All to Prepare for a Bigger Tragedy

A shower of rapiers soared through the air, forcing Charlie to form a shield. Like heavy rain, the swords turned into crashing waves on impact. Clover shaped a sword and charged, but Solomon slid before him and snatched it off. Faster than a blink of an eye, the father grabbed his wrist and pinned him down.

A flash of crimson sparks prompted him to let go, and Clover kicked him off before he could reach for him again. A cluster of vines burst from his palm and shot toward his father, who punched them all like clay. He swung an arm, delivering an invisible shockwave that shattered all the vines.

Charlie cursed under his breath and charged, throwing punches at Clover next, who blocked and dodged all of them.

“Clover, stop this, please!” Dorothy sobbed, static briefly sparking at her mask. “We shouldn’t be fighting as a family!”

“God, I feel totally useless,” Cherry mumbled.

“Ugh, I’d love to beat his ass too,” Eloi muttered. “But not with this body…”

With a frustrated grunt, Dorothy jumped into the fray and bolted toward her brother, who flinched and moved his swords away before they accidentally hit her. “Dorothy, get out of my way!”

“No, you stop this!” she shouted. “I’ve had enough of you keeping secrets!”

Red wisps radiated off of Clover’s palm, forcing her to stand in place. Out of frustration, she smacked her mask and made a loud crack.

Her mask flickered, and as she twitched around, she bent her knees. Veins swelled at her jaw, and she lunged for her brother, kicking off all the vines trying to restrain her and everyone else.

Clover’s vines continued to slash the ground and cut away the nearby grass blades, and all the while, the two spectators could only watch in awe.

"Goodness, did those three always know how to fight so well?" Cherry whispered.

"Well, your brother did beat up some bullies pretty badly before, and Solomon must have trained him and made him stronger,” said Eloi. “Dorothy has always been inhumanely strong, so I'm not that surprised, but Clover? He never struck me as a fighter before. This is new to me too!"

"I see," she muttered, rubbing her chin.

At some point, Clover stumbled around while catching his breath, sweat trailing off his jaw. Dorothy used that moment, tripped him down, and pinned him on the spot.

“That’s enough fighting!” she said. “Please, Clover, won’t you hear them out?”

Clover shifted his dulled eyes toward the trees, meeting the gaze of a spectating raven. He faced back at the group, sharply inhaled, and raised his chin. “Ren!” he bellowed angrily, his voice bouncing across the clouds. “Stop watching and show yourself!”

“What?” the twins asked.

“Who?” Eloi and Dorothy glanced at each other.

Solomon widened his eyes, his face growing pale in horror. “Did you say... Ren? How... how do you know that name?”

An unnaturally frigid breeze slithered into the scene. Eloi shuddered and looked around the garden before gazing at the roof above them all. Cherry followed their gaze and stared at the roof next, followed by everyone else.

Casually perching on the edge of the roof was a peculiarly large raven, its crimson eyes peering over the seven.

“What the hell?” Charlie blinked. “A bird was watching us?”

“W-Wait, that bird..." Eloi rubbed his forehead. “N-No way..."

“Do you know it?” asked Cherry.

“I remember it,” he said. “It’s... it's the same bird that I kept seeing outside of Penny’s window for months.”

Solomon trembled his lips, utterly stunned. “I should’ve known.” He took a step back, his eyes shaking in terror. “I should’ve known... that you would be involved in my affairs as well..."

“Solomon? Do you know that bird too?” Cherry asked.

“All of you.” He raised an arm beside him. “Get behind me.”

“What?” Dorothy turned to him. “F-Father? What’s the matter—”

“Just hurry up and get behind me!”

The youths began to group up behind him. When Clover didn’t move, Dorothy rushed over, snatched his wrist, and pulled him along.

“Hey—”

Dorothy cupped his mouth and continued dragging him while he squirmed and kicked around.

Solomon furrowed his brows and clenched his fists, a red, threatening aura radiating off his arms. The group continued to glance back and forth, fully alert and confused.

The raven sighed and shrugged in defeat. “Cut me some slack, will you?” said an elegant voice. “I mean no trouble, really. I thought you guys would sort it out on your own eventually.”

“Holy shit, that bird can talk?!” Charlie cried, pointing at it.

The bird winked. It expanded a wing, and with a flick, a tiny top hat popped out and landed on its head.

“Woah, nice trick,” said Cherry.

“Haha, thanks, kid!” It winked again and extended its wings wide open. “And for my next trick, I’m stealing your friend!”

“Eh?”

“Abracadabra!”

A blinding white light flashed the whole scene, and everyone grimaced and covered their faces. When it faded, they opened their eyes with disoriented gazes.

“H-Huh?!” Dorothy looked around. “Clover?! Where did he go?! I was holding him until now!”

A raspy cackle answered her questions. The five raised their heads back at the raven that now perched on Clover’s shoulder. The man in green looked down at the group, his eyes cold, resolute, and awfully tired.

His siblings couldn’t even express their reactions. Meanwhile, the twins could only watch with bewilderment while Solomon stared with not a speck of hope in his eyes.

Clover turned to the raven, his glare shooting a new set of death threats.

“Hmm? What’s with that look? I just saved your ass like you wanted, brat!” said the raven.

“This entire mess started because of you,” he hissed. “Start explaining. Now.”

It blinked. It tucked its wings behind its back and whistled, looking away with a stupid expression.

“I’ll report you to Horace if you don’t answer.”

“Okay, okay, it’s because I was obligated to!” it whined, slouching its shoulders.

“Obligated?”

It shrugged. "With Solomon's lie detections, our subordinates can't disguise themselves and work under him, you know." The bird laughed and playfully leaned against Clover’s head. “So I decided to shapeshift into a random guy and pretend to be a spy myself!”

"So Horace knows about this?"

"Uh..." It twiddled its feathers. "I... didn't tell him anything... yet."

The young man twitched a brow.

“Wait, those feathers…” Cherry pointed at it. “Did you sneak into my bedroom and mess with my head?!”

“What?!” everyone else whipped toward her.

The bird's eyes gleamed before it flapped, hovering just beside the nonchalant man in green. “It is you have guessed, my dear amnesiac,” it said. “I was the one speeding up your healing process! You’re welcome for that dream, by the way!”

Charlie dulled his eyes in shock and stepped forward. “Wait, so, you... that spy was you? This... this whole time?” he stammered. “So, the warning you told us was a lie?”

Rather than answering him, it simply snickered.

As the raven’s laughter echoed across the sky, the horizon clouded over, and the breeze gradually picked up and howled louder. The youths shuddered as gusts of wind blasted from god knew where.

Chills as cold as death itself crawled up everyone’s spines as they watched streams of brilliant crimson flow around the feathery guest.

Where the bird floated was an intricate black suit with a red tie, and flowing around his waist was silky, silvery gray hair. The streams of red gradually expanded, revealing a pair of matching dark pants followed by a pair of shining black loafers.

A hand slithered across a curly gray mustache, his scarlet eyes devoid of any light. He lifted a top hat and planted it onto his head. He raised his other hand and snapped his fingers, a cane with a golden crown handle appearing out of thin air.

The old gentleman playfully twirled his cane and slammed it beside his feet, tipping his hat.

“I have many forms, but my fellow Chevolaires associate me as a wise, elderly gentleman,” said an old voice. “For now, do call me Ren, the master of shapeshifting, the executive of the Chevolaire’s Spy Division, and..."

He elegantly bowed. “Your most faithful follower since The Star-Crushing Tragedy.”