“You know the problem with trying to plant something in Desoto?” Miranda Wallbern noted while she, Avalon, and Hisao stood on the beach looking out at the gulf of Mexico. “There is no Desoto!” With that blurted exclamation, the girl waved both hands wildly out toward the water. “There hasn’t been for over a hundred years, so what the hell are we supposed to do?”


    Taking a knee next to the gently lapping waves, Hisao was silent for a moment. The young-looking yet ancient Asian man (his birth apparently predated even the Seosten’s arrival on Earth, despite his casual nature and tendency to avoid standing out or drawing power to himself) put his hand against the water and seemed to be focusing. Finally, he spoke quietly. “The Victors are convinced that the vines will be able to grow on Desoto soil. They’ve done the rituals, the fortune-seeing spells, everything they can do. It all says that the vines will grow properly and bear more fruit once they’re planted in Desoto.” A wry smirk touched his face as he half-turned to glance at the girls. “They’re also convinced that you two can help make that work. I guess the spells told them that part too. Something about you being able to produce what is needed to bring the plants to life and make them bear fruit in the soil of Desoto.”


    Avalon, who had been quiet the whole time, moved a few steps closer. Her voice was flat. “There is no soil of Desoto,” she pointed out while sitting down with her feet in the water. She wore no shoes or socks at the moment, letting her bare toes get soaked as the waves lapped over them. “It was all destroyed to eliminate the Fomorian threat. Or at least delay it. Wasn’t the point of the spell that all of Desoto had to be erased? If there was still part of it here, that would make the Fomorians still a threat, wouldn’t it?” As she said it, Avalon frowned at the water.


    Despite her frown, Avalon actually didn’t mind being out here. Solving this problem was important, even if she was utterly baffled about why she was needed. Sure, she was the descendant of the man who had supposedly created the Edge. But Bosch had been possessed. It wasn’t really him. Maybe there was some kind of bloodline thing or… something. Who knew.


    But in either case, being out here also distracted her from obsessing over Felicity. Flick. They would find her. That much Avalon was positive about. Fossor wouldn’t have spent ten years planning out how to abduct her just to kill the girl. He wanted her around. The thought of what she was almost certainly going through, the thought of her being at Fossor’s mercy… that was enough to bring Avalon to multiple moments of screaming, frothing rage over the past few weeks. But she kept those moments mostly under control, and focused on keeping busy.


    They were planning out how to find Fossor. They had multiple leads, multiple chances. And she had made it damn clear to everyone involved just how annoyed she would be if they tried to leave her out of things or didn’t include her in the rescue. They knew how she would react, and she’d been promised by multiple people including Dare, Abigail, and Kohaku that she would be included and kept up to date on what was going on, that they would tell her the second they knew anything useful at all. It wasn’t enough to stop her from obsessing, of course. Not nearly. Yet it did, at least, soothe the young woman enough that she could try distracting herself here.


    Fossor would get what was coming to him. She would get Flick back. That much Avalon was absolutely certain of. It was just… the waiting. The being terrified of what the girl she loved was going through. Being helpless to do anything or even talk to her. She missed talking to Flick.


    “It could still mean to plant the vines at the bottom of the gulf, right?” Miranda offered weakly, her face grimacing a little. “I know it’s like a mile deep, but that shouldn’t be anything to Heretics. Hell, they could probably just create a big, permanent shield dome or something to have air and plant them safely without having to worry about water or anything.”


    “They’ve tried that,” Hisao informed them. “Unfortunately, the vines don’t like the soil down there. Plus they need sunlight. They’ve tried artificial light, portals to bring sunlight down into that area, everything. The vines won’t grow down there. It’s close. Their botanists say that the vines are really close to taking root. But it’s like they’re missing something. They were hoping that one of you would be able to provide that missing thing. Or at least figure out what it is. Seller’s been down there for weeks off and on, trying to use his own powers to make the plants take root.”


    “His own powers?” Miranda echoed. “Oh, you mean his original powers. The biology manipulation or whatever.” Seller and Gaia had both received powers from the same creature when they had first become Natural Heretics. The creature had been a Djehuti, and unlike most inherited powers, the Djehuti split its own gifts in two. Gaia had received its incredible, vast control over technology, while Seller had received vast knowledge of how to create and manipulate the genetics of non-sapient living things. It made him almost as good at making or fiddling with living bodies (not only plants, but animals too) as the Fomorians were. Unfortunately, it was a gift he used quite sparingly in the wake of the invasion from those monsters, given how such things were viewed now. But at the time, it had also made him an invaluable resource for combating them.


    In any case, Seller had deep expertise with manipulating plants, so he had eventually been put at the head of the project for getting these Eden’s Garden vines to take root.


    Hisao was nodding. “Yeah, the original powers. He’s having trouble getting the vines to stop being giant pains in the ass, his words. Keeps getting close, but it’s not enough. He says he needs something else. There’s something about the vines that resists him fiddling with them. Seems like when they made the damn things, they put in a lot of protections against exactly what he’s doing. Probably so the Fomorians didn’t grab a sample for themselves and make their own version. Just in case. Which, you know, not a bad idea given who we’re talking about. But it still screws us over.”


