Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

St. Finnemore's College, Oxford was first established in the eighteenth century by Sir James Finnemore, a wealthy Oxford resident who wanted to create a college that people of all ages could attend during their lives to better their knowledge.

It is, in fact, the smallest university in the city and is located near the centre of Oxford and only has about 1000 students.
About a quarter of the students live on campus in a small accommodation wing, but the majority live in and around the city in flats and houses in which they rent rooms during term time.

One such house in Crieff Lane, is owned by Reginald Bright. He has been a Don at St. Finnemore's for thirty years, after studying there as a student before that.
He himself, lives in one of the larger apartments on campus. Having been there so long has meant he has been able to work his way up to it.

The house he owns and rents out to students is a two minute walk from the college. It has three floors, five bedrooms and two bathrooms. It also boasts a decent sized garden at the rear.
Reginald is very choosy about who he rents the rooms in this house to. Carefully vetting any suitable candidates and approaching them direct. His house is not advertised anywhere.

The college's Dean, Nicholas Gaiman has presided over the college for just over fifteen years. Although not a lecturer himself, he has a great interest in the supernatural and applied for the position at the college after hearing about unusual 'goings on' in the grounds.
Although the unusual occurrences have been few and far between during his years there, he has amassed quite an impressive collection of books and knowledge on the subject.

As it turns out, Reginald Bright also shares Nicholas' supernatural interests and the two have become close friends, often meeting for lunch and coffee and discussing the latest news from around the country on incidents of a supernatural nature.

It had been incidents a little closer to home that they had been discussing of late, however. Over the last three or four months, there had been sightings on campus of what students and staff had described as unusual creatures... and strange noises had been heard.

It had been nearly twenty five years since the last demon had actually tried to take over this college. Reginald still remembers it clearly. He'd had to enlist the help of two experts with magic, from other colleges to help him chase the demon away and close the rift that it had left through.
Reginald could only hope the same was not happening again. This time, however, he would be prepared. He and Nicholas had chosen his six house tenants very carefully for the approaching term. Each of them having their own unique skills, which Reginald hoped and believed, if they worked together, they could use to fend off any demon attacks.

He had worked with Nicholas to make sure these six students were selected to study at the college this year. Nicholas fully understood Reginald's reasoning behind his choices.
"Do you think it will get bad then?" asked Nicholas one afternoon, as they were going through the college applications.

"The last time it got really bad, was twenty five years ago. I've done some research and it seems the demons have tired to infiltrate this college every twenty five years, since it was established. Some succeeded, and there was mayhem and carnage for a time until the college could find those with enough magic to come and send them back and others were stopped in their tracks early on" explained Reginald, before adding,
"I'm afraid, my investigations suggest we are due another demon attack imminently."

"Why this college? Why not the others?" asked Nicholas
"Ah! That would appear to be because of the location of the library here. It seems to have been built over some sort of rift between the demon world and ours. But as to why they only seem to try to come through every twenty five years! That is still a mystery" said Reginald

There was one week to go before the start of the new academic year.
Reginald was at his house in Crieff Lane, making sure everything was clean and tidy and in it's place, while he awaited the arrival of his students.
He had asked them to all arrive at the same time, on the same day, a week before the start of term, so they could all get to know one another and settle in.
He needed them to be able to act together from the off, if it should transpire that the college did, in fact develop a demonic problem.

The students all arrived at the house. None of them had been told of any of the 'issues' that Reginald feared, nor where they aware of his interest in the supernatural.
Reginald still hoped that all the current 'goings on' would fade away and there would be no need to mention them. But he would let them settle in for a few days first, before broaching the subject with them.

The six students knew nothing of each other, except for the two slightly more mature students, who were in fact married and very well aquatinted with each other.

Reginald welcomed them all into the lounge of the house and greeted them as a group,
"Hello to you all. My name is Reginald Bright. I am one of the Dons at St. Finnemore's and the owner of this house and may I welcome you all here. I have of course spoken to each of you already at some point in offering you this accommodation and am pleased that you have all accepted my offers."

They all said hello.
"Now there are five bedrooms, so might I suggest that Fred and Win here, being married as they are, take the largest room of the five? The other four of you can arrange yourselves I'm sure. My number is by the phone in the hall, should you need anything." explained Reginald

The bedroom that Win and Fred were to be staying in, was on the second floor and they carried all their belongings up with them and moved themselves in.

The other four all managed to decide on who would have which other rooms, very amicably. A student called Morse took the other room on the second floor and the three others, Max, Peter and Shirley all took a room each on the first floor.
All the rooms were lovely in fact and were all of a good size. There was a bathroom on both the first and second floors, so that would cut down on 'morning queues'.

When they had all moved their things into their respective rooms, they all met up again in the lounge. It was a large room at the back of the house, stretching across nearly three quarters of the width of the house. There were three large sofas and a couple of arm chairs, a coffee table, a drinks trolley and a television. There were french doors in the middle of the windows, leading out into the garden.

At the front of the house, there was a dining room on one side, with a large table and six chairs and on the other side of the hall was a large well equipped kitchen, leading to a utility room with a washing machine. That lead out into the garden, where there was a patio area with chairs and tables and a large lawn, surrounded by well kept borders and a few beautiful trees.

"So..." began Fred
"...Being as we're all going to be living together for the foreseeable future, we'd better introduce ourselves. Shall we start?" he asked
The others nodded and smiled, so he carried on,

"Well, I'm Fred Thursday and this is my lovely wife Win. We're from London. I'm a retired Policeman, did my thirty years and left the force three years ago. Win here's a housewife and quite the artist in her spare time. We've got two children, Joan and Sam, both in their twenties and working. So we've left them to get on with things in the family home, while we went away to university. Nothing wrong with doing things a bit differently is there?" he chuckled

"What are you both studying?" asked Morse
"Win's studying Art and I'm studying architecture and its history" said Fred before adding,
"What about you?" he asked

"Me? Well, my name's Morse and I'm from Lincolnshire, I got a scholarship when I was eighteen to study here, but I've been in the army for four years as a cipher clerk. So, now I'm out of the army, I've been able to attend university. They agreed to honour the scholarship until now. I'm studying Classics." he said

"Morse? Is that your Christian name or your surname then?" asked Peter
"My surname." replied Morse. When he realised Peter was expecting more information, he added,
"I don't much care for my Christian name" he said

Peter nodded, then spoke again,
"Ok, Morse it is, each to their own. I'm Peter Jakes. I'm from Oxford and I'm a Police Officer. I'm with the Oxford City Police, well Thames Valley Police now, but anyway, been a copper for twelve years and I'm taking a career break to study psychology. I'll go back to work when I've completed my course.

"Ooh, I'd love to speak to you both..." said Shirley, looking towards Peter and Fred, then continuing,
"...I want to join the Police! Oh, sorry, I'm Shirley by the way. I'm from Oxford too and I'm studying criminal law. I'm hoping it helps when I apply to the Police." she explained

"Well, it can't hurt, that's for sure" said Fred with a smile
They all turned to the sixth member of their household, who spoke up,
"My name is Max Debryn. I'm also from Oxford and I've been a surgeon at the Radcliffe hospital for the last nine years." he explained

"A surgeon? I thought you looked familiar... I think I might have seen you in the hospital? Yeah, you stitched up my sergeant last year when he got shot, did a good job too... saved his life!" said Peter with a look of gratitude,
"Well, that's what I'm there for" said Max with a smile.

"Why have you got a need to study then?" asked Peter
"Well, I do already have a medical degree from Oxford, that's true. But I wish to branch out, as it were. I'm interested in working with the Police in the area of pathology and forensics, so I'm taking some further courses in those areas in order to do that." explained Max

"Well, that's the introductions done. Do we need house rules, or are we just going to do our own thing?" said Fred
"I think some house rules would be a good idea" said Shirley

"And what have you got in mind then?" asked Peter with a smile, as he turned to Shirley and asked,
"You want me to do the washing up Mondays and Wednesdays and take the bins out on Thursdays?" he chuckled

"Bin day is Tuesday here" said Morse
"Oh? So you've researched that already have you Morse?" asked Peter with a smirk
"There's a notice in our rooms with bits of useful information on it" said Morse
"Of course there is. I'll get round to reading that later then" Peter answered

Win spoke up then,
"Well, we need to work together to keep the house clean and tidy. We'll need to make sure we always clear up after ourselves, so maybe it would be a good idea to have a rota of sorts, for cleaning and hoovering and cooking and gardening and the like. We'll do well to keep on top of it, or we'll end up living in a mess" she explained

"I quite agree" said Max, adding,
"I actually love cooking, so I'd be happy to do my share of that"
"Ooh, so do I! Maybe you and I could be the house cooks Max?" suggested Win
"That sounds splendid." agreed Max with a smile

"I love pottering around in the garden, so I'd be happy to take on the outside jobs if you're all ok with that?" said Fred
"I could help you? I mean, I've not got much gardening experience, but I've always wanted to learn about it" said Morse

"You should have taken a gardening degree instead of a classics one then!" chuckled Peter
Morse gave Peter a small smile then added,
"I'd be happy to help with chores in the house too, of course, when Fred doesn't need me"

"Maybe Shirley and me could do the cleaning and hoovering and the like then? What do you say Shirley?" said Peter
"Yes, ok. You could give me a few Policing tips then!" she smiled
"Absolutely" Peter smiled back

That afternoon, Win and Max wrote a shopping list with everyone's help. Making notes of who liked and disliked what foods and between them, they came up with a few meals they could cook for everyone to begin with and they all gave some money towards the ingredients.
Max and Win went off to find the local shops to buy what they needed.

That evening, they all sat down to a delicious cottage pie with extra vegetables and gravy, followed by spotted dick and custard for pudding. They'd even brought back a bottle of wine and some beer, to celebrate their first day together.
After dinner, they insisted on Win and Max having a rest in the dining room, while the other four chipped in clearing the table and washing up.

Reginald had chosen this group of students well, it seemed. They all got on wonderfully together... almost like a family.

Well... in the coming months... they would need to.

Chapter Text

The next two days passed happily. Everyone settled in to their new home and the cooking and other chores all got done without too much confusion.

On the Thursday, they'd agreed to meet with Reginald Bright, so he could show them round the university campus and tell them what they needed to know.
He showed them the different areas, the lecture theatres, food hall, study areas and other rooms they would need to become acquainted with. Then finally they came into the library.

It was a large room, with a high ceiling. There were rows and rows of books stretching high up on the back wall to their right and to their left, on the opposite wall, were the rows of large tall windows, casting a sunny glow into the room.
There were several large oak tables set out throughout the room and there were one or two students already sat reading at some of them, presumably trying to get one step ahead, before the start of term.
"There are three librarians here, who will help you find any books you need. They're only here from nine to five each week day, but you can still come in here twenty four hours a day to read or study if you wish." explained Reginald

They all looked around the impressive room. Max looked around with a frown... he shuddered, something felt off about this room. He looked all around him. Everything was neat and tidy and in its place. No one seemed to be nervous. The students in here seemed relaxed as they studied.
Max looked at his housemates then... but they all looked calm, as if everything felt normal.

Then Max glanced at Reginald. He was looking carefully at the six of them, as if he knew something was amiss and was gauging their reaction.
Reginald turned to look at Max, noticing Max's frown. Max spoke up in a hushed tone, so as not to disturb the library's peace,
"Something happened here, didn't it" he said, part question, part statement.

Reginald looked thoughtfully at Max with a wry smile.
"Hmmm, yes, a few years ago now though" said Reginald
"It doesn't feel like it happened a few years ago? Something's very wrong right now" said Max
Reginald raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in a gesture for them all to go outside.

They all walked out into the sunlight and onto the grassed area in the middle of the quadrant.
"What's all this then?..." began Fred
"... What do you mean, something's very wrong right now? ...Max?" Fred looked at Max with a worried frown.

"I'm afraid I can't be more specific than a feeling of foreboding and dread while I was in the Library" answered Max
"And now?" asked Fred
"Oh, now? Out here? It's a lovely autumn day, the perfect place to relax and while away the hours." said Max with a wistful smile

Fred turned to Reginald,
"And you? Can you shed any light on all this foreboding?" he asked
"I can. But I think we should go somewhere where we will be less likely to be overheard? Hmmm?" said Reginald, setting off at a brisk walking pace to the large old building on the opposite side of the quadrant.

They all followed him, into the building, via an old large oak door and up a stone staircase and along a corridor on the first floor.
They came to another large wooden door at the end with the name 'Proffessor Reginald Bright' inscribed into a name plate on it.

Reginald unlocked and opened the door and ushered them inside.
"My accommodation. Please, go into the lounge and sit anywhere you wish" he said, closing his door behind them as they all filed in and sat on various chairs and a sofa in the room.

"Right, well. I have a confession of sorts to make to you all. I must start by saying that you all deserve a place here at this university on your merits alone, so don't think for one moment that what I am about to tell you has any bearing on that." Reginald began.

He turned to Max then,
"You said you felt foreboding and dread whilst in the library?"
"Yes, it was rather unnerving, almost like we were being watched... but not by anyone in the room..." Max trailed off with a frown.

"Are any of you acquainted with the College's history?" asked Reginald
"Yes, it was founded by Sir James Finnemore in the eighteenth century" said Morse
"Yes, quite, but I'm referring to its history in a more sinister and otherworldly sense?" Reginald added

"Otherwordly? What exactly do you mean by that? Ghosts?" said Peter
"Well, no... not ghosts... exactly. But more like... erm, demons?" said Reginald, acutely aware of the need to tell them what was going on, but not wanting to scare them away before the term had even started.

"Demons?" said Win
"Yes" replied Reginald, before going on to explain further,
"It's been ascertained that there is some sort of ancient rift of sorts located on the site where the library now sits. The rift has likely been there for centuries and acts as some sort of pathway between our world and a demon world."

"So there are demons? ... In the library?" asked Morse
"Not presently, no" answered Reginald
"I wouldn't be so sure about that" Max interjected

"Well..." continued Reginald
"... there have been several incidents over the years with one or two beings coming into our world, but mostly nothing serious. But every twenty five years, it seems a more powerful demon make his presence known here. I experienced the last one five years after I arrived and started teaching here and it wasn't something I wish to repeat and I'm hoping I'm wrong, but I believe it may be about to happen again." he said with a resigned sigh and a worried look.

"Why every twenty five years? Is that significant?" asked Shirley
"We have no idea. We had to get experts in last time to chase the demon back through the rift and seal it. They suggested it may just be the longest amount of time a rift can be held shut? We don't know." said Reginald

"But you know something is starting again now?" asked Max
"Yes, precisely. The Dean, Nicholas Gaiman and I have been studying this in great detail and we believe that a major catastrophe can be averted... and we need your help" said Reginald, looking hopefully at his six newest students.

They all looked at one another. Shirley spoke up
"What can we do? Six students against a demon... and what if there's more than one? I'm not sure how that would work?" she queried.
"Yeah, it would need more than six of us with our college notepads and pens! Something like this needs magic, and powers..." said Peter

Reginald looked at each of his students then,
"Which ...other than your intelligence and suitability for your chosen courses here... is precisely why you have each been chosen." he explained
"Well, I don't have magic?" said Morse

"But you do have another unusual and rather useful ability?" said Reginald
"Oh yeah? What's that then? Being able to predict bin day?" Peter said with a chuckle
But his chuckle died in his throat when he turned back to Morse to find him... gone.

"What the? Morse?" Peter looked all around him, behind the sofa where he and Morse were sitting but there was nowhere Morse could have gone.
"Ok, neat trick Morse, you can come back in now!" he said

"But I haven't gone anywhere" said Morse, putting an arm around Peter
Peter jumped out of his seat when he heard Morse's voice and felt the arm across his shoulders.
"Aagghh Jesus! What the hell was that! Morse! What the bloody hell are you doing?" Peter exclaimed, clearly unnerved.

Morse reappeared then, on the sofa, right where he'd been all along.
Peter stared at him. So did all the others.
"I can make myself invisible" said Morse, in the same calm voice he'd have used if he were telling them that he knew how to drive.

"You what?..." said Peter,
"... you didn't think to tell me first?" he added
"Would you have believed me?" asked Morse
" Probably not... but then again, yeah, maybe?" said Peter, sitting back down next to Morse on the sofa, but still looking a bit on edge.

Fred spoke up then,
"So you chose us to attend here on account of our unusual skills and abilities?" he asked Reginald, who replied
"As I said, you got places on your chosen courses on merit and course related ability alone. You were chosen to share the accommodation in my house on Crieff Lane, due to you each possessing a unique and powerful ability that I hope, with you all working together, can deal with any demon incursion that this university may encounter during your time here." he explained

They all stared at him.
"Well, I for one am intrigued as to what we can all do... we know Morse can turn invisible..." began Fred
"What can you do then Fred?" asked Morse

"Well, I'm incredibly strong" Fred answered and walked round to the end of the long four seater sofa, where Morse, Peter and Max were sitting and lifted the end up effortlessly with one hand as evidence.
"Blimey..." said Peter, struggling and failing not to slide down into Morse and Max.
"...now that will come in handy when I'm drunk and need carrying home!" he grinned
"It's not a party trick, you can get a bloody taxi home like everyone else!" said Fred with a pointed look at Peter, but a smile crept across his face too.

"I have fire..." said Win
"Fire? Ooh, how does that work?" asked Shirley
Win held out her hand and a small flame appeared and grew right from her palm. It got larger and larger and with both hands, she rolled it into a ball of fire.
"I could throw this, but maybe not in here." she smiled, before rubbing her hands together and the flames disappeared.

"Wow! It's like we're opposites then!" said Shirley, before continuing,
"I have ice..." she said, looking around her.
Reginald knew she was looking for a prop of sorts and he left the room for a moment before returning and handing her a pyrex bowl of water.

"Thank you" she smiled as she took it from him.
They all watched as the water turned almost in an instant, to ice. As if to continue some sort of show, she handed the bowl to Win. The ice began to melt and in a matter of a few seconds, the water was boiling in the bowl, the bubbles rising up in the scalding water. Win held it until it had cooled down enough for Reginald to take it from her and return it to his kitchen.

"Well, that's quite the display" said Max with an impressed smile. He continued,
"Well, as you all know, I'm a surgeon, so if the need were to arise to stitch you back together from a demon inflicted injury, I would be happy to. And as for my unusual ability... I have a certain degree of magic" he said.

When Max made no further move to show anyone how his magic worked, Peter spoke up,
"So ...magic? You can do card tricks then?" he asked
"Oh really... Card tricks are not magic! They're an illusion... there's a big difference" Max explained to Peter with a sigh. He'd clearly had people make the same mistake too many times.

"Ok, so how does your magic work then?" asked Peter
"Well... " began Max, as he stood up and walked round the coffee table and over to a large wooden chest against the wall. He tried to open it, but it was locked.
"That's locked Max. I keep some valuable items in there." said Reginald.

Max placed his hand over the lock. Several clicks and clunks were heard and Max opened the lid of the chest.
"Very good... but how do we know that was locked in the first place?" asked Peter.

Max closed the lid and placed his hand over the lock again, reversing the process. Peter went over and tried the chest. It was locked again. Max repeated the unlocking and locking actions again with Peter checking the chest each time and nodding.
"Pretty good. Can you turn Morse into a rabbit?" he asked Max
"Hey! He better not!" exclaimed Morse
"Don't worry my dear fellow, my magic isn't transformative in that sense, it's more telekinetic when it comes to objects and people and I can alter some things, but only temporarily and not human beings" explained Max

The room went quiet then. There was one person who hadn't yet shared his ability with the others.
So, all eyes were now on Peter.

Peter looked around him. What would they say? How would they react to his ability?
"Come on lad, don't be shy" said Fred
"Erm... I can turn into a ...racoon" said Peter

Fred let out a hearty laugh,
"A racoon? Well, it's a neat trick, I'll give you that!" said Fred
Peter smiled and blushed slightly
"I'm not sure what help it would be fighting a demon though?" added Morse

So Peter showed them.
He blinked and changed. He sat there on the sofa, a racoon, all fluffy and furry and glanced around him.
"Awwwwe! You're so cute!" exclaimed Shirley.

She stood up for her chair and walked over to Peter and held her hand out to stroke him, but jumped off the sofa and he ran, over to Shirley's chair, where he sat down.
The movement from sofa to chair happened in the blink of an eye. That's when they all realised Peter had speed. When in his racoon form, he could run very, very fast.

"Oh, now that is handy!" said Fred with a smile, as Peter turned back in to a man and went and sat back down on the sofa.
Shirley was still blushing slightly at saying how cute Peter had been and she quickly returned to her chair.

"Well, now that's sorted, I think you can see how you will all be able to help us out here... if the worst does come to the worst" said Reginald with a hopeful smile
"I think it's rather a case of 'when' the worst comes to the worst, not if" said Max warily.

The six of them returned to their house a short time later, to discuss all they had discovered over the last couple of hours.
This was turning out to be rather an unexpected and interesting time at university for them all.

Chapter Text

Back at the house that evening, they all sat in the lounge, each with a freshly made cup of tea and a slice of Win's homemade cake.
"What are we all feeling right now then?" Fred spoke up

"Feeling? What?... about the fact that one moment we're all settling in to our new house and looking forward to a new term at university, then the next moment we've been told that we're expected to fight some demons?... I'd say I'm feeling a bit put out, unnerved and downright petrified!... if I actually believed in demons, of course... which, incidentally, I don't" answered Peter, with a somewhat smug grin, as he lifted the lit cigarette he was holding, back up to his mouth.

"May I suggest you start believing in them sooner rather than later? Because if you don't, you're going to be in for a nasty shock" Max gave Peter a pointed and somber look.
"You do believe in them then, I take it?" Peter replied

"In that library... there was an evil presence. Make no mistake, it was there. I couldn't tell if it was a demon, or some other creature... but it exists... and it will come through. Of that, I'm sure. So whether you believe in demons now or not, by the end of the month, I guarantee that you will." stated Max

Peter looked a bit taken aback by that. He looked scared. Fred spoke up then,
"Look, we've all come here from different backgrounds. We're all different ages, with different amounts of experience. If what Reginald has told us is true, then we're all going to be in for one hell of a bumpy ride here. But if we work together and stand by one another, then maybe we can fight this thing."

He looked all around him, to gauge everyone's reactions, before adding,
"But it goes without saying, that no one can force you into anything. If you stay here and if you chose to help take on these demons and creatures, then it has to be your choice. I for one won't think any the less of any of you that decide to go home." Fred looked around again

"I'm not sure either way to be honest. I'm twenty one now, and I've been used to having the power of ice since birth. My parents encouraged me to practice using it, and get a greater control over it... but I've only ever really used it at home, to make ice cubes for family parties, or to keep the shopping cold on the way home from the shops... I've never had to use it to fight anyone or to save anyone's life! I'm not sure how good I'd be at something like that. I don't want to let anyone down" said Shirley, with a worried look on her face

"You won't let anyone down Shirley. We can help you try a few different things with your ice... build your confidence up." Fred reassured her
Shirley smiled back then,
"I'm staying of course. I'm not going to leave and I'll do my best" she replied
"That's all anyone can ask" said Fred with a supportive smile

Win spoke up then,
"I'll be staying to help too, but I understand Shirley's trepidation. I've had the power of fire for fifty two years! I've certainly never used it against anyone. I've not used it much on the whole, really. Unless you count the various meals I've cooked over the years or my warming the cups of tea that have gone cold whilst I've been painting... I did throw a fireball once... but that was an accident and I was grounded for two months by my parents for that... they had to replace the garden shed which burned down." Win looked a bit sheepish at that.

Morse let out a chuckle at the thought of a young Win burning down the family shed.
"So do we have a plan?" asked Morse

"What kind of a plan can you have to fight something that you know nothing about?" replied Peter
"Well, for starters, maybe we need to stay in pairs or something when we go to the library?" suggested Morse
"What? Incase a nasty copy of Pride and Prejudice attacks you?" Peter chuckled

"Peter, I know you're sceptical of all this... but it wouldn't harm to stick together as Morse suggested. If you're right and this all turns out to be nothing, then no matter... but if it turns out to be real... which I can assure you it will... then sticking together, might just save your life!" said Max
Despite his thirty one years, Peter almost looked like a small boy then, who'd just been told off for stealing a biscuit from the jar.

"Look, I'm sorry alright? I just ...I guess I just don't want to believe any of this is real ok? I believed in monsters when I was little and the people who ran the place where I lived didn't exactly put much effort into telling me otherwise. I've had to spend the last twenty odd years of my life convincing myself they don't exist. So you and Reginald telling me now that they do... well I'm not sure I can handle that just yet." Peter trailed off with a sad look, tinged with fear.

"Peter dear..." began Win
"...it's ok to be scared. We all are. Fred's right though. You don't have to join us if you don't want to. But if you do, we'll all help each other. That's why Reginald chose all six of us, so we could work together." she added

Peter looked up at Win then. He gave her a small smile.
"I'm not going to run away, if that's what you're all thinking. I'm going to help you. I am!" He said it with conviction, almost as though he was trying to convince himself of his bravery as much as the others.

It didn't go unnoticed to Fred, how Morse didn't speak up about his experiences of invisibility. He wondered how Morse's family had dealt with that as he grew up and if he'd ever had cause to use it much when he was younger, or when he joined the army. He'd make a point of asking him when they had a few moments together.

The next couple of days passed quickly. They all made a point each evening after dinner, of meeting up in the lounge and discussing their abilities with each other. They'd practice what they could do, going out into the garden when Win and Peter showed off their skills though, as having fireballs and a hyperactive racoon in the lounge wasn't considered to be wise.

Morse practised going invisible and back again several times and they found that what ever he was touching with his bare skin when he went invisible, disappeared too.
"That explains why your clothes are invisible when you are then!" said Fred

"What about if you were holding hands with someone?" asked Shirley
"Erm, I don't know... I've never tried?" said Morse
"Never tried holding hands?" chuckled Peter
"Peter, leave him alone" scolded Win, sensing that Morse was feeling a bit overwhelmed by being at the centre of everyone's attention

"Sorry Morse" said Peter
"It's ok" replied Morse
"Go one then!" said Shirley. She'd walked over to Morse and took hold of his hand.
Morse looked up at her with wide eyes and began to blush.

"Erm, now?" he said
"Yes, silly. Go invisible and see how it affects me!" she smiled and gave him a nudge
Morse blinked and disappeared. And so did Shirley. His ability appeared to extend completely to her while he was holding her hand, as she and all her clothing disappeared. As soon as he let go, she re-appeared.
"Neat trick! Ha! Ok Morse, back you come lad" said Fred

Morse, seemed to have gained his confidence somewhat, as he reappeared right next to Peter and whispered right into his left ear,
"Boo"
"Ahhhhh Jesus! Morse!" Peter jumped and shouted out, much to everyone's amusement.

The weekend came... Saturday morning was bright and sunny. Fred was happy, as it meant he could get out into the garden for the day and tidy up some of the plants and weeds.
Reginald had given him the go ahead to take care of the garden while they lived there.

"This is great!" Fred said happily as he wandered round looking at the various plants and shrubs.
Morse followed him round, keeping his promise of helping Fred and wanting to learn more about gardening.
Fred patiently pointed out several different plants to Morse and explained their names and how to care for them.

"So, where you grew up then... Lincolnshire you said?" began Fred
"Mmmm" confirmed Morse
"Did you have a garden?" asked Fred
"Well, not much of one when I lived with Mum... but my Dad had quite a nice garden when I went to live with him." Morse explained

"Oh, I expect that's where your interest comes from then? Did your Dad let you help him out?" asked Fred with a smile
"No. I wanted to, but I never could" said Morse sadly

"Why ever not? I'd love it if my two would show just a bit of interest in gardening. They love sitting in it, but not tending to it!" said Fred with a smile and a shake of his head

"I didn't want to go and live with my Dad and Gwen... his wife" Morse added at Fred's questioning look.
"My Mum, she died when I was twelve. I had no choice but to go to live with my father. He didn't want me there anymore than I wanted to be there. Gwen wanted me there even less" said Morse sadly
"I'm sorry lad. That must have been horrible for you" said Fred
"Well, I got used to it I suppose" Morse answered, before turning away and walking back up the path and into the house.

Fred felt awful. They'd been having such a lovely time, going round the garden and he'd put his foot in it bringing up the lad's seemingly unhappy past.
Fred told himself he couldn't have known that Morse didn't have a happy childhood. Still, he felt bad for making the lad so sad on such a nice day.
He walked back up to the house and went to find out where Morse had gone, see if he couldn't cheer him up again and get him to come back outside.

When Morse had gone back into the house, he found Peter and Shirley in the lounge, there was some music playing on the record player... some sort of pop song or other. Not to Morse's taste at all, too busy and uneven for his liking. He much preferred the classical tones of Wagner, or the beautiful voice of Rosalind Calloway.

Morse had brought his own record player with him. He'd picked it up from a second hand shop a few weeks back, after he got out of the army. He'd found a few records in various shops to play on it.
He'd not had much chance to play it though. He'd had to move back into his father's house with Gwen for the last three months and she'd put her foot down at having any of that 'wailing noise' as she called it, in the house.

He went from the lounge into the kitchen, where he found Win, sorting through some vegetables and what not.
"Hello love. How's it going in the garden then?" she asked him
"Ok, thank you. I'm learning the plant names to start with and Fred's showing me what needs looking after and what weeds need pulling up." said Morse

"Oh that's good dear. I'm just sorting out what we'll need for dinner later. Max has gone to have another look at the University library with Reginald and he's going to phone when he leaves there, so he can pick a few things up from the shop on the way back." Win explained

"Oh. It really is lovely of you two to do all the cooking and your meals do taste wonderful" said Morse
"Well, we love cooking and it's good to hear you enjoy what we cook!" Win smiled happily.
Morse left the kitchen then after washing his hands and went up to his room.

Fred gave Win a grin as he walked into the kitchen a few moment later.
"Oooh, looking at this lot, it looks like we're in for a treat for dinner tonight love!" he smiled and gave Win a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, watch where you're putting your muddy hands!" Win giggled

Fred went to the sink and washed the mud off,
"Have you seen Morse?" he asked
"Yes, he was in here a moment ago. I think he's gone upstairs. Is everything alright?" asked Win

"I'm not sure. I mentioned his childhood. Asked about his Mum and Dad and whether they had a garden. He said His Mum died when he was twelve and he had to live with his Dad and his stepmum... Gwen. They didn't like Morse apparently. I think the whole conversation might have upset him. I'll just pop up and check he's ok" said Fred
"You do that. The poor lad. Fancy loosing your Mum so young and your Dad not wanting you" Win frowned sadly.
"Mmmm" said Fred as he wandered off upstairs.

Fred found Morse sitting on his bed. His door was open, so he gave a light tap on the door as he slowly walked in. Morse looked up and gave him a small smile.
"Sorry" he said
"What've you got to be sorry for?" Fred asked

"I should be outside helping you" answered Morse
"Only if you want to. Look, I'm sorry if I put my foot in it... you know... bringing up your Father like that... I didn't realise how he treats you." said Fred
"Treated me..." Morse began, getting a small frown from Fred,
"...He died. When I was sixteen. It was just me, Gwen and Joyce after that, until I turned eighteen and joined the army." said Morse, a small smile creeping across his face at the mention of Joyce.

Fred moved and sat down next to Morse on the bed.
"Joyce?" he asked
"Yes, she's my younger half sister. She's fourteen now. Joyce and I get on very well. She's lovely. My father, Cyril and my stepmother Gwen, are her parents. She was always their favourite. She was four when I had to go and live with them. I was just another mouth to feed." said Morse

"And they didn't let you do anything you enjoyed... like gardening, I take it?" asked Fred
"No. I tried. I wanted to help out. I wanted to be useful. But I couldn't seem to do anything right. Nothing I did was good enough. I managed to borrow some books here and there and read up on plants and music and languages... but even that was hard. I was never given any pocket money or anything like that, so I could never buy many books myself." said Morse

"I heard you playing some classical music in here earlier? Is that what you're into?" asked Fred
"Yes. Was it too loud?" Morse asked worriedly
"No, not at all. I quite liked it actually. Not sure who it was you had playing, but it was lovely." said Fred
Morse smiled at that.

"You listen to music when you lived with your father and Gwen?" asked Fred
"Sometimes. I had a small record player and three records. I had to wait until they'd all gone out though." said Morse

"That the record player?" asked Fred, pointing to the one in the room.
"No, I got that a few weeks ago. Gwen got rid of my other one when I left to join the army. She got rid of most of my things when I left. She wasn't expecting me to come back, I don't think. I had to go back and live with her these past three months, but we were both glad when I left again to come here." Morse explained

Fred frowned
"I've never met the woman, but already I've taken a serious dislike to her" he said
"Mmmm" answered Morse

"So, if you don't mind my asking, while we're already talking... What made you join the army before coming here? I seem to recall you saying you'd got a scholarship when you were eighteen?" asked Fred

"Oh, well... yes. My father gambled, he owed quite a lot of money when he died. I got a job straight from school at sixteen and was working to help pay off his debts after that. I couldn't have afforded to finish paying off his debts if I'd have come here at eighteen, so I had to get a full time paid job. The army seemed like a good solution as it meant I could pay the debts and get away from Gwen. I spoke to the university about my situation and they agreed to hold my scholarship offer for four years, until I left the army." explained Morse

"Gwen made you, a teenager, pay her husbands debts? What kind of a woman does that?" Fred exclaimed
"Well, she didn't work, so she couldn't pay them. If they didn't get paid, bailiffs would have come calling and Gwen would have lost the house. She and more importantly, Joyce would have been homeless. I couldn't let that happen." said Morse

"Well, maybe that Gwen woman should've pulled her socks up and got herself a job! Instead of piling all that financial responsibility onto you!" scowled Fred
"That was never going to happen. It was always up to me" said Morse
"You're too good for that family lad." said Fred

"So, what about you? You were in the Police?" asked Morse
"Yes, thirty years. Had good times and bad times, but it was worth every minute" answered Fred with a smile.
Morse frowned
"Why the frown? What's going on in that head of yours lad?" asked Fred

"How did you do thirty years in the Police? If you retired three years ago, that means you joined in 1935?" asked Morse
"Yes, when I was twenty two. Nothing wrong with your maths!" Fred chuckled
"How come you didn't end up in the army then? During world war two?" asked Morse

"Ah, I see. Well, I wanted to volunteer for national service, but I wasn't allowed." began Fred
"Why not? I thought everyone had to?" asked Morse
"Well, the government and the military had an agreement to limit the number of police officers allowed to join up. Otherwise, there'd have been no police left to keep the peace and what not, back home" explained Fred
"Oh, that makes sense" answered Morse with a nod.

They both went back out and spent another hour in the garden together then, until Win called them all into the dining room for lunch.

Chapter Text

Max had gone and met Reginald in St. Finnemore's library that Saturday morning. He'd been the only one who'd felt the tendrils of a presence when they'd all been there earlier in the week.
He'd spoken to Reginald and Nicholas a couple of times since then, to get more of an idea of what kind of magic was previously used to overpower the demons in the past.

As they both entered the large room, Max noticed it was devoid of any people.
"The staff don't work on weekends and with this being the last weekend before the start of term on Monday, I expect any students are out enjoying themselves." said Reginald, by way of explanation.
"Yes, quite." said Max as he walked slowly round the room. He stopped occasionally to listen and glanced around him from time to time as though he'd seen something only visible to him.

"What do you make of it all then?" asked Reginald
"Well, you've most certainly got more than just books in your library. That I can say" said Max in a tone a little more cheerful than Reginald expected.

"And can you hear what they're plotting? Are they going to come through?" Reginald asked
"Alas I can't hear what they're saying, nor can I tell you what they look like or what they're called..." began Max
"...I can only sense them at this time. My magic allows me to feel for certain types of energy. I can sense the rift is opening a little more each day. The energy I can sense today is stronger than that I felt the other day when we visited" explained Max

"Can you do anything with your magic to close the rift now?" asked Reginald
"I'm afraid not. But I expect if you and Mr Gaiman have had as much experience as you say you have and have studied as many books as you claim... then you already knew I couldn't?" said Max with a knowing look.

"Mmmm yes. But I didn't think it would hurt to ask. You are correct though. It seems that once a rift breaks, it cannot be stopped until it is fully open. Only then, once the creatures that have passed through, have been chased back in... can the rift then be re-sealed." Reginald said with a heavy heart.

"It would appear then, that we are on a path to the worst case scenario." said Max
"I certainly hope not!..." began Reginald
"...Surely the worst case scenario would be if the six of you can't overcome the demon and get him to go back?" he asked
"You have much faith in us my dear professor. I just hope your faith is justified" Max mused as they both turned and walked out of the library.

