Where Are They?

It was 11:53 p.m. and Daphne was growing more and more frenzied by the second. "It's been almost 4 months! Why haven't they done anything?"

Loki's Xp was now 1020/1400. His Mind See, Mind Do had leveled up, so that he could cast an illusion over someone's mind for 1 minute, instead of 30 seconds. He added the stat point he obtained to his Agility, which was now 12/12.

"Daphne, we'll think of something," Terrence tried to console her. "Calm down, please."

"No! I will not calm down! I'm about to be wed to a man whom I despise! Even if the government comes in and stops this after my wedding, either I'll be arrested as being part of The Snakes, or I'll forever be known as the wife of a client of The Snakes!"

Saltavore walked in, looking tense. "Nishan is doing everything he can to slow down the wedding, but I don't think it's working."

"We still have time to run away, Daphne," Seraphine offered. "I'm sure the six of us can stay on the run for a while, at least long enough that the government stops The Snakes."

"The Snakes are everywhere! We'll never be able to run away from them, much less hide from them!" Daphne clutched at her messy hair. "Wait. What if someone from The Snakes got a hold of the documents? What if everything was a waste after all?"

Loki shook Daphne hard. "Daphne Phoenix, calm down this instant. We will figure a way out, so stop panicking."

Daphne took a few deep breaths, but she obviously was far from being calm. "I can't, Loki. We can't do anything."

"Technically, I'm the one walking you down the aisle, right? I'll stall the time for you until the last moment possible," Loki said. "I'll use my Abilities to make Mr. Sor be out of it for a while."

Just then, the door burst opened, and Mr. Sor stood there. "Come on, my lovely fiancée."

Daphne recoiled instantly. "Loki is walking me down the aisle. I will not let you touch me if I can help it."

"But you can't help it," Mr. Sor laughed. "Telling anyone wouldn't help, it would just endanger them, and you don't want to do that, do you?"

Daphne stayed away from him. "Get away from me."

Mr. Sor sighed. "Very well, I guess I'll only hold you after the wedding. Come now, don't be late, or I will drag you there myself."

Loki followed Daphne down a hastily put-together aisle as they walked towards the shabby-looking altar. An officiant was standing there at the altar with Mr. Sor, impatiently waiting for her.

Once Mr. Sor, who was dressed in a tuxedo, and Daphne, who was in a ripped, dirt-stained wedding gown were standing at the altar, the ring bearer stepped forward. Just before the ring bearer could bring the rings to the altar, Loki used Invisible Touch to fling the rings to the other side of the room. The ring bearer hurried to pick up the rings, but Loki managed to use Invisible Touch two more times, making the wedding guests (Mr. Phoenix, Mrs. Phoenix, Mr. Powell, and Mrs. Powell) start to shoot annoyed glances towards the ring bearer.

When the rings had finally made it's way to the altar, the officiant skipped the wedding vows and immediately started asking them the wedding vows. "Mr. Sor Mal, do you take Daphne Phoenix to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

[Mind See, Mind Do has been activated: -7 Stamina]

[Stamina: 5/12]

Loki imagined Mr. Sor seeing nothing and hearing nothing for the entire minute.

"Mr. Sor?" The officiant asked. "Hello?"

After an entire minute of silence from Mr. Sor ("Are you sure you can't wed Daphne to Maven instead? He's much richer," Mrs. Powell had whispered. "Unfortunately, Maven doesn't want to marry and be tied down. Besides, he doesn't know about the darker things we do."), he finally snapped back to reality. "Huh?"

"Mr. Sor Mal," The disgruntled officiant said. "Do you take Daphne Phoenix as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Why yes, of course," Mr. Sor answered.

"And do you, Daphne Phoenix, take Sor Mal as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Hell no," Daphne snarled. "I do not accept him as my husband. And nothing about this wedding is even lawful! I was drugged and brought here!"

"And maybe they should have drugged you longer," the officiant muttered. Speaking louder, he asked, "Are there any objections?"

"I object!" Seraphine called.

"Overruled," the officiant ignored her. "If there are no more objections, with the power vested in me, I now pronounce-"

"I object!" Terrence yelled.

"Overruled. With the power vested in me-"

"I object!" Loki said.

"Overruled. With the power-"

"I object!" Saltavore gave a small grunt of pain as his father gave him a small burn. "What are you saying? Keep your mouth shut."

"That objection is overruled. With-"

"I object!" Nishan yelled.

"Nishan! What is wrong with you and your brother today?" Mrs. Powell hissed. "I'm going to have a long talk with you when we get back."

As the officiant opened his mouth again, Nishan desperately added, "Me and Saltavore are friends with Daphne and her bodyguards!"

"What?" Mr. Phoenix roared. "How dare you! You're not supposed to like Daphne, and you're supposed to hate those low-levels, good for nothing pieces of trash!"

"Well, we're friends," Seraphine replied. "So deal with it."

"What is wrong with you, Saltavore, Nishan?" Mrs. Phoenix said. "I'd like to remind you that you're a part of The Snakes as well."

"Technically, we never accepted," Saltavore said. "You just assumed that we joined."

"You-" Mr. Powell looked like he was about to lunge at his son when Mr. Sor let out a loud cough. "Ahem! Can we proceed with the wedding first?"

"Right," the officiant nodded. "By the power vested in me- I know pronounce Sor Mal and Daphne Phoenix-" A loud bang cut the officiant off. "Now what?" The officiant yelled.

"Now, you put your hands up!" Military officers flooded into the room. "Everyone, hands where we can see them!"

"Officer, what is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Phoenix said haughtily. "How dare you treat Originals like this? I will-"

"You will keep your mouth shut," an officer said. "You are being arrested for being the leader of The Snakes. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court."

"The leader of The Snakes?" Mr. Powell had paled considerably. "This must be a misunderstanding! Officer-"

"We received an anonymous tip about The Snakes," one of the officers said. "It containing information on every single member and client of The Snakes. Military officers and guild members are currently arresting all these people as we speak."

"Information on every single member and client of The Snakes?" Mr. Phoenix screamed. "That's bullshit! There's no way that you could've gotten that information! It's locked in the safe of my mansion!"

"If you could cooperate and repeat that in court, it would be helpful," another officer said. Looking up, he motioned at Daphne, Loki, Nishan, Saltavore, Terrence, and Seraphine. "You kids okay? What are you doing in here?"

"We'll be fine," Daphne answered. "We'll be fine. They," she gestured towards her parents, her uncle, aunt, and Mr. Sor, "Forced me to come here. They were going to marry me to Mr. Sor against my will. They took along my friends as well."

The officer nodded. "Your statement will be taken later. For now, just stay still as we take these criminals away." The officers hauled out the yelling and protesting adults, some staying behind to inspect the room for any further clues.

"It's over," Loki breathed. "It's finally over."