest of the guard had not changed as much. Which was good. Yes, I had a fae army. Sure, they were all of the little-folk and most were no larger than an inch, if that, but they were great for recon and doing other little tasks.

And no, they weren't a perk of being the Winter Knight, I had already recruited them, and had been paying them for a while before I took up Mab's offer. Huh, fairy army and fairy godmother...

In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised at the whole sidhe succubus knight thing.

"Nothing," I sighed at Lacuna. She was wearing a dark green and silver little robe that was rather kimono-like. I'm sure my sisters could have pointed out how I was wrong and that it was actually some other garment.

The fairy tilted her head, large black eyes studying me. "I don't know what is more shocking, that you can lie, or that you choose to do it so poorly."

Maggie snickered at that. She gave the album a thoughtful glance. "Maybe I can get lessons from one of my aunts."

"Or cousins, Misako sounds like the expert," Bonnie helpfully agreed.

My tail flicked a bit. Stars and Stones, my nieces wouldn't be a bad influence, but many of them were very... exuberant.

Maggie looked up. "Please? We spend plenty of time with Uncle Thomas and your sisters sound nicer than his branch of the family."

She had me there. "Sure, they live far away, but they are planning on visiting." Lady Pluto had been true to her word and I was at least able to send messages to my family, and get replies back.

Maggie perked up. "Great!"

Lacuna looked expectantly at me.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"You have guests arriving," the fairy said, almost absently.

"Our dinner guests?"

Lacuna tilted her head the other way. "I won't presume who you invited."

Fae could be frustratingly formal and precise; it came from a dislike of being asked direct questions. I suppressed a little sigh. "Who are they?"

"Your brother and his mate."

I stood up. "Why didn't you say that? Or mention that when you flew over."

"You didn't ask," she stated stiffly.

I muttered a bit as I made my way to the front door.

The building was owned by the Svartalves, and Molly had gotten the apartment for doing something pretty important for them. I didn't know the details, but she apparently saved a diplomatic event from exploding. Which shows that sometimes the apprentice can be distinct from the mentor.

Given the value, or paranoia, the average svartalf put on property and privacy, I could be pretty sure any visitors that got this far were on the guest list. But I hadn't been in the business this long without some paranoia of my own.

A Fallen Angel had broken into my office recently after all.

Thus when someone knocked at the door I didn't immediately lower the protective wards. Instead I extended my senses out, pushing them past the protective spells. I felt a buzzing interference in my horns, which made me feel a bit... homesick for my sisters and their Jammers.

But that abated when I sensed my brother and Justine. My tail relaxed as I unlocked the door and let down the wards.

Thomas entered with a languid, easy smile. A beautiful, slim woman was holding onto the arm of his coat. Silver-white hair tumbled down her back and she wore a breezy white dress. Her pregnancy was early enough that she wasn't showing.

After they entered and as I closed the door, she looked me over with a bright smile. "You look great! I love that blouse." She handed a large ceramic bowl over to Thomas and hugged me.

"Uh, you look good, too," I said with an awkward smile.

"Dinner smells great. I brought some dessert. Thomas, put that in the fridge."

Thomas nodded and went around the kitchen counter.

"What did you bring?" Maggie asked, getting up, with Murphy following behind her.

"Oh, some chocolate mousse with caramel gems and a couple layers of white chocolate bark."

"Decadent," Murphy noted.

"Given my job and who I'm with..." Justine gave a shy smile, gesturing to Thomas. She turned to me. "I could give you the recipe too."

"Yeah," Thomas nodded to my hanging apron. "You seem to be getting better at this domestic stuff." He put on a thoughtful expression. "Though, I suppose that makes Murphy 'the guy'."

And then Murphy hit him.

The blade of her hand hit his forearm near the elbow with a quick strike.

"Gah!" Thomas shook his arm. "Damn it Murphy! That's right in the funny bone!"

"Oh," Murphy gave a bit of a pout. "Did I pinch a nerve? I just wanted to tap your ulnar."

Thomas grumbled and flicked his fingers about.

I suppressed a little smile. Thomas was lucky, if he had made a similar comment to one of my sisters... I paused. I wasn't sure, actually. If Ranma did take offense she'd do something worse than strike his ulnar nerve. But she might not care.

His cocky composure regained, Thomas leaned on the counter. "Hey, I'm trying to compliment your house keeping, bro. Remember, I lived with you for a couple years."

I gave him a haughty sniff. "Maybe if you were a better roommate I'd have been able to keep a cleaner apartment."

"You're saying I'm messier than a ten year old girl?" Thomas asked.

"Yes." Myself, Justine, and Murphy echoed.

I tried to keep my tail from swishing. It was fun to be on this side of the "a group of woman disapprove of a clueless man" equation.

For his part, my brother did look abashed.

He then turned to Maggie and Bonnie. "So, how are you two doing?"

"Good, Dad's gonna take us to the zoo tomorrow," Maggie said.

"I have heard good things about otters. I wish to see one," Bonnie added.

Thomas looked at me with a bit of concern.

"We've got a ride-along setup," I assured. Direct sunlight could be damaging to spirits if they weren't protected in a vessel.

He nodded. "You know, Lara's still upset that you tricked her."

"Upset's not quite the right word," Justine murmured. She worked as Lara's assistant. Thus she had an inside view to the workings of the White Court, which was handy, given the intel she fed to my brother.

"She's played games with me for years, and I turn the tables on her one time and vamp it up with the sexy-" I glanced at my daughters. "Erm... she's just jealous."

"Covetous would be a better word," Thomas stated.

Murphy shook her head. "What did you expect Dresden?"

"Well, I-" The ding of the timer on the counter interrupted. "Oh, looks like dinner's ready," I gamely said, seizing the opportunity.

"I'll help set the table," Justine offered before going to Maggie. "You wanna help kiddo?"

Picking up some oven mitts, I opened the oven. The smell was quite good. I put the oven pan atop the stove and closed the door.

"That'll work, give the chicken time to cool a bit and then we can cut it up," Murphy said, slipping up next to me

"Thanks for the help," I turned to her.

She looked up with a wry smile. "Well, this isn't quite the... biggest mess you've gotten into. Though I suppose this is the first time you've hit on Butters."

"Yeah," Blushing, I turned aside before the Soulgaze could start. "I'm still glad you're here to help me clean things up. Though it helps that I'm prettier now."

"You are such a nerd, Harry," she poked me. Right above the base of my tail.

I may have given a surprised noise. But it was totally adult and mature. And not a high pitched squeak.

Looking away from the food, I turned and stepped a bit closer. My tail swished and I could feel that Murphy's smile was genuine. Sure, she had a bit of apprehension but she was happy that I was back.

End Epilogue

End Blood Debts

There we go.

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Thanks to Patrick for all his help on correcting and proofing these works, and his especially speedy work on getting the epilogue up and ready. DCG has been a constant long time asset and a major work in this.

Kevin Hammel is a consummate writer of the old school and has been a strong influence on the very direction of The Return as a series and the development of the succubae as a species and Ranma's brood as a family. Again, I'd like to thank Ellf for being the catalyst to this project, and his influence, and more, will be seen with some future projects.

And finally I'd like to thank all those who have read and enjoyed my story, and especially those who have commented if even to say that they enjoyed it. Thanks to all of you!

And there it is. Blood Debts. The story may be done, but there's more Return, an there will be more stories of Dame BlackStone..

 

[steamrick]

I'm really liking your epilogue. Just wish we'd seen a bit of Molly.

Thank you for an excellent and entertaining side story.
Will Dresden's visit - and sorcerer guy's death at the hands of the murderbots - be considered canon for The Return?

 

[moon so bright]

I like how you have tied this up - I can't wait for their further adventures. Thanks be to you and your friends for crafting this.

 

[U.N.Spacy000]

It's certainly been a ride and left me wanting for more, but in the looking for the next story way rather than the feeling that it wasn't complete.

Ugh, I've been so busy and it's been forever since I left a comment here.

The parts with Cecilia were well done. Up until this point she has just been there. Lurking in the background as part of the supporting cast. Contributing to character bloat. What does she even do? It felt like she just showed up one day to highlight the consequences of Alexia's bad choices with her sob story but didn't actually contribute much until later when she worked with Eve t try to get Ranma to unwind with the date. Initially, it felt like she was just running around in the background being 'devious and unassuming' here as well. Then the mental manipulation thing came out and everything she had done up to then was put in a different light. There was more character development - or reveal, I suppose - in that conversation with Harry than it felt like Ranma had in an arc. I am now on board with the idea that Cecilia is a good addition to the cast, and I'm going to pay attention to what she does in the future. I'm trying to remember if Cecilia has a psychiatric degree or not because that could be an interesting way to help her family cope and deal with their myriad issues.

Harry's interactions with Nodoka was enjoyable. The transition from trying to think of her as 'not mom' to Mother and the events surrounding them was a pleasure.

I had been expecting Murdoch to make an appearance, but I suppose he's learned his lesson and ran far away from Canada after his chat with the Company.

Eve continues to be my favorite character of the bunch with her daughters being high on the list, though. I think it's the combination of practicality, maturity that came with their human age and work professionalism, and the internal conflict that stems from Eve's human family history and the change in her daughters' lives. Though I also enjoy the dynamic between Eve ad Ranma as well - how they sort of shift back and forth between which one acts as the older sister depending on the situation they find themselves in to support each other. The talk to Harry about how she had no new nieces via the D Program was a good look into her character and reinforced that she's my favorite cast member.

The most surprising thing that happened in the story for me was when Galina killed her contracted wizard, but after her reasonable explanation on why she did it, her actions made sense. Her offering herself up to Ranma in a one on one fight to protect her siblings both was and was not surprising. It's in her character to be self sacrificing, but I hadn't expected she would think she would need to be given the confidence she and the others have in their skills, but I suppose this contract has caused them to at the very least respect Ranma's brood and the Company. However, I get the feeling Galina's sisters aren't going to willingly leave her behind to save themselves. The alternate versions of Harry and Maggie was a surprise, but it's a great big multi-verse and there's a threat to reality so additional heavy hitters from elsewhere aren't too big of a deal. Uriel explicitly stating Pluto is The Gate and Key was a nice confirmation to what I've been able to puzzle out, but it didn't jump out as much as Usagi's apparent lack of a soul to soulgaze. That has all sorts of interesting Implications for The Return. Mab's decision to make out with Harry as soon as she showed up was also something I wasn't expecting, but with the exception of Harry's transformation into being a succubus - which was an "I should have seen this coming" moment - there weren't any big plot twists or turns. It was just a well executed setup and follow-through that was enjoyable.

