Demi-Urge

The Planar Void boomed with the sounds of combat! Normally a place where the Omnys would go to make love unrestrained, it was also proving to be an excellent sparring ground for the Five, the foremost defenders of the Omnyverse.
 
“Come on, ladies, put your backs into it!” Reignbeau let out a laugh as the Mingles attempted to flank her, Demi going low, Wyllow going high. Demi lashed out with a whip of flames, while Wyllow whirled with a gleaming scythe, which flashed into a nodachi mid-swing to try and catch the rainbow warrior off-guard.
 
As they did so, they both bent reality around them, warping space and twisting time, to try and get their opponent off-balance, skewing her from multiple angles. As always, Reignbeau parried every attempt at their esoteric offense, and took their strikes head-on, forcing what should have been a whirl of reality-bending maelstroms into a pure melee spar.
 
Reignbeau easily dodged Demi’s whip, and warp-shifted it to strike Demi herself from five different dimensional angles, catching her off guard, and slapping her across the battlefield.
 
At the same time, Wyllow let Reignbeau bat her sword away and arrowed her fist at the rainbow warrior’s head. As she twisted to dodge, Wyllow whipped her arm up to block Reignbeau’s punch, but instead bowed her forearm to the side, opening her mouth like a sharks maw to catch her fist, even as she converted her legs into spears to stab Reingbeau in the gut. The rainbow warrior barely managed to dodge the spears, actually taking a shallow cut to her middle, even as she detonated her fist in Wyllow’s mouth to free herself
 
Teeth shattering, Wyllow tried to twist back and prepare for the next blow, but Reignbeau was already teleporting behind her, and expanding her fist to a hundred times the size to bash Wyllow clear across the sky.
 
And then Jax was there, attempting to teleport himself in tiny form inside Reignbeau’s mouth, to pound her from the inside. The rainbow warriors esoteric defenses blocked him from entering her, and instead he appeared directly in front of her face. Not missing a beat, Jax bashed her on the nose, but Reignbow was already countering him, converting her nose into an elephant trunk, the end curled for a strike. The mighty springing motion met Jax’s fist in a powerful shockwave that Jax held strong against for a moment, until Reignbeau bought her hands together on him to squish him like a bug.
 
Jax countered by growing two extra arms and restoring his normal size, grappling her oncoming hands back, and attempting to push her back. Reignbeau made her trunk vanish, and she quickly grew extra arms of her own to block Jax’s next swing with his free ones. The two were deadlocked in a four-arm grip, neither yielding, but Jax was sweating while Reignbeau just grinned. Then she winked, and Jax gasped as he felt a hot, wet tongue cheekily slide through his butt crack to poke at his sphincter, and that was enough distraction for Reignbeau to gain leverage, whipping around, and hurling him like a meteor through the Void.
 
Demi appeared in a blinding flash right in front of her, firing a pillar of white flames right at Reignbeau’s face. Reignbeau, however, had already sensed the tell-tale spatial pressure of an incoming warp, and was already behind where Demi appeared, slapping her on the back, and binding the blazing girl in a cocoon of rainbow tethers. Then she grabbed the bound Demi and whipped around to use her as a shield to block Wyllow’s incoming strike with a glowing halberd.
 
Wyllow barely managed to make her weapon bend and extend around her bound lover, whipping like a scorpion tail to strike at Reignbeau’s side, grazing the rainbow warrior once more. Reignbeau barely dodged, only to land in Jax’s arms, as he put her in a full nelson, pinning her in place. In the next moment, Wyllow sliced open the tethers binding Demi, and the two Mingles aimed strikes at Reignbeau’s head—
 
—only for Reignbeau to force-slip Jax’s grip and detonate in a brilliant nova of rainbow colors. The three staggered back, Demi in particular falling on her ass (as much as one could in the Planar Void), and the light reconfigured itself back into Reignbeau a few yards away.
 
“Break!” called out a voice. Cyl, who’d been watching the fight from above, floated down towards them. “Good spar. You three are getting better.”
 
Wyllow beamed at her mother’s praise, and Jax smirked. “Still getting our asses kicked, three-on-one.”
 
Reignbeau shrugged, but couldn’t help looking a little smug. “Well. You want real practice, y’all should come out to the Greater Multiverse with us some time. That’ll learn ya real quick!”
 
“Then who’ll protect the Omnyverse while we’re out, dummy?” said Wyllow.
 
Reignbeau shrugged. “I’m sure your Moms wouldn’t mind watching things in a pinch. Its not like hardly anything really happens here.”
 
“Great, now you’ve gone an jinxed it,” said Jax.
 
They turned to see what Demi had to say, but to their surprise, the Indian-American girl was still sitting, relative to them. She’d shifted to a crosslegged position, one arm propped up to rest her chin on her hand, watching her teammates with a slight frown.
 
Wyllow was at her side, kneeling down next to her, and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
 
Demi let out a sigh, and made a half-shrug with her free arm. “Maybe you two are getting better, but I’m still scrubbing out. You’d think all those adventures we definitely go on off-screen would have given me some kinda edge, but I can tell she doesn’t have to try half as hard against me as either of you.”
 
Reignbeau’s smug smile sobered up, and she looked a little sheepish. “Hey now, you’re doin’ better than you were at the start. Really!” She made a clumsy gesture between herself and Cyl. “And, look, you’re still one of the best fighters out of the Omnys just by way of being able to keep up with me at all!”
 
“Lettie kept up with you way better when you first showed up,” Demi muttered. “And even Cyl’s acknowledged she’s above Wyllow.” She huffed. “Maybe she should be on this team.”
 
“That was then,” said Reignbeau. “She couldn’t make me break a sweat now, and Wyllow would hand her her ass! You probably could, too, if you really wanted.” She paused. “Uh, I mean, you know. Not saying you should beat up on your Mom or anything.”
 
Demi sighed again. “It’s not just Lettie. Devi doesn’t show it off much, but she’s just as capable. I’ve got both of them in me, and I just fall short on both ends.”
 
Cyl knelt down next to her. “Neither Lettie nor Devi have an interest in policing things around here. Lettie just wants to be free, Devi just wants to focus on her own affairs. You actually care enough to want to step up when the time comes.” She smiled sympathetically. “You have improved, Demi. But I can also see your heart isn’t really in it. You’re a lover, much more so than a fighter.” She took the girl’s hand. “I appreciate your desire to help, but I won’t impose on you to be a Guardian, if it isn’t what you feel you’re called to do.”
 
