"As I said before, worry about that later." he told her.

"For now, just accept and enjoy this random act of kindness." he said with a smile.

"Want something to drink?" he asked.

"Some lemonade or whatever?" he asked further.

"It's a warm one today, seems we got an unseasonal surge of heat." he commented.

"Hopefully doesn't last too long, this is NOT appropriate weather."

The show she was supposed to do was for a birthday party. There was a group of 15 children, including the birthday boy and girl, who happened to be fraternal twins. The time for the show was fast approaching, and the kids were starting to wonder when the show would start. The parents of the birthday kids were clearly getting antsy and concerned, wondering where the hell their entertainment had gone to, and why she wasn't here yet, while 2 others who were part of the party, but not technically guests, stood off to the side, wondering the same.

One was a young woman that looked to be in her early 20's, wearing a rather futuristic-looking visor, whereas the other was a male that looked to be the same age, maybe a year or two older, and he was wearing a faded blue hoodie with the hood down. They were there because the female of the two was friends with the older sister of the twins having the birthday, and she and her companion had been invited along... mostly for the show that was going to be on.

The male looked around a couple of times, before looking at his friend.

"This is odd." he said. "I don't know Desiree all too well, and I know you're not super close to her, but isn't the fact that she's so late, without any warning, more than a little concerning?" he asked her.

She nodded slowly, confirming it.

"Damn it." he cursed, thinking about it again. "Well, if she doesn't show up soon, there's going to be trouble for her, and this party may end up going down the tubes." he commented further. "We might need to get into contact with her, and also try and find something to replace Desiree's show with." he went on, scratching his chin a little, and seemingly getting an idea.

"...I MAY have an idea, but we'll need to see if they can do it on such short notice." he said. "And we'll have to check and see if the parents are all right with such a drastic change from the 'scheduled programming', so to speak." he continued.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked her, just to see if they would be on the same page here.

He thought for a moment, and nodded.

"I have a contact in their group as well." he told her. "And I know that with enough irritation, she'll answer." he said further, before pausing and thinking about it again for a moment. "But before we start pestering them, maybe we should try and get ahold of Desiree first." he suggested.

When she agreed, they found Desiree's number in her contact list, and called it. No answer. They tried again, and no answer. So HE tried it, just in case it was something with her phone, and it wasn't. Still no answer. He then sighed and thought about it again for a moment, nodding to himself.

"First things first, we need to alert someone that Desiree is not here, and that she is not answering her phone." he reasoned. "If something bad has happened, she might need help urgently." he said further.

"...and I'm trying to think if my line of contacts goes to anyone that would be optimal to tell here..." he then admitted.

"What about you?" he asked.

"...Desiree's being held up?" Zeke asked in response.

Lunet described the situation, what Desiree was supposed to be doing, how she wasn't there, hadn't warned anyone, and how she wasn't answering her phone. This concerned Zeke greatly, and he agreed to help.

"I know what hotel she's staying at, actually." he then remembered. "I'll check there immediately." he told her.

The conversation was ended, and he brought himself to the hotel in question, entering it and making his way to where Desiree was staying. He'd helped her find the place, after all, and she told him the room she was in. He made his way to the room in question, and noticed the door was slightly ajar... which put him on the defensive. He approached it and carefully opened it, and was stunned at what he saw.

He was stuck in his tracks for a good few seconds, before he took out his phone and called a very important contact on his list.

"It's Zeke." he said when Sydney answered. He gave her his exact location, and told her to be there. Fast. "It seems like Desiree's in danger."

"Right." Zeke said.

"I'll go find her now." he told her.

"Unless you want to, and want me to clean up here." he said further.

"Go." Sydney ordered him.

Zeke quickly left and when he was outside he concentrated on her soul and teleported to under a bridge somewhere and saw Deryck holding Desiree's head under the water.

"Hey!" he called out.

This angered Zeke.

Immediately, his sword was drawn and he dashed towards Deryck, slicing him across the torso.

He then reached for Desiree and pulled her up out of the water.

"Desiree!" he called out.

Zeke looked at Deryck, even more angry.

He then rushed towards the mana and rammed his sword through his chest.

"And so are you." he said.

"Face your judgement."

Zeke then kicked him hard in the wound, causing him to fall onto his back.

"Laugh your way to hell." he said.

He then rushed back to Desiree and held her in his arms.

"Desiree..." he said quietly, holding back tears.

Zeke was feeling hopeful, and then he saw Gregory appear.

"Relax." he said. "I'm here for him." he said further, pointing to Deryck.

Zeke nodded and he and Desiree disappeared from where they were.

He was taking her to OLA for treatment, and to have her life saved.

Zeke left the hospital and returned to the hotel room, to see if Sydney was there.

She was, and he sighed.

"Desiree is alive and in OLA." he told her.

"Her brother is dead."