Cassie sat outside on the porch with Marc, staring at the burning red trees. Elijah was running around in a pile of leaves, speaking excitedly about his dinosaur Halloween costume he would be wearing in the evening. They were too far removed from society to trick-or-treat, but Cassie had planned a little bit of trick-or-treating for him anyway with him going from room to room for some candy. He had been chatting about it excitedly all day.
Cassie leaned back on the porch swing, resting her head against Marc's shoulder. They sat in silence with their fingers intertwined. Her engagement ring was shining in the golden autumn sun.
She shut her eyes, imagining that one day she would have a life like this. She could sit on a porch swing in the autumn and watch children play without a care in the world. Cassie felt Marc press a kiss to her forehead, and she let out a hum.
If what Cherie said was true, that they'd be taking over the Preservers as early as January, then she had a lot of mental preparation to do, as well as physical. She needed to practice training, needed to speak more with her allies, and needed to prepare herself to face the worst. She was going to head back right into the same trap that she had so narrowly escaped out of last time.
"What are you thinking about?" Marc murmured beside her.
"What do you think?" Cassie asked.
"The siege is still a while away. I'm sure we'll be kept busy in the meantime though."
"Cherie will probably want me attending more meetings. I'll need to train some more, do some more meditation. How am I going to tell my family all this?" Cassie asked.
"Won't they know?" Marc wondered. "They know already what's coming."
"I just don't think they thought it would come so soon," she said, letting out a sigh. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
"Terrified," Marc replied. "I-I've never really gotten into any of this, even with you, but being locked in the Preserver prisons, even for a few days, was one of the worst experiences of my life."
Cassie frowned. "You could've talked to me about it. I had the same experience."
"It's embarrassing. You went through much more than me. But I won't let fear get the better of me this time. We'll take down Lynch, and soon, things can go back to the way they were. I can't believe they've been in rule for over ten years. I barely remember that more peaceful time of my life."
"It'll come to an end soon," Cassie said slowly, staring as Elijah jumped into a pile of leaves.
"How are you going to tell him?" Marc asked.
Cassie blinked. "What? That I might not come back? I don't know. But even if I don't, I hope he knows I did it for him. When the Guardians do appear to him one day, hopefully he never has to go through the burden of being the only human-spirit."
"What if Irene and Miguel come back?" Marc wondered.
"I don't think that'll happen," Cassie admitted. "Irene seemed very sure of herself when letting me take him all those years ago. I don't think she ever intended to watch him past the point of them returning to the Preservers."
"We're going to see them again," Marc realized.
"We may not," Cassie murmured.
"Either way, let's not think about those things right now. What do you want to do after this is all over?" Marc asked. "Want to go on vacation somewhere? Buy a house?"
Cassie snorted. "Well, I probably need some credentials before buying a house. A little school might be nice."
"So we still have to live here even when we're married?" Marc joked.
Cassie chuckled. "No, that wasn't what I meant. I meant we can live with my parents instead."
"Stop fooling around," Marc said, nudging her slightly.
Cassie continued to giggle. "Truth be told, I don't know what it will be like when this is all over. We'll just have to wait and see."
"How many kids do you want?" Marc wondered.
"I'm hoping this question is for future reference," Cassie said, narrowing her eyes.
"Of course!"
"Three," she answered.
"Three? Why? We both come from two children households," Marc said.
"I don't know. One is too little. Two siblings means constant fighting between them. I feel like three is a good balance," Cassie said, crossing her arms and leaning back against the swing.
"Are you counting Elijah as one?" Marc asked.
Cassie frowned. Depending on how things went, she wouldn't mind legally adopting Elijah as her son one day. But of course, that was something that still required a more thought and planning. She would revisit that idea maybe when this was all over.
"Marc, Cassie, could you come inside?" Cherie asked. "I have some news."
Cassie exchanged glances with Marc. "She sounds nervous," Cassie realized.
"Better see what's up. Elijah, come inside for a second!" Marc called, waving his arm.
Elijah made a pout in response.
"It's just for a little bit!" Cassie promised, watching as he finally gave in and climbed up the porch steps to be with them. She had been anxious to see him when returning from the mission, and he had showed her a lot of love in return. He put band-aids all over her all week, in places where she had no wounds, in an attempt to make her feel better.
Cassie brought Elijah up onto her lap as Cherie gathered the others in her living room. Mitsuki was sitting upright on one of the couches, almost fully recovered with the occasional headache every now and then. She was able to do some mild exercise, which she complained of, but Cassie assured her she could train with her soon.
"What is this about?" Francesco asked.
Cassie paused. If Francesco didn't know what was going on, what did Cherie intend to tell everyone?
Cherie paused a few moments before pulling out a letter from her pocket. She set it on the table and let out a deep breath.
"Cherie, what is that?" Cassie asked.
"I received a letter from The Tiger," she stated.
"What about?" Marc asked. "Any new information?"
"No. There's nothing new to say, in fact. No. The Tiger wants to meet with me...in person. They say they have some important things to talk about, that they think we should work more closely," Cherie stated.
"Are you going to go?" Cassie asked.
"They claim they won't have any security with them, that we'll be meeting far from the headquarters, about ten miles off. I'm still concerned. I would suppose it's hard to get clearance out of the headquarters, which makes me wonder if they've been discovered. Or maybe, this is some sort of trap."
"Are you going to go?!" Lillian gasped.
"I-I think so. But I will be bringing back-up. I won't be going alone," Cherie stated.
"Let us come," Cassie begged.
Cherie only shook her head. "This could be dangerous, but it's something I want to investigate. I want to know who The Tiger is. I want to know if they're on our side or not. Maybe they do have a plan and some top-secret information. I need to find out for myself."
"When will you see The Tiger?" Francesco asked.
"Next week."
"It's supposed to snow!" Lillian complained. "Maybe that was purposeful. It'll be harder to get away if they've planned something."
"I doubt they have something that maniacal planned. I will be bringing a large number of rebels with me to assure all goes smoothly. We'll just have to see how things pan out. But I think I will go. Yes," Cherie said, coming to a decision mid-sentence.
"Be careful, Cherie," Cassie warned, having experienced betrayal firsthand.
"I will do my best. I promise I'm doing this in the best interest of everyone else. I don't think it'll be a long visit, but I may be gone a few days," Cherie stated.
"I'll man the fort while you're gone," Francesco promised. "You take all the time you need."
Cherie grinned. "Thank you all. I promise to be as safe as I can."
Cassie smiled back at Cherie, thankful for all the hard work the woman had done for her and the others over so many years. She only hoped that this meeting with The Tiger would bring forward prosperous results.