Neither of them looked back as they left... if they had, they would have seen a small wisp of black smoke coming from the corner of the farthest bookshelf. Smoke, not from a fire in the library, but from a fire on the other side of the rift...

Max arrived back at the house about half an hour later, having stopped off on the way back at the local grocery store with a list that Win had dictated to him over the phone.
Shirley opened the front door to him, having seen him walk up the path.
"Thank you dear, I was wondering how I was going to get my keys from my pocket to the lock with my hands full" Max quipped…
He took the shopping through into the kitchen and he and Win set about sorting through it and putting it all in its right places.

"You did well carrying all these vegetables... they weigh so heavy and with all those potatoes!" said Win
"Well, they'll keep for a good few days, so I thought I'd get a few extra. I'll take your husband with me next time though. He can carry the heavy bags!" Max smiled
"That's a good idea. I'll let him know!" chuckled Win

Peter and Shirley had been relaxing in the lounge together, listening to some of Shirley's records that she'd brought with her.
"I don't know... I mean I like to think I'm down with the kids and all, but I'm not sure about this one? It's a bit... of a noise!" Peter laughed and Shirley playfully smacked his arm and replied
"Well, I suppose you are a bit old for this type of music!" she teased

"Hey! Less of the old! I'm thirty one!" he protested
"Exactly! You're ten years older than me! You're bound to have some different music tastes if you grew up in a different decade" she suggested
"Mmm, maybe" agreed Peter

"So, what made you want to study criminal law and join the Police then?" asked Peter, when a slightly calmer song came on.
"I'm not sure really. I just want to do something different, you know? Not every young woman dreams of becoming a secretary!" she laughed

"Do young women dream of becoming secretaries then? I'd have thought that was just something they had to do while they dreamed of becoming a model!" asked Peter with a laugh
"I suppose not. Not every woman wants to be a model either, you know! I just want to do something worthwhile. And as worthwhile as some mundane jobs are, I love the idea of becoming a Policewoman" said Shirley with a definitive nod.

"Well, good for you! Hey, you never know... if you apply to Thames Valley, we might end up working together one day." said Peter
"Well, I'm from Oxford originally, so who knows? I just might!" said Shirley
"You're originally from Oxford? Where do you live now then... apart from here in this house?" asked Peter
"Oh, I live with my Mum and Dad in Banbury, we moved there about four years ago now" Shirley explained

Max and Win came in and joined them a few minutes later with a large tray of cakes and a pot of tea. Win went to the window,
"Fred! Morse! Cup of tea!" she called out
Fred waved to her from down the garden and he and Morse came into the house. They took their muddy shoes off in the utility room and washed their hands, before joining everyone else in the lounge.

"Well, I should keep you all posted..." Max began
"... I've been to meet Reginald this morning and had another look see round the old library." he explained
"Oh yeah? Did you manage to cast a spell over the demons then? Is it all over?" asked Peter

Max was going to bite back and tell him to take it seriously, but the look on Peter's face made Max realise how much this all scared him. He surmised that Peter was making jokes to mask his fear, so he just continued to tell them about what he'd discovered.

"There is a rift... it's rather on the small side at the moment, but it's grown since we arrived. It's getting worse each day and the energy I can feel coming through it is gathering in size..." Max looked grim, but added,
"...I can't say if there will be one powerful demon... or several. I don't know when the rift will be big enough for any creatures to pass through... but at the rate the energy is increasing, I doubt it will be long... two, three weeks at the very most, before we are called upon, to do what we have been asked."

Everyone sat there... what could they say? This was real. It was going to happen and any hopes that this tiny rift would disappear... were gone.
Win dished the cake out and poured everyone some tea.
"I think the most important thing is that we all communicate regularly. Anything we see or hear, we need to let everyone else know." said Win

"Would it help for us to spend some more time in the library tomorrow? Maybe all go there together, so we can see if the rest of us can sense anything?" asked Morse, looking towards Max
"Well, I don't see why not? It can't hurt" said Max

The next morning, they sat down for an early breakfast at eight o'clock. They wanted to get to the library early and have a look around. They got there just before nine.
Max immediately frowned.
"Something's changed" he said
"Like what?" asked Peter

Max walked over to the far corner and sniffed,
"Can you smell that?" he asked the others
"Smell what?" said Peter as he walked over to Max.
As Peter got closer, he breathed in and said,
"Smoke? It's smoke! There must be a fire in here!" he sounded slightly panicked

"Not in here Peter... look around you. There is nothing burning in here" said Max
Peter looked around him, as did the others who could all now smell the smoke.
"Are you going to explain why we can all smell smoke when there's no fire?..." began Peter
"...because the saying 'there's no smoke without fire' exists for a reason" he added.

"Ah, but there is a fire. Just not in this library. There is a fire on the other side of the rift and as it gets wider, things begin to come through. Six days ago, there was only enough room for energy to pass through. Now, there is enough room for smoke and the like to get through, it seems" explained Max

"But as it widens, bigger things will start to appear?" said Morse
"Exactly, my dear fellow. It would be wise for us to check here every day for the time being, we need to know how fast it's growing." said Max

They were all glad to get back out into the quadrant a short time later, out into the sunlight. Out here, they could almost kid themselves, that they were just six ordinary students, about to start their new term.

After dinner that evening, they all sat in the lounge and there was a sombre mood in the room.
"Well, I think maybe we should all concentrate on our lectures and studies this week..." began Win, trying to lighten the mood
"...we'll all have to go and pick up our course calendars tomorrow morning and see when we'll be studying and in what rooms." she said with a smile

"Oh yes, I'm looking forward to that. I think we get to meet our professors this week too!" said Shirley happily
"I just hope I don't have to spend too much time in the library" said Peter

"Well, if you do, you tell one of us and we'll go with you lad" said Fred
"You want me to ask you to go to the library with me? I can just imagine how my classmates are going to react to that!.. especially with me being a Policeman!" Peter shook his head

"You just have to let us know when you're going to be in there and we'll plan to be in there at the same time. You don't have to tell your friends that you're scared if you don't want to" said Fred
"I suppose not" agreed Peter

They all slept relatively well that night and after breakfast the next morning, they set off to the campus.
It was a hive of activity. There were students everywhere, rushing around, trying to find where they should be. Most were clutching little maps that the University sent out before the start of term. They showed a basic layout of all the buildings and rooms.
They'd started sending the maps out about five years previously, after there being so many cases of people being late to lectures and such in the first couple of weeks. Now, it seemed that everyone was able to find their way around from the beginning and everyone settled in far quicker than before.

They all went into the main hall, where there were tables all round the room with subject names hanging over them.
They all separated and went to join the queue by their respective subjects and waited patiently to find out which professors they would be taught by and what in rooms and what times there lessons would be.
They then moved on down the hall to other tables which advertised various clubs and societies that could be joined, from debating, to music, to the local University paper... The Finnemore Times.

Morse and Fred joined the University choir. Morse gave a look of surprise to Fred as he joined him in the queue.
"I've been told I've got quite the voice. I only usually get chance to sing in the bath, so it'll be nice to air the old voice box out" said Fred happily.

Win joined an art and sculpture group that would be making regular visits to local galleries and art studios, where they could gain extra knowledge from local artists.

Shirley joined a law debating society, which takes old cases and re-visits them and then debates on how they were dealt with and whether they believe the final court verdicts to be sound.
"You'll give yourself a sickening of all this crime and law before you get anywhere near a Police station!" teased Peter with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to learn as much as I can before my enthusiasm wears off" Shirley replied with a smile and took great pleasure teasing Peter, when she saw that he'd joined the poetry society.
"Well, I am seeing a new side to you!" she said, playfully nudging his arm
"I like poetry. It helps me Relax after chasing criminals all day" he laughed in reply.
Peter was joined by Max and Morse in the poetry queue too, with them both having a love for it also.

All in all it had been a very good day and they all went back to their house feeling quite excited about everything.
They'd all met their lecturers. Fred was going to be taught by Reginald, which was good, as they could keep each other posted on the more unusual goings on.

"Well, I'm being taught by a lovely lady called Dorothea Frazil. She's also the editor of the university newspaper." said Win, before adding,
"They're taking on new students... if any of you fancy yourselves as writers" she said with a smile
"Ooh, that sounds fun! Are you going to apply?" asked Shirley
"I just might! You could join me if you like?" said Win
"Yes, ok. I'll give it a go." smiled Shirley

"We're going to have to watch what we do round here then chaps... now that we've got two reporters in our midst... who knows what they'll write about us!" laughed Peter.
"Well, that depends entirely on what you get up to young man!..." laughed Win
"...And in my admittedly limited experience, Racoons tend to be extremely mischievous creatures." added Win with a raised eyebrow
"Hey! I'm a very well behaved racoon!" protested Peter
"Of course you are" laughed Morse

"So who did you get as your lecturer then Peter?" asked Fred
"Some bloke called James Strange. I didn't get to meet him though, but the person I did speak to, said he's alright and a nice guy" answered Peter

"That's good..." said Fred, before adding,
"...how about everyone else?"
"Well, my lecturer is called Albert Getty, seems to be a very likeable chap. He's quite the philatelist it seems." said Max happily
"Blimey! I'd say that's his business. I'm not sure he should be so forward with you on your first meeting Max!" exclaimed Peter

Max gave him a look and spoke,
"Really Peter? I take it your not of the same ilk then? I'm sure he'd show you what he's got if you ask him?" said Max with some amusement
"Jesus! Whatever he's got, I don't want to know!" said Peter

"Well, he told me he's got quite the collection of rare stamps apparently" said Max, with a look of amusement on his face.
"Stamps?" queried Peter
"Well, yes. That is what a philatelist collects after all." smiled Max
"I knew that!" said Jakes, staring to blush
"Don't worry, Peter..." began Shirley
"...I didn't know what it meant either" she smiled
Peter smiled back

Shirley continued,
"Well, I've got John Trueman as my lecturer. He's got a couple of puppies apparently." Shirley smiled
"Please tell me he hasn't offered to show them to you?" laughed Jakes
"He has actually" smiled Shirley

"You be careful Shirley, that's the oldest trick in the book." added Fred
"Oldest trick for what?" asked Shirley innocently
Fred answered her,
"You'll learn soon enough, when you join the Police, that unfortunately, a lot of people aren't very nice and have ulterior motives. He might be a lovely university don with two puppies, that he genuinely wants to show you... Or he might be using them just as an excuse to get you alone in his flat..." Fred noted the shocked look on Shirley's face before adding,
"...Look, best be on the safe side to begin with ok? So, if you do go and see his puppies, take one of us with you." he finished, with a serious look.

"Yeah, Fred's right. We had a bloke about two years ago now, he was inviting young women round to his house to show them some kittens... We only found out about it when the four women he'd invited round were reported missing, one by one. We got lucky, as one of the women had left his address in her room. When we went round, we found all four women tied up in his cellar." said Peter
"Oh my god!" gasped Win
Shirley was looking quite pale by now
"Yeah... and there never were any kittens. He made that up, just to get them to visit him" added Peter

"Shirley..." Fred began, not wanting Shirley to be too scared to even go to her lectures,
"...I'm sure John Trueman is a lovely, respectable honest man and I'm sure he has got puppies. Don't go worrying over this. We just want you to be careful, alright!" Fred gave her a reassuring smile
"Alright" said Shirley, relaxing somewhat at his words

"Well, what a happy little conversation this has turned out to be!" said Max, looking around the room at everyone's sombre looks, before adding,
"So, Morse. Who've you got? No one with puppies I hope!" he asked with a smirk.

"I don't know?" said Morse
"You don't know? Didn't you check your course details?" asked Fred
"What? why would that be on there?" said Morse, looking somewhat bemused

"I think poor Morse may have his wires crossed..." said Max,
"... do you know who your tutor is?" he added
"Oh yes! It's Paul Simpson" said Morse
Max then added,
"But as you've already pointed out, Mr Simpson's pets aren't listed in your course details?" he chuckled
Fred laughed then,
"Bloody hell Morse! What are you like?" he smiled

Morse was getting a lecturer called Paul Simpson, a quiet man in his fifties, who lived in one of the smaller apartments on campus. He'd been teaching the university for ten years.
"I'm not sure I like him" said Morse..
"Not sure you like who?" asked Fred
"Mr Simpson. I suppose he just seems a bit... well, not very charismatic" said Morse
Fred let out a laugh at that,
"Oh lad, you do make me smile! I'm sure he'll be fine!" Fred assured him.

Chapter Text

Tuesday was everyone's first day attending their first various lectures. Fred's class had ten students in total, which was nice. Fred thought back to the much larger classes he'd had when he was a schoolboy. This was much better, it was much easier to follow what Reginald was saying and get into discussions and the like.
Fred could tell already, that he was going to like it here.

Peter attended his first psychology class that morning too. He and his nineteen classmates were all sitting in the study room when their professor, James Strange walked in.
"Hello everyone..." he began, smiling at them all
"...right, so you're all here to learn about what makes us tick and why we do the things we do. So, let's start with the basics... please, while we're in class... call me Jim. James is just too stuck up for my liking." he laughed, before adding,
"...are any of you called James?" he looked around

One lad put his arm up,
"I am... but I'm with you there Jim! I go by Jimmy" he grinned
"Thank goodness for that! Don't want to upset anyone before I start my first lesson!" Jim chuckled.
The rest of the lesson passed quickly. Peter found Jim to be a funny, likeable guy. He seemed to know his stuff too. 'Yeah, this is going to be alright here' thought Peter to himself.

The other four had all round good experiences in their first lessons too. Shirley didn't get invited to see John's puppies again that day, much to her relief. He did seem like a genuinely nice man, but everything Fred and Peter had said the day before, did make her a little wary.

Max enjoyed his first lesson no end. Albeit a bit basic for a fully trained surgeon such as himself. As the course began with anatomy and as Max put it 'which bits go where and which bits are connected to the other bits'.

Max found himself getting on rather well with Albert. Because, as it turned out... having a fully trained and very knowledgeable surgeon in his class made Albert's life so much easier. It was one less student to gave to watch over in the first few weeks and he was happy for Max to help out his classmates when they got stuck with something... cutting down on Albert's workload.

"Well, Max..." began Albert after their first lesson
"...It's a first! Having someone in my class who knows more than me!" he chuckled
"Only to begin with, I imagine. My knowledge of forensics and pathology with regards to Police investigations could do with a bit if work." Max smiled back
"Well, that's why you're here my dear fellow." Albert clapped his hand on Max's shoulder and left the room with a smile.

Win had a great time in her first class. Dorothea was a really good laugh, it turned out. She had a great sense of humour and being only two years younger than Win herself, they grew up in the same era and were on the same wavelength. Dorothea called Win back at the end of the lesson,
"Do you have a minute Win?" she asked

"Yes, I've got a free study period next, so I'm free now" Win replied
"Well, in that case... would you like to come and see the newspaper offices? I could show you round and you could get a feel for it all and see if you fancy coming on board?" asked Dorothea hopefully
"Oh, yes! I'd like that" said Win

Morse had gone to his first lesson with excitement. This was the moment that he felt like was finally free. He'd finally got to University.
Although he'd been awarded the scholarship four years ago and he'd been in and around the place for a week now, it was this moment, when he walked into his first lesson, that he really felt it... he was here... all the put downs from Gwen... 'what do you want to go to university for?' and 'what's the point? you'll never make anything of yourself' ...and all the delays she had caused making him pay his father's debts ...that was all behind him now. Now he was in charge of everything he did... what he did, when he did it and how he did it... and it felt wonderful.

Morse's tutor, Paul Simpson, was, as it turned out, more 'charismatic' than Morse had first thought. He seemed to genuinely enjoy the subject he was teaching and that showed as he enthusiastically told the eleven students in his class, what they could expect over the coming months.
Morse came away from his lesson feeling happy for the first time in a long time. In fact, as he thought about it, it was probably the first time he'd felt really, truly happy, since he was twelve.

Win and Dorothea arrived in the newspaper offices. There were already three students in there. One was tapping away at a typewriter in the corner, a young man in his early twenties,
"That's George Fancy... he wants to join the police." explained Dorothea
"...He's a third year student studying journalism and literature." she added, before continuing in more of a whisper,
"...how that's going to help him become a Policeman, I have no idea?" Dorothea smiled

George waved at Win and smiled, before turning back to his work.
"Well, I imagine investigating stories and finding evidence and recording details is a bit like police work?" suggested Win
"Yes... I suppose it is!" Agreed Dorothea

She introduced the other two students in the office.
The first was Joss Bixby, a man in his early twenties who was studying drama and was in charge of reporting on the various goings on in the extra curriculum societies and groups.

The second was a woman in her late twenties called Sarah Green, who was just beginning her final year of an accountancy degree. She was in charge of the accounts and expenses concerning the newspaper and she also wrote a column giving the students tips on how to save money.

Joss and Sarah also both gave Win a wave as Dorothea continued to show her around.
"We need a couple more writers. People who are good at talking to people. Who can root out interesting stories of things happening in the university..." she gave Win a pointed and hopeful look.
"Well, I'm certainly interested in giving it a go..." began Win
"...and I might know someone else who is interested too, but I'd need to double check with her before I volunteer her." she added
"Oh, that would be great! Let me know." said Dorothea, smiling as she showed Win out.

The six housemates all met up in the dining hall for lunch. They sat at a table at the end of the hall and discussed how their respective mornings had gone.
Win told Shirley about her meeting with Dorothea.
"Oh, I'll pop into the news offices this afternoon and let her know I'd like to join." said Shirley, happily.

"What does everyone else have planned this afternoon then?" asked Max
"Well, I've been given a lot of study packs to work through, I need to have completed at least one of them before my next lesson, tomorrow afternoon. I think I'm going to need to concentrate on that" said Morse

"Will you be needing to go to the library?" asked Max
"I suppose so. I'll need to check some information in a few books, so I'll need to go there after lunch." said Morse
"Well, how about I accompany you? We could have a listen and a sniff" said Max

"A sniff? You're going to start sniffing things today? There'll be lots of other people in there... won't that seem a bit... I don't know... odd?" said Morse with an amused look
"Well, it will be more like me breathing in quietly in certain parts of the library... we don't want to cause panic, after all." replied Max
"Ok, let's go and breathe together in the library then!" said Morse, letting out a chuckle as he followed Max from the room.

Peter ran after them as they left,
"Hey, Morse! Max! Wait up!" he called to them.
They both stopped and turned and waited for Peter to catch them up.
"What's the matter?" asked Morse

"Oh, nothing. I just realised I need to get a couple of books from the library for my course, so I thought, being as you were going there anyway, I might as well join you." Peter explained
"Yes, of course" said Max
He and Morse knew how much all this talk of monsters and demons was getting to Peter, so they were happy to help him out by going to the library together, if it made him feel safer and less uneasy.

When the three of them walked into the library, it was a whole lot busier than on the previous days they had been there. All the courses had begun and students were scouring the bookshelves for works and information to help with their studies.
It would likely calm down again after a few days, when the initial rush had subsided.
They split up, Morse going to the classics section to get the books he needed and Peter going to the psychology section. Max just wandered around, trying to blend in. He didn't have a need to read any books on anatomy, so was concentrating his efforts on trying to gauge any goings on within the rift.

Peter and Morse, when they'd collected their books, sat together at a table near the far end window and began to make notes on the things they needed to read up on.
"It just all seems so... normal" said Peter, after a time. Speaking quietly, so only Morse could hear him and no one else would be disturbed.
"What does?" asked Morse
"This library" said Peter

"Well, it's a normal university library? How's it supposed to feel?" queried Morse
"You know exactly what I mean... no one is batting an eyelid at anything." said Peter
"Well, that's because they're not sensing anything is happening. It seems so far, only Max can do that" answered Morse

"But what about the smoke? We all smelt that on Sunday?" said Peter
"Well, Max said it was coming from a fire on the other side of the rift? Maybe the fire's not burning today?" suggested Morse
"Well, maybe. But how are we supposed to tell what's happening if we can't even smell the smoke anymore?" asked Peter

"Maybe it's just as well? The last thing we need is panic. If we could still smell smoke, the library would likely be evacuated and they'd call the fire brigade... that would make the Oxford Mail and everyone would be talking about it. It's best we keep this quiet." said Morse

"Oh, you think we'll be able to keep it quiet when demons and the like start running all over the campus?" asked Peter
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we need to keep this to ourselves" said Morse

Max came over and joined them a short while later.
"How's the studying going then? Are your brains soaking up everything you need?" asked Max
"Mine's not. I can't concentrate in here" said Peter
"I think we'll be better off taking the books back to the house and studying there." said Morse, sensing Peter's growing unease.
"Good idea" agreed Peter.
They all left and went back outside

"So? Anything?" said Morse to Max as they crossed the quadrant
"Nothing visible, as I'm sure you're aware..." Max frowned, then added
"...In fact, nothing at all" he replied with a concerned look
"Nothing at all? What like, you mean the rift's closed itself?" asked Peter hopefully

"No, I'm afraid I don't mean that. The rift is still open. I can sense a void... an area of nothing. It's hard to explain. But whereas up to now, I've been able to feel energy, coming through the rift, now I can just sense the rift itself." said Max

"And that means...?" asked Morse
"Well, the best way I can explain it is like, there was some sort of being or entity near to or 'looking through' the rift before. Now there isn't. Like that window. up there..." Max pointed to a large nearby window.
"...The window is always there. Sometimes you can see people looking through it. Sometimes the window is empty." explained Max

"Can you still tell how much the rift is growing, if you can't sense anyone's energy?" asked Morse
"Not as easily. I'll come back here tonight, when there is no one else here." said Max
"You can't come back here on your own!" said Peter, slight panic showing through
"I'm sure one of our group will come with me. But, if not, it will be fine. I doubt if anything dangerous could fit through yet anyway" said Max
"And you'd chance that you're gut feeling is spot on, would you?" asked Peter
"Hopefully, I won't need to chance anything" said Max

Peter, Max and Morse headed back to their house that afternoon and Max set about preparing the ingredients for the evening meal, to save Win a job later, while Morse and Peter went and sat in the dining room and studied.

The others, Fred, Shirley and Win all stayed on campus for the rest of the day. Shirley and Win spent the afternoon with Dorothea and discussed their new roles with the newspaper, having both agreed to join.
Fred spent some time with Reginald, as they both had a spare hour, so they went up to Reginald's apartment and chatted over coffee.

"So... a Policeman, hmmm?" Reginald began
"Yes, that's right. Thirty years" answered Fred
"I bet you have some stories." smiled Reginald
"Oh, that I do. But a lot of them are ones I don't want to remember." said Fred
"Mmmm, quite. I expect you've seen some pretty horrible things in your time?" asked Reginald

"Yes, I have. I know what you're thinking" said Fred
"Oh? How's that then?" asked Reginald
"You're thinking, if I've dealt with all the horrors and lowlives a thirty year stint in the Police can throw at me... I can handle whatever comes through that rift." suggested Fred

"Well, there's a thought... but I can't imagine anything that you've dealt with in the past, will prepare you for what's going to come through there." Reginald sighed sadly
"You've seen it before? What can we expect? And don't play it down... we're in this now, so we need to know" Fred stated seriously

"Twenty five years ago, there were things, small issues, damage caused, small creatures, I can't rightly say what they were... but students got hurt. Some quite badly. But then the demon appeared. One night, it was. I was woken up by a roaring sound... we had to evacuate the campus." Reginald recounted what he remembered.

"Did it get out into the city?" asked Fred
"That's the odd thing... if I remember correctly, it never tried to leave the campus. It just went from room to room, attacking everyone and everything in its path. Funny though, when we'd evacuated everyone... the demon seemed to settle." said Reginald
"Like it had won?" asked Fred

Reginald looked at Fred then with surprise,
"Yes! That's exactly it... like it had won." he said
"So we could evacuate now? Before anything happens and just chase the demon back in when it comes through?" suggested Fred
"I understand that Max thinks we have two or three weeks, but it could just as easily be two months. We can't lose that much term time, it just can't be done" explained Reginald

So, that had been decided then. The university wouldn't close, or evacuate any of its students or staff until it became absolutely necessary. It would be up to the six housemates to try... somehow... to contain whatever the rift threw at them, without putting anyone else in danger.

"Oh, that's no problem then! Maybe we can just ask this demon if he fancies a nice cup of tea and talk it through with him? Ask him if he wouldn't mind going home and not causing absolute carnage this time around?" asked Peter.
He was clearly upset and had been getting more and more panicked as the days had passed.

Chapter Text

It had been a week now since the start of term. They'd all been to the library twice each day. It seemed, weirdly that during the day, when the library was bustling with people, there was very little or no activity from the rift.
But at night, when the library was empty... it was a different story. There seemed to be more energy each night when they visited, but nothing visible, that anyone other than Max could sense.

Tonight, Max was going there with Fred. It was just past midnight.

Peter had commented as the two of them were about to leave the house.
"Why on earth would any sane person choose to go to a library with demons and creatures, just after midnight?" he asked

"Are you questioning our sanity Peter?" said Fred with a raised eyebrow
"No... I just erm... I just meant that there must be better times of day that you could have picked to go there? I mean it's no accident that all the best horror movies have people getting mauled to death by horrific ghostly apparitions at midnight!" Peter's voice was getting higher in pitch now and he was clearly worried for his friends.

"Peter, my dear fellow. It will be quite alright. The rift isn't large enough yet, for anyone or anything to get through that could cause us any lasting harm" Max assured him

Fred glanced at Max then,
"Any ...lasting... harm?" he queried
"Yes" replied Max
"But harm of the 'none lasting' kind...?" asked Fred

"Well, that won't last will it? We'll be fine." smiled Max
"Coming from someone with magic! I've just got strength... which, I might add, won't help me against something made of energy that I can't grab hold of!" Fred exclaimed, now beginning to question their decision to go.

"Oh finally! You're seeing sense!" said Peter, somewhat relieved, until Max spoke up again,
"We need to go! We can't just back out at every uneasy feeling we get! We have to confront this head on, while it's still weak" argued Max, then adding,
"In fact, this would be the perfect time for you to come with us Peter"

"What?!" squeaked Peter
"Well, yes, you'll be perfectly safe tonight with Fred and I. I think you should join us. It will boost your confidence no end!" nodded Max
Max and Fred both looked at Peter, who already looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Moments of strained silence passed, before Peter quietly spoke,
"Ok" was all he said, as he followed his two now smiling friends out of the house.

The campus was eerily quiet. All the students and staff tucked up in their beds, happily oblivious to the three shadowy figures, making their way across the quadrant.
Fred slowly opened the large oak library door and they stepped inside, closing the door behind them.

Almost as soon as they'd closed the door, they felt what could only be described as a howling wind, blowing towards them.
Peter shouted out and grabbed at the door, so they could leave, only to find that the door wouldn't open.
"It's stuck!" he shouted, over the noise of the wind.

Max began to make his way forwards, towards the far corner of the room, towards where they'd smelt the smoke coming through a week previously. It was hard going against the wind, but he was making progress.
"Max! What the bloody hell are you doing?" shouted Peter.

Fred and Peter followed him. Fred making much better progress, due to his strength and dragging Peter with him by his arm.
The noise of the wind was almost unbearable now, as how they imagined being caught up in a hurricane would be.

Suddenly, the wind changed direction and from struggling to walk into the wind, towards the rift... Max began to be pulled towards it. He was now trying to hold himself back.
Max reached out for a railing, that ran along between the rows of bookshelves and a line of tables, but slipped and missed. He was being pulled directly towards the rift now... his shoes were sliding on the freshly polished library floor.

"Max!" shouted Fred.
Fred was still holding onto Peter and pushed him behind the librarians desk, where he could brace himself and stay put. He then walked towards Max, reaching out and grabbing his arm when he got close enough, before grabbing the railing with his other hand.

Fred pulled Max back towards him and no sooner had he done so, the wind stopped and the library was silent and still once again.
"What the bloody hell was that?" shouted Peter, his voice loud and booming in the now peaceful room.
"It was quite the storm!" answered Max with a slightly nervous chuckle

"It tried to pull you in!" said Fred
"Yes, it did. I expect it was testing us, to see how easy it will be when the rift opens fully" explained Max
"How easy it will be?... to do what?" asked Peter
"To drag us all through to their side presumably" answered Max
"And then what?" said Peter
"Then, my dear fellow... I have no idea" Max said

They stayed in the library for another hour, much to Peter's dismay. But there was no way he was going to leave without them, on his own, so he stayed.
Nothing else happened after that though and by half past one in the morning, they were all back at the house, safe and sound.

"How did it go love?" Win asked Fred as they walked through the front door.
"Well..." began Fred, before Peter interrupted him,
"...bloody petrifying! We're lucky to be alive! That thing nearly ate Max whole! If it wasn't for Fred, we wouldn't have made it out of there!" he spoke, ten to the dozen in a panicked voice.

Win gasped and put her hands up to her mouth,
"Oh Fred!" she exclaimed, before Max tried to give a more sedate account of what had actually happened.

"The rift created some sort of vortex. It was like being in a hurricane of sorts and it pulled Peter and I towards the rift. Fred's strength meant that he could stand his ground and stop us getting pulled forwards. As soon as it realised that Fred was stronger that it, the vortex vanished as quickly as it had started" explained Max

"But you would have been pulled through though?... if Fred hadn't been strong enough to hold you back?" asked Shirley
"Well, I doubt the rift is big enough for any of us to pass through as yet, but I imagine, if I'd have got close enough... I may have had to part company with one or two of my body parts" said Max

"Oh god" Morse spoke up for the first time, since their return. He looked rather pale at the thought of Max getting separated from parts of his body.
"Well, we're all safe and back home now. That's what counts" said Max with a small smile
"Do you think we might be underestimating this?" said Morse
"Most likely... but we've got nothing to compare it with have we?" answered Max, quite matter-of-factly.

They all made their way to bed a short time after that. Peter and Fred not sleeping as well as the others... both unnerved by what they'd experienced.
Max was a little taken aback by the sudden turn of events, not having been expecting such incidents for a time yet. But he had magic and he'd seen quite a few unusual things in his time, so this surprised him, that was true, but it neither shocked nor scared him.

The next few days passed without any further incident. Max took Fred with him every night to the library, after the incident with the vortex, as they were now calling it. The others took turns in going along as well, but things had definitely calmed down since that night.

"So...?" said Win to Shirley with a knowing smile
"...When's he taking you out then?" she asked over a cup of tea on Saturday morning.
Shirley looked up, surprised
"Who?" she asked, looking as innocent as she could.

Peter, who was sitting in a nearby armchair, chuckled,
"It's not your man with the puppies is it?" he laughed
"Peter!" scolded Win
"No, Peter. It's someone who works on the university paper... he's called George Fancy" answered Shirley

"And do you?" asked Peter
"Do I what?" said Shirley
"Do you... fancy George Fancy?" grinned Peter, having clearly amused himself with his choice of words
"Maybe...? A little bit." smiled Shirley

"Has he got any pets?" asked Peter
"He didn't mention any" said Shirley
"Well that's a step up from creepy 'come and see my puppies man' then!" Peter smirked
"Stop it Peter! George is a lovely boy. I've met him and he's really sweet" said Win.
"I'm sure he is. Good for you Shirley" said Peter with a genuine smile this time.

"What's all this then? Someone got themselves a date then?" asked Fred as he wandered into the room, clearly having heard some of the previous conversation.
"Yes, I have. Tonight actually." answered Shirley with a smile
"You want me to go with you, until you're sure he's genuine and really does have puppies?" asked Fred with a smile
"Not you too! It's not my professor! It's a lad called George, from the university newspaper" answered Shirley with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh! Well, that's good then! You two have a nice time" Fred answered

Morse walked into the room a little while later,
"Are we gardening today?" he asked Fred
"Can do? I've got a fair bit of study to do before Monday, but nothing that I can't put off for an hour if your green fingers are getting restless" Fred smiled back
"Yes, I'd like that... if you're sure? I've got some studying to do too, once a
we've done a bit out there." answered Morse
The two of them wandered out into the garden then and didn't actually come back in for nearly three hours.

"So, do you have much contact with your sister then? Joyce did you say?" asked Fred, while he and Morse were weeding a bed halfway down the garden.
"Well, I saw quite a lot of her in the three months I moved back in, before I came here. We wrote to each other while I was in the army too, that was nice to hear from her." Morse looked sad as he spoke,

"Sorry lad, I didn't mean to upset you again." said Fred
'No, you haven't. It's just... at first, well, I was replying all to Joyce's letters... but then, after about four months, she asked me in one letter... why I never wrote back..." said Morse sadly
"What? I thought you said you replied to her?" asked Fred.

"I did... every two weeks, she'd write to me... put it in an envelope and address it. Then Gwen would give her a stamp and Joyce would take it to the post box. I'd always write back... but Joyce never got my letters" said Morse
"So, what happened? Where were your letters getting to?" asked Fred, already suspecting the answer.

"I had no idea. So I contacted the local post office and they spoke to the postman. He said he remembered delivering my letters to our house. He remembers the postmark on them. It turned out that Gwen was getting rid of my letters, to make Joyce think I didn't care about her anymore... to turn her against me". A single tear escaped Morse's left eye and made its way down his cheek.

"Oh lad...." Fred put a hand on Morse's shoulder to comfort him, before adding,
"...That bloody woman! I've a good mind to drive over to her house right now and give her a piece of my mind!" Fred snarled
Morse managed a little smile at that.
"I'd like to see her face if you did" said Morse

"So, what did you do after you found out?" asked Fred
"I arranged with the Post office, for them to hold on to my letters to Joyce. When Joyce went and posted her letters to me after that, she'd pick up my letters from the post office in the village. She hated her Mum for that. I don't think she's ever forgiven her." said Morse
"And so she bloody shouldn't! Fancy keeping letters from her own brother! To turn her against you! It makes your blood boil." said Fred, attacking the weeds with a little more force that was really necessary.

The more Fred found out about Morse's life with his father and Gwen, the more protective Fred felt over him. Heaven help Gwen, if she should ever have the misfortune to come face to face with Fred Thursday.

Chapter Text

They all made time that afternoon to get a couple of hours studying done. The fact that everyone in the house was studying, made it easier. Well, everyone except Max of course. Max had got his work done the previous evening. The piece he'd had to write, on the workings of the respiratory system, had only taken him the best part of an hour to complete.
While everyone else was pouring over reference books and class notes... Max just put pen to paper and wrote about what he knew... which was pretty much everything about the respiratory system.

Having Max free all weekend, was rather lovely for the others though, as they were supplied with regular cups of tea and pieces of cake. Max even cooked Dinner on Saturday evening, so Win could work on her latest art piece.

It was seven o'clock when then doorbell rang.
"Shirley!..." Peter shouted,
"...your fancy man's here!" he added with a chuckle, as he opened the door to a very nervous looking George Fancy.

"Well, come in then" said Peter, holding then door wide enough to allow George to walk into the hall.
"So..." Peter continued, as there was as yet, no sign of Shirley,
"...Shirley tells me you want to be a copper?" he asked

"Yes, I always have" answered George
"So why not just become one then? Why go to university?" asked Peter
"My parents. They're don't really want me to join the Police." answered George
"Oh yeah? Why's that then?" asked Peter
"They think it's too dangerous and rowdy for me." said George

"To rowdy for you?" Peter laughed out loud then, before adding,
"Well, it can be dangerous, I'll give 'em that. But rowdy? We all have a laugh with each other when we can. You've got to, some of the things we see. But it's all about belonging to a team, knowing your colleagues, knowing you can trust them. It's only as rowdy as you want it to be." said Peter

"Yeah, well. They said... my parents that is. They said I had to go to university, being as I've got a scholarship... said it would be a sin to waste the opportunity." George added
"Well, I can't say I disagree with them there. I'm a Policeman and have been for twelve years. I'm taking a career break to study here." explained Peter

"Oh, wow! So, do you think I could get into the Police then?" asked George
"No reason why not. You need to work hard and do what you're told. I'm going to be giving some pointers to Shirley, so if you've got any questions, just ask..." said Peter, before adding,
"...Do you reckon your parents will let you join then?"

"They said I had to go to university and then after that, if I still want to join the Police, then I can" said George
"Hoping that by the time you finish your course, you'll have gone off the idea?" asked Peter with a knowing look
"Yeah, something like that" answered George with a wry smile

Shirley came into the hall then, with a big smile,
"Hello George!" she welcomed him
"Hello Shirley" he grinned back, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

Peter suddenly felt like a gooseberry and walked away into the lounge, saying to George as he went,
"You look after her George!"
"I will" George replied, taking Shirley by the hand and leading her out into the cool evening air.