    Miranda sighed heavily, kicking out to send a spray of sand out into the water. Like Avalon, she was dealing with Flick’s abduction about as well as she possibly could. In her case, it meant having multiple duplicates who were all out helping in various places. They were at school, on various training missions, on actual missions, helping out at the Atherby camp, and one was even in the Bystander world working at a homeless shelter. Miranda coped with feeling helpless by putting a dozen versions of herself to work all day long, then absorbing them at the end of the day and feeling everything they had accomplished. It didn’t solve the problem or anything. It didn’t make her forget that she could do nothing for Flick. But it… helped, somewhat. It was something. And at that point, every little thing that helped her get through each day until they could actually find Flick and get her away from that monster was worth it.


    “Okay,” the dark-skinned girl began, “so the plants won’t grow at the bottom of the gulf, but they’re close to growing. You said it’s just like there’s something stopping Seller’s power from working on them? And according to those fortune spells, the answer is something that Avalon and I can give. So… what is it? What are you guys missing that Avalon and I could give you?” Pausing, she shook her head and corrected, “Wait. What are you missing that either of us could provide? That’s important, right? It’s an important distinction. It has to be something that either of us could provide, not just one of us. Because if it was something that only Avalon could provide, I wouldn’t have been included.”


    “Or,” Avalon pointed out mildly, “it’s two things, one that you can provide and one that I can provide. My blood or something, maybe. If Radueriel tied Bosch’s blood to the Edge, it could still be tied to the vines… somehow. Maybe they need my blood in the soil to take root properly.”


    “Yeah, but what the hell could I provide?” Miranda asked with a confused wave of both hands. “Seriously, you might be special and all, but I’m just a normal Heretic student. Which, yeah, I know that’s not really normal at all, but still. I don’t have anything to do with this ancient stuff. Why would the vines need anything I could give them that other Garden people couldn’t? What do I have that others don’t? I’m not some super botanist. Hell, Seller can’t make the vines grow and he has the power to fuck around with the their genetics and all that shit. I don’t even have that. I definitely don’t have magic plant growing powers.”


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Hisao straightened up and took a step away to watch from nearby, silently observing the two girls while they debated back and forth about what the fortune-seeing spells could possibly have meant when they claimed that the two of them could provide the last bit that the vines needed to take root and begin growing properly. A curious look, followed by a brief flash of realization had crossed the man’s face, but he smoothed it out and waited for the girls to get to that point themselves. Old as he was, Hisao had long-ago mastered the art of patience. The girls would get there eventually. Best if they managed it themselves, and grew from the experience.


    It took a few more minutes of the two girls throwing out thoughts, shooting them down, considering everything they were capable of, and asking Hisao what had been tried. Then Avalon went quiet. Her head tilted curiously, a frown crossing the girl’s face as she stared at the sand. Hisao could almost see the wheels turning in her head, before she slowly looked over at the girl next to her. “What was that you said a minute ago, about magic plant growing powers?”


    Miranda, in turn, blinked at her in confusion. “Uhhh, what? Oh, I just said I don’t have magic plant growing powers. I mean, as far as I know. Maybe I have a super green thumb and never–”


    “Wait.” Avalon interrupted sharply. Her brow was knitted into an intensely thoughtful frown. “It’s something that both of us could provide. Or either of us. We were both part of Eden’s Garden, so their fortune spells considered us inside their… group or whatever. We were the part of Eden’s Garden who were most likely to be able to provide what the vines need. It has nothing to do with my blood or any power either of us have.”


    “It doesn’t?” Miranda started blankly, staring at the other girl.


    “No,” Avalon confirmed. She glanced toward Hisao pointedly. “You said Seller’s been trying to make the vines grow with his own power, but they keep resisting it. He needs help.”


    “Yes,” the man replied simply, watching her reaction. “They do have other plant-experts, even those with related gifts. But nothing has worked. It’s like the vines are actively resisting being grown anywhere beyond Eden’s Garden. That’s what Seller says, anyway. He thinks there might have been some kind of genetic-level modifications to ensure no one did… well, exactly what we’re trying to do. He’s trying to bypass it, but not having much luck so far.”


    “He needs help getting past that block,” Avalon pointed out. “Right now he’s just trying to overpower it, and I’m pretty sure Radueriel and his cronies would’ve been ready for that. That’s the whole problem. The Seosten who created the Eden’s Garden tree, or… or helped it be created, or whatever, they put in protections against genetic tampering just like what Seller’s trying to do. Because they didn’t want the Fomorians to take samples and create their own tree. And any defenses they included against the Fomorians are also going to stop Seller. I mean, maybe he can eventually get around it and force the vines to grow with enough effort, but we don’t have time for that. We need a way to bypass those protections so Seller’s power can work and he can make them grow right. Someone who can force the vines to do what they’re told that isn’t about messing with their genetics the way the Fomorians or Seller do.”


