Fate Is Determined By The Tides: Strength

The sun began to rise in the far off ocean, the light shining down on the resort and its currently passed out residents. After the long night of partying and drinking, most weren't exactly ready to return to work. 

Except for Jaina, who already had her few things packed up and ready as she calmly sat by the pool, drinking a warm cup of black coffee. As she patiently waited for time to tick by, she glanced around at her passed out co workers with a twinge of jealousy. 

While they got to have the time of their lives last night, she had remained by René's door since she locked herself in their room. 

But maybe all they needed was to talk? 

"Like that'll happen... Again." Misha grumbled to Jae. The two had been drinking a special type of vodka made with pixie wings and angel dust. It had given the two the worst hangover you could ever imagine. 

"Oh... Hey. You're... Ready to go?" Jae asked as they held back a bit of vomit in their throat. Jaina let out a melancholic sigh as she scribbled in her notepad. "Yeah..."

"Are you sad about somethin'? Did Bluey not give you flowers?" Misha joked, stumbling over to the pool chair next to her sort of friend. The receptionist twirled her blonde hair around her finger, not even bothering to look at the cat girl. 

"Oh." Jae snapped their fingers in realisation. "You guys broke up. Sorry for your loss." 

"You're meant to say that at funerals, dumbass." Misha yelled before lightly clutching her own head in pain. 

"We didn't break up! René... Proposed last night and I said no. What do I do?" Jaina explained, staring at the two for help. Yet, both the Nymph and Demi-human were the last people to ask for advice involving love. 

"Oh, I know how to sort this riiiight out. " Misha playfully nudged the blonde with a twinkle in her eye. "What you do is... Get as high as you can and confess your true feelings." 

"No." Jaina responded flatly. That was always Misha's solution to everything after all. Get high, do the task and happy days. A motto the cat lived by. But it didn't help solve Jaina's problem. 

The two began coming up with more random ideas to help as Jaina continued scribbling strange sigils in her notebook. 

Meanwhile, René had finally worked up the courage to leave her room. It had also been a rough night for her, considering the soul crushing rejection. But it was a new day, surely Jaina had thought it over a bit more right? 

As René got changed into her usual attire, she tried to find the strength to leave her room, yet hesitated to open the door. "Come on. You've been arrested four times, what's one failed proposal?" She said to herself, holding her chest up high as she finally twisted the doorknob and swung her door open, only for it to seemingly hit something in the now bizarrely dim hallway.

"H-Hello?" She yelled out into the pitch black void just outside her room. It was a weird. The sun was clearly out, yet the entire hallway she had walked through the past few weeks had all but vanished.

René turned on her phones flashlight and slowly began navigating down the shadowy corridors. She felt like something was staring at her, but it was surely her imagination right? 

As René reached what would be the end of the corridor, she bumped into seemingly nothing. "There wasn't a door here?" She thought, shining her camera towards what ever it was in front of her. 

Her phone's light shined on what was blocking her way. A slender figure stood in her way, facing the exit. Her heart skipped a beat, she dropped her phone as she quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. 

The thing didn't seem to notice her as she slowly backed away, trying to get back in her room and yell for help outside. But as she slowly crept back, her phone began to ring. 

René's heart dropped as whatever was in front of her slowly turned around, the dim light of her phone barely shedding light on the thing's face. It was completely featureless, like a stick figure or a crudely drawn nightmare with only two white spots that seemed to be its eyes. 

René wanted so badly to run, but her legs wouldn't budge. She could only watch as the thing picked up her phone and answered the call, letting out a garbled mess of horrific noises that only served to frighten her more. 

"Huh? Oh, hey could you put René on?" 

It was Jaina on the other end of the line, her voice not showing the lightest hint of concern for whatever was speaking. The thing looked over to René, its eyes hollow and devoid of anything that resembled life. 

It took one step forward before René let out a petrified squeal, running down the opposite end of the hallway in terror. She turned back to see the thing behind her, catching up at a terrifying speed. 

"OH GOD, I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE LIKE THIS!" She cried out, pressing herself against the corner, keeping her eyes shut. Yet the thing just held the phone up to René's ear.

"Are you there?"

"J-J-Jaina! A-Am I dead?" She said, barely holding back her tears as she spoke. 

"What? Is Dave there?"

The thing let out another hideous noise that only served to terrify her more before it put the phone back up to René. "It's okay... That's just Dave. He's been our room neighbour this entire trip, how have you not seen him?" Jaina asked in a reassuring voice.

"S-So he won't k-kill me?" 

"No..." Jaina sighed. René slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the thing before her, staring at it directly in the eyes. "But you do remember what I said on your first day, right?"

"No?"

"Don't look Dave in the eyes."

René's heart sunk as Dave let out a screech, dropping the phone. She quickly grabbed the phone and bolted down the hall towards the exit, yelling; "I LOOKED HIM IN THE EYEEEES!" 