"Playing the protective older brother role there, Peter?" asked Fred, as Peter came into the lounge from the hallway.
"What? Oh, yeah, a bit I suppose. He seems alright though. Wants to join the Police." said Peter
"Does he now?" answered Fred with a raised eyebrow.

The rest of them sat together in the lounge for a little while then, until eight o'clock, when one of Win's favourite soaps was due on the telly and she asked if they minded if she watched it.
Max and Morse made their escape... neither of them being big fans of watching the soaps.
Fred and Peter stayed and watched it with her. Fred actually wanted to know what was going to happen to the paperboy, who'd gone missing. He would never admit to following the program, of course, but what with Win watching it every week, while he sat next to her, he'd inadvertently become hooked.

Peter stayed, because it made him feel like he was in a loving family. Growing up in a boys home between the ages of eight and sixteen years, he'd never had the feeling he'd belonged to a family. His parents hadn't been able to cope with him, when he fell in with a crowd of older boys when he was seven years old. They'd been a terrible influence on him, but he'd just wanted to fit in to the 'cool' gang and had done all the things they'd asked of him, just to impress them.

He'd believed all the things they'd told him, all the lies they'd fed him.
He'd been too young to understand the vulnerable position he was in or appreciate how this was upsetting his parents and how his behaviour would shape the rest of his childhood.

It went on for ten months, with social services, police, teachers and aunts and uncles, all getting involved. All telling him how he should behave, what he should and shouldn't be doing. Not one of them asking him for his opinion or thoughts on anything.

The next thing he knew, he'd been whisked away from the London suburbs, where he'd grown up and into a boys home in Oxfordshire, called Blenheim Vale. It was a home for 'wayward boys'. That's what they called it. Somewhere to put children that no one could, or would even try to, cope with.

Life was hard for him there. A strict regime, and a timetable of exactly when to wake, sleep, eat, study. And woe betide anyone who did any of those things out of sync with the time table.
He had longed to reach the age of sixteen, when he would be able to walk out of that place for good. They helped him with that. As good as kicking him out the day after his sixteenth birthday.

Social services found him a small flat in Oxford and helped him find a job in a warehouse, which meant he could afford the rent and could feed and clothe himself. But he was just sixteen, with no experience of the world outside Blenheim Vale.

He'd struggled. Until one day, he got chatting to a Policeman. It was after he'd witnessed a car accident and was having his statement taken.
That chat changed the course of his life. He was three months away from his nineteenth birthday. The day he turned nineteen, he walked into Cowley Police station with his application papers and the rest was history.

"You alright love?" Asked Win, pulling Peter from his thoughts
Peter looked up, surprised. The Soap on the tv had finished and he realised he'd been lost in his thoughts for half an hour. He also realised that he must have been crying a bit too, as Win had moved to sit next to him and put her arm around him.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about things, you know" he answered.
He didn't offer any further explanation. He'd tell them one day. He felt they'd understand and accept him anyway. But for now, being here living with this group of people felt like he was part of a family and he savoured the feeling, along with Win's hug.

George had taken Shirley to a restaurant in the town centre and then they went for a riverside walk afterwards.
"He was really sweet actually" said Shirley, sitting down with everyone in the lounge after George left, having walked her home.
She had been about to go up to bed, until she realised that wasn't going to happen until she told them all about her date.
"How sweet?" asked Peter
"What do you mean? He was just... really sweet. We went for a lovely meal and a lovely walk" said Shirley
"He didn't try anything on did he?" asked Peter
"Don't be so silly! He's not like that!... and you're not my father!" chuckled Shirley
"I know, I just... I'm glad you had a good time" finished Peter with a genuine smile
"Thank you" said Shirley with a smile, before heading off upstairs

Peter was eternally grateful that he hadn't been asked to go onto campus that night. Max, Fred and Morse were going this time. Fred had taken to accompanying Max every night, as he was the only one with enough strength to hold onto Max should the vortex re-appear. But it hadn't.

Morse had thought about what had been happening, since the night a few days back, when, if it wasn't for Fred, Max would have been badly injured.
"It must know..." began Morse
"What must know? and know what?" Fred asked, as Morse's statement had come out of nowhere.
"...The demon, or whatever it is. It must know" Morse added
"Go on" prompted Fred

"Well, the vortex... it tried to pull Max in. Then you grabbed Max and held him back. As soon as it realised you were too strong for it... it stopped" said Morse
"That's right" said Fred
"And since then... it's never re-appeared?" confirmed Morse
"No" said Fred
"And you've gone there every night with Max" added Morse
"Yes, I have" said Fred
"So it must know. It knows you're there... so it doesn't even try..." said Morse

Fred and Max exchanged a glance
"So what you're saying, it that if Fred didn't accompany me into the library, the demon would send another vortex?" asked Max thoughtfully
"Yes, exactly" said Morse with a look and a nod.

"No! No way! That's ridiculous! You're suggesting that Max goes in there and tries to take on the vortex without me?.." began Fred, raising his voice as he spoke and breaking the tranquil silence of the night. They were walking near the river, so fortunately there were no houses next to them, with people in who might be disturbed.

"That's not exactly what I'm suggesting..." Morse began to explain
"Then what exactly? Because, I'm not chancing Max's life by waiting outside to prove a theory!" said Fred
"You won't have to..." said Morse, taking hold of one of Fred's hands and they both disappeared.
"We'll both be right next to Max... but the demon won't know that" said Morse, letting them both re-appear and giving Fred a pointed look.
"Oh lad, you're a genius! Ha! Now we're talking!" Fred laughed out loud.

A short time later, they arrived on campus and approached the great library door. Morse took hold of Fred's hand and they both disappeared. Max opened the door and walked inside, careful to allow enough time and room for Morse and Fred to follow him in. Max then closed the door behind him.
To anyone watching, it looked like Max had entered the room alone.

Fred had taken hold of Max's left arm, which, as it was covered with his coat sleeve, prevented Max from going invisible as well.
The three of them walked slowly through the centre of the library, listening carefully for any slight sound.
When they reached the halfway point, they stood still. There was complete silence. Max could sense a very strong energy though, which rather unnerved him.

He wanted to point it out to Morse and Fred, but didn't want to give away their presence by talking to them.
It was about half a minute later, when the vortex began to whip up a frenzy. It was just like the previous time. It first came towards the three men, attempting to push them back towards the door.

Then, it took a sudden change in direction as it tried to pull them towards the rift.
Max was able to stand firm, with Fred holding on tightly to his arm. Morse held onto Fred's hand and also hooked his other arm around a nearby railing.
It still took all their efforts to stand their ground, but it did the trick, as a deep voice boomed out into the room.

"You trick me! You have no strength to overcome my will! How are you standing there?" The voice bellowed
Max's heart rate was going ten to the dozen, but he replied as calmly as he could,
"I'm standing here because I don't wish to move" he said
The wind died away as quickly as it had began.

"Nonsense! You must have magic or some such. Show me your powers!" demanded the voice
"I really don't know what you mean. Who are you anyway?" Max continued
"Me? I am Dalgaran from the Realm of The Storm Nexus! You will do my bidding!" he roared.

"I think not! I came here to pick up a book." replied Max
If only Max could have seen the looks on Fred and Morse's faces... they looked astounded that Max could be talking so calmly to a demon, who had moments before, tried to pull him into a different realm and do goodness knows what to him.

"A book? You make fun of this? You will regret that you did not obey me!" roared Dalgaran
"Obey you? You gave no orders that I could have obeyed! I rather think you need to re think your strategy, my friend" offered Max
Dalgaran did not reply with words this time, but with a sound, rather akin to the roar of a powerful wild beast. The room seemed to shake and bend, as though there were an earthquake below their feet.

Then... complete silence and calm. Dalgaran was gone.
Max turned and walked calmly out of the library, with Fred and Morse in tow. They only let go of one another when the door was closed behind them and they were outside, in the cool night air in the quadrant.
Max dropped to his knees and took a deep breath.

"Oh dear Lord, that was not very high on my list of ways to spend my Saturday night" Max exclaimed, somewhat breathlessly. His calm exterior quickly falling away to reveal just how scared he had been in the library.
Fred and Morse both crouched down next to him and put their hands on his shoulders to help calm him.
"You didn't half give me a fright! The way you were winding him up!" said Fred
"I wasn't trying to wind him up, I was just having a conversation with him" said Max
"Just having a conversation?... with a demon?" smiled Morse
"Mmmm, when you put it like that, it does sound rather unlikely" said Max with a small chuckle.

They made their way back home. Win was waiting up in the lounge and began to brew a pot of tea when she heard them come through the door.
"Anything?" she asked
"Yes, a rather interesting meeting with a demon called Dalgaran as it happens." began Max
"You met a demon?" Win gasped. Despite knowing that this was going to happen sooner or later, it still shocked her to think a demon had actually appeared.

"Yes, Morse and Fred were invisible, but holding on to me through my clothing when we entered the library. Dalgaran obviously thought I was alone and created another vortex to try to grab me." said Max
"Oh he was properly put out when Max wasn't even budged by it!" chuckled Fred
"I don't think it's a laughing matter Fred!..." began Win, before adding,
"...Any one of you could have been badly hurt... or even killed. This isn't a 'wind up the demon' game" Win finished, looking a bit upset.

Fred gave her a kiss and a hug,
"I'm sorry love, I guess I'm laughing about it now because the adrenalin's worn off and I'm glad we're all ok. It's not because I'm making light of it love" he explained
Win nodded and smiled at him.
"The tea will be brewed by now, would you all like a cup?" she asked, getting three resounding yes pleases and a request for a three pieces of cake.

Chapter Text

Sunday morning for Max, Morse and Fred, consisted of sleeping in until gone ten o'clock, on account of them not having got in until two o'clock that morning.

Win, who had waited up for them, still got up at half past eight. She said she didn't mind and she wanted to cook breakfast for Peter and Shirley.
"So, did anything happen last night?..." began Shirley at breakfast,
"... you said you waited up until they got home?" she added

"Yes I did. They had quite the scare in that library last night. Morse kept him and Fred invisible, so the demon thought Max was on his own and tried to grab him again with that vortex." explained Win
"Oh no!" exclaimed Shirley
"They're all ok though?" asked Peter

"Oh yes, love. They're fine. I think Max was rather shaken up if he's honest. Well, I think they all were. The demon spoke to them apparently, accused Max of tricking him" said Win
"So they went there and made the demon angry then?" said Peter
"A bit, I suppose" said Win
"A bit? Can you even make a demon just 'a bit' angry? What did it do?" asked Peter, getting more than a little scared.
"Well, it roared a bit and left" said Win
"Oh god" was all Peter said, as he ran his hand over his face and took a sip of another cup of tea that Win had poured for him, while they had been talking.

Later that morning, when Max, Fred and Morse all came downstairs, they told Shirley and Peter what had happened in more detail.
"Do you know how wide the rift is yet! Could it have pulled you through?" asked Shirley

"I don't know, but it can't be that big, or Dalgaran would have come through to our side" surmised Max
"We don't know how big it is... it might be fifty feet tall for all we know!" Peter pointed out

"He's got a point you know, Max" said Fred, then adding
"Just because the demon's not shown his face, doesn't mean the rift is too small for us to go through" he looked worried as he spoke
"Good point, we need to make very careful plans before our next visits to the library. We don't know if or when the demon or other creatures might start visiting during the day when lots of people are around" said Max

The mood was a little more sombre for the rest of the day than it had been. All of the six housemates pondering what was waiting for them in the next days and weeks.

When they arrived on campus on Monday morning and went to their respective lecture rooms, Max was greeted by a 'DO NOT ENTER' sign on the door to his.
There was another hand written note underneath, which read, 'Alert Getty's anatomy lecture will now be held in study room number 15 in the west corridor, ground floor. This is due to an incident which has rendered this room off limits.'

Max stood there frowning at the notices for a few moments, until he was pulled from his thoughts,
"Good morning Max! Strange old business this. Have you been inside?" It was Albert Getty speaking, as he patted Max once on his shoulder and gestured towards the room. He was with Reginald Bright.

"Good morning both... and no, the sign rather suggested I couldn't go in" answered Max with a wry smile
Reginald spoke up then,
"I think you need to go in and look at what's happened in there. It may of course be a student prank of some sort, but pranks of this nature are extremely rare at St. Finnemore's and even rarer this early in the academic year" explained Reginald

"Why do you need me to go in? What on earth has happened in there?" asked Max with a raised eyebrow
"It will be far easier for you to see if first hand than for me to stand out here trying to describe it to you" said Reginald as he reached for the door and unlocked it.
The three men went quickly inside.

Max looked around him in shock. Nearly every single part of the room and every single thing in the room was covered with what could only be described as a thick black sludge.
"What on earth is this?" Max asked with raised eyebrows
"We were rather hoping you could tell us?..." Albert replied hopefully, before adding,
"...Reginald mentioned your magic, when I told him about this earlier" he looked at Max as though he would fix everything on the spot.

"I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, but having magic, doesn't give me the ability to identify black sludge whenever it appears..." Max gave him a pointed, albeit somewhat apologetic look, before adding,
"...But I'm sure Reginald will have already suggested that this is probably the work of some sort of creature that will be small enough to have come through the rift already." stated Max
"Yes... a demon? he said..." Albert began to chuckle and added
"...he told me with his serious face too! As if he really believes that demons exist!"

Max and Reginald both stared at Albert, before Max spoke up
"You don't then?... believe in demons?" he asked
"What? No! Of course not! A load of old poppycock!" confirmed Albert
"Yet you believe in my magic?" asked Max
"Well of course I do! Everyone grows up seeing magicians... that's not unusual at all!" Albert replied

"There is a huge difference between an illusionist... what you call a magician... and someone with magic" explained Max
Albert just looked at him, perplexed.
"A magician has slight of hand... moves the cards so fast that you cannot see what he is actually doing... it is not real magic... just illusion" said Max
"I know that! I'm not completely naive! So...Your point?" said Albert
"My point is... I'm not a magician..." said Max
"So why on earth did Reginald here, tell me you where then?" said Albert, looking a little exasperated as he looked first at Reginald, then back at Max

Reginald spoke up then,
"Albert, I think you would be best going to give your lecture in the other room now, hmmm? Max and I will stay here and see what can be done about all... this and you can let Max have his coursework pack after the lesson?" he suggested
"Well, yes, of course. Max here won't be learning anything from me today anyway... we're going be studying the human heart and I imagine he's seen more than his fair share of those in his time! Hey Max?" Albert chuckled, giving Max a friendly nudge.
"Oh yes, more than I care to count" Max smiled back.

Albert left the room then and Reginald turned to Max
"I'm sorry about that. I really thought he knew what I meant when I told him you had magic... but obviously not." he said
"No matter... it's probably best my unusual talents don't become common knowledge anyway." Max surmised
"Hmmm, quite" agreed Reginald

Max began to look more carefully round the room then, albeit there wasn't much to look at, other than... sludge.
"I can't sense any energy here..." he began
"...so if it is some sort of demon or creature that did this, they've gone. The rift is growing, that I can confirm. It may have been a demon that did this and left... but it may equally have been a student." he surmised
Max continued to look around the room and breathed in deeply as he did, he then added,
"I will say this... the sludge has absolutely no smell. Anything that I can imagine a student, or any human using to create this... mess, would smell of something. Be it tar or mud or the like. But this has no smell whatsoever. That makes me think it more likely something that came through the rift." Max said, as he explained his thoughts.

"Oh. I was hoping you were going to confirm it was a student. Not that I relish the thought of any of our students doing such a thing you understand? But it's infinitely preferable to the alternative." said Reginald
"Quite" agreed Max

Max set about taking a few samples of the sludge for Reginald, with a view to seeing if he could get any tests done to confirm what it was.
It was going to be a job for the cleaners to clear up.
"Mind you, I'm not sure our cleaners will touch this. And I won't blame them if they don't. We might have to get someone else in to clear this up." Reginald mused
"Are we able to postpone calling in anyone from outside, do you think?" asked Max
"Hmmmm? Maybe. Why?" asked Reginald
"No sense in alerting the outside world to our 'goings on' eh?" stated Max with a raised eyebrow.
"Good point. We do have one or two spare lecture and study rooms that we could utilise for occurrences of this nature." said Reginald with a nod.

They went their separate ways then. After Reginald had replaced the no entry sign on the door and securely locked it again.

Max informed the others over lunch.
"Blimey! Do they think they can scare us away with a bit of sludge?" joked Peter
"I don't know what their motives are" answered Max, then adding,
"...but it was more than just a bit of sludge Peter. It covered the entire room. We have no idea what it's made of either... it's possible it could be toxic" Max explained.

"Jesus!" exclaimed Peter, before sheepishly looking around him when his loud comment had turned a few heads.
"My bet is that they're probably trying to make the university unusable? I mean, if they do this to all the rooms, then it'll have to close and they'll be able to have the run of the place." suggested Fred

"That does sound likely, love. So is there any way of stopping anything else getting out of the rift? Or out of the library?" asked Win
"It seems to me that we're going to have to spend more time there. Maybe have a shift rota? We could go in pairs and each pair could spend a couple of hours there a night?" suggested Shirley

Max spoke up again then,
"The only issue with that idea, is that Fred seems to be the only one physically strong enough to withstand the vortex it has used so far. I'm sure what it throws at us on future visits will only get stronger and stronger" he surmised

"So, I'll just make sure I'm with whoever goes to the library then" suggested Fred
"That's all very well and good, but Shirley's right. We are going to need to watch the rift a lot more now... and you can't be in there twenty four hours a day." Max pointed out.

"The demon will only attack us it it knows we're there though... so if it doesn't know we're there, it won't attack and Fred wont need to accompany us?" suggested Morse
They all looked at him... All waiting for him to explain exactly what he meant.
"If on the shifts I take, I'm always invisible... then it won't attack me. So Fred wont have to be there" explained Morse
"Good point lad!" said Fred with a smile, making Morse blush slightly at the praise.

"Maybe it's time we tried out some of our other abilities on it too?" suggested Shirley
"What? How do you suppose we do that? 'excuse me demon, can you just wait there while I throw an ice ball and then a fire ball at you? I just want to see what happens?' All that'll do is wind it up even more!" said Peter

"You may be right, but we need to share ideas right now, Peter. Because we are walking into the unknown every time we face that demon." said Max
"Yeah, I know... sorry. I just get the creeps thinking about it all" said Peter
Win, who was sitting next to him, put her arm around him and gave him a hug,
"That's why we're all in this together love." she smiled

The rest of the day passed without incident thankfully and a professor from the science faculty at St. Finnemore's called Arthur Lott had managed to run a few tests on the sludge and deemed it to be harmless.
"I can't rightly say what it is, though... it's not mud, soil, tar, treacle, chocolate or any other substance I can think of that would look like this. It's completely flummoxed me, if I'm honest." he'd explained to Reginald

"But it's harmless enough for us to ask people to go in there and start cleaning it up?" Reginald asked
"I can't see why not... it's not showing up positive for any known toxic or harmful substance that I can find" said Arthur

"Hmmm, thank you. It's the toxic and harmful substances that don't exist in our world that I'm worried about." muttered Reginald to himself
"What's that now?..." asked Arthur, adding
"...What other world have you got in mind then? Please don't tell me that we're getting another demon attack?" he asked, panic sounding in his voice.

Reginald looked at him and thought carefully before he spoke. The last thing he wanted was to cause panic.
"I'm afraid, that's exactly what may be about to happen. But I'm working on a plan to deal with it. I hope to get it under control much quicker this time." said Reginald

Arthur didn't look entirely convinced. He'd been at St. Finnemore's only three years less than Reginald and the last big attack had happened just two years after he'd arrived at the college. He remembered it vividly, it had been chaos.
"What plan? How can you possibly think to stand up to something like that! Are you completely mad?" Arthur all but shouted

"There's no point in getting so worked up!" replied Reginald
"Well apparently someone has to! You're acting all calm as you like... saying you've got a plan! Well, do you even remember what happened last time? All those students who got hurt? Do you?" Arthur spat

"I remember it all too well. I was the one who got the magic experts in and they were able to stop the onslaught." recalled Reginald
"Yes, well. Maybe you need to get them in again, sooner rather than later. If you don't take any action soon and people get hurt... then I'll make it known that you were aware of the demon attack approaching and you did nothing!" shouted Arthur

Reginald was astounded at Arthur's harsh words. He knew nothing of the efforts both Reginald and Nicholas the Dean had gone to in readiness for what was to come. He was obviously scared, but shouting threats at Reginald was not going to help.
"I assure you I have been taking all the steps available to me in order to deal with the oncoming problems. Now if I may suggest you make efforts to further try to understand the composition of the sludge, instead of trying to stir up trouble and accusations!" Reginald said calmly and firmly, before leaving the room and walking away.

Arthur scowled after him as he left, muttering to himself as he turned back towards his 'sludge' samples
"Stupid, ignorant idiot! He's going to get us all killed"

Reginald had already attempted to speak to both of the people who had attended St. Finnemore's all those thirty years ago, along with their magic, to see if they would be able to attend this time, but it was not possible.
The one chap, a man called Robert Faseman and emigrated to Australia ten years ago and the second man, Arthur Grantham had gone travelling around the world for a year and wasn't expected back for seven months.

So, it was up to him, Nicholas and the six housemates to fight whatever was thrown at them then.

Chapter Text

That night, it had been decided that Morse and Win would go to the library, with Fred giving strict instructions to them as they left the house.
"Now, Morse... you make sure you both stay invisible? You hear me? Don't let that demon see either of you under any circumstances!" he said
"Don't worry, we'll be fine" Morse replied

"Don't tell me not to worry lad, I can't help but worry after what we've seen of this demon so far!" said Fred
"We'll be careful love, we'll stay invisible" Win assured him, giving him a pat on the arm and a kiss on the cheek.
"Ok, just keep hold of Morse's hand... don't let go, what ever happens!" Fred pleaded.
It was in that moment he realised what it must have felt like for Win during all those years he was in the police and she would watch him leave for work every day and tell him to come home safe.

Win and Morse left the house and made their way to the library. They held hands and both disappeared.
They would have to be very careful opening the door, they realised. If the demon saw the door open and close on its own, it would give the game away.
They opened it very slowly and crept inside, slowly and quietly closing the door behind themselves. The large room was silent and still. No one had heard them or seen the door opening. Or so it seemed.

They crept through the library, coming to a halt at the far end, near to the last window. This put them at the same end of the library as the rift, but a good few feet away from it.
Morse squeezed Win's hand in reassurance. To reassure himself as much as her.
They stood and waited. For the next fifteen minutes... nothing happened. Morse wondered if he should make them visible, to see what happened... but he remembered his promise to Fred. He wouldn't put Win in danger like that.

Suddenly, taking them both by surprise, Dalgaran appeared before them. He couldn't get through the rift and into the room, but they could clearly see him, or part of him, through the rift that was getting larger every day.
"What is this?" he bellowed towards them
He couldn't see them, surely? They both stood completely still, holding their breaths.

"Answer Me! I know you're there! Do you think I didn't see the door open! You tried to trick me once before! You will not trick me again!" He shouted
He whipped up another vortex, which began to violently race around the room.
Morse and Win kept hold of each other... he might be trying to call their bluff and they were not going to show themselves unless they were absolutely forced to.

They grabbed the nearby railings which they were standing behind and braced themselves against them.
It got harder and harder to stay where they were, they felt like they were being pushed so hard against the railings that they would get ripped through them at any moment, like an egg through an egg slicer.

Morse wished he hadn't imagined himself as an egg like that. The mere thought of being torn into several pieces as they were pulled through the railings made him feel rather queasy.
He tried to concentrate on the task in hand, but it was getting harder and harder.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large ball of fire appeared. It grew and grew in mid air, until it was about two feet wide and was spinning around with great ferocity. Then it flew through the air towards the rift, passing through the gap, right into the face of Dalgaran.
"Aaaaaaghghhhhhhhh!" he shouted in a loud and pained voice.

Morse felt himself being pulled, but this time, it wasn't the vortex. The vortex had stopped the moment Dalgaran had been hit by the fireball. No, Morse was being pulled, towards the library door, by Win.

They ran to the door and opened in and raced through, outside into the quadrant. They didn't stop there though, they continued to run. Their house was only a two minute walk from the campus, so it took them just over a minute to run there. They unlocked the front door and almost fell into the hall, closing the front door behind them with a loud bang.

They stood there, breathing heavily as Morse said
"My God Win! That was close! I thought he had us" he panted
"Well, it's good to see I've got what it takes!" said Win with a nervous chuckle
They turned then to look at Fred and Max, who were both standing in the hall way, staring at them... well... staring between them, as though they couldn't actually see them....
...oh.

In all their panic and frantic bid to escape and get home, they hadn't realised that they were still holding hands and still invisible.
They let go of each other and Win and Morse both re-appeared.
The action made Fred and Max jump slightly, even though they recognised who the voices in the hall belonged to.

Shirley and Peter came down the stairs then, just in time to see them re-appear.
"Bloody hell! What's the racket? You banging the front door woke me up!" complained Peter

"Hang on Peter, they've just got back and something's happened hasn't it?" Fred asked Win, with a worried look.
Win looked at him as she began to answer
"Now don't get fretting over me Fred..." she began

"Don't get fretting? Of course I'm fretting love! You both ran all the way back here without letting go of each other or becoming visible again! You must have been scared to do that! What happened?" Fred all but squealed

"Well, we crept in, while we were invisible, but Dalgaran must have seen the door open and after we'd been in there for about a quarter of an hour, he started looking through the rift and shouting at us. He tried to get us with the vortex, but I threw a fireball at him through the rift and hit him.. The vortex died down and we escaped." explained Win
"Well, I'd say you're both rather lucky. Its a good job he didn't send another smaller creature through to get you..." began Max, before adding
"...It's definitely getting more dangerous each time we visit."
"We need another plan" said Fred

"Fred's right, just going with two of us is too risky, if it had been Morse and me, there'd have been no fireballs or escaping... I might be fast, but I'm not strong enough to carry someone. We need to chose who goes with who, so we can always get away." said Peter
"Good idea..." began Shirley,
"...we have to pair up, very carefully"

Even though Shirley and Peter had been asleep when Win and Morse came home, they were all wide awake now. Max put the kettle on and joined them all in the lounge a few minutes later with a large tray of tea and biscuits.
"Always a good idea to accompany serious thoughts with tea and biscuits I find!" said Max jovially, trying to lighten the mood

"If only we could convince that demon to go away with tea and biscuits" said Peter dejectedly.

They discussed their options for as long as their rapidly tiring minds would allow, coming to the decision, that who ever went to the library, either Fred with his strength, Win with her fire or Shirley with her ice, would need to go along. That way, they always had a fighting chance against Dalgaran.

"Until he can fit through the rift completely...." began Peter,
"...then we're all screwed." he finished
"Ever the optimist 'eh?" said Max with a smirk
"I've always been more of a realist" replied Peter

"Do we know, last time... the demon came through the rift..." began Morse,
"...was it Dalgaran?" he asked
"Good question. I dunno?" answered Fred

Morse continued,
"And Reginald said the demon last time didn't leave the campus? Was that because it couldn't or because it chose not to?" he asked
"Reginald said that it never tried to leave... that once they'd evacuated everyone, it seemed to settle down and stay put in the university grounds" said Fred

"So why don't we close the university for a couple of weeks now then? We could all go to the library together and fight it?" asked Win
"I asked Reginald that... if they were prepared to close the college until this is all over." said Fred
"And?" said Morse
"And... they won't do it. We don't know how long it will be until the rift opens enough for Dalgaran to get through and cause real problems. It could be weeks..." explained Fred
"I doubt if it will be anywhere near that long" interrupted Max
"...well, however long it is, they're not prepared to lose an unknown amount of term time, waiting for this to get really bad... so we've just got to work this out while the campus is still full of people" said Fred

They all went to bed a short time after that, realising that things were about to get a whole lot worse.

The next morning on campus, as Win walked up to her art room, Dorothea approached her,
"Win! Good morning! There's ten minutes before class starts, have you got time for a chat?" she asked cheerily
"Yes, of course" Win smiled back and followed Dorothea into a nearby empty room.

"So, what happened last night then?" asked Dorothea with an inquisitive smile
"Last night?" answered Win. They had agreed to keep what had been happening a secret for the time being, to prevent panic, so telling the editor of the university newspaper was not the best way of doing that.

"Yes, last night..." Dorothea repeated, before adding,
"...I assume that you and that young man you were with, don't normally go for walks round the campus hand in hand without there being an interesting reason?" she smiled

"Morse and I just went for a walk" said Win innocently
"Oh come on Win!.." chuckled Dorothea
"...going for a midnight walk, hand in hand with a young man means one of two things... either you're having an affair..." began Dorothea
Win looked at her in shock.
"...but I've seen you and Fred together and I'd bet a years wages on that not being the case... or... something's going on" Dorothea finished and gave Win a pointed look.

"I can't discuss it" Win tried. Denying everything, wasn't going to work, so she'd just have to refuse to talk about it.
"Really? I saw the two of you walk across the quadrant hand in hand before you both disappeared" said Dorothea
"What?" said Win. Surely Dorothea hadn't seen them go invisible?

"Yes, you both disappeared behind the hedge, down the path that leads to the library." said Dorothea
"Oh, yes. We went to get some books" said Win
"Of course you did. I can only imagine what sort of books they were... I watched the path for another half an hour and you didn't come back out." Dorothea pointed out
"We left by the other exit" said Win

Dorothea looked at Win with a friendly amused look then, before glancing at her watch.
"We'd better get into class. Can't have the lecturer being late. But remember, Win. If you're going to do well at the University newspaper, you'll need to be reporting anything of interest, not hiding it" she smiled, before walking off into class, closely followed by Win.

Over lunch, Win chatted to the others,
"So Dorothea saw us last night, Morse" she began
"What?" said Morse
"Saw you doing what?" asked Fred with a mischievous grin
Win gave Fred a cheeky slap on the arm,
"Fred!" she chuckled

"We weren't doing anything! What did she see?" said Morse
"Fred's pulling our legs love..." began Win to Morse
"...She just saw us walking along, hand in hand..."
"Oh? Hand in hand eh Morse?" chuckled Fred, with a raised eyebrow

"I have to hold Win's hand to make her invisible" protested Morse
"Leave the poor lad alone!" Win smacked Fred on the arm again
"Ow! Win!" said Fred, but he was still chuckling as he said it.

"The point I'm trying to make..." said Win, giving a pointed look to Fred as she spoke,
"...is that Dorothea seems to think there's something going on"
"Between you and Morse!" laughed Peter
"Behave! No, of course not! But she knows there's something else happening on campus. If we're not careful and she finds out about the rift, I'm worried she might print something in the newspaper" said Win

"Maybe we should talk to her? We could ask her to promise not to print anything until we're ready?" suggested Shirley
"Might be worth a try? If we try to keep her in the dark, it will only serve to make her more inquisitive" agreed Max
"I'll speak to her this afternoon and see what she says." said Win

It was then that Reginald and Nicholas came rushing across the room towards them.
"Can you all come with us please?" asked Nicholas
"Erm, yes, what's going on?" answered Morse
"Not here hmmm? We'll talk when we get outside" replied Reginald

Morse and Fred exchanged glances, as did the others and they all left the dining hall and walked outside.
When they all reached a quiet part of the quadrant, near to the library, Reginald and Nicholas stopped and turned towards the group.

"The rift is getting bigger" said Nicholas
"Well, not wanting to steal your thunder, but we've known that since the second day we visited the library" said Max, looking at Nicholas over his glasses.

"Yes, yes, what I meant was... it's getting much bigger. It's grown in size in the last eight hours or so, much more than the previous eight hours" explained Nicholas
"Has something happened?" asked Morse

"Well, there has been a bit of an incident..." said Reginald, seemingly choosing his words very carefully
"What kind of an incident?" asked Peter
"The kind where... a creature chased some of the students around the library" said Reginald

"What? when?" said Peter
"Just now... we came straight to the dining hall to get you" said Nicholas, looking at them all with a hopeful and expectant expression as though he expected them to run in and catch the creature.

"Where is the creature now?" asked Fred
"Well, there were four students and one librarian in there at the time and it was still in there when they all left. They closed the door behind them." said Nicholas

"What was it like?" asked Shirley
"Hold on" said Nicholas, walking a short distance away and coming back with Sarah Green, the student that Shirley and Win knew from the newspaper.

"Hello" Sarah greeted the group. She looked rather shaken and clearly wanted to get further away from the library than she currently was. She kept looking over her shoulder as though expecting the creature to appear at any moment.

"Hello, Sarah love..." began Win
"...Can you tell us what happened?" she asked
"Well, we were all sitting at various tables, studying, when we heard this loud whooshing sound. Then there was a kind of screeching noise and something flew over my head. I thought a big bird had got into the library at first, but when I turned to look at it..." she trailed off, looking scared

"Go on love... tell us as much as you can dear" Win encouraged her
"...it was huge... like some sort of... I don't know, a creature from a fantasy book... it was about four feet tall I suppose and it had bright green eyes and some sort of wings, and it was flying round and round and dive bombing each of us! We had to hide under the tables." Sarah was getting upset now.

It was Max who spoke up next,
"Sarah?..." he began, waiting patiently for he to look up at him and nod, before he continued to speak,
"There is something happening, a rift in the library, where it would seem creatures are now able to fit through, into our world.". Max gauged her reaction as he carried on.
She looked startled at his words... to be expected,
"We, six..." he gestured between him and his housemates,
"...are going to deal with this and everything will be back to normal as soon as possible. But I'm afraid to say, it might get worse before it gets better. Now the very last thing we need is panic all over campus and we will need to meet with you and Dorothea with regards to anything either of you might wish to print in the university press?" Max stated, giving her a kind, but pointed look.

Sarah nodded,
"I understand. I expect Dorothea will want to run a story though. This is the most exciting, albeit frightening thing to have happened around here" Sarah replied.
"Newsworthy indeed, but we need to get a proper balance, between warning the students and staff of what to expect and causing an outright panic." said Max
"Ok, I'll speak to Dorothea and ask her to meet with you all before we print anything" said Sarah with a nod and a small smile
"Thank you" replied Max

Sarah left them then, quickly walking off across the quadrant away from the direction of the library.

Chapter Text

After hearing about the creature that had been terrorising the students in the library, the six housemates turned back towards each other then,
"So, what now? I've got a horrible feeling that someone's about to suggest we go in there and catch this creature" said Peter with a frown
"Well, we're no use standing around out here are we?" replied Fred

"So what are we going to do? I suggest if all six of us are going to go in, then I hold at least two peoples hands and keep them invisible. No sense in showing our full hand straight away?" suggested Morse
"Good idea lad... Well I don't mind being visible, Dalgaran has seen me already and he knows how strong I am, so hopefully I'll be ok." said Fred
"He's seen me too, so I'll stay visible" added Max

"Peter, I know you might not agree with me on this lad..." began Fred
Peter looked at him wide eyed with worry,
"...but I think you should be visible too" Fred added

"What? Why?" said Peter.
He wanted to help, but he was just scared. He hated the way he felt. He was a Policeman for goodness sake! He'd fought all sorts or lowlives in his career, stood up to people with knives! But this monster business was really messing with his head.

"Because of your speed. If this creature goes for you, you can easily get away from it." said Fred, putting a supportive hand on Peter's shoulder. He knew how hard this was on him, but the sooner Peter got used to working with their team and getting used to the fact that he didn't have to face anything on his own, the better.

Peter smiled and nodded at Fred
"Good. Right then. Morse? Take the ladies' hands and follow Max and I in. Peter, you bring up the rear and close the Door behind us. Everyone get through the door as quick as you can. We don't want that thing getting outside." Fred instructed everyone. His natural leadership skills from being a D.I. in the Police, showing through.

They all set off towards the library. Morse took hold of Win and Shirley's hands when they got to the door and they all went inside.
It was silent and still in there, but there were a number of books and sheets of paper strewn across the tables and the floor. Evidence of something having happened in here.
"Well, well, well, you return!" It was Dalgaran.

He was still not able to fit through the rift, but they could see more of him now. He was a fearsome creature, bright white eyes that glowed almost like they were aflame. His teeth showed as he spoke and they were all pointed, like the points of lots of little knives. His body was partly obscured, but he appeared to be wearing some sort of long leather coat. His skin was very dark blue, but it seemed to glisten and was covered in markings, almost like tattoos that seemed to glow.