Demi frowned deeply, and for a moment lingered her gaze on the Mark that scarred Cyl’s face. Cyl was right, but… Demi looked to Wyllow. Her fellow Mingle leaned her forehead against Demi’s, and hugged her.
 
“It’s okay if you don’t want the burden,” said Wyllow. “You signed up to help me. I love you for that, but if you’re chafing in the role, then I don’t want to drag you into something you hate.”
 
Demi sighed. “I don’t… I don’t know that I hate it, I just… I can’t keep up with the rest of you. Yes, I only got started because I wanted to help Wyllow, but… I’ll be honest, if one of the Bad Girls starts acting up, or we actually get a successful breach from an outside threat, and I’m the first responder, or Cyl and Reignbeau aren’t here to carry us, then… I just don’t think I’ll be able to cut it.”
 
“You’re more capable than you think,” said Reignbeau. “But Cyl’s right, if you don’t like punching things, then you don’t like punching things.” She paused and thought. “I dunno, maybe if you tried focusing on being more of a support unit?”
 
Demi scowled. “Omnipotent combat isn’t like an arena shooter or an RPG. We can all do anything, you don’t need me casting heals and buffs from the back.”
 
Reignbeau sighed and shrugged. “Sorry. I’m just… I mean, I don’t wanna be rude and say ‘It’s not like there has to be five of us,’ but…” Demi frowned at her, and Reignbeau shifted awkwardly. “I just mean, like… let’s be real, not much even happens here that we need to worry about. Yeah, we’ve had to kick a few cosmic fleas off the walls, but we’re pretty isolated from the rest of the Multiverse, so we’re way off the beaten path of anything really horrible stumbling into us. Temael’s goons are off our backs. Cyl and I make sure we don’t do anything that’ll lead to bad guys trying to get back at us here.”
 
She gestured around them, motioning to the Planar Void, but indicating the Omnyverse as a whole. “And what have the Bad Girls done that’s really put us in jeopardy? Illia gave us a fright and all, Domina got a little too frisky with Devi, but y’know, things are still on a pretty even keel.” She shrugged. “All I’m sayin’ is, we’re happy to have you, but if this is really weighing you down, you don’t have to force yourself to be a soldier, especially not when there’s no war to worry about.”
 
Demi stood, Wyllow and Cyl standing with her. “Let me think about it.”
 
“Certainly,” said Cyl. She leaned forward and gave Demi a peck on the forehead. “You’re a good soul, Demi. Take your time and choose what’s right for you.”
 
Demi smiled softly back, Cyl’s reassurance warming her up a little. She looked to the rest of her team. “I think I’m going to go chill out on Earth for a bit. Maybe get a drink or something.”
 
“Aw, no post-practice coitus?” said Wyllow with a coy pout.
 
Demi chuckled. “Maybe if my girlfriend gets me good and hammered first.” The two laughed and turned to the others. “Anyone else wanna come?”
 
“Ah, well, you know how a good fight gets me all riled up,” said Reignbeau, eyeing Jax knowingly.
 
Jax smirked. “I guess someone’s got to put you in your place the right way!”
 
The rainbow warrior grinned salaciously. “Bring it on!”
 
The two came together in a fierce kiss, vanishing to go canoodling elsewhere in the Void.
 
Cyl smirked. “I’m sure you don’t want this old woman third wheeling you.”
 
Wyllow laughed. “Aw, Mom, don’t be like that. You’re still the hottest of us!”
 
“Humility forbids I agree with you,” said Cyl with a coy smile. “But I won’t disagree.”
 
“You won’t be third wheeling,” said Demi.
 
Cyl glanced the two over, and while Demi’s offer was sincere, she could intuit the younger Omny probably would feel more comfortable opening up about her misgivings in this particular case without their team leader den mothering them. Or literally mothering, in Wyllow’s case. “Thank you, Demi, but perhaps another time. I don’t want to unduly pressure you while you’re trying to decompress.” She gave her a hug. “Come talk to me later, if you still have doubts.”
 
“Okay,” said Demi. “Thanks.”
 
“Later, Mom,” said Wyllow, as Cyl hugged her next.
 
“Take care, girls.” And with that, Cyl vanished.
 
“Well, you want to actually go get a drink?” said Wyllow.
 
“Sure, why not?” said Demi.
 
With that, the two shifted into casual wear, a yellow blouse and black tights for Demi, a white blouse and red skirt for Wyllow. Then they vanished, reappearing next to a cozy tavern in the Swiss mountains.
 
***
 
They ordered from the bar, but ended up sitting at a small table near a window. They couldn’t really get drunk, but it was a pleasant experience just sitting there, soaking in the atmosphere. After a few minutes, Demi felt more relaxed, and Wyllow smiled warmly at her.
 
“So,” Wyllow said. “What do you want to do now? Another circuit around Supervania? Crash a frat party in Artemis? Or maybe a good old fashioned shopping trip around Earth?”
 
“Hmm,” said Demi, not really considering the question.
 
“Wanna go bully Sal for not giving us more air time?”
 
Demi laughed. “That poor man’s got too many of us to keep track of.”
 
“Especially with the new arrivals!” said Wyllow. “Speaking of, we could go check out the new Mingle!”
 
Demi fell silent for a bit, and Wyllow could tell her mood was fading back some. “We should,” she said, but her tone wasn’t very enthusiastic. Wyllow frowned and Demi caught her eye. She shrugged, frowning back. “Sorry. I’d love to, normally, but I’m in too much of a funk right now.”
 
Wyllow reached out and took Demi’s hand in hers. “Babe. I love you. Don’t feel bad about yourself. Reignbeau and Cyl are just on another level. And that’s coming from me, who’s half Cyl herself.”
 
“Half,” said Demi. “That’s the thing. It’s not even about being the worst fighter on the team.” Wyllow opened her mouth to protest, but Demi held up a finger to cut her off. “It’s fine. I know I can hold my own in most circumstances, but I also know my place in the roster. But as I said, it’s not really about that. It’s about…”
 
She paused, trying to find the words, and Wyllow let her, running a thumb gently over her lover’s fingers, and offering a supportive smile. Demi continued, “I like being the sane center between my Mothers’ personalities, normally. Lettie’s mania. Devi’s dominance. Have them meet halfway, and you get me. But I wonder if being halfway actually does just make me… unremarkable.”
 
Wyllow frowned slightly. Softly, she said, “You’re remarkable to me.”
 