Then there's the epilogue. It nicely and neatly answered all the major and immediate questions that revolved around Harry's return home. Now there's just the long term questions like 'will Harry get additional daughters and sisters?' or 'what will happen when BlackSky inevitably visits her newest grandaughter?'

Is there any particular piece or facet of the story you would like additional comments or thoughts on, Sunshine Temple?

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Hope you guys don't mind if I split up my reply a bit ^^;;

I'm really liking your epilogue. Just wish we'd seen a bit of Molly.

Thank you for an excellent and entertaining side story.
Will Dresden's visit - and sorcerer guy's death at the hands of the murderbots - be considered canon for The Return?

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Yeah, I was up against some space limits on the epilogue, and I felt that the Molly stuff needed more space to get across. Given how... complicated their relationship is.
(Consider adding in how a succubus's hierarchical instincts with the queen/knight dynamic)

My pleasure, and thanks for reading.

And yes, the events in Blood Debts are canonical. Which does mean that Galina may have accomplished... some of her goals.

I like how you have tied this up - I can't wait for their further adventures. Thanks be to you and your friends for crafting this.

Click to shrink...

Thanks! I really appreciate that.
I've got some good plans for what to do in both the main return and the BlackStone angles. Now it's getting the time to write ^^;;


Great comments from both of you! Thanks for being here until the end!

 

[Sunshine Temple]

It's certainly been a ride and left me wanting for more, but in the looking for the next story way rather than the feeling that it wasn't complete.

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Nice! That's a great feeling to have when the story's over.

Ugh, I've been so busy and it's been forever since I left a comment here.

Click to shrink...

No worries; I dare say you may be making up for it now ^^;;

The parts with Cecilia were well done. Up until this point she has just been there. Lurking in the background as part of the supporting cast. Contributing to character bloat. What does she even do? It felt like she just showed up one day to highlight the consequences of Alexia's bad choices with her sob story but didn't actually contribute much until later when she worked with Eve t try to get Ranma to unwind with the date. Initially, it felt like she was just running around in the background being 'devious and unassuming' here as well. Then the mental manipulation thing came out and everything she had done up to then was put in a different light. There was more character development - or reveal, I suppose - in that conversation with Harry than it felt like Ranma had in an arc. I am now on board with the idea that Cecilia is a good addition to the cast, and I'm going to pay attention to what she does in the future. I'm trying to remember if Cecilia has a psychiatric degree or not because that could be an interesting way to help her family cope and deal with their myriad issues.

Click to shrink...

I will say that part of the rewrite is putting in more hints to Cecilia and her girls earlier on.And when she appears having her show up a bit more. But don't want to have her be /too/ blatant.

Because I'll confess, I'm /really/ pleased that you saw the Cecilia thing in Blood Debts. As a big part of the story was to show how the four of them were sisters. And that required having Cecilia show what she can do. That's a good question about Cecilia's past ;p
It should also be fun on a re-read to see Cecilia's actions once more.

Harry's interactions with Nodoka was enjoyable. The transition from trying to think of her as 'not mom' to Mother and the events surrounding them was a pleasure.

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Good good.... That will build up more for Nodoka's development in the next book.
Because that's not a one way street between those two ;p
And Nodoka may come to realize that there was a lot more she could do for Harry, if not for her.... humanity.

I had been expecting Murdoch to make an appearance, but I suppose he's learned his lesson and ran far away from Canada after his chat with the Company.

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I had a debate on having him show up, but I felt that having two gonzo wizards would have things get.... too explody.
That said, Dame BlackStone could meet up with old Murdock

Eve continues to be my favorite character of the bunch with her daughters being high on the list, though. I think it's the combination of practicality, maturity that came with their human age and work professionalism, and the internal conflict that stems from Eve's human family history and the change in her daughters' lives. Though I also enjoy the dynamic between Eve ad Ranma as well - how they sort of shift back and forth between which one acts as the older sister depending on the situation they find themselves in to support each other. The talk to Harry about how she had no new nieces via the D Program was a good look into her character and reinforced that she's my favorite cast member.

Click to shrink...

Excellent. Eve has been a great character given the... balance she gives to Ranma. As you point out they can hand off which one is the "mature one". It's been very interesting to reread (and edit) the early chapters. Both to see how they interacted before Eve changed, and how Eve was as a young succubus, and a new mother.
Great! Glad the heart to heart with Harry came off well. As a newcomer there are some things Eve can say to Harry things her other sisters know about.
And yah, Eve is fun given how she can so well play the role of "straight man", amongst her sisters.

The most surprising thing that happened in the story for me was when Galina killed her contracted wizard, but after her reasonable explanation on why she did it, her actions made sense. Her offering herself up to Ranma in a one on one fight to protect her siblings both was and was not surprising. It's in her character to be self sacrificing, but I hadn't expected she would think she would need to be given the confidence she and the others have in their skills, but I suppose this contract has caused them to at the very least respect Ranma's brood and the Company. However, I get the feeling Galina's sisters aren't going to willingly leave her behind to save themselves.

Click to shrink...

Hehehe. Oh there's been some hints given about Galina and the lamented de Veste. Galina does have some fun points of contrast with Ranma. What's interesting is those two haven't really met much, so it was nice to have them interact where there is the tension of violence, but those two (at least) don't come to blows. And yah, the other Numbers wouldn't want to abandon their leader and family
Sweet, things that are surprising but make sense when explained are great.

The alternate versions of Harry and Maggie was a surprise, but it's a great big multi-verse and there's a threat to reality so additional heavy hitters from elsewhere aren't too big of a deal. Uriel explicitly stating Pluto is The Gate and Key was a nice confirmation to what I've been able to puzzle out, but it didn't jump out as much as Usagi's apparent lack of a soul to soulgaze. That has all sorts of interesting Implications for The Return. Mab's decision to make out with Harry as soon as she showed up was also something I wasn't expecting, but with the exception of Harry's transformation into being a succubus - which was an "I should have seen this coming" moment - there weren't any big plot twists or turns. It was just a well executed setup and follow-through that was enjoyable.

Click to shrink...

Ah Old Man Harry and Maggie. Glad those two came off well. They were also fun for the contrast and the Easter eggs that were hinted at with both. There's also the fun of grizzled old assassin Harry meeting succubus Harry
Hehehe. Yeah Pluto and Usagi do have more to them.... disquieting things.
In fairness, /I/ didn't see Harry becoming a succubus coming. It was pointed out by a prereader a couple chapters in how it could work. and I realized that the plot had been building that way and that I could pull it off.
Heh, I'll take well-executed and enjoyable.

Then there's the epilogue. It nicely and neatly answered all the major and immediate questions that revolved around Harry's return home. Now there's just the long term questions like 'will Harry get additional daughters and sisters?' or 'what will happen when BlackSky inevitably visits her newest grandaughter?'

Click to shrink...

Excellent! That is exactly what I wanted the epilogue to do, and why I fretted over how to get it across without becoming a book in and of itself.

And yes.... oh yes... Harry's got a whole mess on her hands. And BlackSky will be interested to visit. (Which puts up the question of... diplomacy given Harry is still in the Council and, of course, is Mab's).

Is there any particular piece or facet of the story you would like additional comments or thoughts on, Sunshine Temple?

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Oooooh. You did cover a lot of the character points already.
What about Tessa's plan (and how she was played) and Nicodemus (though he had just one scene)? I tried to have the villains fit in with both the Return and the Dresden files.
Thanks so much for the wonderful comments! (even if your question at the end overwhelmed a bit)

 

[U.N.Spacy000]

In fairness, /I/ didn't see Harry becoming a succubus coming.

Click to shrink...

Wait. Really? Huh, okay. But yes, it is rather obvious in hindsight and your pre-reader's assessment was accurate.

Eve is fun given how she can so well play the role of "straight man", amongst her sisters.

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That's another thing I like about her that I hadn't managed to put into words.

(Which puts up the question of... diplomacy given Harry is still in the Council and, of course, is Mab's)

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I wonder if BlackSky will name Harry as her diplomat - or their collective diplomat to her - just for laughs and to secure Harry against potential harm. It's the sort of thing I could see an ancient, family minded busybody like BlackSky doing.

What about Tessa's plan (and how she was played) and Nicodemus (though he had just one scene)? I tried to have the villains fit in with both the Return and the Dresden files.

Click to shrink...

I'm going to have to put the caveat that I haven't gotten to them yet in my reading of the actual Dresden Files. I'm at the part in the first book where Harry has just figured out the practitioner/s who murdered Marcone's man (and inadvertently framed Dresden) did so because there's a drug/gang war with magical drugs.

I've been trying to read the stupid thing for over a year and things keep coming up.

However, in an attempt to know who's who here, in Todeswind's stories over on SB, and a few over places, I have trawled through the wiki, TV Tropes page, and Jumpchain (it's sort of a points-buy self insert thing).

So, as an outsider without real knowledge of how Butcher portrays Tessa and Nicky coming at this cold, it makes sense and you did well handling it. You gave the right amount of information to frame, set up, and mostly explain Tessa's motive, desires, and plan while giving yourself enough wiggle room to modify things and give it some sense of 'we can't really know what the madwoman is thinking.' Tessa was probably one of the better choices of villains for this particular outing. There are exceptionally few beings who have the knowledge and capability to go to another world and are willing to work with Outsiders. The only other two options I can think off the top of my head who would fit would be the Red Court - but Ranma has already killed vamps left, right, and center - and Maeve - which would have put a whole host of limits on what Harry could do.

While the audience knows Tessa was played via the incomplete book and a number of other points, I don't recall seeing her reaction to any of it. That might just be because my memory isn't as good as I'd like, though. Still, it feels like a lot of the playing and betrayal is left open to interpretation, and I'm sure Tessa was playing them as much as she was being played in a mutual using each other sort of way. Intellectually, I knew there was a lot going on behind the scenes, but I didn't feel it. It didn't seem like their paths had reached the point where their goals diverged by the end battle. It's sort of like if after Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia conquered Poland, Dresden and a small army Scandinavia invaded to stop their Outsider summoning and kicked them out before Hitler could invade Russia and Stalin could lament that he didn't have the resources to invade Germany first. It was there, it was a thing, but it didn't resonate much with me and I was far more interested in the story of Dresden: the newborn succubus. It didn't feel like it was there just to be there for the sake of showing how treacherous all the villains were, but when I look back and try to remember it, it did feel more stock than other parts of the story.