"I take it you heard about Tormoroth? He gave those students quite the scare!" Dalgaran laughed
"Who's Tormoroth?" asked Fred
"Why he's one of my wandering devils! I have quite a few. They can get through the rift, being as they're on the small side" Dalgaran spoke with amusement as though he found the whole thing entertaining.

"Wandering devils?" repeated Max
"Tormoroth!" Dalgaran shouted
With that, Tormoroth raced into view from behind some nearby bookshelves. He flew through the air, before crashing into Max and knocking him backwards off his feet.

Fred, who was standing right next to Max, wasn't quick enough to break his fall, but Peter, who'd been a few feet away was able to change his form and get to him in a split second, before changing back and grabbing Max as he fell backwards, stopping him from falling over.
"Thank you Peter, most kind" smiled Max

"That's a neat trick!..." laughed Dalgaran
"...what do they call furry little animals like you then?" he laughed
"You can talk!..." shouted Peter, before adding,
"...have you looked in the mirror lately?" the adrenaline clearly fuelling his previously nonexistent bravery.

"Ha! Oh I do look forward to meeting you properly, when the rift opens enough for me to get through!" he roared at Peter
To give Peter his due, despite being petrified at the direct and obvious threat Dalgaran was making to him, stood his ground and stared defiantly at the demon, as she shouted in reply,
"You'll have to catch me first!"

Peter then, seemingly overcome by bravado, changed back into a racoon and proceeded to chase Tormoroth around the library. Peter was far, far faster and it was only the fact that Tormoroth could fly, that kept him from being caught.
Although racoons can only jump vertically to a height of only four or five feet, Peter used his racoon climbing ability and once he'd climbed up onto a bookshelf, he could then jump across from one shelf to the next, up to ten feet away. Several times, he almost managed to catch Tormoroth in mid flight.

Racoons also have the ability to turn as they fly through the air, so Peter was always able to land perfectly on all four paws each time he jumped.

It went on for nearly five minutes, before Tormoroth let out a frustrated roar, clearly growing physically weary of the chase. He flew through the rift at great speed, causing Dalgaran to have to jump out of his way.
"You wait! You'll be sorry you came here to take us on!" Dalgaran shouted, before disappearing.
The whole room was silent and still again, the only sound, was that of a small raccoon's claws scratching on the wayward sheets of paper on the floor, as he shuffled through them.

It was another five minutes before Peter changed back into his human form. He said it was because he found it difficult to change back after so much exertion and needed to rest for a couple of minutes.
"Ha! Are you sure it had nothing to do with the fact that Win and Shirley were giving you tummy rubs?" Fred laughed loudly
"No!" said Peter. But his blushes gave him away.

He didn't feel quite so bad however, when he turned to find Win and Shirley blushing almost as much, at the fact that they had just been giving a grown man a tummy rub in the middle of a library... the fact that he'd been a racoon at the time, not doing much to quell their embarrassment.

"I wonder if I'll get a tummy rub next time I lift up something really heavy?" chuckled Fred
"Awwwe Fred... you can have your tummy rubbed any time you want dear" said Win, playfully messing up Fred's hair.
Fred smiled sweetly at her, until Morse spoke up,
"Ok! We get the picture! How about no more tummy rubs until we're all back home?" he pleaded
"Don't get jealous Morse! Im sure there's plenty to go around!" Jakes nudged him playfully on the arm.
Morse scowled, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling as Peter stood there grinning at him.

Max walked over towards the rift, for a closer look. He wanted nothing more than to leave the library after what had just happened and get back outside into the fresh air and sunshine. He needed to be sure though, that the energy that told of nearby demons, had dissipated.
Fred grabbed his arm,
"Woah, hold up there Max, at least let me hold on to you. If you get too close to that thing on your own, and an opportunist demon grabs you, the only one quick enough to get to you is Peter and without belittling his talents, he won't be strong enough to save you when he gets there." Fred explained, giving Peter an apologetic look.
"It's ok, you're right" said Peter with a shrug
Fred and Max walked as close to the rift as they'd dared, but Max couldn't feel any energy at all.
"It would seem, ladies and gentlemen, that our demons and devils have gone home for the time being" said Max with a nod.

"Thank goodness for that" said Shirley
They all walked back outside and met up with Reginald and Nicholas and gave them a full update on what had just happened.

None of them noticed a figure hiding off to their left, behind a wall. Arthur Lott stood there, just out of view, listening intently to everything they discussed, frowning and getting angrier with each piece of information he heard.
"They're all mad and they're gonna get us all bloody killed" he muttered to himself as he walked away, thinking over his new found facts.

Arthur Lott wasn't a bad man entirely... he wasn't a murderer or a thief. He worked relatively hard in the university's science faculty and he was rather a good teacher. He was fairly well liked by his students, probably due to his 'jack-the-lad' character that his pupils thought was 'cool' but the other dons frowned upon, often telling him 'you're their teacher, not their drinking buddy'.

Arthur didn't care what they thought though. Anything for an easy time with his students. If he could get his students to work hard and like him, by having a laugh with them, then that's what he'd do.

Now saying Arthur wasn't a bad man, was, in some respects true, as has been explained. But he was also a very selfish man. Almost everything he did, was carefully thought out, to get him the greatest gain.
The way he treated the students, wasn't for their benefit... it was so he could have an easier life. The fact that he didn't dabble in crime, wasn't because he was dead set against the idea... it was because he couldn't bear the idea of having to go to prison. And the reason he was so worried about the demons and the involvement of the six housemates, wasn't because he cared about what happened to the students and staff at St. Finnemore's... no... it was because he worried about what would happen to him... just him.

So when Reginald had asked Arthur to examine the sludge found in the anatomy classroom, he'd immediately thought of how he was going to save himself in the event of another demon attack.
The last time he'd experienced one, twenty five years ago... he'd been petrified. He'd gone to a store cupboard at the back of one of the science labs with a large bag of food and a bottle of water and shut himself in.
While all the other members of staff were risking their lives to get the students out safely, Arthur just stayed where he was, with his supplies and waited it out.
The fact that two teachers were badly injured, when they'd noticed Arthur missing and had gone back to try to find him, conjured up nothing more than a small smile and a nod in their direction.

This time, Arthur was going to get ahead of everyone else. He had to think of a way of ensuring his own safety. Leaving the campus until it was all over was out of the question. If he did that, he'd no doubt get the sack and he could lose the nice little apartment he had on campus, having been there so long. He was doing alright for himself. He didn't want to risk all that. He was going to have to come up with a plan.

The rest of the afternoon passed without another peep from any creatures. The librarians and students were allowed back into the library, although the librarians were now more than a little wary.

The black sludge had all been cleaned up from the anatomy classroom. It had taken a team of eight people nearly ten hours to get rid of it all. There were still black marks here and there throughout the room, but at least the room was useable again.
Max hadn't felt any energy from the room, either on the morning after the sludge arrived, nor since. It seemed whatever it was, it was inanimate. Something left by a creature to cause upset and inconvenience.

That evening, Win and Max cooked up a lovely meal for everyone. The others all cleared away the table and did the washing and drying up. It was about seven o'clock, when the phone in the hall rang.
Morse was seated nearest the door, so he went and answered it.
The others didn't take much notice, just about hearing Morse's muffled voice as he spoke to whoever was on the other end.

It was about twenty minutes later, when Fred noticed that Morse hadn't come back into the lounge. He couldn't hear him still talking on the phone either. He presumed he'd just gone up to his room to read.

As they all sat there, Fred kept thinking about Morse. Eventually, he stood up and excused himself from the room. He'd just go and check he was ok, then come back and join the others.
As he got onto the second landing and approached Morse's door, he heard what sounded like... crying? He gently knocked on the door and after a few seconds, the crying stopped and Morse spoke,
"Come in"

When Fred went into the room, he took one look at Morse and knew straight away that something was wrong. He crossed the room and sat next to Morse on his bed.
"Whats wrong lad? Has something happened?" Fred asked
"It's Gwen" was all he said at first, just sitting there, staring at his hands.

Fred waited patiently for Morse to continue,
"I'm going to have to leave St. Finnemore's and go back home." he said quietly.
Fred looked at Morse, it was easy to forget, that with all his intelligence, his experiences, his bravery when it came to the demon and his time in the army... Morse was still only twenty two years old.
A youngster in Fred's eyes and right now, he looked even younger than his age.

"What's going on lad? Why would you have to leave? Has something happened to Gwen?" he asked
"She's run out of money. She says she's found two more debts that my father left that we didn't know about. Apparently she needs another £350 to pay them off. I'm going to have to go home and get a full time job to pay it off." said Morse sadly

"Now hang on just a minute..." began Fred, turning to look directly at Morse
"...It's been what? Six years since your father died?" asked Fred
"Yes?" replied Morse
"And Gwen sorted out exactly how much your father owed back then?" said Fred

"Well, I thought she had" said Morse
"I find it hard to believe that after sorting everything out six years ago, she's just happened to find another £350 worth of debt?" said Fred
"Well..." began Morse, but Fred hadn't finished

"...And another thing... who is it that this new £350 is supposedly owed to? eh? And don't you think they'd have come forward and asked for their money before now?" asked Fred
Morse frowned. Fred had a point.

"You think she's lying?" asked Morse
"I don't know lad, but we need to find out, before you even think of giving her a penny." said Fred
"Mmmmm" replied Morse

"And another thing..." added Fred
"...Whether this new £350 is genuine or not, I'd say you've done your bit. You've already paid off a big old chunk of money for your father. I'd say it's Gwen's turn now to pay off any further debts that belong to her late husband!" Fred nodded to Morse

"What am I supposed to do? I can't just do nothing! She said on the phone that I have to start paying her by the end of next week, or she might lose the house!" Morse sounded panicked
"Listen lad, just promise me that you won't do anything until I've had a chance to make a few enquiries, alright?" asked Fred
"Ok." agreed Morse

"Good. Now are you going to come back downstairs and join everyone?" asked Fred hopefully
"No, I don't think so. I might read through some of my coursework" replied Morse
"Alright then. But whatever you do... don't worry about this. You're not leaving St. Finnemore's and you're going to finish your course. That Gwen woman is not going to stand in your way anymore." said Fred, giving Morse a pat on the shoulder, before leaving the room.

Morse sat and thought about what Fred had said for some time after that. He was struggling to see what Fred could possibly do to help him, but he did trust Fred completely, so he would give him a chance to make his enquiries and see what came of it before he contacted Gwen again.

Fred had a talk to Win that night after they had all had gone to bed.
"Well, that's terrible! That woman trying to get more money out of Morse after all this time!" said Win
"I know. I just can't believe she suddenly found another £350 of debt that she says missed six years ago." said Fred

"She must be lying, love. The people who are owed the money would have asked for it to be paid back before now, surely?" said Win
"Exactly my point. I'm going to speak to Peter. See if he can speak to his colleagues at Cowley police station. Maybe he can get them to do some digging into Gwen's financial affairs. I'll bet anything she's made this up, just to try to get more money from Morse" said Fred

"Mmmm, I expect that since he left home to come to St. Finnemore's, she's suddenly finding out what it's like to have to pay for everything herself!" said Win, crossing her arms and looking annoyed.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Fred took Peter to one side and explained Morse's predicament to him.
"Sounds to me like she's pulling a fast one! suddenly 'finding' £350 worth of extra debts, less than two months after Morse moves out? You've got to be kidding me?" said Peter, clearly in agreement that Gwen was trying to fraudulently get more money out of Morse.

"Do you think you're colleagues at Cowley could contact the police in Lincolnshire and ask them to look into it?" asked Fred
"Oh, I'll make sure they do. I might not enjoy fighting demons, but I love catching people who try to take advantage of others." said Peter with a nod.

"Here, Morse!" Peter called out at lunch time, when he saw Morse in one of the hallways.
"Hello Peter. How's your morning been?" asked Morse with a smile
"Quite productive actually. You doing anything this evening? Say around six o'clock?" Peter asked
"Erm, no? Why?" asked Morse

"I just wondered if you'd care to accompany me to Cowley Police Station?" said Peter
"Cowley Police Station? What for?" asked Morse
"Well, my colleagues have had a chat with their counterparts in Lincolnshire and they say they're more than willing to look into the case of a woman in their area possibly trying to fraudulently get money from a student at St. Finnemore's." said Peter with a smile.

"What? Did Fred tell you about Gwen?" asked Morse
"Yes, he did. And before you go getting all worked up, he told me because he cares about you and he's retired and I'm not. I'm just on a career break, so I can get this 'magically appearing debt' story checked out" said Peter

Morse frowned and looked worried
"What? Don't you want me to help you?" asked Peter, a bit confused
"No... yes! I mean... I don't know" said Morse
"Best to cover all bases" smirked Peter

"What I mean is, I've got a half sister, as you know..." began Morse
"Yes, Joyce?" said Peter
"Mmmm and she's only fourteen. Whether Gwen's telling the truth about the debts or not, she's told me that they'll lose the house if I don't pay the money. I can't just sit back and be the cause of Joyce becoming homeless!" said Morse

"Right... firstly, you... are not the cause of anyone becoming homeless. You've spent the last six years of your life paying off your father's debts. You're the one who's kept a roof over both their heads!" said Peter, before continuing,

"And secondly... You've left home and become independent. Joyce is fourteen and Gwen is her mother. Gwen is entirely responsible for her well-being and that includes paying the bills." explained Peter
"I know, but..." began Morse, but Peter cut him off,
"No buts Morse. Even if Gwen can prove that this £350 is legit and it really is a debt of your father's, you're not responsible for paying it, end of." Peter gave Morse a pointed look.

Morse just frowned back.
"What about Joyce?" he asked
"Well, how about we go and see my colleagues this evening and give them all the facts and see what they dig up. Then you can decide what you want to do. At least then, you'll be deciding with your eyes wide open." said Peter
"Yes, you're right I suppose" said Morse
"Ha! Course I'm right!" Peter slapped Morse lightly on the back.

Morse and Peter went to Cowley Police station that evening and Morse told the officers there everything about his Mum, Gwen, Joyce and his father Cyril. He told them about the debts he'd already paid and showed them a note book he'd kept, with detailed notes of exactly how much he'd paid and when. He'd even still got paperwork from each of the bookies and casinos that money had been owed to and receipts confirming all monies had been paid in full.

The officers took lots of notes recorded all the information that Morse gave them. One of the officers, a D.C. Sam Evans spoke up,
"Blimey! It sounds to me like this Gwen has had it good for far to long. She's always had someone around to fund her lifestyle. First it was your father, who ended up getting into debt then gambling to try to pay it all back. Then she talked you into paying those debts off. It seems to me that she's just looking for someone to pay her more money and she's come back to you." Sam surmised

"Mmmm, I suppose. I'm just worried about Joyce in all this. I don't care about Gwen, but Joyce is only fourteen and none of this is her fault." said Morse
"Don't worry about Joyce. Let's pass all this on to Lincolnshire and see what's what first eh?" said Sam

"Yes, alright. Thank you" said Morse with a smile
Peter smiled at him too as they left the station.
"What?" asked Morse
"I get it." said Peter
"Get what?" said Morse
"What it's like, to go through life on your own, with no one really caring about you. Then it's hard to get used to, when people start fighting your corner and helping you out." said Peter with a knowing look as he walked on ahead, with Morse having to take a couple of extra steps to catch him up as they both walked home.

"How'd it go then lads?" asked Fred when Morse and Peter arrived home.
"They're going to look into it" said Morse
"Thats good news. That woman has got to learn that if she wants to spend money, she's got to earn it first. She can't go around expecting other people to just keep giving her money. She might have to get herself a job" said Fred
Morse burst out laughing then,
"Gwen? Get a job? You haven't met her have you?" said Morse
"No and nothing you've told me makes me want on either" answered Fred

Morse and Peter found themselves sitting together at the dining room table later that evening, catching up on their coursework.
"So, what happened to you then?" asked Morse
Peter looked up, he'd been engrossed in a book and although he knew Morse had just spoken, he hadn't heard what he'd said
"Sorry, what?" he queried

"Well, after you heard all about my upbringing at the Police station, you said you get it... you understood what it's like when no one cares about you. So what happened to you?" asked Morse
Peter looked startled at the question

"I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to" Morse added
"No, it's ok. I just had a bad time of it that's all. I grew up in a home for wayward boys, from aged eight to sixteen. To say they didn't care about us was an understatement. They had to make sure we had shelter and were fed and educated. That's all they did... the bare minimum." said Peter, with a faraway look on his face
"I'm sorry" said Morse
"What for?" asked Peter
"That you had to go through that" said Morse
"Not your fault" said Peter
They left the conversation at that.

They were just clearing away their books when the front door opened and Max, Shirley and Fred walked in. They'd just returned from the nightly visit to the library.
"Still up?" asked Max with surprise.
The truth was, they'd lost all track of time and hadn't realised it was nearly one o'clock in the morning.

"We wanted to wait up for you Max, because we were missing you!" teased Peter.
Win came into the hallway then. She looked blearily eyed and had just woken up, having fallen asleep on the sofa a couple of hours earlier.
"Hello love, Shirley, Max. Anything happen?" asked Win

"Another wandering devil made an appearance" said Shirley
"Oh?" queried Win, with a worried look
"Yes, this one was quite the show off..." began Max, with a raised eyebrow
"A show off?" asked Morse

"Mmmm, he took great pleasure in telling the three of us how fast and strong and powerful he was. His name was Golgoran, apparently." said Max
"And what happened?" asked Win

"Well, he got his comeuppance when Shirley froze him solid and Fred picked him up and threw him so hard into the rift that he hit Dalgaran in the face!" laughed Max
"Oh god! I've got a feeling that when Dalgaran is finally able to fit through the rift, he is going to be so bleedin' angry" said Peter, but he couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he spoke.

They all went to bed a short time after that. It had been a long and tiring day for all of them and they all slept rather well.

Unbeknown to Fred, Max and Shirley, however, their nocturnal visit to the library had been observed by Arthur Lott. He'd seen the three of them go into the library and he'd crept round and watched the whole show through one of the library's large windows.

Arthur had seen both Golgoran and Dalgaran.
"Bloody hell!" he muttered to himself.
He watched Shirley and Fred quickly despatch the wandering devil into the rift and saw it collide with Dalgaran.
"Are those idiots trying to make it angry? When it gets through, it'll be on the rampage right from the off" he continued to mutter.

Arthur thought about what he'd seen. He wasn't going to let those students put him in danger. He had an idea.
Any one of the six housemates would have told him what a stupid idea it was... if only he'd asked them. But he didn't.
Arthur was proud of his idea. It would keep him safe. He'd get straight to it. No time like the present.
Arthur waited until Max, Fred and Shirley had gone. Then he walked into the library.

No sooner had he entered and shut the door behind him, a loud booming voice could be heard,
"What is this? You assault Golgoran then injure me? Then you come back in here! What? To gloat?" he roared

"No! No! That wasn't me! I didn't hurt you. I won't hurt you. But I know who did." said Arthur
"Oh? So who are you? If not a friend of those who just left?" asked Dalgaran

"I'm Arthur Lott. I'm a don here at St. Finnemore's" replied Arthur. He was very scared, being face to face with a demon, but he held his composure. He had to stay calm if his plan was going to work.
"So what? Why should I care who you are? What do you want?" Dalgaran seemed to be getting agitated at being bothered by another human

"I can help you!" shouted Arthur
Dalgaran laughed then,
"You? Help me? Ha! Do I look like I need any help?" he roared
"Well, that flying creature did. And you're too big to fit through the rift at the moment... so I'd say, yes" said Arthur

"Well... tell me what you're offering then... Arthur Lott" said Dalgaran
"I can be your eyes and ears on campus. I can follow that group of students who've been coming here and hurting you. I can tell you what they're planning" said Arthur

"Mmmm, that could be useful..." Dalgaran replied before adding,
"...And in return? What is it you want from this?" he asked
"My safety. A promise from you that I won't be hurt. By you or any of your creatures" said Arthur
"My creatures? Haha!" laughed Dalgaran at the term Arthur had used
Arthur stood his ground
"Very well. As long as you're helping me, we'll not harm you. Leave now and return here tonight before the others. Bring me news of their plans" said Dalgaran
"I will. You won't regret this" said Arthur
"Oh, I know I won't" barked Dalgaran.
As Arthur left the library, he turned back briefly,
"What's your name? What do I call you?" Arthur asked
"I am Dalgaran, High Demon of the The Realm of the Storm Nexus!" boomed Dalgaran
"Ok, then Dalgaran. Until next time" said Arthur as he left.

The next day was bright and sunny, albeit a lot colder than the previous days. It was late October now and the leaves on the trees were creating a wonderful and colourful display, disturbed only by the wind as it whipped and swirled the leaves around on their downward journey.

The six housemates walked to the campus together after breakfast, as they often did.
Reginald met them at he gates, looking rather worn out.
"Morning Reginald..." greeted Fred, before adding,
"...You alright?"

"What? Oh yes, just tired. Bit of a sleepless night you see." said Reginald
"Oh, why's that then?" asked Peter with a smirk
"Not for the reason you're obviously thinking!" Reginald scolded
"Sorry, just having a laugh with you" Peter replied

"Yes, well... we had a visit last night. A couple of wandering devils got out of the library and were racing around outside in the quadrant. They caused quite the disturbance. Woke several of us up!" said Reginald
"What time was this?" asked Morse
"It was exactly two am" replied Reginald

"How did they get out?" asked Max, then adding
"We left the library at twenty to one and we closed the door behind us." he confirmed
"Unless someone else went in there after we did and left the door open?" suggested Shirley

"Well, someone or something must have opened the door for them. I've done quite a lot of research on wandering devils and they have rather unusual... erm... hands. No thumbs you see, just three short... I suppose you could call them fingers ...on each hand. So they can't open doors themselves." explained Reginald

"Well we've met a couple of these devils so far and we've not seen any other creatures come through the rift, so I'd bet someone went into the library after us and left the door open." said Fred
"But who? You don't think Dorothea followed us last night do you?" mused Shirley

"No..." began Win,
"...it won't have been Dorothea. I spoke to her on the phone at ten o'clock last night. She was just off to bed and anyway, she's agreed not to chase this story for the time being, in return for us telling her what's going on in a couple of days time. I think we might be able to work with her to help prepare the students" said Win
"Right, so it wasn't Dorothea. So who else would be wandering around campus at one in the morning then?" asked Fred

"I couldn't say..." began Reginald,
"...Luckily the devils went back into the library of their own accord after about half an hour. Nicholas and I went and shut the door behind them. Nothing else happened after that.

Arthur Lott had never been one to bother shutting doors behind him. He'd left the library door open, not thinking or indeed, caring what would happen if he did. He'd got back to his apartment and slept soundly for the rest of the night, oblivious to his colleagues getting disturbed.

Chapter Text

At lunch time, the housemates all met up and sat at what had now become their 'usual' table. It was in the far corner of the dining hall. Far enough over to give them relative privacy to talk. Most of the other students didn't bother to walk that far, opting for a table much closer to the serving area.
This meant that on most days, they were far enough away from everyone else, that they could talk quite easily, without being overheard.

Which is why today, it was so obvious when one of the dons came and sat at a table just a few feet away from them as they sat there discussing what had gone on last night.
Fred, Win and Max had the don in their line of sight and could clearly see that every now and again, he'd look their way.

"I'm not sure, but I'd happily bet a small wager that he's trying to listen in on our conversation" said Max in a voice quiet enough that even the don wouldn't be able to overhear.
"Mmmmm, bit odd, don't you think? All the other dons are sitting at the tables at the far end and he chooses to come and sit all the way down here?" added Fred

"Who is it?" asked Win, not wanting to turn around and make it obvious by looking at him.
"Dunno his name, but I think he's from the science faculty..." answered Fred,
"...the one I think Reginald asked to examine that sludge." he added.
They stopped talking for a while then, as they ate their lunches.

Arthur was, of course, trying to listen to what they had to say. He needed something to tell Dalgaran later that evening, to show him he meant what he'd said.
He'd heard them talking a bit about what had happened last night, but he'd already seen that through the library window. He needed to know what they had planned for tonight, but it seemed they'd stopped talking for the moment.
Arthur kept looking across at them, they were eating their food at the moment, so he'd have to hang on until they started talking again.

"Well, let's give him something shall we? See if he really is listening in, or if this is just our overactive imaginations?" said Peter quietly, when he'd finished his sandwich.
"Mmmm, interesting idea" agreed Max, who looked around at the others before clearing up his dinner plates and speaking in a slightly louder voice as he stood,
"Well, that's me finished. I need to get back to my studying. I'll see you all at five o'clock then? ...in the quadrant. We can discuss our next plan of action in more detail then." Max smiled and nodded and they all said their goodbyes as he left the room.

Arthur smiled to himself, that's what he'd needed to hear. They'd be meeting in the quadrant at five. Well, he'd be there before them. He'd get in position to hear what they were planning, without being seen. He stood up and walked out of the dining hall. Leaving his tray and dirty plates behind him on the table, to be cleared away by some one else.

When five o'clock came, Fred, Peter, Max and Shirley all met up in the quadrant. It was a lovely evening. The lights along the path had come on and were casting a warm glow around the area.
There wouldn't be many more opportunities to sit outside like this as the evenings were getting colder now.

They deliberately spoke in normal voices, so anyone who might be listening in, would be able to hear them.
"No Morse or Win?" asked Peter
"No, they've carried on home, something about assignments that have got to be done tonight on pain of death" said Fred
"Well, we can formulate a plan of action now, then update them later." said Max

Morse and Win were, of course not at home, but we're walking around the quadrant, invisible to the naked eye... looking for Arthur Lott. They'd found out his name from speaking to Reginald earlier...

"Hmmmm, Arthur Lott..." Reginald had said,
"...Never really warmed to that one. He's been here twenty seven years, but never really shone out. In it for himself if you ask me. He doesn't do anything if he doesn't think it will benefit him in some way." Reginald explained
"So why's he still teaching here then?..." asked Fred, adding,
"...if I'd have had a copper on my team like that, he'd have been out long ago"
"Well, this isn't the Police, Fred. And despite all his failings and bad character... he is, when it comes down to it, a good teacher. And his students get good grades." answered Reginald

So now, here Morse and Win were, holding hands, completely invisible and walking quietly round the quadrant, looking for Arthur.
Win nudged Morse and whispered to him,
"Look, over there, next to that wall on the left." said Win

Morse looked and saw Arthur tucked just behind the end of a wall, out of sight of Fred, Peter, Shirley and Max, but close enough to them to be able to hear everything they said.
Win and Morse walked over and stood a few feet away from Arthur so they could see what he was up to, but still hear their friend's conversation.

"Well, I suggest the four of us go back to the library tonight..." began Max
"...if we wait until just after midnight, it will be empty and we can try to shrink the size of the rift, or even seal it altogether." Max added
They all knew that the rift couldn't be shrunk or sealed. Not yet anyway. Not until it had expanded to its full size. It would only be then, that they would be able to do anything about it.
They had agreed tonight, to lie about what their plans were... while Arthur was going to be eavesdropping.

Morse and Win followed Arthur as he walked away from the quadrant. They could hear him muttering to himself,
"Idiots... Wait till Dalgaran hears about this" he chuckled nervously to himself.

After witnessing Arthur's eavesdropping, they all met up back at the house a short time later.
"That idiot Arthur Lott is going to tell Dalgaran that you're going to try to seal the rift tonight." said Morse
"What? Arthur's going to meet with Dalgaran?" gasped Shirley
"Sounds like he is. We heard him talking to himself... 'wait till Dalgaran hears about this' he said." confirmed Morse

"So he'll be going to the library this evening before midnight then?" surmised Max
"Yes, so I think I should go with him when he does" said Morse
"Go with him?" asked Shirley
"Yes, I'll be invisible and if I'm alone, it'll be easy to sneak in through the door the same time as Arthur. I can witness everything that's discussed then. Arthur and Dalgaran will be none the wiser" explained Morse

"Good idea lad" said Fred
Morse blushed slightly with the praise and Fred couldn't help but wonder if he'd had anyone praise him for anything since his Mother passed away.

"We don't know what time he'll be going, so I'd better get over there sooner rather than later." said Morse
"You need to have something to eat first love" said Win
"I'll be fine" replied Morse
"No you won't! Not when your stomach starts rumbling in the library!" replied Win, with a pointed look
Morse smiled, she had a point there.

Win and Max had made extra food the previous evening, so it only took them a short time to warm everything through and they were soon all sitting down to dinner.

They had plenty of time. There were often students in the library during the early evening, so Arthur wouldn't be going there until they'd all left.
It was about seven o'clock when Morse left the house with Fred and Peter. They'd insisted on going with him.
"You can go in the library on your own, but we're not going to be far away. If you get found out, you're going to need help." said Fred
Morse had no intention of getting found out... but he couldn't deny that knowing Fred and Peter were going to be close by, did make him feel a whole lot better.

When they arrived on campus, Fred and Peter waited near to the entrance to the quadrant on the side opposite the library. They could see across the whole area from here and they could also see the outer door that lead into the hallway where the library door was.
That would be the door that Arthur would use as his apartment was just off the quadrangle, on the same side as the library.

Morse made himself invisible then, and walked over to the building where Arthur's apartment was located. Luckily for Morse, it was on the ground floor, so he was able to peer into the windows. Some of the curtains were closed, but not the ones in his kitchen and Morse had a clear view through there and into the lounge from where he stood and he could see Arthur pacing up and down and looking at his watch.

Morse went back to Fred and Peter,
"Arthur's still in his apartment, but he looks nervous, as though he's getting ready to leave soon, so I'll wait over there." said Morse
Fred put his hand on Morse's shoulder
"Alright lad. But be careful. No heroics. First sign of any trouble, get out and run. We'll be keeping an eye from here." said Fred
Morse nodded, went back to being invisible and set off back to Arthur's apartment to wait.

He didn't have to wait very long. About ten minutes later, Arthur walked out of his apartment building and across the quadrant towards the library.
Morse fell in step with him, just a couple of feet away, being careful to tread lightly and breathe as quietly as he could.
As Arthur stepped through the door into the hallway outside the library, Morse slipped though right behind him.

He held his breath for a moment, as Arthur stopped just inside the hall and waited.
Morse surmised he must be calming his nerves, because after taking one last deep breath, Arthur stepped forwards and pushed the large library door open.

Morse again stepped through the doorway as close to Arthur as he dared. Once inside, he stepped a few feet away from him, but stayed near to the doorway, so he kept his escape route clear.

He watched as Arthur walked slowly forwards.
"Dalgaran?..." Arthur called out
"...Hello? ...anyone here?" Arthur tried again
"Of course I'm here! Where else would I be? You're not very bright, are you?" replied Dalgaran, appearing through the gap in the rift.

Morse looked on, managing to hold back a chuckle at Dalgaran's comments. He watched as Arthur looked like he was... bowing? to the demon.
"I'm sorry Dalgaran" said Arthur
Morse shook his head, 'what a sad performance Arthur was putting on', he thought to himself. While Morse and his housemates had been fighting and tackling the demon and devils head on, here was Arthur bowing and apologising to them!

"Enough of your petty apologising! What have you learnt?" shouted Dalgaran
"Well, those students... the ones who hurt you..." began Arthur
"Yes? come on! out with it!" Dalgaran was getting impatient
"Well, the four of them are coming back here tonight. Just after midnight and they're going to try to seal the rift" said Arthur. He looked quite pleased with himself.

"Seal the rift! Are they really that stupid? The rift can't be sealed!" Dalgaran roared.
"What should I do?" asked Arthur
"You? Stay out of the library for the rest of the night. Those four students are going to wish they hadn't visited here, when I'm done with them!" said Dalgaran

"Right, I'll make myself scarce then. I'll see if I can find anything else out for you and I'll come back tomorrow." said Arthur
"You can be of use by finding out exactly what abilities the four students have. And how strong they are!" said Dalgaran, before disappearing from view.

Arthur stood in the library for a few more seconds, making sure Dalgaran had left, before he too turned and left the room, with Morse following close behind. Arthur did in fact close the door behind him this time, so Morse had to be quick.

After Arthur had gone back into his apartment, Morse walked back over to where Fred and Peter were standing. He walked round and up behind them and put his arms around their shoulders,
"See anything?" Morse asked
"Jesus! Morse!" said Peter
"Bloody hell lad!" exclaimed Fred
Morse chuckled as he let himself become visible in front of them both.

He told them what Arthur and Dalgaran had said to one another and the three of them then went back to the house and told the others everything.

"So it seems that Dalgaran is just expecting four of us..." began Max thoughtfully,
"...He's seen me, Fred, Shirley and Peter so far. He's never actually seen Morse or Win as they were invisible..." he continued
"So what are you thinking?" said Fred
"Well it makes sense to keep our Morse here under wraps. Our secret weapon, so to speak..." said Max

"Yes, I agree" said Fred
"Now... how to use Win...?" mused Max
"How to 'use' her?" Fred repeated with a raised eyebrow
"Sorry, rather unsavoury choice of words there, my apologies" said Max
"Oh don't mind Fred love, I knew you didn't mean anything by it" Win smiled

Max gave her a smile and continued,
"If Dalgaran is only expecting four of us and he's only seen four of us, then we should always make sure Morse and Win stay invisible for as long as possible... that will give us the element of surprise" said Max
"Good idea... I think he's got an idea though, after I threw that fireball at him. He must have known someone was there when the fireball appeared out of thin air." said Win

"That's the other thing..." began Morse
"...Dalgaran asked Arthur to find out what our abilities are and how strong we are. He wants to know what he's up against."
"Right, so we don't let Arthur find out. None of us are to use our abilities unless we're absolutely sure that no one else is watching. We keep what we can do, under wraps" said Fred
They all nodded their agreement.

"I don't think we should go to the library at all tonight" said Peter. He'd been listening to the whole conversation in thoughtful silence, so far.
"Why not?" asked Fred
"Well, that traitor Arthur Lott has told Dalgaran that we're going to be there just after midnight, right?" said Peter
"Yes" said Morse
"So if we don't show up, then Dalgaran will know that Arthur can't be trusted." Peter replied

"Well, yes... but that would put Arthur in danger then" said Fred
"So? He couldn't care less about putting us and everyone else in danger!" argued Peter
"And we don't want to stoop to his level." said Max

Win spoke up then,
"I think we should all go. Morse and me will be invisible. We need to keep going to see what state the rift's in and what creatures are coming through. We shouldn't stop going just because we want to prove Arthur's a liar" she said

So they decided. They all went to the library just after midnight. They entered through the door... as far as Dalgaran was concerned... just the four of them. Morse and Win stayed invisible.
"What's this stupidity I hear? That you've come here to seal the rift?" shouted Dalgaran as they walked into the room.

"I think you must be mistaken? I was rather under the impression that the rift can't be sealed while it is still growing?" said Max
That didn't please Dalgaran to be told he was wrong. He whipped up a vortex that swept violently around the library and with it came Tormoroth and Golgoran.

Morse and Win had already crouched down in the corner by the door, behind some shelves that were bolted down and they held on to them and each other, just managing to stay put and stay invisible.

Fred managed to grab Max by the arm and hold him steady, but he couldn't reach Peter or Shirley and they were swept up and flung across the room.
Golgoran grabbed Shirley and threw her along the floor, like a bowling ball, and she slammed into the end wall with a thud.

Tormoroth was trying his luck with Fred and Max, steering clear of Peter, having lost the battle with him last time. He flew through the air and slammed first, into Fred's chest... but heavily winded himself in the process, as Fred didn't budge an inch.

Tormoroth growled in anger and launched himself again, this time, at Max. Max raised his hand as Tormoroth approached and he was stopped in mid flight, suspended in the air, unable to move in any direction.
"Let me down! Aaaaghhhhhhh! Dalgaran! Do something!" Tormoroth howled.

Dalgaran merely laughed at his devil's predicament.
"Oh Tormoroth! They are just playing with you!" he said with a demonic chuckle.
Tormoroth wasn't finding it at all funny though and continued to shout and scream as Max used his magic to hold him in place.

Peter had rushed to Shirley's side, where she'd landed. He was alright while he was moving through the vortex, because he was moving faster than it was, but as soon as he stopped next to Shirley, he was pulled away again by the clutches of the wind.
He saw that Shirley had landed partly under the bottom shelf of a bookcase and that was what was stopping her from being thrown about any further. She was unconscious though and Peter couldn't tell how badly injured she was.