Demi smiled, lifted Wyllow’s hand in hers, and kissed it tenderly. “I’m really not trying to be down on myself. But, I don’t know, I like adventuring with you, but I don’t feel like I’ve got any particular callings of my own. I don’t really have any hobbies, at least nothing I stick with. I haven’t even made a World of my own yet.”
 
“Several of the others haven’t, either,” said Wyllow. “Or like me, they’ve only made one, and that’s all they’ve felt the need to.”
 
“Still,” said Demi. “It would be something, wouldn’t it? But I just can’t think of anything that isn’t just, I dunno, Earth again. Well, maybe Earth with a little magic, but that’s just Thrae.”
 
“You’ve contributed to Supervania,” Wyllow pointed out.
 
Demi shrugged. “I added some throw pillows, after you already built and furnished the whole house.”
 
“Well, they were very nice pillows!” said Wyllow with a small huff.
 
Demi laughed. “Thanks, babe.”
 
Wyllow smiled again. “You contribute more than you think. Your Moms love you, and I think you’ve helped ground them further since they made you. Devi hasn’t locked herself away as much as she might have, Lettie’s more considerate of people than she might be. Honestly, without you, I think I’d be more wild and careless.”
 
“So my super power among the Omnys is to make others more polite and boring,” said Demi, mock-pouting.
 
Wyllow mock pouted back. “Jeez, maybe we shouldn’t sleep with Sal anymore. I didn’t know self-loathing was an STD!”
 
The two broke into a giggle. Demi shook her head and kissed Wyllow’s hand again. “I haven’t minded being the girl-next-door among all you crackpots. But someday, if the Omnyverse really gets into trouble, being the passive chill girl might end up being a liability.”
 
Wyllow took her turn kissing Demi’s hand reassuringly. “So, what do you want to do about it? You want to go toughen up out in the Greater Multiverse?”
 
Demi pursed her lips. “I had something a bit less drastic in mind.”
 
“Go on then.”
 
Demi motioned between them. “Us Mingles, we’re components of our Mothers, right? Whatever personality that naturally balances into, the full components of them are still inside us, right? And if we can determine our own beings, to the point Illia could simply will herself to be sane, shouldn’t we be able to dial our own personalities?”
 
Wyllow’s smile faltered a bit, and she stared at Demi with a hard look. She squeezed her lover’s hand. “Demi. I’m not sure I like the sound of that. You’re saying you want to rewrite yourself into another person?”
 
“No, not another person,” said Demi. “Just more of myself. I’m half of both my Mothers, right? I’m a compromise between them. What if, instead, I tried being more of both? Two parts in unison, but as strong as before.”
 
Wyllow frowned. “I’m not sure that would do anything. You already are both parts in unison. That they were equally strong in different ways is what balanced out into you.”
 
Demi shook her head, frustrated. “I’m not sure how to explain it. If I really look inside myself, I can feel both sides holding back the other.”
 
“You’re fully your own person,” said Wyllow. “You aren’t just two Omnys merged anymore. Nothing’s holding back anything.”
 
“Well, yeah, of course, but, like, I still inherited their urges, but the urges cancel each other out, sort of. You know? What if I just let myself indulge in those urges, instead of compromising on them?”
 
Wyllow leaned back in her seat, letting out a slow exhalation. “I don’t know. You mentioned Illia curing her own madness, but it didn’t exactly work out 100%. She’s still a little bonkers, still shaped by her mortal traumas.”
 
“Maybe she didn’t fully erase those aspects because she felt like that’s what defined her,” said Demi. “Maybe she feared if she erased them fully, she wouldn’t be herself.”
 
“And that’s why what your proposing could be dangerous,” said Wyllow. She leaned forward and clasped Demi’s hand again, the gesture more pleading than comforting. “I don’t want to lose my lover over a silly fit of self-doubt.”
 
Demi smiled and put her other hand over Wyllow’s in reassurance. “Nothing so drastic.”
 
Wyllow chewed her lip. “Alright. But if you’re going to do something crazy, let’s do it somewhere safer.”
 
Demi smiled. “Of course.”
 
***
 
The Planar Void had become the de facto place for Omnys to do anything that could endanger the mortal Worlds they’d created. So, while she felt it was a bit overkill, Demi’s caution as a Guardian had her simply returning to the Void to experiment on herself.
 
Wyllow stood back, watching her lover with a bit of trepidation, but trusting she, of any Omny, had a strong enough sense of self-balance to play this carefully.
 
Demi stood there, meditating, looking inward to her mind. She had existed more than long enough, that her core essence was indeed its own unique structure. She wasn’t worried that trying to upscale her two halves would force her to split back into Lettie and Devi’s duplicates. But that singular energy still had elements of her parents. All Demi had to do was imagine that Lettie and Devi were still distinct inside her, but inextricably bound. She imagined the two women holding each other, anchoring themselves in a tight bond that did not permit them to act out individually. She imagined that grip loosening. Not breaking, but allowing the two to pull away, perhaps to better drink each other in, let the two admire each other, still embracing while allowing more leeway to be themselves. She imagined them anchoring themselves that way, working in synch while each remained distinct.
 
Demi took a breath. It was easy to imagine. Easy to envision that change within her. Not a halfway point between the two Progenitors, but both extremes fused together. All Demi had to do was imagine that was herself. Imagine it, and will it to be so. She hesitated, unsure if she was truly ready.
 
She almost pulled back. Almost dissolved the fantasy and banished it from her mind. Almost…
 
But her doubts in herself had led her to this moment. If doubt was just going to cripple her forever, then maybe she didn’t want to keep being the way she was. She looked back to Wyllow, and never wanted to doubt herself again. She closed her eyes, and with a thought, remade herself.
 
The change was instant. Wyllow felt an electric chill go down her spine, watching her lover’s cosmic essence snap-twist, and then suddenly, it was like she was looking at someone else. Her heart started hammering in her chest. No, it wasn’t someone else. It was Demi. But it was a Demi who wasn’t supposed to be.
 
Her lover turned, opened her eyes, and smiled. She reached out a hand, and Wyllow’s first instinct was to pull back. But an instant later, that instinct was overwritten by a powerful compulsion. She stepped forward, almost entranced, as Demi called to her without speaking. She trembled as Demi touched her cheek, and her body was suddenly ablaze with desire. She flung herself at Demi, crushing their lips together, wrapping her limbs around her, and Demi held her gently in kind. The changed girl let her energy flow through Wyllow, and the swooning girl shuddered, pulling away with a cry of passion so intense, it almost sounded like a cry of pain!
 