Mostly, Tessa comes across as being in the 'anger and bargaining' portion of the stages of grief and wanting to absolutely destroy Nicodemus. There was a certain air of desperation to her actions, and she was brutal, but she was also cunning enough to do a lot of work behind the scenes and achieve her mission priorities while the Company and associates were either trying to catch up with her or distracted by something else she did as well as canny enough to know when to cut her losses up to her endgame. That all makes sense - you don't get to be a multi-millennia old monster without knowing when you need to cut and run to survive. You did a good job on that. It also added to the sense of just how dangerous she was. World ending plots are a dime a dozen - Dr. Evil had one, but he's not someone who I can take seriously as a threat. Tessa felt like an extremely credible threat - and this is part of why I feel the playing on the sides of evil was more academic than anything to actually consider. Between the threat Tessa presented and the 'letter of the deal' Nicodemus had when he talked to Dresden, I was fairly certain whatever the werewolves tried would eventually end in their painful deaths when Tessa got around to her sudden and inevitable betrayal of them.

The part with Nicodemus was rather concerning with regards to Tessa.

This might be a 'know enough information to be dangerous but not enough to be right' scenarios on my part, though. I've seen a couple different portrayals of the Denarians, and they range from 'for the evulz' to the extreme of 'cruel to be kind.' And most of the time I've seen them, they don't deal with Outsiders. Usually, they've got fallen angels over their shoulders - things that are pillars of creation, play by the exact letters of the rule, and generally dislike Outsiders since they want to end/eat/accidentally creation while the fallen would rather it stay around. It's usually only the evulz Denarians who play with Outsiders. I had assumed Tessa was either evulz or had gone so far over the despair event horizon that she felt entirely fine being the guy from Dr. Strangelove who rode a nuke to Russia while waving his cowboy hat.

Spoiler: This guy

But Nicky's part made me question that. Nicky hinted at Tessa being corrupted by Nemesis the same way that a number of other characters in The Dresden Files were. Characters who had a sudden departure from their standard modus operandi and instead opted to throw in with Outsiders. Tessa, unlike all the others, had a fallen angel riding shotgun throughout her entire escapade, and said fallen had enough sway to convince Tessa to choose death instead of giving up the coin. This leads to two potentially horrific points when looking back at the story - 1). Tessa's fallen might have been corrupted by Outsiders, or 2). Tessa's fallen was aware of Tessa's corruption and saved Dresden from having an Outsider infected daughter.

And Nicky's terrified.

But that's probably something for a sequel.

As for Nicodemus, he came across as the standard Nicodemus I've been exposed to. Affably evil who will invite you to tea with a promise of truce during it but not mention he's hired The Numbers to assassinate you as soon as you leave his immediate presence. Is annoyingly persistent in a way not unlike a glacier carving out hunks of land - he has time, and he's seen enough to feel confident in the inevitability of his victory. He also knows when to admit defeat and fold his cards. He probably didn't fight Harry because it would have been a waste of time in addition to it damaging whatever he did to Harry's office and floor. He gave Harry enough information to get Harry thinking but not enough for him to draw a conclusion beyond the obvious Harry already knew without having to think which either indicates he knows Harry well if that's what he wanted or not well enough if he wanted Harry to pick up the potential Outsider connection - both of which are possible since he gave Harry Lasciel's coin but Lash failed to ensnare Dresden.

Yes, a fairly well done if standard Nicodemus if the other things I've read are anywhere near accurate when it comes to his character. I was a little surprised he didn't comment on Tessa's motives, but it could have easily been that he didn't want to think about how he killed his daughter.

Thanks so much for the wonderful comments!

Click to shrink...

You are welcome. I wish I had the time earlier to comment when the chapters were fresh.

 

[ellf]

Wait. Really? Huh, okay. But yes, it is rather obvious in hindsight and your pre-reader's assessment was accurate.

Click to shrink...

Speaking as said prereader, I'm happy that it turned out as well as it did.

That's another thing I like about her that I hadn't managed to put into words.

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Eve is awesome.

I wonder if BlackSky will name Harry as her diplomat - or their collective diplomat to her - just for laughs and to secure Harry against potential harm. It's the sort of thing I could see an ancient, family minded busybody like BlackSky doing.

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Now, wouldn't that be something? Of course, we'd need new Return chapters first. *Pointedly looks at Sunshine Temple*

I'm going to have to put the caveat that I haven't gotten to them yet in my reading of the actual Dresden Files. I'm at the part in the first book where Harry has just figured out the practitioner/s who murdered Marcone's man (and inadvertently framed Dresden) did so because there's a drug/gang war with magical drugs.

I've been trying to read the stupid thing for over a year and things keep coming up.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, if you're having issues with book 1, skip it. Skip book 2 while your'e at it. Read Grave Peril onward, and then go back and read the first two books.

However, in an attempt to know who's who here, in Todeswind's stories over on SB, and a few over places, I have trawled through the wiki, TV Tropes page, and Jumpchain (it's sort of a points-buy self insert thing).

So, as an outsider without real knowledge of how Butcher portrays Tessa and Nicky coming at this cold, it makes sense and you did well handling it. You gave the right amount of information to frame, set up, and mostly explain Tessa's motive, desires, and plan while giving yourself enough wiggle room to modify things and give it some sense of 'we can't really know what the madwoman is thinking.' Tessa was probably one of the better choices of villains for this particular outing. There are exceptionally few beings who have the knowledge and capability to go to another world and are willing to work with Outsiders. The only other two options I can think off the top of my head who would fit would be the Red Court - but Ranma has already killed vamps left, right, and center - and Maeve - which would have put a whole host of limits on what Harry could do.

While the audience knows Tessa was played via the incomplete book and a number of other points, I don't recall seeing her reaction to any of it. That might just be because my memory isn't as good as I'd like, though. Still, it feels like a lot of the playing and betrayal is left open to interpretation, and I'm sure Tessa was playing them as much as she was being played in a mutual using each other sort of way. Intellectually, I knew there was a lot going on behind the scenes, but I didn't feel it. It didn't seem like their paths had reached the point where their goals diverged by the end battle. It's sort of like if after Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia conquered Poland, Dresden and a small army Scandinavia invaded to stop their Outsider summoning and kicked them out before Hitler could invade Russia and Stalin could lament that he didn't have the resources to invade Germany first. It was there, it was a thing, but it didn't resonate much with me and I was far more interested in the story of Dresden: the newborn succubus. It didn't feel like it was there just to be there for the sake of showing how treacherous all the villains were, but when I look back and try to remember it, it did feel more stock than other parts of the story.

Mostly, Tessa comes across as being in the 'anger and bargaining' portion of the stages of grief and wanting to absolutely destroy Nicodemus. There was a certain air of desperation to her actions, and she was brutal, but she was also cunning enough to do a lot of work behind the scenes and achieve her mission priorities while the Company and associates were either trying to catch up with her or distracted by something else she did as well as canny enough to know when to cut her losses up to her endgame. That all makes sense - you don't get to be a multi-millennia old monster without knowing when you need to cut and run to survive. You did a good job on that. It also added to the sense of just how dangerous she was. World ending plots are a dime a dozen - Dr. Evil had one, but he's not someone who I can take seriously as a threat. Tessa felt like an extremely credible threat - and this is part of why I feel the playing on the sides of evil was more academic than anything to actually consider. Between the threat Tessa presented and the 'letter of the deal' Nicodemus had when he talked to Dresden, I was fairly certain whatever the werewolves tried would eventually end in their painful deaths when Tessa got around to her sudden and inevitable betrayal of them.

The part with Nicodemus was rather concerning with regards to Tessa.

This might be a 'know enough information to be dangerous but not enough to be right' scenarios on my part, though. I've seen a couple different portrayals of the Denarians, and they range from 'for the evulz' to the extreme of 'cruel to be kind.' And most of the time I've seen them, they don't deal with Outsiders. Usually, they've got fallen angels over their shoulders - things that are pillars of creation, play by the exact letters of the rule, and generally dislike Outsiders since they want to end/eat/accidentally creation while the fallen would rather it stay around. It's usually only the evulz Denarians who play with Outsiders. I had assumed Tessa was either evulz or had gone so far over the despair event horizon that she felt entirely fine being the guy from Dr. Strangelove who rode a nuke to Russia while waving his cowboy hat.

Spoiler: This guy

But Nicky's part made me question that. Nicky hinted at Tessa being corrupted by Nemesis the same way that a number of other characters in The Dresden Files were. Characters who had a sudden departure from their standard modus operandi and instead opted to throw in with Outsiders. Tessa, unlike all the others, had a fallen angel riding shotgun throughout her entire escapade, and said fallen had enough sway to convince Tessa to choose death instead of giving up the coin. This leads to two potentially horrific points when looking back at the story - 1). Tessa's fallen might have been corrupted by Outsiders, or 2). Tessa's fallen was aware of Tessa's corruption and saved Dresden from having an Outsider infected daughter.

And Nicky's terrified.

Click to shrink...

That's a creative... and absurdly well thought-out observation set. For someone who has only really gotten wiki-walk info and some fanon... there's a few things you're missing, but not as much as you might think. Alas, that is something for a—

But that's probably something for a sequel.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that.

As for Nicodemus, he came across as the standard Nicodemus I've been exposed to. Affably evil who will invite you to tea with a promise of truce during it but not mention he's hired The Numbers to assassinate you as soon as you leave his immediate presence. Is annoyingly persistent in a way not unlike a glacier carving out hunks of land - he has time, and he's seen enough to feel confident in the inevitability of his victory. He also knows when to admit defeat and fold his cards. He probably didn't fight Harry because it would have been a waste of time in addition to it damaging whatever he did to Harry's office and floor. He gave Harry enough information to get Harry thinking but not enough for him to draw a conclusion beyond the obvious Harry already knew without having to think which either indicates he knows Harry well if that's what he wanted or not well enough if he wanted Harry to pick up the potential Outsider connection - both of which are possible since he gave Harry Lasciel's coin but Lash failed to ensnare Dresden.

Yes, a fairly well done if standard Nicodemus if the other things I've read are anywhere near accurate when it comes to his character. I was a little surprised he didn't comment on Tessa's motives, but it could have easily been that he didn't want to think about how he killed his daughter.