    “And you know someone like that?” Miranda asked, raising an eyebrow while racking her brain.


    “We both do,” the other girl informed her. “At least, we know someone with the potential to do that. That’s the entire reason those fortune spells kept pointing at us. Because we’re former Eden’s Garden students who have the exact connection needed. We’ve been loyal to Garden and we know the exact right person to help. The only person who could end up with the right powers.”


    For a moment, Miranda blinked at her. “Wait, someone with the potential to do that? Someone who could end up with–” Then she did a sharp double-take, eyes widening with realization. “Whoa, whoa! You don’t mean–but she hasn’t–”


    “Not yet,” Avalon agreed. “At least, not that we know of. But can you think of anyone else with the potential to do what we need? Who else fits that bill? It’s someone we both have a connection to and someone no one else has thought of asking for help from yet. So it can’t be anyone whose gift is well-known.”


    For a long moment, Miranda just stared. Then she looked toward Hisao and squinted. “How long ago did you figure it out?” the girl demanded.


    His response was a simple smile. “Not long, I promise. Just in the past few minutes. But yeah, I think you’re both right. She’s the only one who might fit. The best guess we’ve got right now, anyway.”


    “Right,” Avalon pushed herself up, turning away from the water.


    “Let’s go talk to the kid.”


    *******


    “What?!” Eyes wide with confusion, thirteen-year-old Dakota Coalbright jerked to her feet from the kitchen table in the house where Sands, Sarah, Vanessa, Tristan, Koren, Aylen, Gordon, Jazz, Eiji, and the slinky-like Alter known as Ruckus lived. Dakota had been staying there as well, despite her younger age, because being near Vanessa was where she was most comfortable. And above all else, Principal Fellows and the other staff wanted her to be comfortable.


    Unfortunately, she was definitely not that right now. She was in the kitchen with Avalon and Miranda, who had both asked to talk to her. Hisao leaned against the nearby doorway, giving the girls room to talk. And in this moment, comfort was about as far as possible from Dakota’s mind.


    “I don’t have–I’m not–I don’t have plant powers!” she blurted, head shaking so fast it almost might’ve popped off her shoulders. She denied it a little too firmly. “I don’t do anything like what–what he does! I’m not like that!” Her voice grew louder by the word, making the girl sound almost hysterical.


    Miranda took the lead, quickly raising both hands. “We know, we know. You’re not like him. You’re not like Kwur, not–not at all. Trust me, Dakota, we know you’re nothing like him. No one thinks you are. Nobody. You’re different. But…” She hesitated, then stepped over, tugged a chair out, and sat down. Her voice was quieter. “But there’s gotta be a reason Kwur wanted you taken care of. Whatever deal he and Fossor made, it included you being visited and checked up on, or whatever. Sariel and Apollo, they broke through the memory blocks on Vanessa and Julius Harn. They know Fossor was at the hospital. And with everything else they’ve worked out, and what… what Kwur said, it’s obvious that he wanted you kept alive for a reason.”


    Arms folded protectively against her stomach, Dakota shook her head just as frantically as before. “No. No, no. I’m not like that. I’m not–”


    “It doesn’t mean you’re evil.” That was Avalon, stepping forward. Her voice was as calm as she could make it, under the circumstances. She knew too well the sort of thoughts that were running through this girl’s head. “Having a connection to an evil thing doesn’t make you evil. If… Kwur putting his seed in your head before did make you a Natural Heretic of him, that doesn’t mean you’re anything like him. Yes, Dakota, we think that’s what the fortune spells that pointed at us meant, that we were supposed to involve you. We think you have Kwur’s powers, or at least some version of them. And if you do, you can convince the vines to grow in a way no one else could.”


    “You can talk to the vines,” Miranda agreed. “You can get around the blocks that the Seosten installed. No one else could do that. If… if you do have these powers, you’re the only person in the world who can make the vines take root before it’s too late.”


    Avalon nodded. “That’s not evil, Dakota. If you can do that, you’ll be giving a lot more people the chance to fight against evil. Power isn’t evil just for existing. What you do with it is good or evil.”


    Squirming, Dakota opened and shut her mouth a couple times. She still looked pale (though she always did) and afraid. But there was something else there, a sort of very faint, yet growing determination. At the moment, it was just a seed, but it was there.


    “But I… I…” She cringed, the admission coming in a hollow voice. “… I think I made a flower grow once. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t. I just–I–I never did it again!” Admitting that she really had used those plant-powers despite claiming she didn’t have them made the girl wilt inwards with shame and fear of their reaction.


    “It’s okay,” Miranda quickly assured her. “It’s okay, Dakota. We know why you… why you’ve been avoiding it. Why you’ve been pushing the powers away. But if you can help, if you can make these vines grow so that we can make more Heretics… you could help the Rebellion. You could save a lot of people.”


    For a moment, there was no response other than a few quiet sniffles. The very thought of actively using a power that belonged to the abomination who had forced her and the rest of her family to kill each other was… was…


    “Okay,” came the very soft, almost inaudible voice.


    “I’ll try.”