“I love you,” Demi whispered in Wyllow’s ear, and the enthralled girl spasmed and bucked in Demi’s arms, desire and pleasure and aching passion tearing through her, accelerating her into the Energy Climax. Within seconds, Wyllow detonated in Demi’s arms, leaving the changed Mingle simply smiling, unfazed but for a single shiver of pleasure.
 
Demi watched her lover’s atoms scatter, brushing herself off dismissively. Wyllow would take some time to reconfigure herself, but Demi didn’t have the patience to wait. Wicked ideas were whirling in her mind. Just as she had changed, it was time for the Omnyverse to change. And if she was going to actualize her plans, she had to remove a few obstacles first.
 
***
 
Reignbeau and Jax were in mid-fuck, still hovering in another part of the Planar Void. Reignbeau had her teeth grit and was grunting in short bursts as Jax slammed his mighty cock into her. She was bent over, with her arms behind her back, Jax holding her wrists as he took her from behind. Even as he drove himself inside her with ruthless abandon, she rocked her hips back with just as much force. Erotic Energy crackled around them like a miniature storm, stimulating them both through every cell. They were definitely building to the Energy Climax, but also pacing themselves to draw it out.
 
Demi appeared next to them, and the two briefly paused their thrusting as her altered Essence startled their senses. Still caught up in the euphoria, neither was prepared for Demi to duplicate herself and have both selves kiss the two Omnys passionately, sending a torrent of raw cosmic pleasure through them both! The powerful Lust Energy surge formed a circuit between the two Demi’s, firing through Reignbeau and Jax with such fierce intensity, it propelled them straight into the Energy Climax in a matter of seconds!
 
Another detonation, and this time, Demi was unable to help herself, crying out in an orgasm of her own, as her two teammates disintegrated. But as before, Demi retained her physical form, easily resisting disintegration. She merged her two bodies back into one. Taking only a moment to compose herself, she quickly cast her gaze across the Omnyverse to find the biggest threat to her new ambitions.
 
***
 
Cyl was in her home in Palatial Skies, her personal island floating somewhat apart from the main settlements of her Natives. Lounging on a half-couch, she had one hand up, flicking her fingers through the air. Images manifested before her, holograms of landscapes and city structures that she studiously inspected. Plans for a new World?
 
Demi stepped across dimensions into Cyl’s home, and before she’d even fully manifested, Cyl was on her feet, poised for action, staring at Demi calmly, but warily. She already knew something was wrong, and in the next instant, had surmised the rest of the Five were down for the count. There was no taking their Guardian Angel by surprise.
 
Demi smiled nonetheless, feeling an easy confidence she realized she’d never fully managed around their white-haired savior. “A moment of your time, Aunt Cyl.”
 
Cyl tried to yank the two of them back into the Planar Void by force of will, but to her surprise, Demi was able to resist the pull. The renewed Omny grinned wider. “Now, now. Let’s talk a moment, before we start slap-fighting, hmmm?”
 
Cyl’s expression remained cool. “You changed yourself.”
 
“Quite. Does it worry you?”
 
“I’m getting the feeling it should.”
 
“Depends on how comfortable you are in my shadow.”
 
Cyl’s expression went flat, and she threw her hands up. “No. We’re not doing this. Not again. I’ve had it.” She motioned to Demi. “I can guess the motivation. I’m sorry if I made you feel weak or undervalued, but this isn’t the solution.”
 
Demi scoffed. “You haven’t even—”
 
“I can see what you did to yourself. You amplified the worst attributes of your Mothers’ minds, and forced them into a jagged meld. You didn’t just make yourself stronger, you’ve completely flayed your soul. You’re lucky you didn’t undo yourself in the process.”
 
Demi sneered. “I feel great, actually!”
 
Cyl’s eyes narrowed. “So why the malice? Why, when I look at you, do I see a mangled ghoul about to tear everything down around her?”
 
Demi flinched, and her sneer became a snarl. “You’re not even going to give me a chance here are you?”
 
Cyl’s glare would have cowed the Devil himself. “No. Not with this. You come here, power bleeding off your ragged edges, with that look in your eye, after you’ve already disposed of your teammates. I know where this leads. You know from your own Mothers’ memories what this kind of power struggle turns into.”
 
Demi frowned. “You’re really no fun at al—.”
 
Cyl lunged, and Demi, even with her newfound power, found herself torn from reality. Out of Palatial Skies, through the Planar Void, straight past the Meta. Only then did Demi finally manage to shove out of Cyl’s grip, to find herself hovering in a realm of deep black, broken by iridescent stars, and the occasional ribbon of pale, curling auroras. The nearest discernable object in this strange space was a pale glowing sphere, strangely familiar. It was as small as a softball to the women’s current size, but dimension was hard to gage here, even for them. Distance, shape, time, causality, Demi could tell it was all fluid here, like the Planar Void on a more extreme scale. She remembered this realm, flashbacks from times long ago, where her parents drifted between canons, seeking new homes. This was the Beyond, the unreal space between Multiverses.
 
Demi forced herself to focus, and she saw Cyl, her black bodysuit somehow standing out even darker amongst the black, her crimson wings radiating like fans of cosmic fire. The Guardian Angel of the Omnyverse was looking at her with a gaze that would turn even a god’s veins to ice.
 
Demi wasn’t that impressed. She laughed, her voice echoing and breaking and roaring and whispering in this place without defined form. “Such a drama queen.”
 
Cyl remained stoney. “You want to punch it out, we do it here, where our home won’t be harmed.” She gestured to the nearby glowing sphere, the Omnyverse as it appeared from the outside, at least from this vantage point. “But I’d rather we talk this through and avoid such a mess. Please.”
 
Demi scoffed again. “Oh, am I allowed to talk now?”
 
“Out here? Yes. Though I’m doubting it will resolve much.”
 
Demi smirked. “Such little faith.”
 
Cyl’s wings flared, and Demi flinched back. “You have no idea the things I’ve seen. The patterns I’ve watched unfold. The possibilities I’ve glimpsed. Lost canons we never even knew about.” Her eyes narrowed, and upon her face, the Mark of Temael burned hot. “Do you know why I insisted on forming the Five, even when it was clear there were so few threats to our home, and what damage was done we could easily be fixed?”
 