You are welcome. I wish I had the time earlier to comment when the chapters were fresh.

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Great commentary, man.

Also, great fic, Sunshine Temple. Glad I prodded you into starting it

 

[U.N.Spacy000]

Honestly, if you're having issues with book 1, skip it. Skip book 2 while your'e at it. Read Grave Peril onward, and then go back and read the first two books.

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It's more that things keep coming up in the rest of my life and interrupt my attempts to read the book. I'm enjoying it, but I prioritized reading Blood Debts over the actual source material.

That's a creative... and absurdly well thought-out observation set. For someone who has only really gotten wiki-walk info and some fanon... there's a few things you're missing, but not as much as you might think.

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Thank you. Parts of it are also paranoid, but given how things tend to turn out in the fanon things I've read, being paranoid just means you acknowledge they're out to get you. Hopefully I'll be able to plug the holes with what Butcher actually wrote.

Glad I prodded you into starting it

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I'm glad you did as well.

Also, since I forgot to say this earlier - Sunshine Temple, I enjoyed reading Blood Debts and look forward to the next thing you write.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Wait. Really? Huh, okay. But yes, it is rather obvious in hindsight and your pre-reader's assessment was accurate.

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Indeed, it was a "Yeah.... I'm /me/ and this is Dresden in the Return...."
Funny thing, the prereader who came up with that point actually replied in this thread just after your post.

That's another thing I like about her that I hadn't managed to put into words.

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Eve is the one that thinks long term and how to make sure things keep working.
Logistics is one of her things, as well as counter-intelligence.

I wonder if BlackSky will name Harry as her diplomat - or their collective diplomat to her - just for laughs and to secure Harry against potential harm. It's the sort of thing I could see an ancient, family minded busybody like BlackSky doing.

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BlackSky does want to make sure Harry is doing well. And by doing well "how is your plan to infiltrate and take over the world? Your sisters are doing very nicely"
There's also BlackSky and Mab.
Now... I'll say this much, if you think of diplomacy. Well in the Dresden Files that's the UnSeelie Accords, which is something Mab runs.
And... by pure coincidence the next, real, Dresden Files book is "Peace Talks" whichis about a bit negotiations among the Accorded Nations and the Fomor.
In the Return verse.... well that's a part of it, but thanks to "Dame BlackStone", House BlackSky has an in.

One thing to consider is the size of some of the Accorded Signatory nations. Many are pretty small. Winter and Summer fae (winter especially) are pretty damn huge.

Then comes in this demonic nation state, from another world... applecart... meet upset.
This will also come as there will be more stuff set in Silvana (the capital of House BlackSky) and showing some of BlackSky's daughters....

I'm going to have to put the caveat that I haven't gotten to them yet in my reading of the actual Dresden Files. I'm at the part in the first book where Harry has just figured out the practitioner/s who murdered Marcone's man (and inadvertently framed Dresden) did so because there's a drug/gang war with magical drugs.

I've been trying to read the stupid thing for over a year and things keep coming up.

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I will have to second Ellf. Skip the first couple books. You won't miss anything, and the quality goes up quite a bit.

However, in an attempt to know who's who here, in Todeswind's stories over on SB, and a few over places, I have trawled through the wiki, TV Tropes page, and Jumpchain (it's sort of a points-buy self insert thing).

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Ooooh. Do tell.
Well that's some impressive cognation you get to later on, for that.

Now if you're interested in more Dresden fics, I know a certain writer here, who also posts here, that you may be interested in. Fics that just may have been referenced in Blood Debts as an Easter egg, if obliquely.

So, as an outsider without real knowledge of how Butcher portrays Tessa and Nicky coming at this cold, it makes sense and you did well handling it. You gave the right amount of information to frame, set up, and mostly explain Tessa's motive, desires, and plan while giving yourself enough wiggle room to modify things and give it some sense of 'we can't really know what the madwoman is thinking.' Tessa was probably one of the better choices of villains for this particular outing. There are exceptionally few beings who have the knowledge and capability to go to another world and are willing to work with Outsiders. The only other two options I can think off the top of my head who would fit would be the Red Court - but Ranma has already killed vamps left, right, and center - and Maeve - which would have put a whole host of limits on what Harry could do.

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Good good. When I mapped out who would have the skill to pull off and be such a threat... I had a short list.
But what really struck me was the events of Skin Game. After given time to brood, Tessa would want revenge. And the way she operates she'd go after that.

Oh... and yes Ranma has gone after vamps. But... because I'm feeling generous, I'll spoil two things. She will find out that there are some Dresden Verse vamps that she'd have... trouble with. And a half-sibling of hers will think she's insane.
Annnd, there is another Vampire, from allies across the pond, that she would... have trouble in a fight against, but could make a fair drinkin' buddy.

While the audience knows Tessa was played via the incomplete book and a number of other points, I don't recall seeing her reaction to any of it. That might just be because my memory isn't as good as I'd like, though. Still, it feels like a lot of the playing and betrayal is left open to interpretation, and I'm sure Tessa was playing them as much as she was being played in a mutual using each other sort of way. Intellectually, I knew there was a lot going on behind the scenes, but I didn't feel it. It didn't seem like their paths had reached the point where their goals diverged by the end battle. It's sort of like if after Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia conquered Poland, Dresden and a small army Scandinavia invaded to stop their Outsider summoning and kicked them out before Hitler could invade Russia and Stalin could lament that he didn't have the resources to invade Germany first. It was there, it was a thing, but it didn't resonate much with me and I was far more interested in the story of Dresden: the newborn succubus. It didn't feel like it was there just to be there for the sake of showing how treacherous all the villains were, but when I look back and try to remember it, it did feel more stock than other parts of the story.

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You're correct.
For being the big bad. Tessa has very little screen time. She appears in the assault on the Company base, in Lomar, and at the three ponds battle.
So yeah, you're totally correct that she was behind the scenes plotting her betrayals and giving the impression of her influence and dread.
Agreed, the post Lomar pre final battle chapters focus more on Dresden's demonhood than on what Tessa is doing.
This is where the first person narration comes in. As it makes it easy to have Tessa's influence more indirect. Which does have a shame on removing some of the uniqueness and having her be a bit more stock.

(That said Canonically she appears in only two Dresden Books, granted is a key part in one of those books, minor in the latter, but since that's Skin Game...)

Mostly, Tessa comes across as being in the 'anger and bargaining' portion of the stages of grief and wanting to absolutely destroy Nicodemus. There was a certain air of desperation to her actions, and she was brutal, but she was also cunning enough to do a lot of work behind the scenes and achieve her mission priorities while the Company and associates were either trying to catch up with her or distracted by something else she did as well as canny enough to know when to cut her losses up to her endgame. That all makes sense - you don't get to be a multi-millennia old monster without knowing when you need to cut and run to survive. You did a good job on that. It also added to the sense of just how dangerous she was. World ending plots are a dime a dozen - Dr. Evil had one, but he's not someone who I can take seriously as a threat. Tessa felt like an extremely credible threat - and this is part of why I feel the playing on the sides of evil was more academic than anything to actually consider. Between the threat Tessa presented and the 'letter of the deal' Nicodemus had when he talked to Dresden, I was fairly certain whatever the werewolves tried would eventually end in their painful deaths when Tessa got around to her sudden and inevitable betrayal of them.

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Heh, my refrain for Tessa was "she's a cockroach", tenacious and hard to kill. And yeah, Old Nicklehead is somone she hates with a passion, and /him/ killing /her/ daughter?
That's what got her to be so angry and goal-focused. Hence why in all of the three times the protagonists face Tessa, Tessa cuts her losses and runs. Because risking a decisive battle risks her revenge against Old Nick.
As for a threat, yeah. For one she penetrated a Company facility that had full support and the entire brood.
To date... none of the other villains managed to get that far. Alexia was more of a personal threat to Ranma. The Assembly racked up a pretty high casualty count against the Company, the Numbers... triggered an invasion and mass slaughter in the Canadian Military HQ.
And Tessa rampaged in a base, killed a town, and managed to bring giant monsters into the world, which.... really damaged reality.

The part with Nicodemus was rather concerning with regards to Tessa.
This might be a 'know enough information to be dangerous but not enough to be right' scenarios on my part, though. I've seen a couple different portrayals of the Denarians, and they range from 'for the evulz' to the extreme of 'cruel to be kind.' And most of the time I've seen them, they don't deal with Outsiders. Usually, they've got fallen angels over their shoulders - things that are pillars of creation, play by the exact letters of the rule, and generally dislike Outsiders since they want to end/eat/accidentally creation while the fallen would rather it stay around. It's usually only the evulz Denarians who play with Outsiders. I had assumed Tessa was either evulz or had gone so far over the despair event horizon that she felt entirely fine being the guy from Dr. Strangelove who rode a nuke to Russia while waving his cowboy hat.

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Recall one of Mab's warnings in when Harry summoned her.
The summoner knows not what is being summoned.
Bascially Tessa didn't know it was an Outsider, outsider she was sumoning. She thought it was some nasty old god.
Now if one really wanted to be paranoid one could look into how Thorned namshiel's Denarian coin somehow got loose early in the books, and he's Tessa's main advisor on magic, and he was in Blood Debts, and Tessa did some real heavy duty summoning...

But Nicky's part made me question that. Nicky hinted at Tessa being corrupted by Nemesis the same way that a number of other characters in The Dresden Files were. Characters who had a sudden departure from their standard modus operandi and instead opted to throw in with Outsiders. Tessa, unlike all the others, had a fallen angel riding shotgun throughout her entire escapade, and said fallen had enough sway to convince Tessa to choose death instead of giving up the coin. This leads to two potentially horrific points when looking back at the story - 1). Tessa's fallen might have been corrupted by Outsiders, or 2). Tessa's fallen was aware of Tessa's corruption and saved Dresden from having an Outsider infected daughter.

And Nicky's terrified.

But that's probably something for a sequel.

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Muhuahahahahhahahaaa.
Yeah Old Nick is /not/ having a good couple of years.

As for Nicodemus, he came across as the standard Nicodemus I've been exposed to. Affably evil who will invite you to tea with a promise of truce during it but not mention he's hired The Numbers to assassinate you as soon as you leave his immediate presence. Is annoyingly persistent in a way not unlike a glacier carving out hunks of land - he has time, and he's seen enough to feel confident in the inevitability of his victory. He also knows when to admit defeat and fold his cards. He probably didn't fight Harry because it would have been a waste of time in addition to it damaging whatever he did to Harry's office and floor. He gave Harry enough information to get Harry thinking but not enough for him to draw a conclusion beyond the obvious Harry already knew without having to think which either indicates he knows Harry well if that's what he wanted or not well enough if he wanted Harry to pick up the potential Outsider connection - both of which are possible since he gave Harry Lasciel's coin but Lash failed to ensnare Dresden.