"Oh well." 

"OH WELL!? HE'S GOING TO KILL MEEEEEE!" René was practically sobbing down as she managed to make it to the stairwell. But all she could hear was Jaina uncharacteristically giggling on the other end. 

"Dave doesn't like eye contact. He's self-conscious."

"So... H-He wasn't g-going to kill me?"

"Huh? Oh, no he was. Good thing you got out of there. Just apologise to him when we get back to the office."

As René slowly made her way down the stairs, her legs quaking and shaking with every step, Jaina was laughing to herself outside as Jae and Misha watched in confusion over the receptionist's delight. 

"W-What's so funny?" Misha asked with a raised brow, her tail swaying side to side as she leant ever closer. "Oh... René just met Dave." 

"Who's Dave?" The Cat asked again with a nervous look. "He's from accounting? Do you guys not speak to accounting?"

"Uh... No." The two shrugged. Jaina felt a twinge in her heart, not over the fact that René had almost met a grizzly end, but over the fact that the accounting department didn't get enough recognition. That was something she would certainly bring up to Ennuiara.

As the remaining workers slowly drifted awake, by early noon, everyone was ready to get going. Yet, no one had any clue where Zanir was. 

Both René and Jaina stood together, not really saying a word to each other as the crowd of people from different worlds all began buzzing with confusion, worry and frustration over still being there. "Jaina... Not to be a negative nelly or anything, but where is the Dr?" Eli asked as he wandered over with his oversized parasol to protect him from the sun. 

"Uhm... I suppose I should say this now. He's de-" 

Before she could finish her announcement, a gigantic airship flew past the resort, deafening Jaina's voice. It was a weird sight, sure, but most of the employees had seen weirder. Yet both Misha and René shared a look of utter disbelief. 

"Oh dear." The blue haired woman muttered under her breath at the sight of the familiar ship. As everyone watched the ship swing around, a sudden burst of chains and flames appeared behind Jaina before a fox eared demon sporting a familiar purple and black suit appeared behind her. 

"He's here, their and everywhere." The demon said with a whimsical twirl of his cane before stamping it down with a dramatic flare. 

"Ah. H-He's just back from a quick trip out." Jaina laughed, quickly stepping to the side of her new/old boss. 

"I know I look a bit different, strange and weird. But I'm the same guy you all know and love. It's not like I've turned up to work in a weirder form before?" He laughed, shoving his way through the crowd of confused workers with his cane. 

As he reached the wooden steps to the resort, he turned back with a snap of his fingers. "Oh yeah, and please. Call me Belz now." 

Before anyone could say anything else, Jaina quickly ran after him inside the building as everyone was left to see the Airship land on the open sea just outside the resort. 

René and Misha quickly ran to the side, yelling at each other in a panic. 

"This... We... We're screwed!" The Demi-Human yelled in a whispery voice.

"We?! Y-You're the one who said we shouldn't report it!" René snapped back. 

"I thought you were meant to be this big tough tomboy! Why are you such a coward!?"

"Because I got thrown into a job filled with weird things that I never thought existed until a couple months ago! And now? One of those things is coming back to bite us in the ass!" 

"Don't be such a baby. All we've got to do is remain quiet about this and we'll be fine."

"But... What if we get figured out?"

"Then... Well, you're girlfriend will have a new hobby." Misha muttered. As the two continued to talk behind some palm trees, a bulky cherry skinned demon couldn't help but listen in with a curious ear. 

"Sir, what happened?" Jaina asked as she rushed behind Belz, barely able to keep up with her boss. "Short version? Mollia and Rat became this new girl, Verum. Verum wants to kill or love that anomaly I caused a couple years back. The drunken wish soul one?"

"I remember." She sighed, listening as he continued to recount what had happened over the last day. Yes, day. As long as it seems, it has been around a day. 

And yet, The demon continued his way further and further up a hidden spiral staircase to his private chamber, where between the scattered mess of clothes, old photos and documents that he really should have cleaned, stood a statue of his former goddess. 

I know... He wants my attention. Very well, He may have it. Come on then, spit it out. 

...

...

...

I'm waiting?

Hello? Markeeth! I'm listening! SPEAK!

As both the doctor and Jaina stood in front of the statue, they heard nothing but silence. Not a word from Ennuiara. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." Belz muttered, shaking the statue before clicking his snake like tongue in frustration. 

"The Boreddess doesn't own my soul anymore... Shit, damn and all round balls." He sighed. Jaina looked over at the golden statue before turning to him with a small grin. "You said she gave Mollia... Rat? Whoever, her power back, right? Do you think she could talk with her?"

"I suppose it's worth a shot..." He sighed. The two left... Leaving me alone once more. 

I suppose I will be alone once more.

Wonderful.

I have lots to do by myself...

...

...

...

I don't want to be alone again...

...

...

...

My Amalgam...

You shall return him to me...