Demi frowned, tilting her head to the side. “Because you’re a paranoid control freak. An old biddy who hates the kids running around on her lawn.”
 
“Because the biggest threat to us is ourselves! Omnipotent, self-serving, monsters, every single one of us! Even those of us inclined to good, we cannot avoid being complicit in suffering, especially when there is no one to keep us in check!”
 
Demi sneered. “Big talk, coming from the one who made goddamned certain she was the most powerful of us all!” Her sneer slid into a heinous grin as she spread her arms, and cosmic energy crackled over her form. “Until now!”
 
“Don’t be an idiot!” said Cyl. “Even I am held in check, not just by raw power! I restrain myself from my own most destructive wants because I still have you all to anchor me!”
 
That gave Demi pause. The energy around her died down.
 
Cyl tried to calm herself. “Listen to me. The Etiquette exists for a reason. We enforce it for a reason, and we are flexible with it for a reason. The things we could become if we didn’t ground one another, the things we did in our selfish pursuits, it all leads to disaster. The Omnyverse as it stands is the closest we’ve ever achieved to a sense of stability between us. You were part of that balance, Demi!”
 
Demi shook her head. “You call it stability, I call it stagnation! There is no eternal Heaven for us! There is no true balance! Universes come and go, stories are told and forgotten. This Omnyverse isn’t going to last. You said it yourselves, we could break it and mend it over and over, and what would it actually matter in the end?”
 
“It would matter because of what it does to us to treat our work as a degenerate frivolity!” Cyl sighed. “I can see the whirl of your thoughts, crashing about in your skull. Lettie’s frantic impulses, pushing you to change things just for change’s sake. Devi’s relentless arrogance, hating that anyone else might have a better idea of things than you. But why break what’s working? Why fix what isn’t broken? For once in our long, long lives, I want this relative peace to last, and to not leave another ruined husk of a universe left in our wake!”
 
Demi’s grin turned savage. “Well, you’re going to have to try again.”
 
This time, Demi was ready for the charge. As Cyl lunged, Demi brought up her hands to catch Cyl’s and grapple her back. Cosmic power exploded off their bodies, quickly dissipating into the nothingness around them, splashing harmlessly off the shell of the Omnyverse nearby. Demi grit her teeth. As powerful as she had boosted herself, she had to throw every erg of power into resisting Cyl’s assault. For beyond any physical exertion, the two wildly lashed at one another with cosmic force, spinning weaponized concepts to try and break the other’s existential barriers. The two were deadlocked in an awesome and terrible maelstrom of universe-rending fury. Demi wasn’t breaking, but Cyl wasn’t backing down either.
 
Demi noticed something, however. The pale auroras that curved around their battlefield seemed to draw the waves of energy that bled off from their fight, like being pulled into some form of interdimensional jetstream. Demi surmised the curve of the nearest ribbon, in as much as “near” applied in this non-realm, and made an effort to strain past her limits against Cyl. Cyl actually grunted with the effort to hold her back.
 
“Demi!” hissed Cyl. “This isn’t you! If it was, you would have been like this from the beginning! If you wanted to improve yourself, you know jumping to a quick-fix is among the biggest mistakes we made! You broke yourself in the effort, and if you keep fighting me, you’re going to break completely!”
 
“Then I’ll break! And my Moms can just make another!”
 
Cyl grit her teeth. “Don’t be ridiculous! Just power down and wish yourself back to normal and we can put all this nonsense behind us!”
 
Demi’s grin widened. “Haha, you said behind!” And with that, she cut off her power as she let Cyl go and warped behind her. Cyl barely managed to counter the move, cutting her own power to keep herself from blasting forward, but she didn’t manage to recover fast enough to counter Demi’s back strike. Cyl found herself propelled into one of the ribbon-like auroras, and was sucked into it, warped away to another part of the Greater Multiverse.
 
Demi let out a breath, and turned to the pale star of the Omnyverse.
 
***
 
They all felt it. One moment, the foundational anchor of the Omnyverse was there. The next, it had been wrenched away, and every World was rocked in the dimensional quake. Like planets ejected from a solar system that had suddenly lost its star, the component Worlds of the Omnyverse went careening erratically through the veils that separated them, warping and smashing against one another, and the edges of their joint reality.
 
The other Omnys, of course, easily mitigated or undid the damage, seizing their Worlds safely in place, and immediately seeking out the cause. One by one, they teleported to the vast universe of the Fundament, to where Earth was supposed to be.
 
Instead of the mundane World that they had chosen as their shared axis, they saw Demi, changed, hovering where the planet should be. The Mingle had grown to planetary size, taller than Jupiter. The Moon now orbited her head. Her form was more overtly tall in proportion, leaner, fitter, dressed only in elaborate gold jewels, and a single sheer veil wrapped erotically around her curves. Her hair was unraveled and spread in a wild mane of spikey locks. It was hard to pin down exactly what aesthetic she was drawing from, but it wasn’t hard to tell the once-humble Omny was now styling herself like a grand Goddess.
 
The other Omnys matched Demi’s new height, using their powers to stabilize the forces of gravity to keep the solar system from collapsing in on them.
 
“Demi!” said Devi. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
 
Demi grinned, eyes shining with mirth. “You ever think that maybe limiting our anchor to a miserable little unpowered planet was incredibly short-sighted?” She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. Hovering on the tip was Earth, a tiny morsel in the Goddess’s mouth. She sucked it back, and made a show of swallowing it, and the Omnys could sense the planet melt into her being, locked away inside a personal dimension within that none of them could seem to breach.
 
“What the hey, kid?” yelled Lettie. “If this is a prank, it’s very funny, but it’s a little too far, dontcha think?”
 
“Where the hell are the rest of the Five?” said Shady. “They can’t be letting you do this!”
 
“There a little indisposed at the moment,” said Demi with a grin.
 
Whitney’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…”
 
Demi laughed. “Kill them? No. Not that it would matter, would it? We regenerate from death. We can fix anything we break. Nothing means anything when it’s all a big game. So let’s just embrace the game and have fun!”
 
She threw open her hands, and reality warped around them! The once-familiar universe twisted and writhed as Demi played havoc with the physical laws, bending the shape of galaxies, the forms of planets and stars, the spreading of light, the effects of gravity, turning the once-mundane Fundament into a crazy whirlwind of kaleidoscopic creation!
 
And the Omnys all felt the ripples against their Worlds, as the Fundament’s alterations threatened to destabilize their own small realities, juxtaposed as they were against their Multiverse’s foundation.
 