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Quite so.
He has time, and he does feel that Harry's got so much temptation that /she/ is going to fall, but he does worry that Dresden may be claimed by other factions now, even if she does go all black-hat.
Glacier, nice description of him.

Hehe.... the Numbers versus Dresden. I was tempted to have the necro-cybords deal with the crazy wizard succu-sidhe, but the story had a plan.
Though I'm not sure if Galina wants to take another magical contract

Yes, a fairly well done if standard Nicodemus if the other things I've read are anywhere near accurate when it comes to his character. I was a little surprised he didn't comment on Tessa's motives, but it could have easily been that he didn't want to think about how he killed his daughter.

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Yah. He couldn't really push Dresden's buttons on that.
Also he /hates/ that he killed his daughter, given that, by now, he's realized that he was played. That the whole robbery on Hades' vault was a con against him.

You are welcome. I wish I had the time earlier to comment when the chapters were fresh.

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No worries, your comments now more than make up for it.
This is really great stuff, and I'm very happy that the story has come out as well as it has.
Now, do you have any questions about Blood Debts of the future stuff?

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Speaking as said prereader, I'm happy that it turned out as well as it did.

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Indeed! Especially given your role in this.

Eve is awesome.

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What I love is that, given her background, her job, and what she is, she is /totally/ a refuge in audacity character.
But she's played as the straight man.

Now, wouldn't that be something? Of course, we'd need new Return chapters first. *Pointedly looks at Sunshine Temple*

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*coughs* That is in the plan. As always it's a matter of time.
I will say that the succubae stories, including revising the return, is my writing priority.

Honestly, if you're having issues with book 1, skip it. Skip book 2 while your'e at it. Read Grave Peril onward, and then go back and read the first two books.

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That is good advice.

That's a creative... and absurdly well thought-out observation set. For someone who has only really gotten wiki-walk info and some fanon... there's a few things you're missing, but not as much as you might think. Alas, that is something for a—
Yeah, that.

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Yah that was scary good.

Great commentary, man.

Also, great fic, Sunshine Temple. Glad I prodded you into starting it

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Heh, yes Ellf does take a lot of blame for this ;p
If blame is the right word.

Reply to reply here.

It's more that things keep coming up in the rest of my life and interrupt my attempts to read the book. I'm enjoying it, but I prioritized reading Blood Debts over the actual source material.

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Oh.... well ain't that something. ^^;;
In fairness Blood Debts does have better succubae than the novels.

Thank you. Parts of it are also paranoid, but given how things tend to turn out in the fanon things I've read, being paranoid just means you acknowledge they're out to get you. Hopefully I'll be able to plug the holes with what Butcher actually wrote.

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Seems pretty legit to me. I won't claim the best knowledge of the DF canon. But I did troll it pretty deep to get things to connect up to help with Blood Debts

I'm glad you did as well.

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Yah, and the knock down effects should be quite nice.

Also, since I forgot to say this earlier - Sunshine Temple, I enjoyed reading Blood Debts and look forward to the next thing you write.

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Aww thanks!
I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for putting in the time to put in such detailed comentary.

 

[U.N.Spacy000]

In fairness Blood Debts does have better succubae than the novels.

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Yes, yes it does.

Now if you're interested in more Dresden fics, I know a certain writer here, who also posts here, that you may be interested in.

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That's getting added to my reading list.

She will find out that there are some Dresden Verse vamps that she'd have... trouble with.

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Red court is extinct, Black court is basically Bram Stoker vamps which she's murdered in droves (though that first one would give her issues), and White court are emotivores. I'm thinking there's a branch of the White court that feeds on confidence or the Raiths will somehow unlock her lust and she won't know how to deal with that since she's repressed her sexuality so hard. Cecilia will have to rescue her poor sister.

And a half-sibling of hers will think she's insane.

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Ranma did kick their sister out of a perfectly good helicopter and plane for flight lessons. I'm pretty sure he's already decided she is insane without directly interacting with her.

Annnd, there is another Vampire, from allies across the pond, that she would... have trouble in a fight against, but could make a fair drinkin' buddy.

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This sounds like a lead in to a Hellsing Abridged/The Return crossover. WIC gets hired after the Valentine Brothers' assault on Hellsing, they muscle out the Wild Geese due to the WICs competence and familiarity of the supernatural, Alucard makes a crack about Morgan's anti-material rifle and how bitches love cannons before proudly declaring the Police Girl's is larger in a way that could insinuate he's talking about her rifle or tits, Ranma ponders the recurring theme of meeting Vatican members in museums, and then they're on a plane to Brazil to eat the police and confirm that it's the Nazis behind it all. Meanwhile, Eve is doing sneaky spy stuff and basically causes Millennium's invasion to be stillborn.

They also convince the British to use a submarine to sink the aircraft carrier with a torpedo instead of crashing a SR-71 into it - much to Alucard's disappointment.

Alternatively, it's the standard, more serious Hellsing, and the absurdity of sappy, cuddly, demons slowly mellows Alucard out and he becomes a good drinking buddy by the end of the story. Or maybe they'd somehow acquire Seras if they arrived early enough. There's plenty of ways this could go.

I'd read it either way.

Bascially Tessa didn't know it was an Outsider, outsider she was sumoning. She thought it was some nasty old god.

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Right, I forgot that part. That adds to the whole being played aspect, and the part with her adviser keeps things high on the paranoia scale. It also makes it more plausible that there's a coup in the works that Nicodemus might fall victim to rather than just Outsiders mucking about.

Oh well, that's a mess for another story.

Now, do you have any questions about Blood Debts of the future stuff?

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Sure, I've got a couple.

First, how did you initially see Blood Debts going? I mean, initially having Dresden not become a succubus would have changed a good chunk of Harry's development, Harry's interaction with Lea, Ranma, butters, and so on, and a number of plot points. What was the first plan that you changed when you had it pointed out that Harry becoming a succubus was the way to go?

Second, I'm interested in Pluto. Not so much the what she is since you've given out hints about that but the why and when you decided to go that way. I've started re-reading the stuff you reworked, and Pluto starts out fairly normal. She comes across as human with human emotions, failings, feelings on those failings and so on, but there's a point where that stops - and it's much more noticeable here in Blood Debts with the lack of soulgaze, the eldritch horror with wizard sight, having Uriel call her the Gate and Key and so on. So why did you go from regular Pluto to Yog-Sothoth, and at what point did you did you make that decision.

Third, what are your long term plans for the rest of the sailor suited warriors of love and justice? At the moment they feel about as necessary to the plot as a freestanding wall does to a rooms existence. it helps shape things and we'd notice if it wasn't there, but the room would still be a room and for the most part the plot would still be the plot if they had stayed in Japan and weren't being targeted by a shady conspiracy. Yes, they're mostly essential for the Ranma in a fuku thing, Ami has been a recurring antagonist, and the Numbers have been brought in recently because of them and that has driven Usagi and friends into Ranma's open arms more or less, but they feel like they're just there for the most part or a plot pinata. They're there to get hit. We left them and the whole Number plot line hanging, but the girls were doing training so it's possible they might become useful in a fight and take some initiative to progress their own side plots.

Fourth, how long do you think you'll last before you bring Blackstone back for at least a little while?

Fifth, what other sort of opponents are you considering throwing at Ranma and the Company?

And probably finally - I seem to recall BlackSky trying to play match maker for DarkStar/Ranma. Is anything going to come of that, and what sort of reactions can we expect from the cast? I'm sort of enjoying the single mother aspect and more interested in Ranma's relationship with Eve than a random succubus I haven't gotten invested in.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Yes, yes it does.

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Though the White Court aren't really demons.... or they're more possessed by a demonic entity.

That's getting added to my reading list.

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Cool! I think you'll like it.

Red court is extinct, Black court is basically Bram Stoker vamps which she's murdered in droves (though that first one would give her issues), and White court are emotivores. I'm thinking there's a branch of the White court that feeds on confidence or the Raiths will somehow unlock her lust and she won't know how to deal with that since she's repressed her sexuality so hard. Cecilia will have to rescue her poor sister.

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Ahh... there's the confusion. Black Court has the weaknesses of Bram Stoker vamps, but physically they are the most powerful of the Courts.
And the Pattern V's Ranma has fought are not of that type and are much weaker.
Ranma being sexually repressed could be a valid way... depending on where her relationship with Usagi is when she goes to visit ;p

Ranma did kick their sister out of a perfectly good helicopter and plane for flight lessons. I'm pretty sure he's already decided she is insane without directly interacting with her.

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Sure, though Thomas is assuming some of it is exaggerated.
And that Ranma is not quite so.... /Ranma/.
There's also Ranma's attitude towards things like "maintaining the masquerade", collateral damage, and cleaning up after a fight. So... she's like her baby sister.

This sounds like a lead in to a Hellsing Abridged/The Return crossover. WIC gets hired after the Valentine Brothers' assault on Hellsing, they muscle out the Wild Geese due to the WICs competence and familiarity of the supernatural, Alucard makes a crack about Morgan's anti-material rifle and how bitches love cannons before proudly declaring the Police Girl's is larger in a way that could insinuate he's talking about her rifle or tits, Ranma ponders the recurring theme of meeting Vatican members in museums, and then they're on a plane to Brazil to eat the police and confirm that it's the Nazis behind it all. Meanwhile, Eve is doing sneaky spy stuff and basically causes Millennium's invasion to be stillborn.

They also convince the British to use a submarine to sink the aircraft carrier with a torpedo instead of crashing a SR-71 into it - much to Alucard's disappointment.

Alternatively, it's the standard, more serious Hellsing, and the absurdity of sappy, cuddly, demons slowly mellows Alucard out and he becomes a good drinking buddy by the end of the story. Or maybe they'd somehow acquire Seras if they arrived early enough. There's plenty of ways this could go.

I'd read it either way.

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*whistles*
The timeline of events is... close. Though the Company doesn't get the manpower contract, but they still have training help.
And a few other things are different. But good guesses.
It's not... full on Gonzo Abridged, as that tone would be a bit jarring to the Return, but....