He used his speed to get to Fred and held onto him, to steady himself.
"We've got to get out of here..." Peter told Fred
"...I can't tell how badly Shirley's been hurt, but she's unconscious" he added

Golgoran was still racing round the room and dive bombing everyone.
"Max! Can you grab both of the devils and bring them to me?" asked Fred
"I can try" said Max
He raised both his hands and concentrated his efforts and slowly, both Tormoroth and Golgoran found themselves in the clutches of Max's magic.

They struggled and screamed, but we're slowly drawn closer and closer to where Max, Fred and Peter were standing.
When Tormoroth was close enough, Fred grabbed him and hurled him through the rift at Dalgaran.

He then did the same with Golgoran. Both of the devils screamed at them
"You'll be sorry you crossed us!" shouted Tormoroth
"Next time, we'll be ready for you" screamed Golgoran

All the while, Dalgaran laughed. He was clearly being entertained by the efforts of these humans, who thought they were strong enough to fight...
Well, they may be able to fight his wandering devils and withstand his vortex... but Dalgaran knew that once the rift was large enough for he himself to fit through... things would be a whole lot different then.

"Enough entertainment for tonight I think" Dalgaran called out, after quelling the vortex.
"It won't be long now, until you will be fighting me! Then you will find your luck will run out!" Dalgaran shouted to them before disappearing.

As soon as the dust settled, Max ran to Shirley's side.
"She's got a bang to her head and a nasty cut. We should get her back home straight away and I can treat her properly there" said Max
Fred picked her up with no effort at all and they all left the library and made their way back to the house.

Luckily, Morse and Win had decided to remain invisible until they were safely home and out of view, because Arthur had watched the group leave the library and walk across the quadrant, from his kitchen window. As far as he was concerned though, they'd been a group of four.

Chapter Text

By the time they were back in the house, Shirley had regained consciousness.
"Oh my head! What happened?" she asked
"What can you remember?" asked Max
"I remember the library and the vortex and that devil grabbing me and throwing me across the room" said Shirley

"That's good... no amnesia then" replied Max, all the while examining the cut to Shirley's forehead.
He performed several other checks as well to make sure she was ok.

Reginald and Nicholas had made sure that Max had a good supply of basic medical equipment at the house, as he was, unfortunately, likely to be needing it.

"It's nothing serious, you'll be glad to know. I've put a plaster on the cut, no need for stitches. No evidence of any concussion, but you'll have a sore head for a few days." Max smiled at Shirley

"Shirley's going to be a bear!" laughed Peter, while everyone else frowned in confusion
"A bear?" asked Morse
"Yeah! With a sore head! Shirley the bear with a sore head!" Peter carried on laughing, clearly having amused himself
"For heaven's sake don't become a comedian will you" said Fred, shaking his head

They all went to bed after some cocoa and biscuits. Max checked on Shirley a couple of times during the night, just to be on the safe side, but all was well.

The next day, the six housemates went to the campus early, so they could all meet with Reginald and Nicholas in Reginald's apartment.
They relayed everything to both of them, so they were fully in the picture.
"What? Arthur Lott's been meeting with the demon? That little turncoat! I've a good mind to sack him right now!" said Nicholas with some anger.

"Well, at the moment Arthur doesn't know that we've been watching him. He believes he's one step ahead of us. But in all honesty? I don't think what he does is going to make any difference..." said Fred
"Really?..." began Reginald,
"...you don't think his interfering will put you in more danger?" he added
"I don't think so? Morse will go with him whenever he meets Dalgaran and listen in. So we'll know what he's up to. I can't imagine anything Arthur does will make any difference to what Dalgaran does" said Fred

"Hmmmm, well, carry on and see what happens. Keep us both updated." said Reginald
"Yes. And if there's any suggestion that Arthur is putting any of you, or any of the students or staff in any unnecessary danger, I want to know immediately! Because if he does, he's gone!" said Nicholas
"Right you are" said Fred as the six of them left to go about their day.

Shirley had arranged to meet up with George Fancy for lunch and they'd both walked down to the river with some sandwiches and sat on one of the benches there.
"So what happened to you then?" asked George for the third time.
"I can't talk about it." said Shirley, for the third time
"But you're hurt. I don't like to see you hurt. Did someone do that to you?" asked George, looking genuinely concerned.

"It's nothing. Really. It's lovely of you to worry about me George, but you really don't have to." said Shirley, putting her hand over his as she spoke.
She smiled her warmest smile at him and he smiled back.
"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving!" Shirley chuckled and they sat and ate their sandwiches in companionable silence.

As George finished the last of his sandwiches, he turned to Shirley and smiled.
"I do have a bit of a confession..." George began
"Oh? Do you now?" said Shirley, intrigued at his comment
"I am genuinely concerned that you got hurt... just remember that bit..." he said

"Ok?" Shirley replied
"So, yeah, well. I've kind of been asked to see if you got injured by a demon." said George, getting all his words out in fast succession and looking a bit sheepish.
"What? A demon? Who told you to ask me that?" said Shirley, hoping that the answer wasn't going to be Arthur Lott.

"Don't be mad at her... but it was Dorothea" said George
"Dorothea? What has she heard then?" asked Shirley
"Well... apparently twenty five years ago, St. Finnemore's was attacked by a demon. Dorothea wasn't here then, but she's heard about it. There's another attack due this year... because they happen every twenty five years. I know that's odd. Anyway, Dorothea heard you got injured last night and she found out that you and your housemates had a meeting with Nicholas Gaiman and Reginald Bright this morning." George explained

"She heard that, did she?" said Shirley
"Mmmm, and she reckons maybe your injury was linked to the demon in some way?" said George
"Look, George. Something is going on. But I really can't talk about it. It would cause mayhem and panic if any stories about demons found their way into the university press." said Shirley

"So it's true then? You did get attacked by a demon?" asked George
"No. technically not." said Shirley
"Come on Shirley, I won't say anything to anyone if you don't want me to. I can keep a secret." said George

"Ok, but you have to promise not to say anything... to anyone!... not even Dorothea!" said Shirley
"I promise" said George
"Ok, what Dorothea told you about the demon attacks... it's true" said Shirley
"Oh, wow" said George, looking shocked

"I actually got attacked by a wandering devil... a smaller creature, but still pretty nasty. But try not to worry, because me and my friends are going to stop this. But in order to stop it, we need to keep what's going on, a secret. At least for the time being, ok?" said Shirley
"Ok. I won't say anything. I'll tell Dorothea that you wouldn't tell me anything" said George with a smile
"Thank you George" Shirley hugged him.

George kept his promise to Shirley.
"I know you're lying George..." Dorothea said to him with a knowing smile, when she quizzed him about it the next day,
"...I should have known better than to ask a man to betray his girlfriend" she chuckled.

She was disappointed, of course at, yet again, not being able to get the information she needed for her story, but she was also very scared of another imminent demon attack and if what Win said was true and the six housemates really could save the university... then she wanted to help them, not hinder them.
But just because she'd promised not to print anything yet, didn't mean she couldn't carry on investigating it.

Over the next week or so, the wandering devils really did begin to live up to their name and they began wandering farther and farther from the confines of the library. There were still only two of them, as far as anyone could make out.

It turned out that Tormoroth had been responsible for the early 'sludging' of Albert Getty's lecture room, as he was caught red handed, or rather 'sludge-handed' in another room a few days later by some students who'd returned to the room late at night to collect some books they'd forgotten.

Panic had ensued for a time after that, until Nicholas held a series of emergency assemblies of all the students to advise them of some of the goings on and to reassure them that he had a team of specialists on campus to deal with the problems.

Dorothea was able to print her articles after that... along with instructions from Nicholas and Reginald for the students to follow, to help them stay as safe as possible.
It was agreed that all sightings of any creatures and any incidents must be reported at once, either to Nicholas or Reginald, or to Dorothea at the press office, who would then make the others aware.

Out of the 1000 students that St. Finnemore's had, about a quarter of them decided to leave the university that week. The ones who remained, were able to continue their studies, but not without regular and slowly worsening disruptions.
Nicholas had made a promise to all students, that whether they chose to stay or temporarily leave, they would be given the opportunity to make up for lost time, so they would be able to complete their courses.

"How long, do you think we have, until Dalgaran breaks through?" Nicholas asked Max one morning.
"Imminently, I would say. A few days? Maybe a week at the very most..." replied Max.
"...It might be wise to begin the evacuations. How many students and staff are still living on campus now?" asked Max

"Well, only about 250 students live on campus anyway and most of the ones who've already left, were from that group. We've got, at the last count, sixty two left. There's also twenty eight dons who live on campus, not including me" replied Nicholas
"Mmmm, it would be prudent to find them all alternative off-campus accommodation for the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping that if Dalgaran behaves the same as the demon who was here last time, he'll remain on-site. That will make it a whole lot easier to deal with." surmised Max
Although, nothing about any of this was going to be easy.

They had ascertained that Dalgaran was indeed a different demon to the one that attacked the last time. Reginald had made meticulous notes after the last attack and the description of the demon differed hugely from Dalgaran's appearance.

"I wonder how many wandering devils there are?" said Morse that evening over dinner.
"Just the two by the looks of it, Tormoroth and Golgoran." answered Peter
"That's the two we've seen. I wonder if there's more of them, waiting to come out at the same time as Dalgaran?" mused Morse
"I bloody hope not! We're going to have our hands full dealing with Dalgaran, without having to chase more of those annoying creatures around." said Fred
"Reginald did say there were quite a few creatures that came through last time" said Shirley.
"Yes, Shirley's right, he did. I think we need to be prepared." said Win
"I'm all for being prepared, love..." began Fred
"...but I'm just not sure that I know how we can prepare for something like this?" he added

"Well, the idea of sticking in pairs wherever we go is a good start, I think... at least we won't get caught out on our own then" said Peter
"I agree, when I got knocked out before, if I'd have been on my own, who knows what would have happened to me?" said Shirley.

"Right then, from now on, we go everywhere in pairs. And wherever you go, tell the rest of us where you're going and how long you're going there for." said Fred
"I think Nicholas is going to get the university evacuated pronto, so there's not going to be any lectures or the like, that we'll need to be attending." added Max
"What about people's course work and studies?" asked Win
"Well, Nicholas is going to advise all students to collect up all of their course work and take it off campus, along with a selection of books, so they can continue their studies in some form, until this is over" said Max

"We'd better go there tomorrow then and collect any stuff we need... I've got a couple of paintings that I'd rather not lose." said Win
So, the next morning, they did just that. They went to their various lecture and study rooms and gathered items that they needed. Win had the most stuff as she had two large paintings she'd done, plus a couple of large folders of lots of other work and also her art supplies. Between the six of them, they managed to carry every thing back to the house.

By the end of that week, all the students and their belongings were off campus and the resident dons had all moved out along with their valuables.
All except one... Arthur Lott. He stayed put in his apartment, happy in the knowledge that his 'friendship' with Dalgaran and the help he was giving him, would guarantee his safety...

The house mates were still visiting the library every day and on each visit they would verbally battle with Dalgaran and physically fight off Golgoran and Tormoroth. The two devils were no match for the house mates though, whether Max held them in place with his magic, or Shirley froze them to the spot, Fred would just walk up to them and pick them up and hurl them back through the rift.

Peter was actually overcoming his initial fear of monsters and was starting to enjoy chasing the devils around the library in his racoon form.
"Ha! I love the way they squeal when I get too close!" he laughed as they left the library on one occasion.
"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were becoming quite the devil tormentor" chuckled Max
"Who'd have thought? Peter being the one who's best at chasing those critters around!" smiled Fred

Win and Morse had always accompanied the others but had stayed invisible and Dalgaran still thought there were only four students that he was going to have to deal with.
They would find out soon enough, that keeping Win and Morse a secret from Dalgaran was going to help them out more than they could have imagined.

It was now Friday evening and the day had been rather uneventful. It was worrying really... from being inundated with 'devil related incidents' for the last few days, to nothing at all today, was ...strange.
"Maybe they're having a rest before the 'grand rift opening'?" said Peter

"I haven't detected any change in the energy coming through the rift since Saturday. If the rift was still growing, I'd have felt more energy each day" said Max with a frown.
"So what does that mean? Is it going to get any larger or has it reached its peak?" asked Morse

"Surely if it was at its largest, then Dalgaran would have come through by now?" said Shirley
"So what's he waiting for?" asked Win

"I think I should go and find out. I'll go there unseen and try to find out what's happening" said Morse
"Not on your own you won't. We go in pairs... that's what we agreed" said Fred
"Ok. I'll go there now... so who wants to come with me then?" said Morse as he stood up
"I'll come with you lad..." said Fred, before adding
"...We'll go and have a look around. We stay for no more than half an hour, then come back. If we're not back here in forty minutes, come looking" he said to Morse and the others, who all nodded.
Fred and Morse put on their boots and coats and walked out of the house.

Chapter Text

It was twenty minutes after Fred and Morse had left, that the doorbell rang. Max went and answered it.
"I bet they forgot their keys!" shouted Peter
Max opened the door to a young man and woman,
"Hello? Can I help you?" he said with a smile
"Well, I hope so..." said the woman,
"...we've been trying to ring our parents for the last couple of days and there's never any answer. So we've come here on the train to visit them and make sure they're ok" she added

"Oh? And who might your parents be?" asked Max. He had a fair idea, but wanted to hear it from them first.
"Fred and Win Thursday. I'm Joan and this is my brother, Sam" Joan answered
It was then that Win came though into he hall,
"Oh hello you two! What on earth are you doing here? You should have phoned!" exclaimed Win, grinning from ear to ear as she rushed forward, ushering them into the hall and giving them both a big hug.

"We did phone Mum! Several times, but there was never any answer! You're never at home, it seems" answered Joan
"Well, we've been very busy dear. There's been a lot going on." Win replied

"So, are you going to introduce us then?" asked Joan, smiling at Peter, Max and Shirley.
"Of course, this is our daughter Joan and our son Sam and this is Max, Shirley and Peter." said Win
They all said their hello's and after hanging up their coats, they all went into the lounge, whilst Max made a pot of tea.

"So, Dad's not here then?" asked Sam
"No love, he's gone to the campus with Morse, the other lad who's lives here with us." said Win
"We walked through the campus on the way here from the train station, it was weird. There was no one around anywhere... like a ghost town" said Sam

"I'd stay out of the university if I were you, it's not the safest place to be right now" said Peter, realising what he'd said when Win gave him a frown.
'Oh... they haven't told their kids what had been happening then' thought Peter

"Mum? What does he mean? ...and if it's not safe, why have Dad and Morse gone there?" asked Joan
"Look love, there's a bit of an issue on campus at the moment and they've had to move everyone out for a couple of weeks" said Win

"They've evacuated the university?" said Joan with shock
"Why?" asked Sam
"There's a bit of a problem with a... demon" answered Win
"A demon?" exclaimed Sam and Joan together

"Yes, but don't worry, we're going to help them deal with it." said Win
"And Dad's gone there with Morse? What if they get hurt?" asked Joan
"Morse is... well, he's able to go invisible..." began Win, noting Joan and Sam's shocked faces, before adding
"...and as long as he keeps hold of your Dad's hand, he'll be invisible too. They've just gone to have a look around, undetected, to see what's going on. They'll be back any minute" said Win with a smile.

Joan and Sam were used to their parents unusual abilities, so to hear that Morse had invisibility was a shock in one sense, because they'd never met anyone other than their parents, who'd be able to do anything out of the ordinary.
But on the other hand, being invisible in itself wasn't so odd to them, after growing up with a Dad who could hold his whole family up in the air while their Mum threw fireballs.

They were immediately interested to hear what the others could do.
The housemates took an instant liking to the two Thursday children and gladly shared their skills.
Max went first and caused objects to move across the room, chairs, mugs, even Sam... who let out a rather girly squeal as he felt himself being lifted up of the sofa and put back down again.
"Oh, I might call on you, Max, next time Sam refuses to get out if my room!" Joan laughed.

Shirley spoke up next,
"You'd best come outside, so I can show you what I can do. I don't want to make a puddle in the lounge!" she chuckled
Sam and Joan looked bemused and followed her into the back garden, where she raised her hands over two of the garden chairs and encased them both in solid ice.

"Wow! Oh that is such a cool trick! Can you do that to people too?" asked Sam in awe
"Sam Thursday! Behave! Why would you want to do that to a person?" scolded Win

"Well, you know... if they were being annoying or something" smirked Sam, glancing at Joan as he spoke. That only served to get him another frown from his Mum and a smack on the arm from Joan.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, as Joan and Win let out a giggle
"You asked for that" said Joan

They went back inside then, after Win had thawed the ice out.
"So, Peter... what can you do?" said Joan with a smile
"I can outrun anybody and anything" he said proudly.

"Really? What, even the train we came here on?" said Sam
"Yeah" said Peter, making Sam jump out of his skin when he spoke, as in the blink of an eye, he'd turned into a racoon, run round the room and stood behind Sam, and turned back into a human, all before answering the question.
"Woah! That's crazy!" said Sam

But Joan was intrigued for another reason entirely. One that it seemed Sam had missed altogether.
"Did you just turn into a ...racoon?" giggled Joan
Peter began to blush then, but duly changed into the smaller, furrier, version of himself and walked over to Joan, jumping up on her lap.

"Awwwwe! You're such a little cutie! aren't you?" said Joan in a silly voice
She was stroking his face and rubbing his ears, then he flopped on to his back so she could rub his tummy.
"He is very cute" added Sam, also leaning across to give the little racoon a tummy tickle, both seemingly having forgotten that moments before, this racoon had been Peter.

It was at that moment, Fred and Morse walked into the room. In all the excitement, no one had heard them come into the house.
It was Peter who noticed them first ...and in his shock at being found lying in Joan's lap, he accidentally changed back into his human form.

Joan squealed at suddenly having a fully grown man sitting on her lap, who's tummy she was, at first, still rubbing. Sam burst out laughing and the sudden change of form and weight, caused Peter to fall off Joan's lap onto the floor.

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?..." exclaimed Fred
"...We go out for half an our and come back to find our children here and Peter sitting in my daughters lap! ...Win?" he asked

But Win was laughing so hard, she was finding it difficult to answer him.
Peter was scrambling to stand up, trying to defend himself,
"It's not what it looks like Fred!" he said breathlessly
"Oh, it never is! Are you going to tell me Joan was just giving you a tummy tickle and it was all perfectly innocent?" asked Fred, actually finding the whole situation rather amusing himself, especially Peter's apparent embarrassment at being found by Fred in his daughter's lap.

"I was a racoon! You made me jump! I wouldn't have turned back, if you hadn't made me jump!" protested Peter, blushing rather furiously now.
"Sit down Peter..." Win interrupted, before adding
"...leave him alone Fred! Sam was tickling his tummy too!" said Win with a chuckle
"And that's supposed to make it sound better?" Fred laughed

Morse had been standing there the whole time, grinning and finding the whole situation hilarious, until Joan noticed him and turned her attentions in his direction.
"This handsome one must be Morse then?" she said cheekily, making Morse blush almost as much as Peter had been,
"Erm, yes. Pleased to meet you" said Morse

"Morse lad, these are our children, Joan and Sam" added Fred
"Hello Morse" they both chorused
"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Fred with a frown, suddenly realising that his two children had arrived in Oxford just before an imminent demon attack.

"We were telling Mum, we've phoned a few times over the last week, but never got any answer, so we got on the train to come and check you were ok." said Joan
"Rather the upside down family you have, with the children worrying that their parents may be partying too much and can't handle themselves while they're away?" chuckled Max

"We haven't been partying! Don't listen to him Joan!" protested Fred
"Only because there haven't been any parties yet!" chuckled Win
"Anyway, are you both ok? Mum told me about the demon!" said Joan
"She did?" said Fred with surprise
"Well, they walked through the campus on the way here and saw how deserted it was" said Win
"Yes, well. Don't go walking through there on the way back" added Fred

"How did it go anyway? Did you see anything?" asked Shirley, who'd been quietly and happily watching all the antics unfold before her.
"It was rather quiet, but we did manage to find out that Dalgaran can't fit through the rift yet. Apparently, it stopped expanding on Saturday, just as Max thought. Dalgaran's getting really frustrated by it. He doesn't know why it's stopped growing either" said Fred

"How odd..." Mused Max
"...We'll need to speak to Reginald and Nicholas and see if they've uncovered any evidence of this ever happening before" he added

"So, if it's stopped expanding, does that mean it can be sealed now?" asked Morse
"Possibly... it depends. If it's stopped temporarily for some reason, then probably not... but if it's reached it's maximum and Dalgaran's just too big to fit through, then maybe..." said Max

Max telephoned Reginald at the house where he'd gone to stay and told him of the development.
"Hmmmm, this is most unusual. I've not read anything about the rift not expanding far enough to allow the demon through before. I believe there was on account from the early nineteenth century, where the rift's expansion slowed quite considerably for a few days before finally reaching its full size. Maybe it's just expanding so slowly at the moment, that it can't be detected?" suggested Reginald
"Yes, maybe. We'll visit again tomorrow and assess it again" said Max
"Very well. Keep me informed" said Reginald

After relaying what Reginald had said, to the others, Joan and Sam stood up and said they'd better be heading off.
"But it's nearly nine o'clock at night! You can't be going home now. Why don't you stay over tonight?" said Win, the thought of Joan and Sam walking through Oxford, with everything that was going on, worrying her somewhat.

"We'll be fine Mum and anyway, You've got no spare beds" said Joan
"Well, Sam could sleep on the large sofa and you could sleep in my bed" suggested Peter
"Oi! Behave yourself!" exclaimed Fred, giving Peter a clip round the ear.

"Ow! I didn't say I was going to be in the bed with her!" protested Peter
"Oh, sorry... what were you suggesting then?" asked Fred a little sheepishly

"Well, Joan can have my bed and I can sleep in my racoon form on the foot of the bed..." Peter began, before adding when he saw Fred's frown,
"...or I could sleep on one of the armchairs down here?" he said
"Mmm, that would work" said Fred, giving Peter a smile.

So it was settled. Win collected up enough spare pillows and blankets for Sam and Peter to make themselves comfortable in the lounge, before showing Joan up to Peter's room for the night.
It was lucky, being a Friday that Sam and Joan both had the weekend off, so staying over here for a night or two wasn't going to be a problem.

The next morning, Win and Fred were both up, even though it was just before eight. The rest of the house was still sound asleep, including Sam on the sofa in the lounge and a little racoon still tucked up in his little pile of blankets in one of the armchairs.

"He really does look so cute and fluffy when he's asleep" said Win after quietly poking her head into the lounge.
"Who? Sam?" chuckled Fred
"No, you daft thing! Peter" laughed Win
"That'll make him blush! Not only when he finds out you were watching him sleep, but that you described him as cute and fluffy" laughed Fred
"Oh behave, you!" Win playfully smacked Fred on the arm.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Fred opened the door to find two detectives from Cowley CID on the doorstep.
"Come in. Come through to the dining room, we've got guests asleep in the lounge" explained Fred as he showed them through.

"We've not met, I'm Fred Thursday and this is my wife, Win" began Fred
"Hello, I'm D.C. Sam Evans and this is my colleague D.C. Grant Bradshaw" said the younger of the two detectives.
"Pleased to meet you both..." said Fred, adding
"...Peter and Morse have told me all the details. I was in the Met for thirty years and I don't like anything I've heard about Gwen yet. I reckon she's trying to take Morse for a ride" said Fred with a frown.

"Seems like this isn't the first time she taken him for a ride. Is Morse here? We could do with speaking to him too" asked Sam
"Yes of course, I'll go and wake him up" said Fred
"I'll go, love. I'll get Peter in here as well" said Win, smiling at the officers before leaving the room.

She crept into the lounge and over to the big armchair in the corner, where the big pile of blankets were still arranged around the snoozing racoon.
Win touched Peter's nose and it began to twitch. She gently stroked his head then and watched as he began to wake up.

She noted the exact moment he realised that Win was standing over him and stroking his head, because his eyes went wide. He jumped up then and found himself accidentally changing back into his human form and falling off the chair with a squeal.
"Careful love!" Win laughed
There was another laugh from behind her as the commotion had woken Sam up too.

"Well, there's a sight I never thought I'd wake up to!" laughed Sam
Peter was laying naked on the floor with Win standing over him. Both of them began to blush at their situation and Win quickly grabbed a blanket off the chair and threw it over Peter's lap.

"You and Fred need to stop making me jump!..." protested Peter
"...I'm perfectly capable of controlling my transformations if you don't startle me!" he added
"Well how come you're naked anyway?" giggled Win
"I was asleep!... and I like to sleep naked!" said Peter, as though it was obvious.

"But you were a racoon? And racoons don't wear clothes!" said Sam
"Look, I don't know the exact science of it all, but whatever I am or am not wearing when I change into a racoon, I'm wearing when I change back."
explained Peter
"So you were naked last night when you changed then?" said Win
"Yeah." said Peter

Win and Sam were both still laughing though and Win called out as Peter went to leave the room with the blanket wrapped round his middle.
"You might want to put some clothes on by the way Peter. Your two CID colleagues are in the dining room love." she smiled
Peter gave Win a shocked look before dropping the blanket, changing back into a racoon and racing upstairs into his room. He shut the door behind him and changed back into a human, to be faced with a squealing Joan, who in his haste, he'd completely forgotten was sleeping in his bed.

"Peter! What are you doing?" Joan squealed, whilst trying not to laugh.
Peter was blushing just about all over,
"Oh god, Joan! Sorry! Sorry! I needed some clothes, I panicked and forgot you were in here!" he said in a rushed voice, backing himself up against the bedroom wall behind the door, while trying to cover himself with his hands. He wished he'd thought to bring the blanket up with him.

"Why are you naked anyway?" she asked
"That's what your Mum just asked me" said Peter
"Mum's seen you naked as well?" Joan laughed
"Yes, she was the one who startled me and woke me up. I've never had this problem before, but it seems lately, when I get startled, I sometimes accidentally changed back to a human from a racoon."

"But you changed back in my lap yesterday and you weren't naked?" said Joan with a rather cheeky grin
"That's because I was clothed when I changed into a racoon yesterday" said Peter
"So you were already naked when you changed into a racoon last night?" said Joan
"Yes! Now can you please look the other way or something so I can get dressed? There's two policemen downstairs waiting to speak to me!" said Peter getting a bit flustered with it all.

"Ooh, really? What've you done then? They're not going to handcuff you dressed like that are they?" laughed Joan
"I'm a policeman!" said Peter

It was then that Win came into the room,
"Joan love? Have you seen Peter? Oh, there you are love. Why aren't you dressed yet? Poor Joan doesn't want to see you standing around like that dear" smiled Win
"I would really love to get dressed... if you would both just please turn around so I can get to the wardrobe?" pleaded Peter
Win and Joan took pity on him then and turned the other way and Peter was soon dressed and on his way downstairs, hearing the giggles of the two Thursday women slowly fade behind him.

When Peter walked into the dining room, Morse was already there, with Fred and the two detectives
"Alright Peter" Sam and Grant both greeted him
"Hello" replied Peter

"What kept you? And what was all the squealing?" asked Fred
"Oh, nothing. And I'm here now" replied Peter, trying not to start blushing again.

Chapter Text

Now that Peter had joined Morse, Fred and the two detectives, they gave them their update,

"Right then..." began Grant
"...We've had a long meeting with the police in Lincolnshire. They've done quite the investigation into Gwen and her finances. Firstly, this £350 worth of debts that she says she's found that your father owed. They're confirmed debts..." Grant held his hand up when he saw the worried look on Morse's face,
"... but... the companies that she says Cyril owed money to have been spoken to and they confirm that Cyril Morse doesn't and never did owe them any money. Gwen Morse, however does owe them a total amount of £350."
"So Gwen's lying to Morse to get him to leave university and pay her debts!?" exclaimed Fred, struggling to hide his anger.

"Yes, that's about the size of it" said Sam
"Well, you can tell that woman that she's not getting another penny of Morse's money!" fumed Fred
Morse just sat there in silence.

"There's some other information too..." began Sam
"Oh?" said Morse
"Yes... the local police took all the paperwork you kept for the debts you've already paid off and went through it in great detail. There were ten separate debts to ten separate people, bookies, casinos and the like..." said Sam
"Yes, that's right" said Morse

"They contacted all ten people to confirm and corroborate all the amounts and payments. Four of the debts matched up. In other words, the amount that you paid to Gwen, matched the amounts that were owed by Cyril." explained Sam
"Only four? What about the other six?" asked Fred

"Two of the other debts were for money owed by Gwen, not your father. The final four had been altered. For example, one debt which you paid Gwen £126 to pass on to the Green Casino... was actually a debt for £26. The company showed us the original paperwork. It seems that Gwen added a 'one' in front of the £26, to trick you into paying her an extra £100." said Sam

Grant spoke up again then,
"In total, the money you paid Gwen over the course of six years was £685. The debts that your father Cyril actually owed, totalled £186. Gwen has defrauded you out of £499." He explained

When Morse didn't answer, Fred turned to him to see tears in his eyes.
"All those years I was paying off all that money and giving Gwen almost all of my wages and it was all a big lie?" Morse said in between sobs.
Fred put his hand on Morse's shoulder,
"That woman's got a lot to answer for lad. At least you're finding this out now and you didn't just leave St. Finnemore's and start paying her again" said Fred

"But what's going to happen now? What's going to happen to Joyce?" asked Morse
Sam answered him,
"The police are still conducting their investigation. They should know in the next three or four weeks if there are any other offences. They'll put the case together then and see what course of action to take." he explained

"But if I don't make a complaint... will that be the end of it?" said Morse
Fred turned to Morse then,
"Why wouldn't you want to make a complaint, lad? That woman pressured you, a sixteen year old lad, into getting a job straight from school, when what she should have been doing was paying off the debts herself and encouraging you to go to college! And what's more... you worked your socks off in your spare time and did enough to earn yourself a university scholarship, which she then pressured you into postponing so you could pay her debts off! She lied to you Morse! You could have lost your scholarship! If it wasn't for her, you would have finished your degree by now!" Fred was so angry. He hated the idea of Morse being taken advantage of by the woman who should have been taking care of him.

Fred added,
"Look Morse, I know you're worried about Joyce, but you can't let that cloud your judgement and decisions here. What's to say that Gwen doesn't do the same to Joyce when she's sixteen? If you act now, then Joyce might be spared the same treatment." said Fred

Morse looked at Fred carefully then, clearly thinking over what he'd said.
"Mmmm, I suppose... I didn't think of that. But would Gwen go to prison? Would Joyce end up going into care?" asked Morse
"Prison would be very unlikely, based on these offences and the fact that Gwen in a single mother with a fourteen year old daughter." said Grant
Morse nodded.

"So, shall we tell them to carry of their enquiries then?" said Sam
"Yes, I suppose you should. Thank you" said Morse
"Right then. We'll stay in touch. You ring the station if you've got any questions or if you think of anything else we need to know" said Grant.

Fred showed them out of the door.
Peter looked over at Morse
"What a cow, duping you out of all that money like that! But there is one good thing I suppose..." he said
"What's that then?" frowned Morse
"If you had taken up your scholarship and come here four years ago, you'd never have met all of us." Peter smiled
Morse smiled back,
"Yes, there is that" he said.

After the two detectives had gone on their way, Win made a pot of tea for her, Fred, Morse and Peter.
Max and Shirley appeared in the kitchen a short time later and were making themselves some coffee.
"What was going on this morning?..." Max asked Joan as she wandered in
"...I was certain I heard you squealing and giggling?" he said with a curious smile

"Oh, it was Peter, he ran into my room, well... his room, as a racoon and forgot I was in there and he changed back into a rather naked human being. I was just a bit surprised that's all" smiled Joan
"Naked?" asked Max
"Oh, you're not going to let that drop are you?..." said Peter as he too, walked into the kitchen.
"...I said I was sorry. I sleep naked and I was startled." explained Peter
"Well, I'm sure any judge would let you off with an explanation like that!" chuckled Max as he left the room.

It was just after ten o'clock, they'd all just finished clearing the breakfast things away when the phone rang.
"Hello?" said Shirley, who'd been closet to the phone.
"What?... Are you sure?... Oh no! ... How many do you think? ... Well, we can certainly try. What about Dalgaran?... Well that's something I suppose... Yes, alright, we'll be there right away." Shirley finished and put the phone down.

She turned to find everyone in the hallway, looking at her expectantly, having overheard her side of the conversation.
"Whats going on?" asked Fred
"Wandering devils..." began Shirley, with a frown,
"...That was Reginald. Him and Nicholas have been staying, as you know, in an apartment that's right next to the campus and they can see part of the quadrant from their window.". continued Shirley

"Don't tell me... the grass needs cutting?" quipped Peter, attempting humour to mask the fear he was feeling right now.
"They can see at least ten wandering devils, racing around, knocking things over, flying in and out of the buildings. They locked the doors as you know, but it looks like they might have broken some of the windows to get in." explained Shirley

"What about Dalgaran?" asked Morse
"They've not seen or heard him, they don't think he's through yet" answered Shirley
"Right then we'd better get over there." said Fred decisively.

"Hang on Dad! Wandering devils? You can just walk off after a statement like that without explaining what's going on!" protested Joan
"Love, wandering devils are creatures from the demon world. They're about three feet tall, they can fly, they're quite strong and they're not very well behaved..." said Fred, by way of explanation, before adding,
"...but we really do have to get going. Will you two stay here until we get back?" he asked Joan and Sam

"Yes Dad, but be careful. Please?" asked Joan
"We will love. We'll be back as soon as we can." said Fred, as the six housemates all put their coats on. Fred and Win gave Joan and Sam a hug and they all walked out of the door.

Joan and Sam sat on the sofa together in the lounge after the others had left.
"Do you remember, when we were little, when Dad or sometimes Mum, would go off late at night for an hour or two?" said Joan
"Mmmm, yeah, I always wondered where they went" said Sam
"Well, maybe it was linked to their abilities? I always thought it was something to do with Dad being in the police? But maybe they were fighting demons or something?" mused Joan
"Yeah, maybe. We'll ask them when they get back." said Sam

When the housemates arrived at the campus a couple of minutes later, they were greeted by a group of people at the entrance.
Reginald, Nicholas, Dorothea, George Fancy, Jim Strange and even Joss Bixby, we're all there.

At Fred's surprised look, Reginald spoke up,
"Thank you, for coming straight over. I know none of us have anything like your unusual abilities, but we're here to help, in any way we can. It appears that the devils actually can't get out of the campus. we've seen them try... a few times, but they get within a few feet of the perimeter and seem to tire and have to fly back towards the direction of the library." he explained

"Is that significant do you think? Is it because the campus boundary is stopping them, or because they need the energy from the rift?" asked Morse

"Well, don't know if it was deliberate or not, but the library is in the very centre of the campus. Equidistant from the perimeter in all directions, bar a few feet here and there. It seems the devils can only go so far from the rift. So your idea about them needing its energy, may be correct. When they get too far away from it, they tire quickly and can't function" said Reginald

"Well, that's good to know. At least if it all gets too much and we need a break, we can run out here for a quick rest!" smiled Fred, trying to find a positive point to help quell everyone's obvious worries.

"Any sign of Dalgaran?" asked Max
"No, not a peep" said Nicholas
"Ok, we best go in then, same as before, Morse... you and Win stay invisible. We could certainly use the upper hand of making fireballs appear out of thin air." said Fred

Win and Morse both nodded, took hold of each other's hands and disappeared.
"Stay close mind. Remember we've got no way of knowing where you are" added Fred, then letting out a surprised squeal as he felt a hand on his bottom.
"That better be my wife's hand Morse, or you're going to be in real trouble!" said Fred with a slight blush.

There were chuckles all round at that, before a serious calm settled on the group and the six housemates set off into the campus.

No sooner has they got inside, they were bombarded. At least six devils swooped towards them, with heart-stopping shrieks.
Fred lashed out at the first two, who'd made a bee-line straight for him. He sent them flying through the air before they landed dazed and winded several yards away.

They saw Golgoran and Tormoroth then, who both knew better than to go anywhere near Fred, choosing instead to try their luck against Shirley. Having managed to knock her unconscious last time, they let their bravado get the better of them and swooped towards her.

Shirley was one step ahead though and let out a scream of her own as she encased them both in thick ice, in mid flight.
They crashed to the ground with a thud, a large ice cube with two devils frozen in time, staring back at them.
Fred pick them up and carried them over to the far side of the quadrant and left them there.
"We'll pile up the devils here, ready to throw them all through the rift when we're done!" Fred grinned at the others.
His happiness was short lived, however when he heard Win scream...