“Alright, enough,” said Domina, striding up to Demi, reaching forward to clamp down on the mad Mingle with her power. “Even I have more sense than to fuck with the Fundament!”
 
Demi’s response was to sock the redheaded brute across the face, warping space as she did so. Domina, completely caught off guard by the sheer force behind the stunning blow, was instantly blasted galaxies away, shot through a billion light years in an instant! Normal space fractured in the wake of her path, and the ruthless goddess was only halted by smashing into the super-blackhole at center of a far-distant galaxy, triggering an ultra-nova that wiped out the whole of the stellar system at impossible speeds. Stunned as she was by Demi’s blow, her form was vaporized with it.
 
The newer Omnys could only gawk as they hung back to catch and stabilize the various Worlds. But this was not the first time the Progenitors had had to fight their own. As Demi had to take a moment to steady herself from the effort of her cheap shot, Shady and Devi latched onto her from either side, bringing their power to bear with absolutely crushing force. Space itself cracked and buckled around them, and the entire Fundament shuddered. Lettie and Whitney, meanwhile, rewove reality around her, blocking any and all attempts the mad Mingle could make to warp out of their grip, locking down her ability to perform any sort of esoteric counter-attack.
 
Demi pushed, and the four Omnys grit their teeth trying to keep her down. Megan and Kat stepped up and lent their power as well, reinforcing their hold.
 
“Cripes,” hissed Shady. “What the fuck happened to you?”
 
Demi, even locked in place, didn’t stop grinning. “I cracked my own code. I made myself more.” She laughed. “I wanted to be better, to protect this place, to not feel so left behind. But gods, I see it now, how paltry everything is. How limited we all make ourselves.”
 
“Child!” hissed Devi. “You will cease this insanity, or you will cease to exist! Do you understand me?”
 
Lettie flinched. “Dev, come on, she’s our kid!”
 
“We can make another,” said Devi. But despite her harsh words and ice-cold demeanor, Lettie could see it pained her to say such things.
 
Lettie reached up and cupped Demi’s face. “C’mon, kiddo, snap out of it! We all go on a little power bender sometimes, but there’s a limit to these things!”
 
“Oh, Mom, you’re such a pet now,” sneered Demi. She couldn’t move her head, but she swiveled her eyes to look at Devi. “And you… so soft now. You didn’t used to limit yourselves so much! What happened to those glorious goddesses?”
 
Devi. “They grew up, brat.”
 
“No. They grew old.” And then Demi shrank herself, imploding back down to the size of a normal girl. The other Omnys attempted to clamp down on her, not letting her slip away, but the sudden gap gave Demi just enough space to slip the Fundamenet, warp into the Shadow Universe where Thrae had once mirrored Earth, and warp back, outside of the Progenitors’ grip.
 
Lettie was already streaking towards her, shrunk down to match her size, fist shooting out across every dimension to strike Demi from every conceivable angle. Demi tanked the hits, pushing through them without slowing down. Just as fast, she parried Lettie’s follow up attempt to warp space into another cage, and struck her mother with a crushing blow to the back that shattered her physical form, shredding her body down to its fundamental energy.
 
Devi was next, taking on her multi-limbed form, swinging burning swords with enough force to sever a black hole. But Demi easily outmaneuvered Devi’s swings, reappearing behind her other mother and striking with another blow. Devi was able to take the hit, but found herself suddenly careening through a mobius strip of dimensional looping, flung topsy-turvy so quickly, the goddess’s cosmic awareness couldn’t calibrate fast enough to anchor herself to get free. Skewered through an infinite loop, the trap tore her apart as well.
 
The rest fell in quick succession after that. The newer Omnys tried, but Demi was far too fast, far too strong, far too creative with her reality warping for them to keep up. RoseGold, Osha, Opal, and Illia were outright sundered before they could even make a move, Demi flitting through and around them and shattering their forms, before the other Progenitors could mount an effective counter-attack. Shady, Kat, Megan, and Whitney managed to make Demi work harder for it, actually managing to dodge and counter-attack the mad Mingle’s assault, but in the end, they couldn’t keep up. Demi managed to sunder Megan and Whitney as well, trap Shady in another shredding mobius loop, and warp-punch Kat into another super-blackhole detonation, even farther away than Domina, annihilating another stretch of space in the process.
 
Her enemies flung across dimensions and solar systems, Demi stood, unbound, laughing, triumphant!
 
And then, the universe went still. For a single moment, darkness blanketed all reality, and Demi’s newfound elation was snuffed out like a candle. Then the darkness vanished, and light was allowed into the universe again. And before her was Cyl, her crimson eye blazing brightest of all.
 
Demi’s grin turned feral. Of course, she hadn’t expected her victory to last very long at all, but she’d expected at least a minute to enjoy it! This was almost insulting!
 
Cyl glared down at her, her voice resonating with power. “Demi. Cease this immediately. Power down, restore yourself to what you once were, and restore the Earth to its rightful place. This is your only warning.”
 
The mad Mingle laughed. “And if I don—” Cyl was suddenly upon her, not even giving her enough time to finish her comeback! Demi barely managed to keep from being torn asunder in a single, unrestrained blow, blocking a strike that shattered space around them. The two locked hands together and pushed relentlessly against one another. For the first time since her transformation, Demi felt a shiver of dread. Whether she’d been holding back a bit in their previous struggle, or whether Cyl had drawn extra power from the Beyond, Demi wasn’t sure. But her will, her mental agility, her raw power, it was immense!
 
But Demi wasn’t breaking. Her grin widened as her own eyes blazed to match the fury in Cyl’s. This is what it felt like to be a Titan among Gods! Even their greatest champion could not make her bend!
 
“I… won’t… yield!” hissed Demi. “I won’t… go back… to that… weak… ditzy… milquetoast… softie…”
 
Cyl’s expression remained stoney, but there was, perhaps, the barest glint of sorrow in her gaze. “I can see that.”
 
Demi pushed as hard as she could, knowing that even if she couldn’t defeat Cyl, she could at least tear apart what she cared about. The shockwaves of their battle rattled the whole of reality. The Fundament began to crack. The Omny Worlds shuddered and began to buckle. Any second now, the whole of the Omnyverse would be shredded down to nothing. It was true the Omnys could simply, easily, rebuild. But that wasn’t the point. Nevermind losing the sweet girl Demi had been to the frayed monster she’d unintentionally made herself into. If this conflict was allowed to continue to the point it destroyed the Omnyverse entirely, then it would just be another link in a long, long chain of regrets.
 