Right, I forgot that part. That adds to the whole being played aspect, and the part with her adviser keeps things high on the paranoia scale. It also makes it more plausible that there's a coup in the works that Nicodemus might fall victim to rather than just Outsiders mucking about.

Oh well, that's a mess for another story.

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Hehehee
As you said "Nicky's terrified"
And even Harry pointed out that it looks like /someone/ is setting it up for the Denarian leadership to be knocked off one by one.

Sure, I've got a couple.

First, how did you initially see Blood Debts going? I mean, initially having Dresden not become a succubus would have changed a good chunk of Harry's development, Harry's interaction with Lea, Ranma, butters, and so on, and a number of plot points. What was the first plan that you changed when you had it pointed out that Harry becoming a succubus was the way to go?

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The original plan was that Harry wouldn't have been wounded nearly as bad. Butters wouldn't have shown up. And the ending chapters would have more of Harry dealing with Return villians and stuff, instead of the "baby succubus" things.
And then he would have gone back to his world.
And that would have been... okay. But it made the crossover more of a "guest star walk on". There would not have been a consequence or advancement of the overall story arc

Second, I'm interested in Pluto. Not so much the what she is since you've given out hints about that but the why and when you decided to go that way. I've started re-reading the stuff you reworked, and Pluto starts out fairly normal. She comes across as human with human emotions, failings, feelings on those failings and so on, but there's a point where that stops - and it's much more noticeable here in Blood Debts with the lack of soulgaze, the eldritch horror with wizard sight, having Uriel call her the Gate and Key and so on. So why did you go from regular Pluto to Yog-Sothoth, and at what point did you did you make that decision.

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Hmm... dang. In the re-write I was trying to have Pluto start off as more alien and trying to be more human to the Senshi, but still being a bit off.
That said, it was like ch3 that I had the Yog-Puto idea. Murdock gives a pretty big hint about here. So she was nearly from the very start an eldritch abomination.
The main turning point for her attitude change is when her first body is killed by the combat cyborgs.
Then several factors started to come together: she's in a new body, a younger body, she's getting closer to Usagi, and... Pluto doesn't want to hide as much.
Basically once she's in her "Kiri" body, she decides to drop the mask and be more herself.

Third, what are your long term plans for the rest of the sailor suited warriors of love and justice? At the moment they feel about as necessary to the plot as a freestanding wall does to a rooms existence. it helps shape things and we'd notice if it wasn't there, but the room would still be a room and for the most part the plot would still be the plot if they had stayed in Japan and weren't being targeted by a shady conspiracy. Yes, they're mostly essential for the Ranma in a fuku thing, Ami has been a recurring antagonist, and the Numbers have been brought in recently because of them and that has driven Usagi and friends into Ranma's open arms more or less, but they feel like they're just there for the most part or a plot pinata. They're there to get hit. We left them and the whole Number plot line hanging, but the girls were doing training so it's possible they might become useful in a fight and take some initiative to progress their own side plots.

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Ahhh yes.
There's more. Specifically fallout from what was done to Minako by Ami and what she is now. Rei's been acting... off a bit more.
And with all that they are training and getting better. Their performance in the Ottawa battle stands out.
Also a big part in the Return Revision was to have them less incompetent, and be Ranma's ire towards them, accordingly, less vicious
The fun part is that them worried about being sidelined becomes explicit when Ranma and Usgi's relationship heats up.
As they, Rei especially, fears that if Usagi goes with Ranma, then what's the point of the Inner Senshi anymore? Espeically given Ami has gone eveil, Minako is sliding into more and more of an bodygaurd, servant, ect for Usagi.

Fourth, how long do you think you'll last before you bring Blackstone back for at least a little while?

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Sooner than you may think.
As there are decisions Nodoka will be making, that BlackStone will be a part of.

Fifth, what other sort of opponents are you considering throwing at Ranma and the Company?

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Well you mentioned that museum meeting with the Vatican....
And the Return version has more parallels to the Hellsing. That said there were... changes with how a certain program worked. A program that Eve has mentioned a few times.

There's also that the legacy of Mal de Veste's actions will continue to have repercussions.

And... there's Murdock and who hired him, and how they'll take to having their catspaw the Assembly of Man destroyed. Given the nature of the story, they look to a mercenary force. One that's been mentioned before.
(Also they're not new, but the Numbers and their human mercenary and other allies are going to be coming in. And Mercury and her Senshi as well.

Annnnd there's the whole "Return", the cyclic wearing down of the barriers of reality that is the main concern of the Company and what they see the Pattern Silvers, and Usagi in specific as key for. Course that raises the question of... why Usagi?

And probably finally - I seem to recall BlackSky trying to play match maker for DarkStar/Ranma. Is anything going to come of that, and what sort of reactions can we expect from the cast? I'm sort of enjoying the single mother aspect and more interested in Ranma's relationship with Eve than a random succubus I haven't gotten invested in.

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Yes, BlackSky was sounding that out. Ranma will meet her, but BlackSky wasn't pushy about it.
However, Ranma and the brood meeting her will give them the introduction to more of BlackSky's side of the family, and Silvana. which will be a big thing for Nodoka
Great questions!

 

[U.N.Spacy000]

Ranma being sexually repressed could be a valid way... depending on where her relationship with Usagi is when she goes to visit ;p

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Alright, that got a laugh. Those two do wind each other up. It's either going to end with the two of them in bed together or on other sides of the planet eating ice cream by the tub full lamenting how poorly things went.

Sure, though Thomas is assuming some of it is exaggerated.

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"And that fire wasn't my fault this time!"

"Pull the other one, Dresden, it's got bells."

The timeline of events is... close. Though the Company doesn't get the manpower contract, but they still have training help.
And a few other things are different. But good guesses.
It's not... full on Gonzo Abridged, as that tone would be a bit jarring to the Return, but....

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Getting the training contract would probably... yes. In the manga, Integra has to rely on the Wild Geese because the military manpower drawdown to replace all the personnel lost in the Valentine Brothers' attack would be too noticeable. They also weren't planning on relying on the Wild Geese forever, so it would make sense there'd be a slow, prolonged rate of recruitment and training in small batches.

I could see a group like WIC getting involved with that process, and I could also see a recommendation from a Hellsing equivalent agency to a commonwealth nation like Canada carrying some weight when it came to figuring out who to hire to get the homegrown Canadian counter-spooky response force.

Assuming - if there is a Hellsing analogue - the Hellsing stuff happened as per canon in the end of 1999 and The Return started around 2002 - but Ranma sort of happens in the late 80s, and Sailor Moon occurs in the mid 90s...

There's wiggle room, so it's either on the verge of happening or it did happen just a few years ago and is very fresh in the Hellsing analogue's mind.

And yes, the full on gonzo would be very jarring when it comes to how serious The Return is, but it'd be amusing and standard Hellsing would slot in fairly well - with the exception of London burning down in a bloody orgy of destruction given that the masquerade hasn't been completely blown.

And that would have been... okay. But it made the crossover more of a "guest star walk on". There would not have been a consequence or advancement of the overall story arc

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Most likely, yes. I'm glad ellf convinced you to go this way with it instead.

Hmm... dang. In the re-write I was trying to have Pluto start off as more alien and trying to be more human to the Senshi, but still being a bit off.

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That might be more apparent in re-written chapters after 01 since that's about as far as I've gotten. She has a range of very human emotions. She shows fear, nervousness, unease, distress, and anger. She had forgotten how how DarkStar acted, and she was extremely upset with Murdock. She went so far as to use foul language when speaking with him. Not only was she exceptionally displeased with how Murdock outmaneuvered her so completely, but she hated him for being more level headed, cryptic, and in control than she ever was as well as hating herself for being so petty and how that meant Murdock was in control of that situation as well.

The re-written chapter 01 is very similar to the original as far as Pluto's part is concerned, and at that point of the story, Pluto seems fairly bog standard if a little bit nerfed while Murdock is an absolutely terrifying manipulator rather than it being a human using a couple of tricks to pull one over on an eldritch abomination who is too dependent on the same limited bag of tricks she's been using for a few thousand years. I mean, it's more complicated than that and Murdock is both more and less terrifying than he's presented, but in that initial chapter Pluto comes across as human. That might change in later chapters and I'll keep an eye out for it.

Sooner than you may think.

Click to shrink...

And here I thought you'd be able to get through at least the Numbers' arc...

As there are decisions Nodoka will be making, that BlackStone will be a part of.

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Ah, so Mom goes on a trip to talk to her newest daughter about something. I look forward to Dresden showing of her children to their new grandmother.

That said there were... changes with how a certain program worked. A program that Eve has mentioned a few times.

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You mean the Nazi super science program with the - I want to say - zombie soldiers and helicopter backpacks? I sort of figured they weren't as dead as people thought.

Course that raises the question of... why Usagi?

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*snarky answer about her being the main character of half the crossover*

She is absurdly powerful with that moonrock of hers, but she seems to be powered by her internal flawed idealism. While the Exiles and Purification of the world's population in the Crystal Tokyo timeline don't seem to be explored too much outside the 'magical girls of love and justice are good,' there has been plenty of fan speculation, and most of it comes down to what she does as being Not Good. Specifically, it's of the flavor that Uriel would disapprove of and might even be able to do something about. You seem to be stripping her of this though and rebuilding her over time, though, so I think she'll avoid that pothole.

Still, even with her issues, she did manage to drive off Pharaoh90 and keep the population of Earth safe with Hotaru's help, and given setting translations, that thing might qualify as a powerful Outsider. Usagi also puts the hurt on the embodiment of Chaos' power as well as the physical embodiment of Order while showing enough intelligence to avoid the mental portion of Order's manipulation and attempt to turn reality into a physics simulator that will eventually die due to entropy.

If there's a great, big, scary, Elder Thing Outsider about to Return, she's probably Earth's best hope.

Unless BlackSky decides to save everyone. I for one would welcome our new MILF succubus overlord.

Unfortunately she isn't really interested in Earth since it isn't a choice piece of real estate. It doesn't have the sentimental value of home, all these vermin Outsiders are trying to get into the basement, and the exterminators have no idea how they keep getting in.

which will be a big thing for Nodoka

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I'm thinking one of DarkStar's aunts or BlackSky's daughters who is an ancestor of DarkStar offers to make Nodoka her sister so Nodoka can mother Ranma, Eve, Cecilia, and Dresden.