Win and Morse had been running backwards and forwards, always keeping close to the others, but as any devils came towards them, Win would conjure up and throw a fireball. It was clear this tactic was working for the most part, as the devils seemed to be confused as to where the fire was coming from.

After a time though, Win and Morse did tire a bit and made the mistake of standing still to throw three fireballs in quick succession.
One devil flew through the air from behind, aiming right for the spot where the fire was emanating from... and collided with Win, crashing into her back, causing her to loose her grip on Morse and fall, crashing to the ground.
She hit her head and shoulder and was winded as she lay there.

Morse was kneeling at her side in an instant. He needed to check her injuries, but in order to do that, she needed to stay visible so Morse could see her.
He helped Win sit up, but now she was visible, the devils began to swarm towards her. They were furious at what they saw as her having tricked them.
Win summoned what little strength she had and created a dome of fire over her and Morse, which held the devils back.

Morse checked her over. She had banged her head and was feeling a bit dazed and she'd got a nasty cut on her left arm and shoulder from where she'd hit the ground.
"When you're ready, I'll pick you up and make you invisible again, then I'll carry you to the campus entrance. Reginald and the others will make sure you're ok and I'll come back and help the others." said Morse

"I'm fine" said Win
"No you're not ...and that's my line" Morse smiled. Win couldn't see his smile, but she could hear it in his voice
"Stay with them just for a few minutes to get your breath back, and rejoin us when you feel ready." said Morse
"Ok" said Win

Morse picked her up in his arms and she put her hand on his bare neck and vanished. She ended the fiery dome and as soon as it had gone, the devils turned to pounce... but there was no one there. They couldn't see Morse carrying Win across the quadrant.
They shrieked in anger, but it did them no good.

When they reached the perimeter, Morse put Win down and she re-appeared.
"Blimey! You didn't half give me a fright appearing out of nowhere like that!" chuckled Jim Strange.
"Sorry love" said Win
"You're bleeding my dear, come and sit down" said Reginald with a look of concern
"I'll let Fred know where you are" said Morse as he left Win's side and made his way back into the university grounds
"Thank you dear" said Win

"Strange..." said Reginald
"Yes?" answered Jim
"What?... oh no! Ha! Not you Jim. I mean it's strange, hearing Morse speaking like that, but not being able to see him. Not something I expect to ever get used to" explained Reginald.

Chapter Text

Morse made his way back onto campus and to the others. Two more devils had been frozen into blocks of ice and put next to Golgoran and Tormoroth.
Morse couldn't help but smile, the ice was too thick to melt anytime soon and although the devils couldn't move or escape, their angry shouts could still be heard,
"You let me out of here right now!" one shouted
"You'll regret this! This is outrageous!" shouted another.
'Right, four down, six to go' thought Morse as he walked over to Fred

"Win's safe." he said
"Bloody hell lad... do you get a kick out of making me jump?" asked Fred
"I little bit" admitted Morse
Fred had a good idea where Morse was, even though he couldn't see him. As they spoke, he could gauge his distance and position by his voice. It was all a bit unnerving.

"Is she hurt badly?" asked Fred, concern etched onto his face.
"No. She's banged her head and got a nasty cut on her shoulder, but she's with Reginald and the others and they've got a first aid kit with them. They'll patch her up until we get home, then Max can have a proper look at her." explained Morse

"Right you are. Thank you lad. I was petrified when I heard her scream. Then I saw her put that fire dome up. I presume you were under that with her then?" asked Fred
"Yes, it gave me time to make sure she was ok before I carried her over to the others. She was a bit dazed, but she'll be fine" said Morse

Fred nodded, but had to end their conversation when a devil barrelled into him at full pelt.
"These things really are stupid! I'm sure this is the same one that's flown into me four times already and each time I've thrown him back... just like this..." said Fred as he flung the devil high up into the air and across the quadrant,
"...and each time, he comes back for more" added Fred, shaking his head.

Morse heard Max shout then and as he turned, he saw the young surgeon using his magic to hold three devils still... suspended in mid air about ten feet in front of him.
"If you could freeze these fellows for me please, Shirley? I'd be much obliged, then Fred? If you wouldn't mind popping them on the devil pile?" said Max, talking as though he was asking for help sorting out the books in his study.

Shirley obliged and froze each of the three devils and Fred took great pleasure in carrying each one over to place with the others.
"Remind me to bring gloves next time!..." Fred grumbled,
"...This ice is bloody freezing!" he added

Just then, they heard a small squeal and their resident fluffy racoon came racing towards them.
Up until now, Peter had been much faster than any of the wandering devils, but one of them seemed to have much greater speed than the others and he was giving Peter a real run for his money.

This devil, called Zandoth, had caught up with Peter and grabbed him by the tail and swung him around before letting go and sending him crashing to the ground.
Peter had fled towards his friends and the much faster Zandoth was hot on his heels.
"Aaagghhhhh Fred! Quick!" shouted the little racoon.
Fred looked at Peter as he ran... but no sooner had Peter got within a few feet of Fred, he let out a surprised squeal...

...and disappeared.

"What the...?" exclaimed Fred
Zandoth roared with frustration and turned towards Fred.
Fred threw a punch towards Zandoth and luckily connected to his torso as he got close enough. Fred's strength caused Zandoth to fly backwards through the air with a wail, before landing on the ground.

Max and Shirley were quick to react, with Max holding Zandoth down, whilst Shirley froze him.
Fred then ran over and picked up the Zandoth ice cube and carried it to the other frozen devils and added it to the pile.

He turned back then, with a frown.
"What happened to Peter? One minute he was running towards me, the next minute, he just vanished?" Fred asked Max and Shirley
"I don't know? We didn't see!" answered Shirley

"I'm right here, I'm ok" answered Peter.
"Right where? I can't see you? Hang on... are you with Morse?" Fred realised
"Yes, he scooped me up as I was running towards you. Just in time" said Peter.
"Thank goodness for that! I wondered for a moment where you'd gone" said Fred with relief.

Morse had grabbed Peter as he ran past. He'd only been able to grab him as he'd slowed right down and Morse was now holding the invisible little racoon securely in his arms.
"Erm, Morse?" asked Peter
"Yes?" said Morse
"You can put me down now..." answered Peter

It was a bit of a chilly day and Morse had rather enjoyed having a rather warm and furry racoon to keep his hands warm and he'd been absentmindedly stroking Peter's back as he held him.
"Oh!... sorry, yes" replied Morse and he gently put Peter down on the ground.
As soon as Morse let go of him, he reappeared.

"Oh lad, your tail's bleeding, are you ok?" asked Fred
"What? Oh, that's when Zandoth grabbed me by the tail. It's a bit sore, but I'm sure I'll be ok." said Peter, reaching round and licking the blood off, causing Fred to raise an eyebrow and then give a little frown.

"Want me to get Max to have a look at that?" asked Fred
"I heard that..." said Max,
"...and I'm a surgeon, not a vet!" he said with a raised eyebrow
"Well, a cut's a cut? Surely?" said Fred
"I jest! Of course I'll look at it." said Max with a roll of his eyes.

"Which bit of you will be injured when you change back then? Cos you won't have your racoon's tail when you're human?" asked Fred... blushing as soon as he realised what the answer might be.
"Ok, ok, no need to go into detail!... it'll probably just hurt to sit down for a couple of days!..." protested Peter,
"...It's just a small cut and I'll be fine... now and when I change back" he added and ran off in the direction of another devil.

"Poor lad's embarrassed." said Fred, with a shake of his head
"Wouldn't you be?" asked Max
"Mmmm, good point" said Fred

While they'd been talking, Peter had chased another devil towards them. This one was larger that's the others. He had long claws on the ends of his fingers and swooped down over Max with such ferocity, that it caught him off guard and caused him to duck. Shirley spun round and sent her ice towards it, but she missed by mere inches and it turned and continued to head back towards Fred.

Fred stood his ground and got ready to grab this new devil, but as it got within a foot of him, it lashed out with its claws, sinking them into Fred's chest. It screamed as it cut into him and Fred's screams joined in as he fell back onto the ground.
At that moment, as the devil stood on Fred's stomach and raised his arms to rip its claws into Fred once more, a large ball of fire raced through the air and slammed into the devil, setting it on fire. It screamed one last time, before falling lifelessly backwards onto the grass.

Shirley raced to Fred's side as his coat was now on fire and she quickly extinguished it with her ice.
"Fred! Fred love!" Win shouted as she rushed towards him. He was covered in blood.
Max had lifted himself back to his feet with Morse's help and he too knelt next to Fred and began to examine his injuries.

"Nothing too deep or serious by the look of it. More a collection of very nasty scratches than deep wounds. You're lucky. I suggest you take it easy while we catch the last devil. I might need to pop a couple of stitches in them if you overdo it before we get back home" advised Max
"Right. But I'll need to help you throw all the devils into the rift." said Fred
"See how you go. I might be able to move them all with my magic" replied Max
Fred nodded

"Maybe you should wait outside the campus for now Fred?" said Win, worried by the amount of blood all over her husband's chest, despite Max's assurances that it wasn't serious.
"I'm staying here love. You might all need my help, especially when we go into the library. I've no doubt Dalgaran will be more than annoyed when he sees what we've done to all his devils." said Fred

"I'll stay with you Fred..." began Morse
"...if we stay invisible, at least that will stop the last devil from attacking you" he added
"Good idea lad..." agreed Fred,
"...But I can't hold your hand if I can't see it!" he chuckled
Morse grabbed hold of Fred's hand then, making Fred jump and disappear at the same time.

"Shirley! Look out!" shouted Win at that moment
Shirley turned just in time to see the last devil descending towards her from high up in the sky. She reacted quickly, producing a shield of ice between her and the devil. The devil crashed into it at full pelt. The ice shattered into tiny pieces and rained down on Shirley. It had slowed the devil down, but hadn't stopped it and it landed hard on Shirley's shoulder as she tried to move out of its way.

Max used his magic and grabbed the devil and held it away from Shirley while Peter ran to her side to check if she was ok.
She was conscious, but in a lot of pain.
"Looks like your shoulder might be dislocated. Try not to move" said Peter. He'd changed back into his human form and knelt on the grass beside her with his arm around her to support her.

She smiled at him and replied with a pained grimace,
"Hold on, I've got one more thing I need to do"
Shirley lifted her uninjured arm and let a stream of ice out towards the final devil that Max was still holding suspended in mid air. As soon as it had been frozen, Max put it on the pile with the others.
Shirley sank back then, her pain and exhaustion taking over.

"Right, we need to get all the devils into the rift, before they thaw out again." said Win
"I'll help Max do that" said Fred
"No you won't love! You're hurt and Max already told you if you over do it now, you might need stitches!" said Win
"I'm the only one strong enough to withstand the vortex! If I don't go, then who ever does, will likely end up in the rift with the devils." reasoned Fred
"He's got a point Win..." said Max
"...I can certainly use my magic to carry the devils into the library and lift them through the rift, but if, or more likely when, Dalgaran creates one of his vortexes, I won't be able to withstand that without Fred's help." Max explained further.

"Alright then, but I'm coming with you as well" said Win
"And me" added Morse
They all agreed that Peter would take Shirley off the campus, while Max, Fred, Win and Morse would take the ten devils and put them back into the rift.

Fred picked up the charred remains of the devil who'd been unfortunate enough to get caught in the path of one of Win's fireballs.

Win hadn't intended to kill any devils, but when she saw that one attacking her Fred and all the blood, she had seen red and poured all her anger and force into her attack to protect her husband.

When they got to the library, they managed to stack six of the ice blocks together, which Fred was able to pick up. Morse kept his hand on Win's wrist, so she remained invisible.

Max lifted the other three iced devils and charred one with his magic and the four of them made their way into the library.
They moved as quickly as they could, going straight to the far end, where the rift was now clearly visible.
They hurled all ten devils through the gap, into the demon world.

For about twenty seconds there was complete silence.

Fred and Max walked back towards the door, with Morse and Win walking right behind them.
They had almost reached the door, when a loud voice boomed through the library and a vortex began to whip up.
"What is the meaning of this! You have made a mockery of me and my devils! You will pay for this! Aaaagggghhhhhhhh!" Dalgaran roared with anger, sending his vortex into a frenzy.

Almost immediately the four of them where hit by the ferocious winds. Fred held steady and had grabbed Max's arm, who was standing next to him. Fred turned, but he couldn't see Win and Morse as they were both still invisible.
Morse realised their predicament a split second too late and as he made him and Win visible again, but they were just out of Fred's reach and they got pulled at great speed towards the rift.
"Noooo!" shouted Fred, but it was too late.

Win and Morse hit the rift and disappeared through it.
The room fell silent again.
Fred and Max stood there, in shock. They ran towards the rift, but couldn't see anything through it. It was pitch black on the other side and no sounds could be heard.

"Win! Morse!" Fred shouted, panic sounding in his voice
"Max? Can you do anything? Please! Do something!" pleaded Fred
Max went right up to the rift, with Fred keeping a tight hold on him and he looked all around it and into it.

"Fred, I'm sorry. I can't feel any energy whatsoever now. The rift seems larger than it did before, that's how they were able to fit through. But I can't sense anything at all at the moment." Max said sadly.
Fred fell to his knees, tears escaping from his eyes.

"They're still alive though? We can get them back?" he asked
"There's no reason to believe otherwise, but we can't just go racing in there after them. We need to go to the others and formulate a plan." said Max, helping Fred back to his feet.
They stood there just staring into the rift for another five minutes or so, before resigning themselves to the fact that they'd had to leave the library... for now at least.

Shirley and Peter waited with the others just outside the campus entrance.
"They're coming" said Peter
"I can only see Fred and Max? Where we Win and Morse?" commented Shirley.
"Must still be invisible" suggested Peter

As Fred and Max got closer though, they could see that Fred was crying.
"What happened?..." asked Peter worriedly
"...Where are they? Where's Win and Morse?" he added

Fred couldn't form any words and Max answered for them.
"They got pulled into the rift." he said Sombrely
"What?" shouted Peter

"We threw the devils through and nothing happened. Just silence. So the four of us walked towards the door. Just as we got to it, Dalgaran whipped up one of his vortexes and they got caught in it" explained Max

"I should never have let them go with us" cried Fred
"This is not your fault Fred. They wanted to go with us." said Max
"I couldn't see them! I grabbed you and I turned to grab them too... but I couldn't see them. When Morse made them visible, they were out of my reach! I couldn't reach them!" said Fred, getting more upset by the minute

"We'll get them back. We'll make a plan and we'll get them back" Max said firmly, to try to calm Fred.
Fred nodded and added
"We've got to"

The four remaining housemates, along with Reginald and Nicholas all made their way slowly back to the house.
Peter still had his arm around Shirley who was still exhausted from the pain in her shoulder and all the times she had had to use her ice.

Fred was struggling to walk to quickly as his injuries were bleeding more now after all his exertion. Max opened the front door and they all filed in.
"Right, Fred and Shirley go straight into the kitchen and sit yourselves down, so I can treat your injuries." instructed Max

Joan and Sam came rushing through into the hall when the four arrived home, a look of horror on both of their faces at the sight before them.
"Oh my god Dad! You're hurt!... and where's Mum?... and Morse?" asked Joan

"Joan, love, your Mum and Morse have been pulled into the rift..." began Fred
"The rift? what's that then? are they ok?" asked Sam
"They will be. We're going to get patched up by Max, then we're going to get them back" said Fred

"We'll come with you" said Joan
"No you bloody well won't! You'll stay here until we get back!" shouted Fred, a little more harshly than he'd intended... his worry for Win showing through.
"But Dad! If Mum and Morse are in danger, we want to help!" protested Joan
"I know you do love, but it's dangerous and the less of us we put in danger, the better" said Fred

"Your father's right..." began Reginald, before realising they didn't know who he was and adding,
"...I'm Reginald Bright, a don at St. Finnemore's and this is the dean, Nicholas Gaiman."
"Pleased to meet you" said Joan and Sam as they all shook hands.
Reginald continued to speak,
"Your father, Max, Peter and Shirley all have very unique abilities, as I'm sure you're aware and they are best suited to take on this demon. Do either of you have any experience with guns?" he asked, getting him a glare from Fred
"No" replied Joan and Sam

"Then It really is best if you stay off the campus until they get back. They need to concentrate on rescuing your Mother and Morse. They can't do that if they're concentrating on keeping you safe, hmmm?" said Reginald
Joan and Sam reluctantly nodded. They really wanted to help, but what Reginald had said, did make perfect sense.
They all left Fred, Shirley and Max in the kitchen, while they went and waited in the lounge.

It took Max about an hour to successfully check over and treat both Fred's and Shirley's injuries. Everyone winced slightly at the sound of Shirley's scream as Max re-located her shoulder.

Fred needed eight stitches in all, not too bad considering, but he definitely didn't want to face that devil again... so he was secretly glad Win had despatched it in the manner she had... 'oh Win' Fred thought to himself. 'I hope you're ok' only realising he'd spoken out loud when Shirley answered him.
"She and Morse will be alright Fred. We're going to go and get them back... the four of us. They'll be ok" she tried to reassure him. He managed a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Chapter Text

While the housemates were in the house, the library received another visitor.
Arthur Lott walked inside to meet with Dalgaran.
"Oh, it's you. The great human waste of time" Dalgaran spat

"What? I've given you lots of information about the four students! I told you their abilities and I relayed their conversations to you!" Arthur protested
"You told me nothing I didn't already know!" Dalgaran roared, and continued
"And there are six students with special powers! Not four! You can't even count!" he added with anger

"How was I to know that they had invisibility?" replied Arthur
"You told me you could find out everything about them!" said Dalgaran
"Well, I followed four of them tonight... they left the campus and two of them looked injured. I think the girl had a dislocated shoulder and the older man was covered in blood." said Arthur

"Oh, thank you so much!... began Dalgaran
"You're welcome" smiled Arthur
"...for telling me... again... what I already knew!" roared Dalgaran
"But I..." began Arthur, but Dalgaran cut him off,
"...I caught two of the students though. I have them held captive." he said with a grin

"What? How? Are they hurt?" asked Arthur
"What do you care if they're hurt? I know the other four will try to rescue them... and when they do, I'll kill them all. Then, when the rift reaches its full size, I'll be able to take over St. Finnemore's with no one left to stop me!" Dalgaran let out a laugh that shook Arthur as he stood before the great demon.

"What can I do?" asked Arthur, still wanting to prove his usefulness in order to stay safe.
"Well, I would say go away and never come back... but I may find a use for you yet. Find out what the other four are planning to do and when they plan to do it. Then come back and tell me. Do you think you can manage that?" asked Dalgaran, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes, oh yes, of course. I'll find out right away." said Arthur, before bowing to Dalgaran and leaving the library.

Arthur didn't notice the two shadowy figures of Dorothea and Joss just outside the library, who had seen and heard everything.

Morse and Win were sitting on the floor in a small room in the demon world. It was a strange place. The sky was a dim blue colour, much like the colour of Earth's sky at dusk. There were no stars and no moon or clouds.

They had been placed into a room that measured no more than four feet across and was circular in shape, so they couldn't even lie down and stretch their legs out. They were instead sitting side by side on the floor, leaning up against the wall. Morse had an arm around Win. It helped to make them both feel a little better.

The walls were made of something akin to stone and stretched up above them to a height of about thirty feet. There was no ceiling or roof above, so the sky was always visible.
There were no windows and just a door in one side of the high circular wall, where they'd been led in through and had been locked ever since. There were no handles or anything visible on the inside of the door, so nothing they could try to use to escape.
They knew they hadn't been there long' but time seemed to feel different here... slower almost. It was an odd sensation.

Their abilities were of no use to them here. Win couldn't throw her fire, as the only direction she would be able to throw it was straight up... the consequence of that being, it would come straight back down. And making themselves invisible, when they were the only two in the room, really wasn't going to solve anything.

"They'll come for us, Fred and the others. They'll get us out of here." said Morse. He was trying to convince himself as much as Win, because right now, he really had no idea how they would be rescued. He had no idea how big this demon world was or how far from the rift they'd been taken.
"I know they'll try" replied Win, leaning her head on Morse's shoulder and closing her eyes.

Fred and the others had been working out a plan of action.
"If we go sooner rather than later, then we won't be too far behind them, so we'll have a chance of finding them" suggested Fred
"I've studied the demon world, Fred. For thirty years. There are reports from people who've been in there and come back... but it's rather the labyrinth in places I believe and it's always dark... like our dusk. I agree we shouldn't wait, but we need to be ready for a long trip" said Reginald with a frown

"We?" Fred had picked up on that one word
"Well, yes. Nicholas and I will be coming with you. We have access to some guns on the campus. A sad requirement on account of the rift. When we get to the campus, we will go and arm ourselves, then we will stand by your side and help you rescue Win and Morse. After all, it was us who asked you to get involved in all this in the first place hmmm?" said Reginald with a defiant smile.

Fred looked at Reginald and Nicholas in surprise, then smiled and nodded,
"Thank you" he said
Just then, their doorbell rang. It was Dorothea and Joss.
"Come in, come in." said Max, ushering them through the door.

"We've just been on campus. By the library" said Dorothea
"You've what? You do remember what just happened, I take it?" said Peter with disbelief.
"Yes, of course and the half an hour just after you'd despatched those ten devils, has probably been the safest time to go there in the last few days" replied Dorothea

She had a point, Peter supposed
"And...?" he added
"Arthur Lott. Our resident traitor. He went straight into the library after you left. He seems to think he and Dalgaran are best mates and he's going to be as safe as houses when the demon finally gets out." said Dorothea with a shake of her head.

Joss spoke up then
"We overheard the entire conversation. Dalgaran thinks Arthur is a waste of space..," he began
"Well, he's not far wrong" said Fred
"...He's using Arthur one last time, to find out everything about your plan to rescue Win and Morse. He says he's holding them captive and he's going to kill you all when you attempt the rescue." Joss explained

"So he'll have a clear campus to take over when the rift is big enough" added Dorothea
"So they're alive then? He's holding them captive and they're still alive?" said Fred, His voice full of hope.

"It certainly looks that way. But you need to be very careful discussing your plans. We saw Arthur go straight back to his apartment when he left the library, so we know we got here before him, but he could turn up outside a window at any minute..." said Dorothea, before adding,
"...Jim Strange and George Fancy are keeping an eye on Arthur movements"

"Right then, we'll go upstairs, top floor, to our room, there's room for everyone to sit in there and we'll turn the lights off down here. That lowlife will have to break in if he wants to hear what we're saying" said Fred

Five minutes later, the house was in darkness' save one light, casting a faint glow around the edges of the curtains of one window at the top of the house, at the back.

When Arthur did turn up at the house, he looked around the whole building, but from where he stood in the garden, he couldn't see the light upstairs. He left again, soon after, wondering where the students had gone and how he was going to find them.
If he didn't take Dalgaran the information he'd asked for, Arthur didn't think he'd be able to face him again.

The four remaining housemates gathered some supplies, bottles of water, some biscuits, a first aid kit, some rope, torches and a few other items of use. They packed the stuff between four small rucksacks, that Fred, Max, Reginald and Nicholas would carry.
Shirley's injured shoulder wouldn't be able to stand the weight of any bag and if Peter was to carry a rucksack, he would still be able to change, but it would drastically hinder his speed, due to the bag-to-raccoon weight ratio.

They all set off to the campus. Joan and Sam went with them, on strict instructions from Fred that they would not set foot inside the campus. He also left them with a detailed description of what he'd do to them both if they did.

When they got there, Jim and George were waiting for them at the entrance. Jim spoke in a low voice and nodded his head slightly at a nearby wall,
"Arthur's hiding behind that wall. He went to your house, but it was in darkness. He's been to your temporary flat in the city as well, with no luck..." he gestured to Reginald and Nicholas,
"...Looks to be getting desperate. I reckon he's made some sort of promise to that demon, that he's beginning to worry he can't keep." said Jim

They nodded. Reginald and Nicholas made their way into the campus, followed by Fred, Max, Peter and Shirley.
"Good luck" said Jim
"Thank you" they all replied
Sam and Joan gave their father a big cuddle,
"As Mum would say... come home safe" said Joan
"I will love, and so will your Mum and Morse" Fred replied

George pulled Shirley into a big hug, being careful not to hurt her shoulder.
"You come back, alright? I've got a date planned for us when this is all over and I'm rather hoping you're going to be there" he said with one of his adorable smiles.
"I'll come back... I promise. We all will. And I'll hold you to that date!" she smiled as they all walked away.

As the group of six all walked away onto the campus, Arthur Lott appeared from behind the wall. He'd heard enough. Not that he'd heard very much, but he needed to get to the library and tell Dalgaran that there were six people on their way to rescue Win and Morse.

As Jim saw him go, he went to go after him and stop him, but Dorothea Grabbed his arm,
"Let him go Jim. He's not going to be able to tell Dalgaran anything he doesn't already know. Let him find out for himself just how much of a good friend Dalgaran really is. I personally think he's going to be in for a shock" said Dorothea
"Yeah, good idea, we've done enough running around after him for one night anyway" Jim smiled in agreement.

The group went to the apartment building first, on the far side of the quadrant, where they went up to Reginald's apartment.
Reginald walked over to the big old chest that Max had previously demonstrated his magic on and he opened it.
"Blimey Reginald! You weren't kidding when you said you'd got some guns!" exclaimed Fred

"I'm not a big fan of guns on the whole, but after witnessing the last demon visit all those years ago, I had to prepare." Reginald answered, as he began lifting some of the firearms out of the chest.
He and Nicholas chose one rifle and two handguns each, along with a generous amount of ammunition. They packed what they needed and put the rest away, after the four housemates declined the offer of any guns themselves.

"Right then, here we go. Now, I expect that Dalgaran will not have taken Win and Morse very far into the rift. He wants us to find them, after all... so he can kill us all at the same time." said Reginald
"What a lovely thought" said Peter

"We need to be ready... likely as not, Dalgaran may grant us easy passage into the rift at first. But we mustn't be lulled into a false sense of security, as he will strike as soon as he thinks the time is right. We've not had to fight him full on yet and we don't know how many wandering devils are in there." Reginald warned them all.

"You said others have been in and got out before? what's their secret?" asked Shirley
"The accounts are quite old and there are only five examples, but I believe they each had magic, strong enough to fell a demon." said Reginald
"Im not sure my magic is anywhere near up to that standard" said Max
"Maybe not, that's why we brought the six of you together. I have absolute faith you can defeat Dalgaran together." said Reginald
"Well let's hope we can all get together before he makes his move" said Peter.

They all picked up their various bags and took a collective deep breath, before walking down towards the library.

While they'd been arming themselves, Arthur had been trying to impress Dalgaran.
"I've got news!" he said proudly
"New news? Or useless news?" asked Dalgaran, sounding slightly bored
"New of course! I'm not going to come here and waste your time" protested Arthur.

"Oh go on then... astound me" said Dalgaran
"There's six of them coming to rescue Win and Morse! And two of them will probably have guns. I know Reginald's got a stash in his apartment and they've all just gone there." said Arthur

"Well, a new piece of information at last. When are they coming?" asked Dalgaran
"Soon, I reckon, I heard them talking at the campus entrance. I expect they'll be here any minute." Arthur informed him.

"Right then. I'd better tidy up before my guests arrive! Starting with you!" Dalgaran roared and Arthur felt himself being pulled towards Dalgaran and the rift.
"Erm, Dalgaran? What are you doing? You said if I helped you, I'd be safe!" shouted Arthur as he helplessly tried to grab hold of things as he was pulled along.
"And you will be safe! You'll be very safe indeed. No one will ever bother you again!" Dalgaran let out a laugh that sent shivers down Arthur's spine.
He tried to shout for help, but it was too late... he disappeared from the library.

Chapter Text

Fred and the others arrived at the library just over ten minutes later. It was silent and still in there.
They were all on edge, remembering Reginald's warning that Dalgaran would likely not hinder their access, but would wait for an opportune moment to strike.

"This is where we need Morse..." whispered Peter
"...to get us in unseen"
"Well, when we find him, that might well come in handy on the way out" Fred whispered back.
They had no idea if Dalgaran or anyone else was listening, so they were careful to keep their voices down.

They stood mere feet from the rift.
"I wonder if there's a big drop on the other side?" asked Max
"Never thought of that." said Fred
"I'll go first, if there is a drop, I can use my magic to break my fall and then warn you." replied Max
"Right you are..." said Fred.
Although he wasn't sure about sending Max in alone before the rest, he couldn't see a better alternative.

He needn't have worried though, because no sooner had Max stepped through, he came straight back, assuring them it was 'no more taxing than
walking through a simple doorway'.

They all went through this time. Max went first, as his magic was likely to be the most effective power in this realm.
He was followed by Nicholas with a rifle, Shirley and Peter in the middle and Fred and a pistol carrying Reginald at the rear.

The world they had entered was dark, similar to the light of Earth's dusk. They could see, what they presumed to be a dark blue starless sky above them.
The ground they walked on was smooth, not unlike polished concrete in its appearance.

There were various walls either side of them, going off in different directions, hiding goodness knows what, behind them.
They walked straight ahead, for want of a better direction. They felt like they were being watched, but they could see and hear nothing. There was, in fact, no sound at all. Not like Earth, where you could always hear something, be it a bird singing, a church bell, a car in the distance or just the wind... but here... there was nothing.

They continued on for another five minutes. Everywhere seemed the same. They could be walking around in a large circle and they wouldn't have known.
It was Max who assured them of their position, when Peter broached the subject.
"I can sense lots of tiny pulses of energy..." he whispered to the group,
"...so I can tell that we haven't been this way before... I can also tell that we are not alone" he added, raising the heart rate of the entire group.

Just then, a scrabbling sound broke the silence. They turned just in time to see a wandering devil take flight and swoop down towards Shirley.
'Going for one of the weakest first, no doubt' thought Reginald to himself, with regards to Shirley's shoulder injury.
Shirley was ready though and cased the devil in ice. It dropped to the ground like a stone, the ice block landing with a dull thud.
"Nice work" praised Fred with a nod.

He didn't get chance to say anything else though, because no sooner had the first devil fell, another five were racing towards them, their screams piercing through the silence.
Shirley managed to case another two in ice in quick succession, while Fred sent another one flying into the distance. It disappeared into the darkness, so they couldn't see where it landed, they could only hear its screams cease with the sound of a dull thud.

Peter transformed into a racoon and chased the fourth devil. It was a quick chase, with Peter climbing up onto Fred's shoulders before leaping off into the path of the devil and catching it easily and managing to hit it with his claws, causing it to fall to the ground. Fred was able to pick it up and hurl it in the same direction as the last one.

The fifth devil was racing around the group, just out of arms length. It was screeching and screaming at such a pitch that they all had to put their hands over their ears.
Then it struck. It dove straight for Max, who was at the front of the group. He still had his hands over his ears as the devil grew closer. Suddenly the devil froze in mid flight... no movement or sound coming from it.

"Shirley, if you'd be so good as to do the honours my dear" said Max, quite calmly.
Shirley used her ice and Max let the fifth devil drop to the ground with the others.
"But you had your hands over your ears? How did you do that?" asked Fred
"I fear you've been watching too many television shows. It is easier to channel my magic through my hands if I hold them out in front of me. But that doesn't mean I can't use my magic without my hands" Max explained.

They walked on and on and on. They'd been in the rift for half an hour now and had not seen or heard anything to suggest they were anywhere near Win or Morse. They had called out to them a few times, but got no reply. Their presence no longer needed to be kept a secret after the attack by the devils.

Max stopped abruptly.
"Careful Max, there's a man walking right behind you with a loaded gun! That could have been nasty!" said Nicholas with a nervous laugh.
"Sorry Nicholas, but I think I know where Win and Morse might be" Max replied.

Fred rushed forwards to stand beside Max
"Where?" he asked
"In that direction" answered Max, pointing off ahead, but slightly to the left.
"What makes you say that?" asked Peter

"You've all got your own unique energies. I've got used to them over the last few weeks. I can feel Win and Morse's energies, from that direction. They're very faint, so I can't say how far away they are." explained Max
"Come on then" said Fred, setting off at a faster pace.

"Fred, wait..." began Max
"...we all want to get to them as quickly as possible, but we still need to be careful. If we move too fast, we leave ourselves vulnerable" he added

Fred looked frustrated, but nodded. He couldn't argue with Max's logic. He'd spent many a time teaching young coppers not to go barrelling straight into a situation, but to take a moment to look around them first and make sure they knew what you were running into.

They changed direction at Max's instruction and walked on for another five minutes.
The haphazard walls that had surrounded them until now, opened out into a larger area before them. The sky here seemed brighter somehow, but was still dark blue in colour.
In the centre of the large expanse that now lay before them, were several circular tower like structures. Almost like concrete tubes standing on end and reaching up about thirty feet into the air. Each had a door, but no windows that they could see.
The towers were a light cream colour, standing out in stark contrast to their surroundings.

"I think Win and Morse are in one of those" Max said quietly
"Very good!" A loud voice boomed out of the darkness all around them.
It was Dalgaran and he finally revealed his full form to the six of them, walking out in front of them, so he stood between them and the towers.

They had seen some of him before, through the gap in the rift, but nothing could have prepared them for seeing his full form right in front of them now.
He was nearly fifteen feet tall and wore a long leather coat, which came down almost to his ankles.
He had bright white, almost burning eyes that stared at them intently. His skin was dark blue in colour and seemed to glisten in the low light, almost matching the darkest blue of the sky and was covered in some sort of tattoo like patterns and markings that seemed to glow brightly as he breathed. His teeth were all sharply pointed and long.
He had some sort of leather boots covering his feet. His hands were large and hand claws at the end of his fingers.

It was clear to all of them, that a simple physical fight with Dalgaran was not one they would win. They would have to use their abilities.

"Where are they? Which tower are they in?" shouted Fred.
"Oh, the love of a human. You don't need to worry yourself with which tower they are in. You won't be seeing them again, so it's really quite irrelevant." chuckled Dalgaran, clearly enjoying Fred's distress.

Just then they heard a shout,
"Fred! Fred! We're in here!" It was Win and her voice was coming from the tower closest to them in the centre.

"Be quiet!" Dalgaran shouted at Win
Before their eyes, they watched in horror as the middle tower started to shrink in size until it stood about two feet narrower across than it had before.

Inside the tower, when Win and Morse had heard voices, they'd both stood up and listened carefully to try to make out who it was and what was being said.
They'd realised that it was Dalgaran and Max who were speaking. Win knew Fred would be with him, so she shouted out.
"Fred! Fred!"

She knew he wouldn't be able to tell which tower they were in unless she called out. But almost as soon as she had shouted Fred's name, Dalgaran had shouted back to her to be quiet.
Then the circular wall around them seemed to move.

"Morse! It's shrinking! The tower's shrinking!" said Win, in a panic
Morse watched with wide eyes as the small room they were in became even smaller. They were forced to stand facing each other as there was no longer enough room to stand side by side. Morse put his arms around Win and whispered to her,
"They'll get us out of here. We're all going to get out of this" he assured her. He just wished he believed what he was saying.

Outside, Dalgaran was clearly intending to carry out his plan of killing the rescue party then killing Win and Morse.
He started to whip up one of his vortexes and they all grabbed hold of Fred and hung on for dear life.
They had been expecting this and had all positioned themselves in such a way that they could reach Fred if this situation occurred.
Max and Shirley each held onto an arm and Reginald and Nicholas crouched down and each held onto one of Fred's legs.

The only one of the group that didn't grab hold of Fred was a little racoon, that had taken this opportunity to transform without being seen and he'd raced around to the tower where Win and Morse were being held.
It had taken all of Max's concentration, but he'd been able to undo the lock on their tower door.
He had in fact been concentrating so hard, he'd unlocked all the doors on all the towers.
Only one other tower was occupied as it happened... by one Arthur Lott.

Peter sped to the door on the shrunken tower and grabbed the door handle and pulled. The vortex was still raging, but as soon as Morse saw what was happening, he grabbed Peter by one on his back paws and pulled him into the tower. They stood in the doorway, so they were shielded from the ferocious winds and also stopping the door from being closed on them again.

Win looked across at the door of the next tower as it began to open. She saw Arthur peering out.
"Look! I didn't know he was here?" she said to Morse and Peter.
"Seems like Dalgaran has had enough of him then!" said the little racoon
Morse smiled. He'd never get used to a talking racoon.

"Oi! You two! Thank god you're here as well! You've got to help me! That demon double crossed me and locked me up!" Arthur shouted to them.