“Goddamn it,” she hissed through grit teeth. She closed her eyes. “Temael… I see you.”
 
Demi blinked and her eyes widened as Cyl’s Essence tarnished before her. The shadows from Cyl’s costume slithered over her face, rendering her body entirely pitch black, save for the crimson triangle that scarred her left eye. Her white hair fell away, and the crimson wings on her back grew and segmented into an elaborate, jagged frame. Her body elongated into a gangly, almost skeletal form. The triangle scar glowed, and expanded to cover her face. Then, the eye reopened, now enlarged to overwrite her facial features, a cyclopean, crimson gaze that sent mortal terror through Demi’s already rattled mind.
 
“Wh-what—” was all Demi could say.
 
Fall.
 
A pillar of scarlet fire erupted from the eye, tearing Demi’s form down to her cosmic atoms.
 
***
 
Even broken and splintered, the Omnyverse was a sight to behold. It had glimpsed the little multiverse before, of course, observed it through the Meta, but to actually stand within the realm of these amorous goddesses, the Dark God could see the appeal of it. As a being who had filled Itself with worlds already formed, It felt some respect for these creatures who had the ingenuity to create their own.
 
It sensed the first of them return, willing their bodies to coalesce faster than normal. Stumbling back into being, dreadfully hung over from the effects of a forced Energy Climax, three of the Five were the quickest to recover themselves. The male, the rainbow warrior, and the girl whose eyes resembled Its own.
 
“Wh-what… is… Demi…?” Wyllow vanished from the Planar Void, scanning the Omnyverse for any sign of her lover. She was stunned at the state she sensed it in. With her cosmic awareness, she traced back to where Demi had last been, and teleported there. Her teammates, equally confused, sensed her, and followed.
 
They appeared before It. And immediately, their veins turned to ice. “No…” whispered Wyllow, eyes wide as she beheld Temael, manifest in the Omnyverse!
 
I see you, children.
 
“Oh no,” said Jax, reaching a tentative hand out to It. “Cyl? Is that you? What did you do?”
 
Reignbeau interposed herself between the Dark God and her teammates. “Cyl? Are you in there?”
 
She is.
 
Reignbeau warped right in front of It, glaring into Its burning red gaze. “Let her go! Now!”
 
Temael tilted Its head to the side, amused. Bravery? Brashness? Surely you know who I am.
 
Reignbeau’s hands balled into fists, her teeth grit in contempt. “Oh, I know. You don’t scare me. I’ve faced worse than you.”
 
And did you win?
 
The rainbow warrior swallowed hard, and she forced her fists not to shake. She didn’t back up, nor look away from the baleful eye, but neither did she make a move against It.
 
I thought not.
 
Temael turned and swept its gaze across the Fundament. They could all sense It peering across the dimensions to inspecting the many Worlds of the Omnyverse. A moments’ flicker was all It needed, but across the Worlds, billions of souls briefly shivered in inexplicable terror or awe. Some even suddenly prostrated themselves, knowing that something terrible and divine had glimpsed them.
 
Temael’s next words were surprisingly soft. You have made a beautiful universe. It is a shame to see it in such tatters. Still, I daresay your wayward girl may be right. To each their own, but you could stand to do more with the place.
 
Reignbeau lifted her shaking fists. Wyllow, still a little ways back, flashed her twin great swords into her hands, while Jax shifted into a fighting stance. While this was technically the first time they had met the creature, they knew well of Temael’s avarice.
 
The Dark God laughed at their expressions, and they winced as the sound pierced like needles through their minds. Calm yourselves. As I told Cyl, I’ve no interest in taking your little dream worlds. I simply mean you’ve settled for a rather cozy cosmos. Still, you are young. You’ve eternity to craft at your leisure. I look forward to watching this place develop.
 
The three paused, sharing a glance. Jax spoke up. “You aren’t gunna take the opportunity to finish us off?”
 
Temael made a single shake of Its head. Cyl fully settled affairs between us some time ago. You’ve naught to fear from me. It put a hand to Its borrowed chest looking down at Its body. Although with this, she does owe me another favor. I hope you appreciate how much your Guardian Angel has bled for you.
 
Wyllow let her swords vanished. “And Demi?” she said in a near whisper. “You didn’t…” She glanced around. “I can’t sense her… you didn’t… she’s not…”
 
“She’ll regenerate from the Meta,” said Reignbeau. “Even this thing can’t prevent that.”
 
Temael laughed again, nails against their psyche. It is well within my ability to render permanent death upon you, if I truly wished to. But Cyl asked that I merely lend her the power to knock some sense back into your lover. I imagine she’ll be along shortly, and we shall see if she needs another smack.
 
The three hesitated, but forced themselves to relax. They cast their senses across the Omnyverse, seeing that every other Omny had been reduced to their base energy forms, slowly coalescing at their own rates.
 
But one was reforming at an accelerated pace. The three turned as the cause of all this mess willed herself back into being through sheer existential grit. They were prepared for her this time, and with the Dark God backing them up, there were confident they could handle their wayward teammate.
 
Demi emerged into the universe, her form still exotic, her hair still wild, her expression one of crazed mania. But as she oriented herself to focus on her teammates, she hesitated. As if shaking off a night terror, Demi looked around, and a sobering chill went through her. Still reeling from the sundering blast, sobriety managed to cut through the whirling thoughts in her mind. Before she could lose herself to it all again, she wished herself back to normal.
 
The change was once more instant. Even her physical form snapped back into the more ordinary pretty young woman, dressed in casual clothes. She opened her eyes and let out a shaking breath. Tears welled up, and she opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Wyllow was pouncing on her, hugging her tightly.
 
“I’m sorry!” said Demi, crying as Wyllow held her. “I’m so, so sorry!”
 
Jax floated over to them, putting a hand on Demi’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t be the first time one of us did something incredibly stupid.”
 
“That was our parents!” said Demi. “Not us! We were supposed to know better! Gods, what the fuck was I thinking?!”
 
Reignbeau floated over, putting a hand on Demi’s other shoulder. “Not gunna lie, this was a pretty big fuck up. But it isn’t like you meant for it to turn out like this. And I had my part in pushing you towards it, so—”
 
“No,” said Demi, gently pulling away from Wyllow and wiping her eyes. “No, you are not going to take the blame for this. This was my screw up. I should have known better.” She looked around, at the twisted wreck she’d made of the Fundament. She took a long breath. “Well, if there is a silver lining here, it’s that we can fix things pretty easily. Help me out a bit?”
 
