The rain poured down on John Doe as he strolled happily through the empty downtown street of Apris. He stared out at the horizon, the beginning crack of the morning dawn.

  Each carrying a bag over their shoulder, both Gemo and Marcello rushed the Park's to their limousine, slamming the bags in the trunk. Mitani raced behind them.

  "Well, that was interesting," Ayla mumbled sarcastically as they peeled away back toward their place. She looked down at her phone, and there was still no signal. "Ugh," she huffed, then looking around the cab of the limo asked, "Where's Zoe?"

  "Who knows," Olivia shrugged drunkenly, she then made a guttural noise, putting her head in her hands, trying to stop the feeling of the cab spinning around her.

  "We're leaving her?" Ayla sat up in her seat.

  Marcello drove and Gemo sat next to him. They silently stared forward.

  In the back, Alder leaned forward, "Take us back to our place. We're grabbing our shit, and then you're gonna take us to the nearest airfield."

  "Alright," Gemo nodded.

  "No!" Ayla snapped, "Hold on!"

  "Ayla," Olivia sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I told you not to get too attached to these people. They knew what they signed up for."

  "But-"

  "Quiet." Alder said, holding up his hand.

  When they arrived to the penthouse, everyone got to work, running around like ants trying to collect and package everything as quickly as possible.

  Ayla ordered Marcello and Gemo to carefully package all her things from her room.

  About halfway through the clean-up, Marcello was waddling across the room with a life-sized teddybear, when he stopped, the hair on his neck standing on end.

  Ayla didn't notice, as she casually sat atop her pink dresser, scrolling through her phone.

  Gemo walked back into the room, seeing Marcello's strange expression. "You good?"

  Marcello dropped the bear, walking past Ayla, "Uh-" Marcello stuttered, "Hold on," he mumbled, leaving her room.

  Both Ayla and Gemo exchanged glances.

  "What's with him?" Ayla asked.

  "I dunno man. He's just got issues," Gemo shrugged, deflecting the comment. "Anyways, where do you want this?" He held up her human-leather lampshade.

  Marcello walked past everyone and entered the elevator, tapping the button to ascend to the roof, then impatiently slammed the 'close door' button.

  Stepping out from the elevator, he saw the person leaning against the railing of the roof. Her white hair was damp with rain, and her shoulders were slightly hunched.

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  Zoe turned, looking at him.

  A relieved smile crept across his face. The tension in his shoulders washed away.

  Zoe looked out over Apris' dark and creepy cloudy sky, but it felt peaceful. When Marcello stepped next to her, she said, "If anyone ever asks me what my favorite weather is. This. I crave this. Dark and Gloomy. It's windy, but it's a little warm, and raining all at once." She felt the droplets hit her skin, running down her body, giving a chilly feeling.

  "They thought you were dead." He finally said, his voice quieter than usual.

  "Did you think I was?" Zoe asked, her eyes unreadable.

  Marcello thought for a moment, "Kinda," he answered honestly.

  For a beat, Zoe just studied him, her sharp blue eyes scanning his face like she was looking for something deeper.

  Then, suddenly—a crooked grin split across her face.

  She held her hands out wide, spinning half a step away from him, letting the rain hit her full-force. "Well, I’m alive."

  "Yeah. Yeah you are," Marcello chuckled.

  For a moment, they just stood there.

  The rain fell. The wind howled through the empty streets. And neither of them moved to go inside.

  The aircraft's doors opened, and Ayla hopped out onto the New York ground. A few hundred yards away, their personal helicopter was landing, waiting for the Park's.

  Throughout most of the flight, Zoe had either paced the length of the ship or mysteriously secluded herself in a room.

  Marcello stood the whole time, staring out the window, being watched by Gemo—wary of his mental state.

  Now, Marcello hadn't said or done anything most would deem 'crazy,' but Gemo had a feeling—and his intuition was what had gotten him this far. If he felt something was wrong—something was wrong. He wasn't afraid that the boy would become a danger, but for some reason, he found himself worrying about his overall mental state. Figuring Marcello didn't want a heart-to-heart, he didn't say anything.

  Gemo stumbled from the private airship, shaking his head and walking away without a word.

  "See ya," Mitani muttered sarcastically, watching him go.

  "It's not like there's any reason to be here any more. We've done our job," Marcello said, stepping down from the craft. "We've already been paid."

  "I guess you're right, but not a word. I dunno, I feel like we gained a bond, y'know?" Mitani gave a stupid grin to Marcello, who stared back at him.

  Before Ayla was about to hop in the helicopter, she looked back, running over to Zoe.

  "What'ja got there?" Ayla asked curiously, seeing the large folded piece of paper.

  "Nothing." Zoe said quickly, looking over Ayla's shoulder, trying to spot someone. "It's not for you."

  "Oh," Ayla gave a sly smile. "Come on, lemme read it!"

  "No!"

  "Come on," she let the word drag out, "I'm about to leave. What damage could I cause?"

  "Okay," Zoe reluctantly handed her the paper.

  Smirking, Ayla asked suspiciously, "Where'd you get the stickers?" Then she cleared her throat, reading loudly, "Dear Marcello, I feel-"

  "Shut up!" Zoe screeched, panicked. "Don't read it out loud!"

  "Okay, okay," Ayla cackled, then went bak to read the letter. When finished, she smiled at Zoe, saying, "Yeah, I think he'll like it."

  Marcello looked over, seeing Zoe walking toward him and Mitani. They stood watching the Park's get into their helicopter and take off.

  "What're y'all gonna do now?" Mitani asked once the helicopter had disappeared into the horizon.

  "You want me to be honest?" Marcello asked.

  "No, I want you to lie…Geez," Mitani rolled his eyes.

  Marcello's mind raced, first thinking back to the top floor of Stygian Tower, then to the PunoSaUlo tree that grew on the Kiala reef. 'Yes, if I were to pull THAT off, I'd need a lot of money…I could do the mission I just did fifty times over, and I still wouldn't have a fraction of what I'd need…What was Zoe babbling about that one time? That CraterCoin thing…She would be a big help. Maybe I should ask her. I will see them again. That's a promise.'

  "I'm going to see Prysaud again." Marcello said.

  "Dude, what?" Mitani squinted at him. Though Marcello didn't respond, as he was already lost in thought once more. "What about you?" Mitani nodded at Zoe.

  "I uh," she dug two cards out of her pocket, a two of hearts and an eight of clubs, handing them to Marcello, who looked at them, confused. "First, I need to go back to Crater—see my parents and everything like that, but then, I don't know. But, I'll figure out how to proceed."

  "No one's gonna ask me? Okay." Mitani mumbled.

  "Oh, gimme a break!" Marcello rolled his eyes with annoyance, "Mitani, what are you going to be doing?"

  "I dunno." He grinned.

  "Dude, you are so stupid," Marcello sighed, walking toward the airfield exit, with both Zoe and Mitani following him.

  End