Or there's some sort of artifact that can do it. Man, if that's the case, Genma is really being left out in the cold on this - though he sort of deserves it.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Alright, that got a laugh. Those two do wind each other up. It's either going to end with the two of them in bed together or on other sides of the planet eating ice cream by the tub full lamenting how poorly things went.

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Well... that's the less /dark/ version of what happens if they end up spurning each other.
Course... who's to say that a relationship between those two would be all sugar an spice...

"And that fire wasn't my fault this time!"

"Pull the other one, Dresden, it's got bells."

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Poor, poor Thomas.
Basically Ranma drafts Thomas into being her local guide and driver when they go looking for Dresden.

Things get.... well... Ranma doesn't /quite/ "go for a walk"

Getting the training contract would probably... yes. In the manga, Integra has to rely on the Wild Geese because the military manpower drawdown to replace all the personnel lost in the Valentine Brothers' attack would be too noticeable. They also weren't planning on relying on the Wild Geese forever, so it would make sense there'd be a slow, prolonged rate of recruitment and training in small batches.

I could see a group like WIC getting involved with that process, and I could also see a recommendation from a Hellsing equivalent agency to a commonwealth nation like Canada carrying some weight when it came to figuring out who to hire to get the homegrown Canadian counter-spooky response force.

Click to shrink...

Ah, the thing is that Canada doesn't have their own equivalent. That's why they had to hire WIC. That said, WIC is training that JTF2 group of the Canadian military to serve in that role.
But that does show that WIC can help train Commonwealth military forces for that role.

Assuming - if there is a Hellsing analogue - the Hellsing stuff happened as per canon in the end of 1999 and The Return started around 2002 - but Ranma sort of happens in the late 80s, and Sailor Moon occurs in the mid 90s...

There's wiggle room, so it's either on the verge of happening or it did happen just a few years ago and is very fresh in the Hellsing analogue's mind.

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Yah, the exact year of events is a bit of a snarl
(Especially as I've been writing this for over 10 years. )
Shockingly, I haven't had as much to "fix" in terms of tech in the re-write.

And yes, the full on gonzo would be very jarring when it comes to how serious The Return is, but it'd be amusing and standard Hellsing would slot in fairly well - with the exception of London burning down in a bloody orgy of destruction given that the masquerade hasn't been completely blown.

Click to shrink...

True, though with the battle of Ottawa it's pretty dang frayed.
That said, Abridged-Alucard (or maybe a lite version of him) does have real possibilities.

Most likely, yes. I'm glad ellf convinced you to go this way with it instead.

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Me too. This way it actually has the crossover mean something.

That might be more apparent in re-written chapters after 01 since that's about as far as I've gotten. She has a range of very human emotions. She shows fear, nervousness, unease, distress, and anger. She had forgotten how how DarkStar acted, and she was extremely upset with Murdock. She went so far as to use foul language when speaking with him. Not only was she exceptionally displeased with how Murdock outmaneuvered her so completely, but she hated him for being more level headed, cryptic, and in control than she ever was as well as hating herself for being so petty and how that meant Murdock was in control of that situation as well.

The re-written chapter 01 is very similar to the original as far as Pluto's part is concerned, and at that point of the story, Pluto seems fairly bog standard if a little bit nerfed while Murdock is an absolutely terrifying manipulator rather than it being a human using a couple of tricks to pull one over on an eldritch abomination who is too dependent on the same limited bag of tricks she's been using for a few thousand years. I mean, it's more complicated than that and Murdock is both more and less terrifying than he's presented, but in that initial chapter Pluto comes across as human. That might change in later chapters and I'll keep an eye out for it.

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Ahhh. I can see that.
Some of the issues are that Yog-Setsuna even in the later chapters is still an emotional being.
Something to consider is what Serenity would have had to have done to /get/ a being outside of time to even interact with causality. And then be willing to serve Serenity.
Hence Uriel's comments.
I've intended to have Setsuna's inhumanity become more apparent as the chapters progress.

Hmm, though it sounds like I may have had her, for lack of a better word, "too human" in chapter 1.

And here I thought you'd be able to get through at least the Numbers' arc...

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Part of it is that, the Nodoka stuff is coming concurrently, with that. And the Nodoka stuff is influenced by BlackStone.

Ah, so Mom goes on a trip to talk to her newest daughter about something. I look forward to Dresden showing of her children to their new grandmother.

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It should be a cute scene. Though Nodoka may worry...

You mean the Nazi super science program with the - I want to say - zombie soldiers and helicopter backpacks? I sort of figured they weren't as dead as people thought.

Click to shrink...

That was part of it. The other part is the "tech" that was later used to make the Numbers.
And well there's also the Hellsing aspect...

*snarky answer about her being the main character of half the crossover*

She is absurdly powerful with that moonrock of hers, but she seems to be powered by her internal flawed idealism. While the Exiles and Purification of the world's population in the Crystal Tokyo timeline don't seem to be explored too much outside the 'magical girls of love and justice are good,' there has been plenty of fan speculation, and most of it comes down to what she does as being Not Good. Specifically, it's of the flavor that Uriel would disapprove of and might even be able to do something about. You seem to be stripping her of this though and rebuilding her over time, though, so I think she'll avoid that pothole.

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Heh, yeah she is the other half of the story. Course that means that her importance would reflect that.

Good, yeah the Deconstruction/Reconstruction of Sailor Moon is another part of the story. I really liked having her show up in the final battle in Blood Debts and start to show what Neo Serenity is all about.

Still, even with her issues, she did manage to drive off Pharaoh90 and keep the population of Earth safe with Hotaru's help, and given setting translations, that thing might qualify as a powerful Outsider. Usagi also puts the hurt on the embodiment of Chaos' power as well as the physical embodiment of Order while showing enough intelligence to avoid the mental portion of Order's manipulation and attempt to turn reality into a physics simulator that will eventually die due to entropy.

If there's a great, big, scary, Elder Thing Outsider about to Return, she's probably Earth's best hope.

Click to shrink...

The order aspect would be handy if say... the barriers of reality started to wear out....

Unless BlackSky decides to save everyone. I for one would welcome our new MILF succubus overlord.

Unfortunately she isn't really interested in Earth since it isn't a choice piece of real estate. It doesn't have the sentimental value of home, all these vermin Outsiders are trying to get into the basement, and the exterminators have no idea how they keep getting in.

Click to shrink...

Heh. BlackSky /is/ a fun character. And one I've had to make sure isn't overused, and has interests/responsibilities that keep her from solving everything.

Though she does see DarkStar as being the one who /should/ rise to the occasion.

I'm thinking one of DarkStar's aunts or BlackSky's daughters who is an ancestor of DarkStar offers to make Nodoka her sister so Nodoka can mother Ranma, Eve, Cecilia, and Dresden.

Or there's some sort of artifact that can do it. Man, if that's the case, Genma is really being left out in the cold on this - though he sort of deserves it.

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Heheh
Yes, one of their relatives. And while the sister change could work if one of DarkStar's aunts does it. There are other options.

I dunno about Genma, he's been mending his ways pretty well in the story. (Or at least I'd tried to convey it...)

Thanks again for all the great commentary!

 

[U.N.Spacy000]

Well... that's the less /dark/ version of what happens if they end up spurning each other.

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Yeah, but with the way you write, if they spurn each other, there will be at least two fights rather than just one. They'd be eating ice cream and bemoaning their poor choices of romantic partner between the fights. Search your feeling, you know it to be true.

Course... who's to say that a relationship between those two would be all sugar an spice...

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I would hope not given how they've been up until now and their different outlooks on life. If they do get together, I'll look forward to Usagi having to explain to Ranma that she needs to get pregnant with a dead man's frozen sperm because time travel nonsense.

Poor, poor Thomas.
Basically Ranma drafts Thomas into being her local guide and driver when they go looking for Dresden.

Click to shrink...

I can see it.

Things get.... well... Ranma doesn't /quite/ "go for a walk"

Click to shrink...

"What do I need to bribe you with to make sure you behave?" Thomas asked as he felt his wallet cry in pain.

"I want a new gun," Ranma said as s he idly looked over the remains of handgun. Mother was going to need to tweak the barrels the Company issued if fire enchanted ammunition was going to be deployed on any scale other than one and done.

"Okay, I can do that," Thomas said as he began to think of the stores that sold firearms in Chicago.

"And one for the police girl," Ranma said as she waved at Murphy.

"But I already have one," the blonde ex-cop said with a frown.

"Get that bitch a cannon," Ranma said with a thumbs up. "Bitches love cannons."

"What - no! I do not need or want a cannon," Murphy said crossly as she glared at the succubus. "And I'm not opening myself up to any compensating for my height jokes from Dresden!"

Ranma's gaze went blank before a devious smile blossomed on her face and she said, "Hey Thomas? Get Dresden a cannon."

WIC is training that JTF2 group of the Canadian military to serve in that role.

Click to shrink...

I forgot to add the word started at the end. This is what I was refering to - the long term portion of WIC's current job.

Shockingly, I haven't had as much to "fix" in terms of tech in the re-write.

Click to shrink...

You managed to keep tech terms fairly generic. WIC is a cutting edge group, so it allows a bit more suspension of disbelief when it comes to agents having access to higher tech things before they're widely available. I think the only dated technology immediately visible in chapter 1 is the palmtop. Technically speaking, the generic term would be a handheld computer since Palmtops, PalmPilots, Palm (PDAs), and so on are devices produced by Palm Inc that run on the Palm OS. They have also been mostly replaced with smartphones - but given how cagey the Company is with security and the potential breach certain cell phone manufacturers represent, it is believable that agents would be issued flip phones. Flip phones also tend to be built more durably than smart phones, so that's could be another reason for using a throwback and separating the tech. Alternatively, since Kasumi's palmtop is a pattern detector as well, it could be that there are hardware requirements that keep the Company from consolidating the tech they issue agents.

True, though with the battle of Ottawa it's pretty dang frayed.

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It is, but that isn't London's fault, and given how you've introduced Dresden Files elements, it could begin to be patched in a 'humans willfully try to explain it away with how they know the world works' sort of way. Alternatively, it could start being the end of times. You'll just have to write and post it at some point.

That said, Abridged-Alucard (or maybe a lite version of him) does have real possibilities.

Click to shrink...

I guess I'll just have to wait and see if you do that. (You should do that)

Something to consider is what Serenity would have had to have done to /get/ a being outside of time to even interact with causality. And then be willing to serve Serenity.
Hence Uriel's comments.