"What an ignorant git! Can't he see there's three of us and why have we got to help him? He hasn't offered to help us!" said Peter, somewhat annoyed.
"Let's see what happens love..." began Win
"...We'll all help each other and we'll all get out of here" she added
"You really do need to stop wriggling though. I'm on the verge of dropping you" said Morse
"Sorry" said Peter as he sat still in Morse's arms. He could change back, but there really wasn't room for three adults in this tower doorway and if he was honest, he felt rather safe where he was.

Dalgaran was getting angrier by the second, when he'd noticed the tower doors all unlocking.
"Stop with your sorcery at once! ...Devils!" he screamed

The vortex died away and a swarm of about ten more wandering devils came racing towards them.
They all worked together this time, with two being taken down by well aimed punches from Fred. Another three were all trapped in one large ice block by Shirley, when they made the mistake of flying in very close formation.
Reginald and Nicholas joined the fight and shot down a devil each. Both apparently much better shots than they had let on.

The remaining three devils flew in circles around the group. Max caught one with his magic and threw it up into the air, which allowed Shirley to freeze it before it fell to the ground.
The final two hovered for a moment, right in front of Dalgaran...
Suddenly, seemingly out of thin air, a huge fireball appeared and engulfed both of them and sent them crashing into Dalgaran in a flurry of flames.
Dalgaran shouted out, partly in anger and partly in pain and he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

"Quick!" shouted Fred, beckoning the others to follow him.
They turned and ran back towards where they hoped the rift was. Max went in front and guided them on. They seemed to be running forever, the feeling heightened by the lack of landmarks as they ran through the seeming endless walls and pathways.

The eight of them failed to notice that Arthur was hot on their heels. He wasn't a threat to them, any alliance that he thought he'd had with Dalgaran was well and truly over.
The group had noticed, however, that Arthur had done nothing to help them fight or escape, in any way.

As they ran, they could hear Dalgaran in the distance.
"I think he's up, he's getting closer" shouted Max
"How much further to the rift?" asked Morse
"Not far, I don't think... but we mustn't slow down" answered Max

The world around them seemed to be getting darker and darker, as though the lights were being lowered to hinder their escape. It almost became impossible to see where they were going.
Then just as they were thinking they'd have to stop running, a small pin prick of light appeared up ahead.
"There it is! Keep going!" shouted Max

As they neared the light, it grew and when they got within a few yards of it, they could see the shape of the rift and the glow of the lights in the library on the other side.
As they reached it, Fred grabbed Win and Morse, who was still carrying Peter, and pushed them through first. He and Max then held on to each other's arms and stood their ground, while they made sure that Shirley, Reginald and Nicholas got safely through.

Then they saw Arthur...
"Let me through! Help me!" Arthur shouted at them.
Fred had more than a few choice words he wanted to say to Arthur, but now was not the time as a short distance behind him was Dalgaran, racing towards them at great speed.
Fred grabbed Arthur's arm and the three of them jumped through the rift into the library.

They all wasted no time in getting through and out of the library and closing the large door behind them and running out into the quadrant. They kept running, in fact, until they reached the edge of the campus and out of the main gate, where Dorothea and the others were waiting for them.

Chapter Text

As soon as Joan and Sam saw their parents, they rushed to hug them.
"Oh Mum, Dad! You're both ok!" said Joan
Sam was overwhelmed and couldn't trust himself to say anything aloud, so just hugged them harder. Then they turned their attentions to Morse and gave him hugs like he'd never had before.

After a moment, they heard a voice,
"Excuse me? Racoon struggling to breathe here!"
Morse was still holding Peter when he'd been double hugged and hadn't had time to put him down.
"Awwwe, sorry Peter" said Joan.

Instead of Morse putting Peter down however, so he could change back, Joan reached over and took him out of Morse's arms and cradled him in her own,
"Oh you poor baby! You've hurt your tail" she said, using one arm to carefully hold him with, while gently stroking his tail, then his nose with her free hand.

"It's a good job racoons can't blush Joan, because if you ask me, that one looks extremely embarrassed right now!" chuckled Fred
Peter was extremely embarrassed, but he was also rather enjoying being cradled and fussed over by Joan and he snuggled further against her when she offered to put him down.

"See Dad? I think he wants me to carry him" said Joan to Fred
"I bet he does! ...Oi! Peter! You watch where you're snuggling! Just remember that's my daughter!" Fred called out.
Peter looked at him wide eyed and tried to straighten himself out with a view to jumping out of Joan's arms after seeing the look Fred gave him, but Joan held on tight,

"Don't mind my overprotective father, you just relax and we'll get you home so you can rest" Joan said to Peter with a smile.
"Oh, don't mind the rest of us who are injured Joan! Me and your Mum and Shirley, for example" said Fred with mock hurt.
"Well, you're all adults, you'll be fine... Peter's a little fluffy racoon, aren't you?" she said, ruffling the fur on Peter's head
Fred rolled his eyes at the scene,
"Max, I think you're going to have to expand your magic so you can turn us all into racoons! It might be the only way me and Win can get our daughter to give us any attention!" Fred chuckled

Win, Shirley, Sam, Joan, Max and of course Peter all made their way back to the house, while the others stayed behind to deal with another unresolved issue...
...Arthur Lott.

Up to that point, Arthur had just been standing in the group of people, drinking in the victory of the successful rescue, along with the others. When they all then turned to look at him, he spoke up,
"Wow, that was a ride! We did good getting out of there, taking down those creatures and knocking Dalgaran down like that! I reckon we should all go for a pint to celebrate." he said with a cheery smile.

No one smiled back.
"We? You used the word we? Arthur..." began Fred
"Well, yes... we, as in you, me... all of us" replied Arthur
"And do tell, exactly what part you played in all this?" asked Fred
"Well, I couldn't do much to begin with, on account of being locked in that tower... but once I got out of there... we all got away and outran Dalgaran and got out of the library." Arthur explained

"Do you know what your problem is?" asked Fred
"What do you mean?" replied Arthur
"You're selfish, self centred, ungrateful, two faced ...and you've got a terrible memory!" shouted Fred, his voice getting louder and louder as he spoke.
Arthur was beginning to cower as Fred reeled off his list, but he still answered back,
"Now wait a minute! I remember what happened back there! And I wasn't selfish! I didn't run away, I stayed with you all until we escaped" protested Arthur

Fred walked right up to Arthur until they were standing almost toe to toe.
"Let me jog your memory, shall I?..." began Fred
"...Firstly, you were locked in that tower because you betrayed all of us! You met with a demon who is planning to take over St. Finnemore's and you were spying on us to help him!" explained Fred, as he continued
"...Secondly, you didn't escape from that tower. Max got the door open and let you out... and have you thanked him? No!" Fred was getting into the flow now,
"...Thirdly, you didn't do a single thing to help any of us in there! I held everyone in place throughout the vortex, we... not you... we fought the devils, and knocked Dalgaran down, enabling us to run back to the rift. All you did was run along behind us, telling us we had to help you!" Fred was almost spitting his words out with disgust.
"...Oh and fourthly, if it wasn't for us, you'd still be in that tower at Dalgaran's mercy for the rest of time... But you haven't uttered a single word of thanks to any one of us. You're pathetic" spat Fred as he turned away from Arthur and went to stand beside Dorothea.

Dorothea put her arm on Fred's to help calm him down.
Nicholas spoke up then,
"Arthur?" he said
"Yes?" answered Arthur, for some reason, clearly expecting Nicholas to be on his side,
"As of this minute... you're sacked. You are no longer at don at St. Finnemore's. You are not allowed onto any part of the campus without an escort that has been approved by me. I will allow a removal firm to collect your things from your apartment, once the rift has been sealed as I won't let you put anyone else in danger before then." said Nicholas

Arthur just stared at him in what appeared to be genuine shock.
"Don't give us that look Arthur. You're not really that naive to think you'd be allowed to stay at St. Finnemore's after everything you've done?" said Reginald
To everyone's surprise then, Nicholas walked up to Arthur and punched him in the face, hard. Knocking him to the ground.
"You can't do that! That's assault!" protested Arthur
"Find me a policeman that will arrest me for assault after everything you've done and I'll gladly plead my case to him! You should thank your lucky stars it wasn't Fred who hit you, because you'd be lying on the ground in Banbury by now!" said Nicholas
They all turned and walked away, leaving Arthur still sitting on the ground at the campus entrance, nursing his quickly bruising cheekbone.

It was a full house by the time everyone got back there. Along with the six housemates, there was also, Reginald, Nicholas, Dorothea, Jim, Joss and George.
There were enough places to sit in the lounge and Max had made more than enough tea to go around. Win had wanted to help, but Max insisted she rest as she hadn't had any proper medical attention yet after being hurt and kidnapped.
He also brought two large cakes into the room that he and Win had made before all this happened and they all tucked in, while those who'd been involved in the rescue, recounted all the details to those who'd waited outside.

"Peter?" asked Fred, after all the tales had been told,
"Yes?" asked Peter. He had chocolate cake all round his mouth and in his fur and his nose was wet with tea, where he'd been drinking it out of the cup Joan was holding.
"Are you planning on staying as a racoon permanently? Because I'm not sure what the university's stance on you finishing your course like that would be." said Fred with a raised eyebrow

"Mmm, might be a bit tricky you know... getting around if you were so small and furry all the time" said Nicholas with a grin
"We'd have to make new rules so you didn't get picked up and have your tummy tickled during lectures... that would be rather distracting" added Reginald with a chuckle

"Don't listen to them, they're just jealous!" said Joan with a smile and another tummy tickle.
"Jealous of having my face covered in tea and cake?" queried Nicholas with a laugh

The visitors all left a short time later, except for Joan and Sam who were going to be staying one more night before getting the train back to London the following afternoon.
The others said their goodbyes and made arrangements to keep a close eye on the campus and keep each other updated.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to sleep for a week. You coming to bed love?" said Fred, directing the later part of his statement at Win.
"Yes dear, I'm dead on my feet after today..." she replied as she stood up and added,
"...And Peter, you might want to make sure you've got some clothes next to your chair when you go to bed tonight love!" she said with a giggle.
"Win! Don't remind everyone!" protested Peter, covering his eyes with his little paws.

"You ok Morse?" asked Fred, noticing that he hadn't said much in the last half an hour.
"Yes thank you. I'm just worn out. It uses alot of my energy to make myself invisible and I've been doing a lot of it lately." he replied, stifling a yawn as he spoke.

"Come on then, Morse, being as your so tired..." began Fred as he walked over to Morse.
Morse gave him a somewhat bemused look as he got closer,
"It's only fair lad! Peter's been carried everywhere this afternoon... now it's your turn!" Fred said with a chuckle, leaning down and scooping Morse up in his arms.

Morse let out a girly squeal and grabbed hold of Fred to secure himself,
"Fred! What are you doing? Put me down!" squeaked Morse
"Oh don't be such a baby..." chuckled Fred, before adding,
"...We'd likely find you asleep on the first landing in the morning if you tried to walk all the way up to your room on your own!" Fred grinned

He carried Morse out of the lounge and up to the second floor. Despite his protests, Morse found he actually quite enjoyed being carried upstairs. He really was exhausted.
"Thank you, that was actually rather nice" said Morse sleepily as Fred carried him across to his room.

By the time they got to the bed, Morse was fast asleep.
"Well, would you look at that" Fred whispered to Win
"Oh bless him." replied Win with a smile, pulling back the bed covers, so Fred could lie Morse down. He didn't stir when Fred gently took off his jumper and Win, his shoes. They pulled the bed clothes up over him and each gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Goodnight Lad" said Fred
"Goodnight love" added Win
They crept from the room, turning the light out and quietly closing the door.

Downstairs, it was Max who turned in next, wishing everyone a good sleep as he made his way out of the room.

"I think someone needs his face washing before he goes to bed!" chuckled Joan, as she gently bopped Peter on his tea soaked chocolatey nose.
"You haven't forgotten you're actually sitting there with a grown man in your lap, have you Sis?" laughed Sam

Joan gave him a wide eyed look, before picking up the nearest cushion and throwing it at Sam. Sam ducked and poor Shirley was right in the firing line.
"Oh Shirley! I'm sorry! that was meant for Sam!" exclaimed Joan
But Shirley was laughing hard, finding the whole situation rather hilarious.
"No harm done! I'm going to bed, you all try to get some sleep" chuckled Shirley as she too she to her room.

"Are you going to make me sleep down here again? Or can I sleep on the end of my bed tonight?" asked Peter, putting on the cutest expression his little racoon face could manage.
Joan's heart was melting.
"Don't fall for it Joan! ...Anyway, Dad will go spare if he finds Peter in your room and you know what happens when sleeping racoons get startled!" laughed Sam

Joan gave her brother a glare, but had to concede he did have a point.
"Sorry Peter, you'll have to sleep down here for one more night. But I will help you wash your face before I go to bed if you like?" suggested Joan
Peter jumped down off Joan's lap and transformed back into a man. He was blushing furiously as he spoke and his face was still covered in chocolate.
"Thanks, but I'm going to have a bath. As well as chocolate cake, my fur got covered in dirt and dust today and I need to wash it off."

Peter smiled at Joan before adding,
"Thanks... for, you know... carrying me and making me feel better." he said before heading off upstairs.
Sam settled himself on the sofa and Joan went up to bed. About half an hour later, Sam heard Peter come back into the room as a human, before the sound of his footsteps turned into the patter of tiny paws.
"Goodnight Peter"
"Goodnight Sam"

The next morning, the whole household had a lie in until nearly half past nine. It had been hectic the day before.
By ten o'clock, they were all sitting in the dining room and Max and Win were bringing in cups of tea and toast with eggs.
How is everyone this morning?" asked Win with a smile
They all answered that they felt better.
"I see you got all the chocolate cake out of your hair then Peter?" smiled Win
"Yes, thank you" Peter smiled sheepishly back

"Get to bed ok last night Morse?" asked Fred with a chuckle
"Yes... thank you" said Morse with a slight blush

Max spoke up then,
"Well, I think those of us who don't have any injuries and feel up to it, should all go back onto the campus this morning and have a look see. I'll be interested to know if there have been any developments since last night"
"Good idea, I'm up for it. I know I'm injured, but what harm can a nice stroll around the university do?" smiled Fred
"I agree, I'll come along too" added Shirley

In fact, they all agreed to go, along with Joan and Sam. Although, they were under no illusion that their parents were going to allow them into the campus when they got there.
It was a sunny day and quite warm considering how late in the year it was. When they got there, Jim was already nearby, along with George and Joss and they all had a pair of binoculars each.

"Ha! I didn't know the local ornithology club was meeting this morning!" laughed Peter
"Very droll old man... and saving you the need for any more comedy, nothing has happened. Not a dickie bird! Not a peep!" replied Joss

"How much of the campus can you see from here?" asked Fred
"Quite a bit. The whole quadrant from here and we can see into the library windows from that wall over there. We can't see much of course, but enough to know the books are still on the shelves and there's no storm brewing in there." Joss replied

"Good work, thank you." said Fred
"The others, Dorothea, Reginald and Nicholas are on the other side. We met up with them about twenty minutes ago and it all looks ok over there too." said Jim
"Right you are, we'll get in there and have a wander around then. Win, you and Morse seem to make a good team, Max and Peter, you two can pair up and I'll go with Shirley..." Fred said looking round him,

"Where is Shirley?" he asked, as she was no longer standing next to him.
"Come to think of it, where's George?" said Peter
They looked around and eventually spotted the tops of Shirley and George's heads poking out from behind a nearby wall.
"Come on you two love birds!" shouted Fred

They both appeared a moment later, blushing and looking sheepish.
"Shirley, you're with me... we're going for a stroll around the campus" said Fred, holding out his arm before adding, to George,
"...if you don't mind me borrowing your girlfriend for a little while of course?"
"Not at all. I'll see you later Shirley" George said with a lopsided smile and a flick of his overgrown fringe.

For the next hour, the six housemates wandered over every inch of the campus, checking the library and the rift two or three times. But there was no sign of anything out of place, no Dalgaran, no devils... nothing.
"I expect they're all licking their wounds for now. But I can say the rift is still expanding. I don't know how long until Dalgaran can fit through, or how long until it reaches full size... only time will tell" said Max
"At least it seems that they can't get out of the campus, so that's a bonus." said Fred

"Maybe we should go back to the house for the rest of the day and rest?" said Morse with huge yawn
"You're not still tired are you lad? You were asleep before you got into bed last night... literally!" smiled Fred
Morse walked over and leaned himself against Fred.
"Is this your way of asking me to carry you back to the house lad? Because I'm not sure me carrying you through public roads will do your street cred any good" laughed Fred

But Morse really was exhausted and with one final burst of energy from somewhere, he made himself invisible.
Fred looked at the space when he knew Morse was standing and rolled his eyes. Although he did feel sorry for the lad. The worry over Gwen was taking its toll on him too.
Fred leaned down and once he'd figured out where Morse's arms and legs were, he picked him up into his arms. He noted too, the change in the lad's breathing almost instantly...
"He's already asleep" Fred whispered to Win
"And you teased me for letting Joan carry me around everywhere!" laughed Peter
The six of them did go back to the house after that and relaxed for the rest of the day. George tagged along too and he and Shirley disappeared to her room and didn't come out again until lunch time.

At about four o'clock, the six housemates accompanied Joan and Sam to the train station.
"I still think we should stay, until we know everything's ok" said Joan
"You've both got good jobs and you don't want to lose them because you're hanging around here. We'll be fine love and we'll, ring you every day to let you know what's going on. When it's all over, you can come and spend another weekend with us if you like?" said Fred

After lots of hugs, they waved them off and walked back to the house.
They would be glad that they had followed Morse's suggestion of a lazy Sunday, because from here on in... things were going to get hectic again.

Chapter Text

That night, while they were all asleep, Dalgaran slipped effortlessly through the rift. It had grown to its full size and with a roar of victory, he stepped out into the library, flanked by his wandering devils. Minus the ones that Win, Reginald and Nicholas had killed.

"This is mine now!" he roared
He sent the devils on their way with orders to cover the whole campus and cause as much mayhem and carnage as they could and get rid of any lingering humans.

The three house mates on the first floor were woken one by one, by the telephone in the hallway downstairs. It was Max who woke first.
"I'm coming, do hold your horses! Really... do you know what time it is? Actually, what time is it?" Max muttered to himself as he climbed out of bed, wrapped his dressing gown around himself and went down stairs. He noticed the hall clock as he turned on the light... four am.

"Hello?" he said wearily
"Max? Is that you?" the voice on the other end said
"Yes, it is. Reginald? You sound in a bit of a panic?" said Max
"Well, yes. I rather am." replied Reginald
"Go on... I've rather let my mind reading skills lapse somewhat." said Max, feeling a bit guilty for the sarcasm, but still not awake enough to stop himself from saying it.
"I'm in my apartment... in St. Finnemore's" said Reginald
"You're where? Why on earth would you have gone there?" exclaimed Max, suddenly fully awake upon hearing Max's location.

Peter and Shirley had also appeared in the hall, as they'd heard the phone ring, then heard Max go downstairs.
Reginald continued,
"It's stupid I know, but I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk. I walked all along the perimeter of St. Finnemore's campus. It was silent, no movement and no lights on." he recalled

"So you went inside?" said Max with a sigh, surely Reginald knew better than anyone the risk he'd taken.
"Yes. Nothing happened and I walked over to my apartment and went inside. Still nothing, so I made a cup of tea and sat and read a book..." Reginald trailed off.
"And then?" prompted Max
But all he heard was a loud piercing scream. Max recognised it straight away. It hadn't come from Reginald... it was the scream of a devil.

"Reginald! Try to shut yourself in somewhere! We're on our way!" shouted Max, putting the phone down and turning to the others.
"Peter get dressed! You and me are going go St. Finnemore's immediately! Reginald is trapped in his apartment with a devil." said Max, already racing up the stairs to his room.

"Shirley! get dressed and wake the others, then join us there as soon as you can" added Max.
He and Peter were dressed, albeit somewhat haphazardly in less than a minute and they ran from the house. Peter transformed into a racoon and went on ahead... he got there in just a few seconds.

The door to Reginald's apartment was closed, but he could hear banging and shouting coming from within. He slowly opened the door, which was thankfully unlocked and crept inside.
He could see Reginald cornered on the far side of the living room. About four feet in front of him stood a wandering devil... it was Tormoroth.

"Your friends think they can outwit us! Ha! Only when they're together, not when it's a one on one! And you! I remember you from last time... I'm going to enjoy making your death a painful one" Tormoroth laughed and raised an arm above his head. He was holding some sort of dagger. Peter was sure it was one of the ones he'd seen in the apartment before, part of some sort of collection Reginald had.

As Tormoroth brought the dagger down as if to stab Reginald, Peter launched himself towards them. He used the sofa as a springboard and flew through the air, grabbing the dagger as he passed between them. He ripped it out of Tormoroth's grasp, as he had the element of surprise and he landed on a nearby windowsill, still clutching the dagger safely in his paws.

"Aaaaghhhhh! Why you little...." shouted Tormoroth as he lunged for Peter, but each time he did, Peter moved out of his grasp.
Peter kept moving just ahead of him, each time taunting him and making him more and more determined to catch the little racoon.
Slowly, Peter led Tormoroth closer and closer to the front door of the apartment. Then, when the time was right and Peter heard the signal...

"Now!" Max shouted from outside the door.

...Peter opened the door and ran through, followed by Tormoroth, straight into the path of Max's magic. Tormoroth was held suspended in time, still screaming and shouting. Reginald came to the door,
"Well, I must thank you both. That was good timing!..." he smiled
"...I thought I'd had it" he added

"You have as good as had it!..." Tormoroth screamed
"...you haven't seen the last of me!"
Max carefully manoeuvred the devil along the corridor and down the stairs and out into the quadrant. Peter ran ahead, opening doors for them and Reginald followed on behind.

By the time they got outside, the other four had arrived.
"Oh thank goodness you're ok" said Shirley with relief.
They all followed Peter into the library, where Shirley froze Tormoroth before Max used his magic to hurl him through the opening.
"A little ice now, will give us a little time, should we need it" smiled Shirley
"Quite right" agreed Max

Max began to frown then and walked closer to the rift. Fred was by his side, ready to grab him if needed.
"What's wrong?" asked Fred
"The rift... the energy coming from it has altered completely." said Max
"Meaning what?" asked Peter
"Meaning... it's fully open... also meaning that Dalgaran can now... or already may have, passed through" said Max

The bombshell of information that Dalgaran may already be loose on the campus, took them all by surprise. They thought they'd have at least another day.
"We need to get off campus... now. We need to get the others together and get everyone armed." said Max
"All my other guns are in the chest in my apartment... it would take an age to carry them all out." said Reginald

"Not if I come with you" said Fred
"I'll join you..." said Max, adding,
"...Morse, you can get the other four off campus unseen I expect?" he asked
"Of course" replied Morse, before turning to the others.
Morse's face suddenly turned to worry as he knelt down in front of Peter.
"Your front paws are bleeding! What happened?" Morse asked, gently picking up the little racoon and cradling him carefully on his back, so he could get a better look.

Peter was still clutching Reginald's dagger that Tormoroth had threatened him with.
"Must have been when I grabbed the knife from Tormoroth" he said with a frown.
Reginald took the dagger from him,
"I'm sorry you got hurt... you saved my life doing that. Thank you" he said
"You're welcome" replied Peter, licking his paws and getting blood all round his mouth.
"Stop that, you'll make it worse" said Morse, gently lifting Peter's head up by his chin.

"You need to get going, quickly! Peter... I'll see to your paws as soon as we get back from Reginald's." said Max with urgency.
The two groups split up, Fred, Max and Reginald slipping silently back into the apartment building and the other group, Morse, Win, Shirley and Peter, disappearing from view before quickly making their way off the campus to safety, beyond its walls.

Once they were outside, they sat on a bench under a street lamp, so Morse could get a closer look as Peter's injuries.
He had a large cut across each of his front paws, where they'd rubbed against the blade as he'd grabbed the knife from Tormoroth.

Morse took out his handkerchief and carefully began to dab at the cuts, before wrapping the paws up and putting pressure on them.
"You're being a very brave little racoon Peter." said Morse with a smile as he stroked his little furry forehead.
"Watch it Morse! I'm a grown man!" protested Peter
"Yes, but at the moment, you're a little racoon with sore paws" added Morse, ruffling the fur on Peter's head.

Fred, Max and Reginald were back in the apartment in no time. Fred grabbed the large chest of guns and lifted it up with out even breaking a sweat.
"Is this all of them?" asked Fred
"Yes... I still can't believe your strength! That's quite a feat!" Reginald smiled

"Have you got a small first aid kit?" asked Max
"Yes, I'll fetch it" answered Reginald
"I rushed straight over without picking anything up and I might need to treat Peter's paws" Max elaborated
"Of course" Reginald said, handing a small kit to Max who placed it in his pocket.

Fred managed with a bit of an effort, to fit the huge chest through the apartment door.
"Blimey Reginald! How did you ever get this thing in here?" asked Fred
"Two men were able to carry it in longways between them when it was empty" explained Reginald

They got outside and made their way across the quadrant. No sooner where they half way across, when they were surrounded by six angry devils. Golgoran as among them and screaming, whilst whipping the other five up into a frenzy.
Fred on his own would have struggled, but just ploughed ahead, but Max and Reginald couldn't move forward, as without Fred's strength, they kept getting knocked back.

Reginald had pulled his gun out and was taking pot shots at the devils, but in the darkness at four thirty in the morning, he couldn't hit his targets.
Max managed to push some of them back, but no sooner had he done so, the others dive bombed him.
"They seem stronger than before..." said Max
"...I'm struggling to hold them back" he added

Just then, Fred felt a hand on his ...and he and the chest he was carrying ...disappeared.
"Morse! Thank goodness!" exclaimed Reginald
Morse guided one of Max's hands and Reginald's hand into his own free hand and they all disappeared from sight.

"Keep moving... because they'll attack our last known location" said Morse, leading the little group forwards.
And just as he'd said, the devils swooped down where they had stood moments before, but hit the grass with a thud and bemused expressions.
Morse got the four of them out of the gate, leaving the sound of angry and frustrated devils behind them.

After meeting with the others, they all decided to carry on to the house as it was so close.
"We don't want to leave a big chest of guns lying around at the roadside" quipped Fred
"We can call the others from there too" added Shirley

"How are your paws Peter?" asked Max
Peter was lying in Win's arms after being placed there by Morse a minute earlier. He looked very sorry for himself. He didn't say anything, just held his front paws up for Max to look at.
"The bleeding seems to have stopped a bit, so I think best keep Morse's handkerchief in place and we'll sort you out properly back at the house eh?" suggested Max
Peter nodded, before tucking his paws back in and snuggling into Win's arms.

When they got back to the house, Max took Peter into the kitchen,
"I think it best if you become human, before I treat you? I have far more experience with human physiology after all"
Peter changed and sat on a chair near to the sink. His hands each had a large cut across the palms and blood was still seeping out.
Max had gone and fetched his bag and proceeded to carefully clean the cuts out, before stitching and neatly bandaging them.

"What will happen to the bandages when you transform?" asked Max
Peter promptly transformed and the bandages disappeared, just like his clothing.
Max frowned,
"Well, that's no good... you'll still be bandaged when your human, but now, your stitches are rubbing on the floor and it won't be long before your paws start to bleed again!" said Max, gently holding up one of Peter's paws.

He lifted Peter onto the counter top and reached for some more bandages,
"How about I just stay as a human tonight?" asked Peter
"That would be the preferred option, but after what just happened less than an hour ago... who knows when you'll need to change at the drop of a hat. I might not have time to bandage your paws." said Max
Peter nodded and held up each of his front paws while Max wrapped tiny strips of bandage around them.
"Thanks Max" said Peter, letting Max lower him onto the floor before turning back into a man.
"You're very welcome" Max smiled

They all agreed that they should go back to bed for another two or three hours at least. Fortunately they weren't disturbed again until Max woke up just before nine am and went and woke the others.
Reginald had gone back to the flat he and Nicholas were temporarily sharing and told him what had happened. He waited until a more sociable hour, before phoning Dorothea, Jim, Joss and George and updating them too. No sense in waking them up now, when nothing further could really be done yet.

They would deal with this in daylight. They had learnt a valuable lesson just now... the devils seemed to be stronger and Reginald and Nicholas would need to be able to at least see them, if they were to have any chance of shooting them down.

Reginald and the others came over to the house after breakfast and they all sat round to formulate a plan.
"I have an uneasy feeling that Dalgaran has already come through the rift" began Max
"Have you seen him?" asked Joss
"Not on campus yet, no. But the energy coming from the rift has altered and I believe it's at its full size now, so it's highly likely that Dalgaran is outside the confines of the library now. If any of us venture onto the campus, we need to ready for him and we need to stick together." he explained
"Well, those of us without special abilities will all be armed and will stay at strategic points around so the perimeter, so we can assist you as and when any creatures come with in our range." said Nicholas
"Good idea" nodded Fred

It was just before they were ready to leave, that the doorbell rang. It was the two detectives from Cowley CID, Sam Evans and Grant Bradshaw.
"Hello, is Morse here? We just need a quick chat, won't take too long" said Sam, noting that they all appeared to be getting ready to go out.

"Yes, come on through" said Fred, leading the two policemen through into the lounge and collecting Morse and Peter along the way.
The others went and waited in the dining room.

"What's happened? Has something happened with the case?" asked Morse
"The update is that Lincolnshire Police have finished their investigation into Gwen Morse. They arrested her and have had all her finances and bank accounts checked out for the last ten years. She's been charged with six counts of obtaining money from you by deception, with regards to the debts you've already paid her and she's also been charged with two further counts of her trying to obtain money from you by deception with these two new loans she says she's just found" explained Sam

"So, she's been arrested and charged?" asked Morse, a clear expression of worry across his face.
"Yes, we'll know later in the week when the next court date will be" said Sam
"What about Joyce?" asked Morse
"We'll have to wait and see. But no court's going to leave a fourteen year old girl homeless" Grant assured him

"Will I have to appear in court?" asked Morse
"Most likely, yes. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it and we'll help you, as will the local officers on the case" said Sam
Morse nodded,
"Thank you" he said

Peter showed the two detectives out, while Fred and Morse stayed in the lounge,
"Look lad, we'll all help you with this... you and Joyce. I know you're worried about what could happen to her, but let's see what does happen first eh? Try not to worry" said Fred
Morse just nodded and stood up,
"We need to go to the campus" he simply said, before giving Fred a small smile and walking out of the room.

Fred sighed and followed him out. He'd come to really like Morse and he hated to see the lad having to go through all this worry because of 'that Gwen woman' as Win liked to call her. They'd make sure it had a happy ending for Morse. They had to.

Chapter Text

"Right, has everyone who's happy to have a gun, got one?" asked Reginald, checking one last time.
"Yes" came several replies
"And has everyone got enough ammunition?" he added
"We don't know how much we're going to need old man... so who knows? I might have to come back for more" smiled Joss
"Yes, quite. Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that, but there's more if needed" confirmed Reginald

They set off and were at the gates of the campus a couple of minutes later.
The six house mates set of into the campus and the others all spread out around the perimeter.
As the housemates walked along the building line at the side of the quadrant, they were on high alert.
"Something is going on behind the apartment building" said Max quietly
"Oh?" said Fred
"Yes, I can feel erratic energy all around us, which suggests the devils are spread out all over the university, but I can feel a very strong concentrated energy coming from behind that building" explained Max
"So that's where Dalgaran is then?" asked Peter
"Stands a good chance" said Max

"What first do you reckon? Should we deal with the devils first and then Dalgaran?" asked Fred
"Yes, we need to work our way round each one. It's going to be quite the battle with Dalgaran and we'll do well not to have the devils attacking us at the same time" agreed Max

They worked their way around the university, following Max's lead as to where he could feel the pockets of energy emanating from.
The science faculty was first. It was obvious where the devil was as they stepped into the ground floor corridor. A loud wailing could be heard up ahead, along with banging and crashing sounds.

They walked towards the noises and just as they came to the last door on the left, Fred grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.
All the sounds immediately stopped. Fred stepped into the large science lab, followed by the others and came face to face with a devil they hadn't seen before. This one was about seven feet tall, stocky and... blue. He was completely blue, except for his eyes, which were red and appeared to be glowing.

Upon seeing Fred, the devil picked up a glass bottle of clear liquid from the table in front of him. As he held the bottle, the liquid inside it began to glow red and started to bubble. He threw the bottle at Fred, who ducked just in time. The bottle flew past him and hit the wall by the door, bursting into flames.

Shirley reacted quickly and doused the fire with her ice.
"Oh? An Ice Maiden? Here on Earth? Interesting.." said the devil with a chuckle.
"...Here! Try this!" The devil shouted to Shirley, throwing another of the bottles directly at her, lower this time so she couldn't duck.
Shirley looked in horror as the bottle flew towards her. She wanted to shield herself with ice, but she knew if she did, the flames from the bottle when it smashed, would cover everyone else.

Win jumped in front of Shirley and took the full force of the bottle and the flames. She shielded Shirley from harm and also stopped the flames from affecting the others by absorbing their force.
When the flames died away, everyone looked at Win, scared at what they might see... but she was completely unharmed and stood staring defiantly at the devil.
"You're going to have to try harder than that!" she shouted at him
The devil laughed,
"You humans are full of surprises! Tormoroth and Golgoran told me of some of your abilities, but I wanted to see them for myself. Those two do have a habit of exaggerating things to impress the others" he said conversationally.

"You need to leave this university right now! And we're here to make sure you do" Win shouted
"I'd listen to her, if you know what's good for you" Fred added with a nod.
"Really? Well, first I should introduce myself... so those of you who I allow to survive my wrath, can tell the others, who it was who killed your friends. I'm Saberoth..." he said.
"...and if you want to survive, I suggest it is you who needs to leave" he added, with a booming voice.

Fred strode forwards and grabbed Saberoth by the throat, not too hard as to kill him, but hard enough to hold him in place and make him flail his arms about to try to get free.
Max used his magic to hold Saberoth still, whilst Shirley covered him in ice. It wasn't working though, as no sooner had she frozen him, he melted again.
"You're a bit slow on the uptake aren't you?" laughed Saberoth

It seemed he had some sort of heat within him. That must have been what enabled him to heat up the liquid that caused the flames. That would likely mean that Win's fire would have little effect on him either.
Fortunately Max was seeming able to use his magic to quell Saberoth's power enough, so as not to burn Fred as he held on to him.

"Wait there" said Peter and he changed into his racoon self and raced from the room.
He returned only moments later.
"Morse, I need your help" he said before running out of the room again.
Morse, who had been invisible all this time, followed him out and picked him up. Peter directed him to a store cupboard down the corridor. Inside was a large roll of thick heat resistant wiring.

"I saw some workmen put it in here the other day. If I sit on your shoulders, can you carry the wire?" asked Peter
"Yes, I should think so" said Morse with a frown, wondering what the little racoon had planned.

"When we get back into the science lab, put me and the wire down right behind Saberoth." added Peter
Morse did just that and Peter grabbed the end of the wire in his mouth and ran back and forth, almost faster than the naked eye could see, round and round the devil.
As he ran round him, he wrapped him tightly in the wire, slowly moving up until his body was completely encased in wire, like a mummy.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhh! What is this? What have you done?" shouted Saberoth.
"Ha! Good thinking Peter!" chuckled Fred, before turning back to Saberoth and adding,
"Now how about we take you back to the rift eh? And don't worry, we'll let Dalgaran know you're a bit tied up and won't be able to help him anymore" he grinned at the very angry devil.

Fred carried him down to the library and they stood before the rift.
Now Saberoth was immobilised, he seemed to be much weaker and it meant that Shirley was able to encase him completely in ice... before Fred threw him back into the rift.
"One down... who knows how many more to go" said Max
"Well, Saberoth was new... hopefully the others won't be so hard to overcome as he was" said Fred

They set off out of the library, with Max leading the way to the location of the next devil.
The next five devils they found, were in fact not too much of an issue for them. Between them, they managed to subdue each one enough to be frozen and thrown into the rift.
Shirley reckoned that with the density of ice around them, they'd only have about three hours before they managed to thaw out and break free.
They had to work quickly then. They had to get all the creatures from the other world through the rift before they could try to seal it. If even one devil was left in the university, the rift would remain open.

"That's strange? I can only feel one more area of energy... and it's strong. I can't tell if it's Dalgaran on his own, or if he's got any devils with him." Max informed the others.
"We'd best stay on our toes then" said Fred as they set off towards the rear of the apartment building.