The other three nodded, and together, they reworked the Fundament back into its original shape. Physical laws were mended, matter and energy was restored. With that done, Demi gently spat the Earth back out of herself; since they were presently back to human size, the planet came out as a tiny marble, flew thousands of miles off, before instantly growing back to normal. Demi set the Moon back in place, then spun time and memory so that the people of the World never knew they had been briefly trapped in the inner reality of a mysterious Goddess. With the Earth restored, the Omny Worlds snapped back into their natural dimensional orbits, Thrae rippled back into being, and the Omnyverse was stable once more.
 
Fascinating. Well done. The Dark Gods’ voice made the quartet jump. Caught up in their reunion, they had almost forgotten It was still here, watching them.
 
Demi swallowed hard and stepped up to It. “Um… Temael… it feels weird to thank you, but… thank you…”
 
Merely a trade of services. Cyl is now indebted to me again. It laughed, and the Omnys winced at the feeling of razors across their minds. Although if this keeps up, she may as well become one of my Generals after all.
 
Demi winced. “No! Please, I forced her to summon your help, if there is a debt to repay, let me be the one to repay it!”
 
It laughed again, and the four winced despite bracing themselves for it. Noble of you, but you are not of any used to me, not in the way she is. Fear not, this was a small favor, and shall require a paltry compensation. It took a glance around once more. Hmm. I sense the rest will be recovered shortly. If everything is resolved out, then I shall take my leave. My presence may be upsetting to your sires, and I believe your Guardian Angel wouldn’t want that. It turned back to them. Farewell, children. For your sake, I do hope I’m not needed here again. But as I said, I look forward to watching this world’s progress.
 
And with that, Its presence faded. Cyl’s wings shrank and retracted, her body shrinking back down to its normal shape. The great eye closed, the scar shrinking back into the place around her left eye. The shadow withdrew from her face, her crimson wings faded, and her white hair spilled out as if it had been under a tight covering. Cyl let out a breath, putting a hand to her face, and nearly stumbled in place. Reingbeau teleported to her side and steadied her. Cyl finally opened her eyes, one gold, one crimson, and gave a somber look to her fellow Five.
 
Demi floated over and hugged her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
 
Cyl just held her gently, feeling relief wash over her. “It’s alright. We all make mistakes.”
 
The Five hovered together in silence for a long while, simply grateful to have averted another universal apocalypse. But as the other Omnys reappeared and quickly sought them out for answers, they knew that things would not simply return to the way they were.
 
***
 
Two weeks later, Demi stepped into a bar and grill that doubled as a nightclub when the sun went down. Presently, though, it was mid-afternoon, with few patrons. Tending the bar was Opal, the current newest member of Omnys, now owner of a string of similar establishments across Earth and Thrae, operating them through numerous Avatars and Created staff. The blue-haired, dark-skinned woman was prepping for the dinner shift. She, of course, sensed her fellow Mingle as she’d emerged into the street, and as soon as Demi was inside, Opal waved her over.
 
Demi looked somewhat morose as she slid into the seat farthest from any other patron. Opal came over and gave her guest a once over. “Never thought I’d see your face so glum.”
 
“You’ve barely ever seen my face,” Demi said.
 
Opal shrugged. “Mingle memories.” She held a hand over the counter, and a shot glass appeared, filled with a dark amber liquid. She slid Demi the shot. “Drinks on the house.” Demi frowned at her reflection in the glass. “C’mon, I didn’t poison it.”
 
Demi slugged back the booze, and though it had no real physical effect, even she was a little surprised at the punch it packed. One gulp of this would have put a mortal in the hospital! But for an Omny who allowed herself to feel it, it was a nice, subtle burn. She let the sensation settle her nerves, and looked up, sobering her expression.
 
“I came to apologize,” she said.
 
“You did that plenty already,” said Opal.
 
Demi shook her head. “I still want to do it personally, for each of you. I mean, you’re the new Mingle! And our first encounter, I blast you to pieces!”
 
Opal shrugged. “I got better. We all got better.”
 
Demi quirked an eyebrow at her. “You don’t have to pretend like it doesn’t bother you.”
 
Opal leaned forward. “Honey, I have Shady in me, just like you have Lettie and Devi in you. I might be brand new, but I remember what it was like before. We fuck up sometimes. But we’re all here for each other, right?” She tapped the shot glass, refilling it.
 
Demi didn’t drink, just idly fingered the rim of the glass as she looked thoughtfully at the contents. “You really mean that?”
 
Opal gave a little exasperated sigh and shrugged again. “What do you want from me, kid? You were stopped, and everything got fixed in the end. And, hey, you didn’t actually manage to completely blow everything up, unlike some of our Mothers.”
 
Demi managed to smile a bit at that. “Amen, I guess.” She downed the shot, then looked at it. “What the heck is this anyway?”
 
“Plain ol’ bourbon. At about 200,000 proof.”
 
“Huh.”
 
Demi knocked back a third, took a breath, then smiled sardonically at Opal. “Well, I’m relieved you seem to be taking this well, but I would like to do something to make it up to you.”
 
“Yeah, I’ve heard you’ve been doing everyone a favor to make up for it.” Opal shook her head. “Can’t believe you’re even walking again so soon after Domina was done with you.”
 
Demi shuddered. “Thank god I don’t need to sleep, or I’d be having nightmares for the next millennium. Cripes.”
 
Opal smiled and put a hand over Demi’s. “Well, I have an idea that should hopefully be a lot less traumatizing.”
 
Demi shook off the haunting memories of Domina’s torture chamber, and smiled back at Opal, eager to make more amends. “I’m all ears!”
 
“I’d say I haven’t been given a proper welcome to the fold yet. I wouldn’t mind if you helped me there. Unless your girlfriend might get jealous?”
 
Demi grinned. “Not if we invite her along!”
 
Opal laughed. “Even better! Consider your apology accepted!”
 
The two vanished while no one was looking, Opal leaving another Avatar to tend the bar. But for all Demi was working to make up for her mess, not every Omny was as quick to forgive and forget as her fellow Mingle.
 
From across the veil of dimensions, RoseGold was watching from her own World, weighing her many options. In truth, she had already been considering some rather subversive ideas of her own. Demi’s reckless stunt had merely pushed her to take them more seriously.