(These are the same characters from ‘Old “friends”’ but there’s a pretty long time skip so you don’t need to see the first to understand this one.)

Rayla paces back and forth, a headache beginning to creep in. She’s smarter than this, she won’t start crying over the first obstacle that comes her way.

She doesn’t want to think about the before. Before she killed him. Before she hated herself every day. Before she forced the group to choose sides. Her or Darkwatcher. Her or Darkwatcher. Her or Darkwatcher.

_We had something good, didn’t we? _

It doesn’t matter now! She has been pulling the strings behind the current government for quite some time now, and right as she was about to reveal it was her, Darkwatcher came back!

Maybe it’s not Darkwatcher. Maybe its some other girl who has that eccentrically dyed hair.

Byx is sprawled across a couch, a look of worry and maybe even hope in her eyes. Who’s side is that girl on?

Benjo is sitting on the only uncomfortable chair in the room, for some reason. Good posture or whatever.

“It’s not her. She and Rowan retired, basically. They should have normal jobs now, or be far away from civilization.” Rayla hate that her voice shakes, she immediately forces her feelings down. “It’s not.” She says, more confidently.

Byx pulls out her phone and is doing… something on it. Isn’t there more important things she could be doing right now?

She sighs and finally looks up. “It’s her alright.” She shows Rayla her phone, reports of the masked revolutionary everywhere. That’s what Darkwatcher is calling herself now. ‘The masked revolutionary’. What’s she trying to do? Avenge Gray, or herself? Maybe this isn’t about me, maybe she doesn’t even know I’m behind the scenes.

_She’s smarter than that. I think. Maybe she’s not, or maybe she just doesn’t care. Maybe she wants to overthrow the government, not noticing nor minding whether I’m a part of it._

Rayla can tell Byx wants to tell her something. She opens her mouth, then closes it again.

“Spit it out.” She grinds through gritted teeth.

She doesn’t mean to be hostile. Does Byx know that? Would she join Darkwatcher if given the chance again?

Byx glares at Rayla anyhow. “Is it such a bad thing she’s back? At least you know she’s alive.” She is amused at Byx’s ignorance.

She smiles. “Do you think I care about her anymore? Do you think I’ve wasted more than a minute thinking about her these past years? Do you think I cry everyday wondering if she’s _alive?_ No. I don’t.”

Byx raises her eyebrows, but luckily stays quiet.

Rayla knows she shouldn’t have done it all back then. She knows it was a mistake. She knows that everyone will always blame her for it. As much as she hates Darkwatcher, she blames herself completely too.

She shoves the thoughts away. Back then all she could think of was making a bloody hole in Darkwatcher’s head. She needs to bring back that mindset.

Benjo is still silent, looking anywhere but me and Byx.

Finally he clears his throat, quietly. He became much quieter since Gray died. “Do you think Rowen is with her?”

Rayla snorts. “Ha. No. That coward is probably crying in his hidey-hole.” Byx slams her phone on the table and even Benjo looks pissed. She rolls her eyes. They seem to care a whole lot about the enemy.

_I don’t anymore. _

She repeats this to herself over and over again.

“Don’t talk like that about Rowen.” Benjo says quietly, dangerously.

Rayla groans. “He is nobody to us anymore.”

“Maybe to you.” Byx snaps.

Rayla can feel her anger growing sharper. Then it snaps, and she just sinks into a chair, feeling exhausted. “Whatever I guess. It doesn’t matter anymore. After what happened with Grayson he wouldn’t become a villain. Especially not with Darkwatcher.”

The fireplace crackles, the air inside feels stale.

She hates everyone and everything. Rayla doesn’t know what to do, she doesn’t even have a plan for the first time in a while.

Rayla is so close to everything she ever wanted, money, power, but fame most of all. She knows she would’ve gotten it sooner had she not challenged Darkwatcher to duel. She forces herself to think that that is the only reason she could feel even a shred of regret.

Byx picks up her phone again and finally Benjo stands up with a glimmer in his eyes. “I think we all just need some fresh air. Wanna do crime?” Byx sits up straight looking excited.

Rayla wants to so much, she needs things to feel like the way they used to. But alas, she’s smarter than that. “You know we can’t anymore, right?” Benjo eyes fall and he collapses onto the couch.

Byx’s posture settles back into its normal position, that is to say, hunched over.

“Just a little longer.” She assures them.

_Then the world will be ours._