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Yes. Between Serenity teaming up with BlackSky's house and convincing Yog-Setsuna to work for her, Beryl and Metalia have become exceptionally horrifying, and I'm not sure how Usagi won.

Hmm, though it sounds like I may have had her, for lack of a better word, "too human" in chapter 1.

Click to shrink...

It might be her too deep in the mask so to speak since that's what Usagi expected and wanted, but now that everything is on the line and Usagi is less idealistic, certain restrictions are less binding on her.

It should be a cute scene. Though Nodoka may worry...

Click to shrink...

Worry about Harry or worry about his daughters? Or all of them?

I can see it now, Nodoka worrying about Harry and how she is unable to connect with her non-succubi daughters, the girls and their complete acceptance of their dad's new form along with how that sort of thing could affect them psychologically - not to mention the sort of lives they led to get them to just accept their father now being a succubus.

Oh, and that's before she learns who their mothers were.

That was part of it. The other part is the "tech" that was later used to make the Numbers.

Click to shrink...

And given the plundering of Nazi tech and rivalry with the Soviets, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a US Army zombie cyborg team created - or at the very least looked into - just to counter the Numbers. I mean, it took the Soviets getting into space first to actually spur the US to go there. The oneupsmanship and arms race between the USA and USSR was a very real thing.

And well there's also the Hellsing aspect...

Click to shrink...

Millennium is sort of a single shot guided weapon in Hellsing, though. Call of C'thulhu's Karotechia from the d20's Delta Green supplement would be more malleable to your needs, and a more empowered Thule Society like the one from Hellboy would have a grander scale than just 'screw England.'

Though I have seen Millennium go beyond being singly focused on England in certain fan works. And Shine Heaven Now comes to mind. Millennium had agents infiltrate just about everywhere and pulled a decapitation on most major nations while releasing 'free agent' vampires like the Valentine Brothers in most major cities just so people wouldn't be able to come to England's aid. Granted, with the WIC around and their pattern detectors, something like that becomes much more difficult.

Good, yeah the Deconstruction/Reconstruction of Sailor Moon is another part of the story.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it just feels like it's been taking so long. I mean, it took less than 200k words to get Ranma to become a full time demon mommy.

The order aspect would be handy if say... the barriers of reality started to wear out....

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Just not too much of it. Like I said, physics simulation seemed to be the end goal.

I dunno about Genma, he's been mending his ways pretty well in the story. (Or at least I'd tried to convey it...)

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Oh, he has - if I'm remembering things correctly. It's just all his dreams and aspirations for the future have been shattered. And I'm trying to remember if Nodoka divorced him in this fic - but even if she hasn't, it looks like she might be leaving him behind in other ways to be more with Ranma.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Yeah, but with the way you write, if they spurn each other, there will be at least two fights rather than just one. They'd be eating ice cream and bemoaning their poor choices of romantic partner between the fights. Search your feeling, you know it to be true.

Click to shrink...

Oooooh. Yeah that's true.
Though there might be a makeover in between the ice cream ;p

I would hope not given how they've been up until now and their different outlooks on life. If they do get together, I'll look forward to Usagi having to explain to Ranma that she needs to get pregnant with a dead man's frozen sperm because time travel nonsense.

Click to shrink...

Hah!
Oh yes, that'll be fun.
Course that's what Pluto /said/ about Chibi Usa.

I can see it.

Click to shrink...

Ranma is used to having local support. Vehicles and cleanup and backup.
And Thomas....

"What do I need to bribe you with to make sure you behave?" Thomas asked as he felt his wallet cry in pain.

"I want a new gun," Ranma said as s he idly looked over the remains of handgun. Mother was going to need to tweak the barrels the Company issued if fire enchanted ammunition was going to be deployed on any scale other than one and done.

"Okay, I can do that," Thomas said as he began to think of the stores that sold firearms in Chicago.

"And one for the police girl," Ranma said as she waved at Murphy.

"But I already have one," the blonde ex-cop said with a frown.

"Get that bitch a cannon," Ranma said with a thumbs up. "Bitches love cannons."

"What - no! I do not need or want a cannon," Murphy said crossly as she glared at the succubus. "And I'm not opening myself up to any compensating for my height jokes from Dresden!"

Ranma's gaze went blank before a devious smile blossomed on her face and she said, "Hey Thomas? Get Dresden a cannon."

Click to shrink...

Hah!
That's fun. Course Murphy could also relate to Ranma with the short jokes...

I forgot to add the word started at the end. This is what I was refering to - the long term portion of WIC's current job.

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Ahhhh. Yes, that could have Hellsing get some appeal to them

You managed to keep tech terms fairly generic. WIC is a cutting edge group, so it allows a bit more suspension of disbelief when it comes to agents having access to higher tech things before they're widely available. I think the only dated technology immediately visible in chapter 1 is the palmtop. Technically speaking, the generic term would be a handheld computer since Palmtops, PalmPilots, Palm (PDAs), and so on are devices produced by Palm Inc that run on the Palm OS. They have also been mostly replaced with smartphones - but given how cagey the Company is with security and the potential breach certain cell phone manufacturers represent, it is believable that agents would be issued flip phones. Flip phones also tend to be built more durably than smart phones, so that's could be another reason for using a throwback and separating the tech. Alternatively, since Kasumi's palmtop is a pattern detector as well, it could be that there are hardware requirements that keep the Company from consolidating the tech they issue agents.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the Palmtops and flip phones were some of the things that I tried to edit out in the revisions of Return.
But it sounds like I may have missed some.
However, good point about the Company having customization with their issued equipment.

It is, but that isn't London's fault, and given how you've introduced Dresden Files elements, it could begin to be patched in a 'humans willfully try to explain it away with how they know the world works' sort of way. Alternatively, it could start being the end of times. You'll just have to write and post it at some point.

Click to shrink...

Indeed.
Though stuff will be getting.... more and more blatant with things going wrong.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see if you do that. (You should do that)

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Niiiiice. ^_^

Yes. Between Serenity teaming up with BlackSky's house and convincing Yog-Setsuna to work for her, Beryl and Metalia have become exceptionally horrifying, and I'm not sure how Usagi won.

Click to shrink...

Metalia is rather eldritch herself. As you pointed so was Pharaoh 90.
Really, thematically, Sailor Moon is pretty Lovecraftian.

It might be her too deep in the mask so to speak since that's what Usagi expected and wanted, but now that everything is on the line and Usagi is less idealistic, certain restrictions are less binding on her.

Click to shrink...

Quite so. Yog Sothoth didn't comprehend time, let alone other people, let alone companionship. But Serenity... "fixed" that, and then "fixed" Setsuna.
And yes, the bindings on Setsuna are... easing.

Worry about Harry or worry about his daughters? Or all of them?

I can see it now, Nodoka worrying about Harry and how she is unable to connect with her non-succubi daughters, the girls and their complete acceptance of their dad's new form along with how that sort of thing could affect them psychologically - not to mention the sort of lives they led to get them to just accept their father now being a succubus.

Oh, and that's before she learns who their mothers were.

Click to shrink...

Worry about Harry. For those things, with her providing for her daughters and also the worry that Harry is developing /alone/ as a young succubus.

And given the plundering of Nazi tech and rivalry with the Soviets, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a US Army zombie cyborg team created - or at the very least looked into - just to counter the Numbers. I mean, it took the Soviets getting into space first to actually spur the US to go there. The oneupsmanship and arms race between the USA and USSR was a very real thing.

Click to shrink...

*whistles*
Some of the comments Jacob gives about the risks of "super soldier programs", that WIC helped the Allies fight and hoover up such Nazi tech and that the Brood is the /5th/ Non Human Task Force may show that there's been some stuff in the old days...

Millennium is sort of a single shot guided weapon in Hellsing, though. Call of C'thulhu's Karotechia from the d20's Delta Green supplement would be more malleable to your needs, and a more empowered Thule Society like the one from Hellboy would have a grander scale than just 'screw England.'

Though I have seen Millennium go beyond being singly focused on England in certain fan works. And Shine Heaven Now comes to mind. Millennium had agents infiltrate just about everywhere and pulled a decapitation on most major nations while releasing 'free agent' vampires like the Valentine Brothers in most major cities just so people wouldn't be able to come to England's aid. Granted, with the WIC around and their pattern detectors, something like that becomes much more difficult.

Click to shrink...

Well, recall that the monomaniacal focus of "England and War for War's sake" was verymuch pushed by a certain Fat Major.
If he were out of the way....

And yeah there's some Delta Green vibes, in Return, maybe more optimistic, but there's work in the area.

Course the Pattern Detectors have a weakness, as they can give a false sense of security, as they can be spoofed, and they cannot detect mundane traitors.

Yeah, it just feels like it's been taking so long. I mean, it took less than 200k words to get Ranma to become a full time demon mommy.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, the story did focus more on Ranma in the first book, and really much of the second. I'm trying to make things better for Usagi so she's not as much a background in it.
Also splitting the story into separate books may help show that the focus is on a specific thing in each. Or Not.

Just not too much of it. Like I said, physics simulation seemed to be the end goal.

Click to shrink...

Heh

Oh, he has - if I'm remembering things correctly. It's just all his dreams and aspirations for the future have been shattered. And I'm trying to remember if Nodoka divorced him in this fic - but even if she hasn't, it looks like she might be leaving him behind in other ways to be more with Ranma.

Click to shrink...

Indeed, she's been setting up to divorce him. I should probably have her get it over with in the re-write after Girl Talk in all honesty.

Though his dreams aren't quite "shattered" as he and Soun are teaching martial arts, and Ranma is more into it than ever, and has her own style. and the houses are joined....
It's just all be warped by succubae ;p

 

[Sunshine Temple]

And updated Betrayed Consequences. Now with the Interlude Crossover with Trimatter: Girl Talk

Two Ranma for the price of one

 

[Sunshine Temple]

And the Return Revision project comes to Blood Debts.

All the posted chapters have been updated with the few minor revisions and tweaks I found needed.

On Friday I plan to post the first chapter of Book 6 Bonding Allure.

That's right, after 8 months of re-releases I'll have some *new* content.

Now to tide things over.

Here's some BlackStone and Ranma pics.

Link
DarkStar: "You just do Parkour; you don't yell out 'Parkour'!"
BlackStone: "Well excuse me Princess, what am I /supposed/ to yell out then?"

Them in a more.... fun look.

Link

And Ranma "Dressed to the Nines"

Link
Her outfit is Safe for Work? Right?