After dealing with the first six devils, the housemates made their way to the apartment building, from behind where all the remaining energy seemed to be coming.
"Wait here, I'll go and have a look first and see what's what" said Morse
"Not on your own you don't. If you get in there and lose your invisibility for some reason, you'll be scuppered." said Fred
"Ok then" said Morse, taking hold of both Fred and Max's hands
"We'll be back in a minute love" Fred said to Win as they walked behind the building.

What they saw astounded them. There was a large mount of earth behind the building in the centre of a grassed area. Dalgaran stood atop of it and looked all around him. There was a crackle of energy in the air that even Morse and Fred could feel without any magic.

Golgoran and Tormoroth were both at the bottom of the mound, but seemed larger somehow. It was as though they were taller and seemed more fearsome. Their eyes now glowed a different colour.
Where Saberoth's eyes had been red and Dalgaran's eyes were white, Golgoran and Tormoroth now had eyes that glowed green as they stalked back and forth before the mound like sentries.
"Be on your guard, the humans are near! I can sense them!" roared Dalgaran

Morse and the others froze on the spot. Had they been seen?
"Show yourselves! I know you are close... don't be scared... I will make your deaths painless!" Dalgaran laughed as he looked around. He was clearly a little bemused that he knew there were humans there, but he couldn't see them.

The grassed area had a small area of trees behind it and Max was pretty sure that behind that, it was only ten yards or so to the university's perimeter wall.
He tugged gently on Morse's hand to let him know he wanted to retreat back to the others and the three of them made their way back very carefully.

Once all back together, Max spoke,
"Peter, could you get outside the campus to the others and tell them all where Dalgaran has settled for now. I think if they can all make their way to the perimeter behind the trees over there, then we'll have reinforcements just a few yards away if we need them." he explained
"Right, I'll be back shortly" said Peter
"Oh, say hello to George for me!" added Shirley with a smile
"Sure... as long as you don't want me to kiss him for you too!" said Peter with a grin, before disappearing from sight in a flurry of fur.

It was no more than five minutes until Peter came running back.
"Messages passed... all of them, he winked at Shirley."
"Thank you" Shirley smiled
"They're going to need a few minutes to all get round there, but they're all on their way as we speak. I can run round shortly and check they're good to go, before we all confront Dalgaran" said Peter
"Good idea" said Fred
They would have to stand and wait now... only for a few minutes, but it would seem like hours.

It was in fact, six minutes later when Peter returned again,
"They're all in place and armed. The wall's quite low there, so if it gets that we need them, I'll just nip over and shout and they'll come running, guns blazing" explained Peter
"Right, Morse, stay hidden and keep Max under wraps with you. I've got a feeling that Max's magic is going to be the clincher here and I don't want Dalgaran to know where it's coming from. At least not to begin with." said Fred
Morse and Max nodded, held hands and vanished.

"Shirley, you and Win stay close to each other. If Golgoran or Tormoroth have evolved in any way, you might need to help each other out." Fred added
Shirley and Win nodded
"And Peter... you're with me. Feel free to chase either of those devils over to me if they'll let you. And just remember, they're all stronger now... it might take all six of us to take down each one... especially Dalgaran" Fred said as they all nodded and set off round the building

Morse and Max went first and before the others came into sight, Golgoran found himself being pulled along, away from the mound.
"What's happening? Dalgaran!" he shouted
"Stop whining and stand up to them Golgoran" Dalgaran replied, clearly not impressed with Golgoran's reaction.

Max had engulfed him in his magic and was slowly pulling Golgoran back towards him. He knew he had to keep moving and had to stay in contact with Morse. If he became visible, it would be over. The only thing keeping him alive was that Dalgaran didn't know exactly where he was.

"Im not sure how much longer I can hold him" said Max somewhat breathlessly
"Not far to go... another ten feet and we'll be round the corner and the others can help us" encouraged Morse
Max put all his effort into it. He knew though, that if it was going to be this hard controlling Golgoran alone... what was to come would be nigh on impossible.

They made it round the corner and Shirley iced Golgoran. It took a lot longer than before, his newfound strength allowing him to keep breaking through.
As they were all concentrating on Shirley and Golgoran, however, they all failed to notice that Tormoroth had followed them...
Until a spray of blood came over Fred's shoulder. Fred tuned in horror, to see blood beginning to pool on the floor just behind him. He couldn't see where it was coming from. That could only mean one thing... it was either Morse or Max who were injured.

Before he had chance to find out, Tormoroth growled and raised himself to his full height and lashed out again. This time hitting Peter, who had climbed up onto Fred's shoulder, and sending the little racoon flying.
Fred lunged at Tormoroth and tried to grab him like he'd done with Saberoth, but Tormoroth was fast and ducked out of his way.

"Morse! Max!" Fred shouted
"We're here Fred, I think Morse is unconscious, but I can't see what injuries he has." said Max
Fred mulled this over... It would appear that if Morse looses consciousness when invisible... he stays invisible. A good survival tool if he was on his own no doubt, but not when he could be badly hurt and no one could see him to treat him.

Tormoroth screamed and launched himself again at Fred, barrelling into him with such force that both he and Fred crashed to the floor.
Win wanted to do as she had done previously and burn him, but he was practically lying on top of Fred and Win didn't really want to set her husband on fire.

Peter, after being hit and flung from Fred's shoulder, had collected himself. The bandages on his paws were already torn from all the running and they were worse now and he knew his human self was going to be black and blue later. He stood up on his back legs and concentrated his efforts and speed as he launched himself at Tormoroth. He managed to push him off Fred, by using the element of surprise and jumping against his neck and digging his claws in.

Tormoroth let out a pained wail, but not before he had already hit Fred several times about the head. There was blood running from Fred's mouth and nose.
Win grabbed her opportunity.
"Get Fred out of the way" she shouted at Shirley and Peter.
Tormoroth had fallen backwards onto the ground and she threw a fireball directly at him. A final cry and all that was left was a pile of ash.
"Blimey, that was close! Thanks love" Fred smiled briefly at Win, before turning back to Morse and Max with concern.

"Any way you can get him to come round, so we can see how badly he's hurt?" asked Fred
"I can try" said Max, letting go of Morse's hand and reappearing as he spoke, before adding,
"Peter, maybe you could put your paws on Morse so we know where he is. I need to have a rummage in my knapsack and I've had to let go of Morse so I can see it" explained Max
"Course." said Peter, jumping up next to Max and resting his two still torn and rather grubby bandaged front paws on Morse's... shoulder? yes, it felt like his shoulder.

Max produced some sort of smelling salts from his bag and wafted them under where he thought Morse's nose was. The reaction was almost instant.
Morse started coughing and must have tried to sit up, as poor Peter was knocked backwards onto the ground.
"What? Aaaahhh... ow!... oh, sorry Peter... Max?" Morse spoke, but was clearly still groggy.

"Morse, we think you've been injured, can you make yourself visible? I need to check you over" asked Max
Morse reappeared and Max looked him over. No obvious signs of injury on his front.
"We need to roll you over Morse" said Max, gently rolling Morse onto his side with Win's help.
He was clearly in a lot of pain and as they rolled him over, Max could see why.

There were large claw marks all down Morse's back. Not unlike the ones Fred had received earlier, from the other devil. These cuts were much worse though. Max wasn't going to be able to put stitches in them right away. Not with Dalgaran just around the corner, but he was going to need to bandage them, to help stop the bleeding.
Fred, although hurt himself, picked Morse up and the group moved a bit further away from Dalgaran, so Max could remove Morse's jacket and shirt and bandage him up. It only took a few minutes and they were soon ready to go once more... albeit a bit more battered and bruised than before.

Chapter Text

"Ok, we're on the home straight. We get Dalgaran back through the rift and we can seal it." said Fred
"I fear both of those tasks are going to be much easier said than done. But we'll give it a go eh?" said Max with raised eyebrows.

They set off again, following the apartment building line, until they got to the corner. They could hear Dalgaran muttering to himself and calling out.
"Where have those two got to?" he muttered, before shouting'
"Golgoran? Tormoroth? Get back here! What's taking you so long? They're just humans... how hard can it be for you to rid us of a few measly humans?"

Dalgaran sounded annoyed. Fred and Max appeared round the corner first, followed by Shirley.
"Oh, it's you! Only the three of you left then! Ha! Where are my devils?" said Dalgaran
Morse was holding Win's hand and Peter was sitting on his shoulder so they could stay out of view and surprise the demon, when the time was right.

"Sorry about your devils Dalgaran..." began Fred,
"...it was a shame to see them go. We were getting rather attached to them as it happens. But what can you do?" he added
"It's just you now Dalgaran. So if you'd be so good as to pop yourself back through the rift, we can all get home in time for tea" added Max cheerfully.

Dalgaran let out an angry howl, followed by a rather unnerving laugh.
"You kill my devils and expect me to do your bidding? I'm not sure how things work with you humans, but I am Dalgaran from The Realm of the Storm Nexus!" he roared, before continuing,
"...St. Finnemore's is mine now! You will leave or you will die!"

"Lovely chap really... just misunderstood" whispered Max to Fred
"I'm sure he is" said Fred
Dalgaran jumped off the mound towards them. He jumped about twenty feet, seemingly without any effort and landed right in front of Fred and Max
"I'm so glad you find this entertaining! It will be so much nicer for you if you can die smiling." said Dalgaran

He lashed out at Max, who ducked, but not quite far enough and was hit by Dalgaran on his shoulder and sent flying across the ground. Shirley let a stream of ice cover the demon, but he just laughed and shrugged it off.
A fireball then flew from the right and hit Dalgaran right on the side of his head.

"Aggghhhhhhhhhhh!" he roared as he stumbled backwards a few feet.
Win had moved as soon as she had thrown the fireball and Morse was still holding her hand, so she was still invisible. She threw another one and another good shot saw it collide with Dalgaran's chest this time.
He screeched and stumbled again. Win continued her onslaught and sent another five fireballs slamming into Dalgaran in quick succession, all the time, she kept moving as she did so.

Shirley concentrated her ice on Dalgaran's feet and ankles while Win was keeping him busy. She encased them in one block of ice, which she kept adding to, making it larger and larger. Dalgaran tried to move, but instead lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
The six housemates rushed towards him, to take what may be their only chance at overcoming him. If they all let their powers loose on him at once, then they stood a chance.
As soon as they got near though, the tattoo like patterns that glowed all over his body, seemed to get brighter. The ground around them started to shake, like a small earthquake. There was a low rumble that got louder and louder.
Suddenly all six housemates were flung backwards several feet from where Dalgaran was lying.

Win and Peter had become visible, having lost their grip on Morse when they landed. Dalgaran noticed them and became more and more angry.
"More sorcery! How many of you are there? Do you think you can overcome me with your trickery?" he shouted
Max directed his magic at Dalgaran and for nearly half a minute he was able to hold him back, as he tried to give the others time to regroup. But Dalgaran was fighting back and lifted himself to his feet, despite Max's best efforts.

"Watch out! I can't hold him!" Max warned his friends
"Ha! Did you really think you could?" laughed Dalgaran, stalking over to where Max now sat on the ground.
The others rallied together and Win ran to Max's side and created a fire dome over the two of them. It seemed to be one thing that Dalgaran couldn't overcome. He tried, a couple of times to just smash through it, but each time, he recoiled in pain from the searing heat of the flames.

Max had a thought,
"Do you think you could create a fire dome over Dalgaran, to hold him in place?" he asked Win
"I'm not sure... I've never tried? But I don't think it works like that, I've only ever created one over myself" mused Win

Fred turned to Peter,
"Go to the others, tell them to come closer, but stay out of sight in the trees..." he said quietly, before adding,
"...We might need their help soon. But tell them to make sure they have a clear escape route"
Peter nodded and sped off into the woods.

At that moment, Dalgaran changed tack and began to stir up the mud and soil of the mound. He whipped it up into a sort of earthy tornado, spinning round and getting closer and closer to Win's fire dome. As it touched the edge, it seemed to tear off some of the flames and draw them into the spinning horror.
"I've got to let go!..." shouted Win
"...it's taking all my fire!... get ready to run!" she added
Max nodded and as soon as the fire disappeared, he and Win ran towards Fred.
Morse was one step ahead and could see that Dalgaran was waiting for his moment to strike them and he grabbed their hands, making them disappear and pulled them quickly to relative safety in completely the opposite direction. Dalgaran stopped the tornado, causing all the earth to rain down on them and he lashed out in the exact spot where Win and Max would have run to... he found nothing there.

Dalgaran was getting beyond frustrated now. He had waited twenty five years for this. The last demon to break through the rift had been his elder brother Falboran and he had not faired well. He had been chased back into the rift by humans who had used treachery and magic and his reign here had been cut short.
In fact, since St. Finnemore's had been built, his kind had been thwarted by humans at every attempt. The demons believed that the university had been built where it was purely to keep them at bay.
Well, so far it had worked. But not this time. This time Dalgaran would prevail. He would show his kind how powerful he was. These pesky humans were trying to stand in his way... all he had to do was kill them and he would be able to rule here and be the gatekeeper between their worlds.

Dalgaran stood to his full height and let out a roar that shook everything.
"Enough! It is time! I am the gatekeeper of the two worlds now and these grounds are part of my realm. You can leave... or you can stay and die. Decide quickly as I am in no mood to play anymore games!" he shouted.

The six housemates stood before Dalgaran and stared at him. They had expected this moment to come. The moment when they had been beaten back one by one and all had seemed lost. Now was the moment of truth... the time when they would find out if Dalgaran could withstand everything they could muster.

"Now!" Fred shouted at the top of his voice, drawing the word out, so it lingered in the air like a battle cry.
At that moment, they unleashed everything they had. Fred grabbed Dalgaran and punched and pushed him, dazing him and sending him off balance. Win threw fire at him, being careful not to hit Fred and when she could get close enough, she would put her hands on Dalgaran and send fiery heat into him, causing him to wail in pain. Shirley was creating spears made of ice, which she threw at the demon, each one slicing into him like a knife, before melting away.

Peter was racing around the demon, running up his back, across his shoulders, digging and scratching into his flesh as he ran. Dalgaran was lashing out, trying to bat the little racoon off him, but Peter was too fast.
Morse was moving between the other five, grabbing onto each of them at opportune moments, causing them to disappear and reappear as needed, to stop Dalgaran from attacking them.

Max was directing as much magic as he could at the demon, causing him to twist and turn and almost trip himself up. He managed to hold his arms still for a few moments here and there, but Dalgaran was too powerful for Max to hold him for very long.

Dalgaran was flailing about, trying to attack the humans who were seemingly getting the better of him. Reginald had been right. Together as a team, they were fighting the demon. It wasn't easy, but at the moment at least, they were holding their own.
Then Dalgaran let out a roar and the patterns on his body began to glow white again and in a moment everything seemed to slow, before all the housemates, just as before were thrown outwards from the demon and onto the floor.

"Again!..." shouted Fred, rallying them all to get straight back up and carry on the onslaught, before also shouting the words he was hoping he wasn't going to have to use,
"Reginald! Now!" That was the agreed command he would shout when they needed their back up, when they were in need of reinforcements.

Their back up came running out of the trees, Reginald, Nicholas, Dorothea, George, Joss and Jim... all wielding large guns and yelling at the tops of their lungs as they ran forwards towards the large demon.
"Duck!" shouted Fred to the housemates, who did just that, as the others opened fire. The noise was overwhelming. Louder than anything Dalgaran had yet contoured up. They looked up and saw the demon getting pelted by the endless barrage of bullets.

Max waited until dalgaran started to falter and sway, unable to stand upright, before he used his magic again, so send Dalgaran crashing to the ground.
"Cease fire!" shouted Reginald
They knew that this was only a temporary setback for Dalgaran and he would soon gather his strength and begin to fight back again. They had to act quickly.

Shirley set about encasing him in ice, around his legs and arms and torso, to only hold him for a short time, she knew, but hopefully for long enough.
Max concentrated his magic on the same areas, to make it harder for the demon to break through the ice.

Then Fred stepped forwards and picked Dalgaran up.

He carried him around the apartment building, into the quadrant and across to the library. Morse opened the doors before him. All the others walked with him, ready to act, should anything go wrong.
As they walked, Dalgaran was screaming and shouting at them and unnerving cracking sounds could be heard from the ice around him as, despite the injuries inflicted on him, he slowly began to regain his strength.

When they got to the rift. Fred looked down at the demon in his arms,
"Nice try Dalgaran, but this world isn't for you. It's ours. Let's keep it that way" he said as he pushed him back into the rift.
No sooner had he done so, the rift began to pulse, its energy changing again, now that the balance between the worlds had been restored.

Max was nearing exhaustion, but he stood firm and began to channel all his energies into closing the rift.
"Win, if you could use your fire, while I do this. we don't want anything getting back through" asked Max
Win nodded and sent swathes of her flames across the rift. If anything did try to come back out, it would get turned to ash.
The two of them worked tirelessly for the next ten minutes, while the others watched the rift slowly get smaller and smaller, before eventually disappearing altogether.

The whole group let out a cheer, right before Max and Win passed out and fell to the floor. Sheer exhaustion finally getting the better of them.
The others gathered round them, Fred gathering Win up into his arms and Shirley and Morse doing the same for Max. They both came round a few moments later.
"We did it?" asked Max
"Yes, we bloody well did it!" shouted Fred happily

Another cheer went up.
They all made their way up to Reginald's apartment from there as it was the closest comfortable place. They rested there for a little while until they all had their breaths back and had the strength to walk back to the house.

It was there, that despite Max being almost completely drained, he used all his expertise and medical supplies to treat everyone's injuries. The cuts to Morse's back, the cuts and bruises to Fred's face and re-stitching the cuts to his chest, more stitches and new bandages to Peter's paws being the newest injuries to the group. He then checked over everyone's previous injuries. None of the six had escaped cut or bruise free.

It had been a hard few weeks, but it had been worth it. St. Finnemore's was safe again. At least for the next twenty five years.

For the next three days, the housemates stayed in their house. After the final fight, as they had begun to call it, they'd all slept for about fourteen hours.
Reginald and the others had brought supplies of food round to them and cooked their meals and helped them all recover.
It took another week before the university was cleaned up and repaired to a point when it could be reopened to all the students and staff who'd been evacuated.
They held a big assembly in the main hall, where Nicholas addressed everyone and updated them on (most of) what had happened.
They held a big party on campus to celebrate that everything could now finally get back to normal.

It was two weeks later that Morse learned he was going to have to give evidence in court against his stepmother, Gwen.
He'd had a letter come, informing him of all the details. Sam from Cowley CID had visited him the same morning the letter arrived, to try and quell his fears.

"Morse, you need to give evidence because she can't be allowed to get away with this. You were sixteen and vulnerable. They way she'd already treated you up to that point was awful and she's got to answer for what she did." explained Sam
"I don't want the money back. Not if it's going to affect Joyce" said Morse
"Well then, you tell the courts that. You tell them the truth... you tell them everything... and you tell them how you feel about Joyce and that you're worried for her." said Sam
Morse looked at Sam, then nodded.
"Me and Grant will drive you there. There'll be room for Fred and Peter as well if you want. You won't be going there on your own." Sam assured him
"Ok, thank you" said Morse

Morse struggled to concentrate on his studies for the rest of the week. He worried day and night about his court appearance. Paul Simpson, Morse's course tutor had been made aware of what was going on and spent some time with Morse at the end of each day, helping him make extra notes and agreeing that the assignments for this week and the next, could be submitted at a later date, so Morse's grades wouldn't suffer unduly because of what he was going through.

It wasn't just the court case itself that was upsetting Morse though, it was all the memories that it was dragging up for the years he'd spent living with his father and Gwen. She'd also been sending him letters since the police had been involved, horrible letters, telling him what she thought of him and making threats of what would happen to Joyce if he didn't drop all the charges.
He had of course forwarded all these letters straight to the police, under Fred and Peter's strict instructions.

When Fred learned that woman had almost driven Morse to suicide when he was fifteen, he was so angry with her. It seemed that since he was twelve, Morse had been subject to some awful things. Well, not anymore. They'd help the lad get this court case out of the way and put that period of his life behind him once and for all. They'd make sure his life from now on was going to be a happy one.

The day of the court case had arrived and Sam and Grant picked up Morse, Fred and Peter at seven o'clock in the morning. Win and Max had made a full on picnic for them all, which they placed in the boot of the car.
"Well, you don't know how long you'll be there and what there'll be to eat." Win had said in response to their surprised looks.
Fred hadn't looked surprised though. He was used to his wife's many sandwiches and wonderful food.

After spending the morning waiting around in the court building, Morse was glad when they broke for lunch, so he could get some fresh air. He hadn't felt like or planned on eating anything, but Fred insisted and he acquiesced and ate a cheese and pickle sandwich.

The rest of the day was an emotional roller coaster for Morse. The prosecution asked him straightforward questions about Gwen and his father and how he'd been treated. It had upset Morse greatly, but the barrister was understanding and gave Morse time to collect himself between questions.
The defence barrister didn't go so easy on him, asking him a barrage of difficult questions and accusing him of being the reason that Gwen had been pushed to act the way she did.

Morse felt like he'd been through the wringer by the end of the day and couldn't hold his emotions in check any longer when they all got in the car to drive back to Oxford and he burst into tears.
"Oh lad" said Fred, pulling him into a big hug.
"That part's over Morse... we'll go back home now and relax" added Peter

It wouldn't be until later the next day that the final decision would be made as to Gwen's guilt and maybe longer still, before it was decided what her punishment would be.
Morse had been hoping to see Joyce, but it was a week day and Gwen had insisted she go to school and not come anywhere near the court on the same day as Morse. Gwen had arranged it with her defence barrister that he call Joyce as a witness on a different day to Morse being there.

Since Morse had been at St. Finnemore's, he had tried several times to phone home and speak to Joyce, but he always either got no reply, or Gwen would answer and tell him Joyce wasn't there. He was beginning to worry Gwen might be turning Joyce against him.
It was only the reassurance from the Lincolnshire police officers who were at court and had been investigating the case, that set his mind at rest somewhat. They assured him they had spoken to Joyce and she still loved Morse and knew he wasn't to blame for any of this. In fact, she seemed to actually resent her mother in a lot of ways for her actions.

Chapter Text

Back at the house that evening, they all sat down together for dinner and by the end of the meal, Morse was feeling a lot better. He knew he wasn't going to have to give Gwen anymore money, he wasn't going to have to leave St. Finnemore's and he was surrounded by five people who really cared about him.

The final decision of the court with regards to Gwen was guilty, on all counts. She was sentenced to forty hours community service. She was ordered to pay costs of £25 to the court. The court had agreed, on Morse's request, not to order Gwen to pay any of the £499 back to him on account of the fact that it would likely impact on Joyce's well-being. And of course, Gwen would not be getting another penny from Morse... ever.
Social services were also going to be keeping a close eye on Gwen and Joyce to make sure that Joyce wasn't going to suffer like Morse had.

So things were settling down. Finally everyone could get into university life and get on with their studies. Morse had caught up with the previous weeks assignments already and had completed the work given to him today.
They had all been enjoying learning, studying and a little partying, without the threat of demons and devils hanging over them.

"Again?..." Peter said with a grin the next Tuesday evening,
"...that's five nights in a row now Shirley! You'll wear yourself out!" he laughed
"Well, George has found a new restaurant that he wants to try tonight, so he's buying me dinner" answered Shirley with a big smile
"Well, I'm happy for you both... and it's more food for the rest of us with you not eating at home all week!" he added with a chuckle.

He soon had to duck, however when well aimed cushion flew straight at his head.
"You should thank your lucky stars she not throwing big ice cubes at you!" laughed Morse
Shirley squealed a moment later though as she found a racoon sitting on her shoulder and playing with her hair.

"Peter! Stop being so naughty! I've never met such a naughty racoon!" she scolded him as she lifted him down and dropped him back on the sofa.
"How many racoons have you met dear?" asked Win with a smile
"Oh, I think one's enough" laughed Shirley, brushing her hair back into place, just as the door bell rang.
Peter sat there looking hurt with his paws over his heart until Max took pity on him and gave him a cuddle.
Fred just chuckled and rolled his eyes.

The nights were drawing in properly now and the weather was turning much colder. Fred and Morse's gardening sessions were confined to the daylight hours of the weekends and were just really about tidying up, as there wasn't much else to do out there.
They'd taken to helping the others with jobs indoors instead.

"So Max, I never asked you how come you came to move into this house with us?..." began Morse one evening when they were sitting in the lounge together.
"...I'd have thought a surgeon in Oxford would have had his own house?" he asked
"Well, I had been looking for somewhere special. I'd saved up enough money for the deposit. But then the opportunity to study here came along and this house seemed the ideal solution. I could move out of my flat and pay less rent here, then when the course is over, I'll buy myself a little house like I've been dreaming of." explained Max
"That sounds lovely" said Morse

"And what about you? I know it's a while yet before we have to all move on from here, but what do you think you might do after you graduate?" asked Max
"I don't know really. Maybe join the police?" said Morse thoughtfully.
Max looked surprised as he answered,
"Well, why not? If you joined in Oxford, you'd be in good company with Peter, Shirley and George." said Max
"Yes, I suppose I would" said Morse with a smile.
"And if you ended up based in Oxford itself, you might even bump into me on occasion!" Max added with a chuckle
"I'd like that" said Morse

It was nearly six weeks later, one Friday in early December, when they'd all been in lectures all morning. They'd met up for lunch on campus, before everyone except Fred had to head off into afternoon classes. It was Fred's week where he'd got his Friday afternoon free. It came around for all of them every now and then, when they'd get an afternoon with no classes.

Fred wandered lazily around the city for about an hour before heading back to the house. He was rather taken aback when he walked up the driveway to find a young teenage girl, sitting on the doorstep, with a suitcase sitting on the step next to her.
"Hello?... began Fred,
"...and who might you be?" he asked with a smile.

The girl looked a bit wary, but replied,
"I'm Joyce. My brother lives here" she said quietly
"You mean Morse? ...erm Endeavour?" replied Fred
"Yes, Morse" Joyce chuckled, before adding,
"He's never really liked people calling him Endeavour"

"No, that's true, he put us straight on that from day one" smiled Fred
"Do you know where he is?" asked Joyce
"He's in lectures this afternoon. ...And can I apologise for my manners. I'm Fred Thursday, one of Morse's housemates. Very pleased to meet you. I've heard a lot about you" Fred smiled
"Good things I hope" said Joyce
"Only good things. Come on inside, eh? I'll put the kettle on". We'll turn into icicles if we wait out here." said Fred, noticing that Joyce was shivering slightly and he opened the door and carried Joyce's suitcase into the hall.

He hung her coat up for her and showed her into the lounge, before putting the kettle on and making them both a cup of tea. He brought the cake tin in as well with a knife and a couple of plates and cut them a slice each.
"I'm sure the rest of them won't mind if we eat some of this, with you being a special guest and all" said Fred
"Thank you, it's delicious" replied Joyce, taking a bite.

"So, Morse didn't mention you were coming?" said Fred
"He doesn't know" answered Joyce
"Oh? Bit of a surprise then? We better move your case out of the hall before he gets back" replied Fred

"It's not going to be a good surprise, I don't think." replied Joyce
"What do you mean?" frowned Fred
Joyce pulled a handwritten note out of her pocket and handed it to Fred. It was a single piece of paper, simply folded in half, with 'Morse' scribbled on the outside.
Fred looked up,
"It's addressed to a Morse? Should I be reading this?" he asked
Joyce shrugged
"If Mum cared who read it, she'd have put it in an envelope"

Fred nodded and opened the note. It read,

------
'To Morse,

You just couldn't take responsibility and do your duty could you? You had to make a stand! And after all me and your father have done for you!

You always did think you were better than us. Wanting to go to college and university. What's the point? For all the good it'll do you. You'll never make anything of yourself.
Useless!! That's what you are. Useless! and selfish! Well, I hope you're happy!!
Thanks to your interfering, I can't afford to keep the house and feed myself and Joyce unless I get a job. Well, you know I can't work and look after Joyce at the same time, so something has to go.

I'm not getting rid of your father's house after how hard he worked to get it. So I'm sending Joyce to live with you. You can use that £350 you refused to give me, to feed and clothe her.
Don't fret, it's only till she's sixteen and she's fifteen next month, so I'm sure you can manage.
And don't you dare ever come knocking on my door for anything in the future.

Gwen'
------

Fred didn't realise he was crying, until he finished reading and looked up at Joyce.
"Have you read this?" he asked her
"Yes" she replied sadly

"So, your mother..." began Fred
"...kicked me out" finished Joyce, a single tear slipping down her cheek
"Oh, Joyce love, don't cry, we'll sort this out. Morse will be back before you know it. It'll be ok" said Fred, not sure what to do, but deciding to give Joyce a hug.

"This can't be sorted out. Mum said I wasn't to go back until I get a job and pay my way. I could get a job now I'm almost fifteen, but I don't know anywhere around here." she sobbed
"Hey now. Don't you go thinking about getting a job. You've been going to school up to now haven't you?" asked Fred
Joyce nodded
"Well, then you'll need to finish your schooling. You shouldn't be made to work at your age. It's not right" said Fred.
"Mum made Morse work! He wanted to go to college and she wouldn't let him. She's not going to let me go to college either is she?" asked Joyce sadly.

Fred wanted to tell Joyce in no uncertain terms that she would be able to stay in school and go to college and university if she wanted to, but it wasn't his place. She was Morse's sister and any decisions would have to be made between him and Joyce. But he knew, that all the housemates would bend over backwards to help the Morse siblings. He knew things would turn out for the best for them.
Fred and Win had worked hard to make sure Joan and Sam had stayed in school until they were sixteen, so they could get the best start. They'd both made the choice to attend college after that, then get a job. But it had always been their choice.

Fred and Joyce stayed sitting in the lounge until the others got home. They shared stories about when Joyce and Morse first met and Fred told her about Win and Joan and Sam.
"Joycie!" exclaimed Morse happily when he walked into the lounge.
He practically ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms and swung her round.
"It's so good to see you! I've called the house a lot, but you're never there" he added
"I'm usually always there. I'm just never allowed to speak to you" answered Joyce.

"So what brings you here? Is that your case in the hall? Are you staying for a few days?" asked Morse hopefully
Joyce looked at Fred then, who still had the note sitting next to him on the arm of the sofa.
"Fred?" questioned Morse

"Oh lad, I'm sorry" said Fred, guiding Morse to sit next to him and handing him the note.
Win sensed that this was something private and although they were all as good as family to one another now, she ushered Shirley, Max and Peter from the room and quietly closed the door behind her.
"I'm sure Morse will tell us everything in a little while, but I think he needs a bit of privacy for a few minutes" said Win quietly
The others nodded and they all filed into the kitchen for a cup of tea.

Morse took the note and opened it and began to read. His eyes welled up with tears and his hand shook slightly as he got to the end. Fred sat with an arm around him and pulled him into a hug as he finished reading.
"Come on lad. Gwen's just saying those things because she's angry." said Fred, trying to offer Morse some comfort.

"No! She said it because it's true! Look at me! What have I done? Four years in the army, three months at university..." Morse was sobbing
"Now Morse! Look at me" Fred said firmly, waiting until Morse looked up at him,
"You've been through so much and they way you've been treated by that woman! ...sorry Joyce, I know she's your mother, but..." said Fred
"Don't apologise, I saw the way she treated Morse, I wish I could have stopped her..." answered Joyce

Fred nodded and turned back to Morse
"Gwen's got a lot to answer for... but you worked straight from school and studied enough to get a scholarship at St. Finnemore's and you did four years in the army! That's enough to be very proud of right there! So don't you dare let me hear you even thinking of agreeing with what Gwen's said about you" finished Fred
"I suppose" answered Morse

"And as far as you're concerned..." began Fred, turning to Joyce,
"...we've got more than enough room in this big old house for you to stay, if you want to?" he smiled
"Really?" smiled Joyce, looking at Fred and then to Morse
Morse smiled back and nodded,
"I'm sure we can sort something out, you can have my room for now" Morse suggested.

In fact, when the others had all been introduced to Joyce and updated on all that had happened, Peter agreed to sleep on the armchair again for a few nights until they could get an extra bed and rearrange the bedrooms a bit.

Peter found Joyce frowning at the armchair in question,
"You're going to sleep in that? Won't you get a bad neck?" she asked
Peter smiled,
"If I tell, you a secret, promise never to tell your mother?" he said with a grin.
Joyce smiled and nodded, then squealed...

Morse came running in to the lounge to find Joyce sitting in the arm chair with a little furry racoon in her arms.
"Awwwe, you're so cute aren't you?" she said in a silly voice as she stroked his head and tickled him under his chin.
Morse rolled his eyes, shook his head and left the room. He just had to live with it... Peter the racoon was very cute... and apparently growing up with a brother who could turn invisible had meant Joyce hadn't been too shocked by Peter's unusual ability either.

The housemates did all club together and get another bed and Peter and Morse agreed to share a room, so Joyce could have a room of her own. Morse took her to a school in Oxford on the Monday morning and after spending the morning looking around and meeting some staff and students, Joyce decided she'd love to go there and was enrolled on the spot, with a view to starting there the very next day.
Fred and Win insisted on buying her uniform for her and Max presented her with a new bag that he had bought for her to put all her books in.

It was the Tuesday evening, after Joyce's first day at her new school, that there was a knock at the door.
It was Oxford City Social Services. They had been sent by their counterparts in Lincolnshire after a visit to Gwen's house had found Joyce gone with a simple statement from Gwen,
"I can't afford her. She's gone to live with her useless brother".
They'd had to get the address from the Police after Gwen's refusal to help them anymore and she ushered them out of her house.

It only took them half an hour in the house in Crieff Lane however, to realise that Joyce was living in a much better place now. The officers from social services knew Max and Peter already, having crossed paths with both of them a number of times through work. They found the house to be well cared for, Joyce had everything she needed and had already started a new school.
"Well, I can't find any issues with you living here Joyce, if that's what you want?" David, one of the social workers asked her.
"Yes, I want to stay here please. If I go back to Mum's house, she'll make me leave school and get a job to support her. She already told me that." said Joyce

David looked unimpressed with the things Gwen had told her daughter. He looked even more unimpressed when Fred told Morse to show him the letter Gwen had sent Joyce there with.
"Well, these things are never easy, but I'm glad to see you're handling this ever so well Joyce. I don't think you'll have any problems living here. We'll be along every so often to check on you, of course and you can talk to us whenever you need." added David
Joyce smiled and nodded,
"Thank you. So... does this mean I can stay?" she confirmed, hopefully
"Yes, yes you can" said David with a smile.

They spoke with Morse and Fred alone before they left, to confirm that he had enough money to support a fourteen year old girl. But it became quickly apparent that with all six housemates looking out for her, Joyce wouldn't have any trouble in that department.

Morse let out a sigh of relief after they'd left.
"You alright lad?" asked Fred
"Yes, I am now. I had this awful feeling that they'd make her go back to Gwen, no matter what" said Morse
"No chance. Look at the facts. It was Gwen that kicked her out. Joyce doesn't want to go back. She's still living with an adult relative and no social worker I've ever met in my career would ever send a young girl back to someone like Gwen, over letting her stay somewhere like this." Fred patted Morse on the shoulder and gave him a smile.
Morse nodded and smiled back.

Just then, there was a high pitched squeal, followed by more squealing and giggling, coming from the lounge,
"What the...?" said Fred as the walked into the hall
"Ok Max, you've shown Joyce what you can do! You can stop now!" squealed Peter
They walked into the lounge and found Joyce sitting on one of the sofas, in fits of giggles, with a racoon floating in mid air above her. His little paws moving around as he tried in vain to find something to steady himself on.

"I see your sister's getting introduced to all our quirks then Morse!" chuckled Fred
"I'm not a quirk! I'm a racoon!" squeaked Peter
"I thought it was only mice that squeaked!" said Fred with a grin
Shirley took pity on Peter then though. She stood up and plucked him out of the air and went and sat down with him in her arms, while she tickled his tummy,
"Awwwe, poor baby" she cooed.
"Poor baby! You've got a grown man in your arms Shirley! And a policeman to boot!" exclaimed Fred with a roll of his eyes.
"You're just jealous Fred" answered Peter with a little furry grin.

Later that night, Morse and Peter were in what was now their room, when Morse spoke up,
"There's one thing... I hope you don't mind me asking?" he said
"Ask away" said Peter
"How come you never ran away?" asked Morse
"What?" replied Peter, with a frown
"From Blenheim Vale. With your speed. How come you never just ran away?" said Morse

"I did. More than once. First time, I ran all the way back to London. Found the lads from the gang that got me into that mess in the first place. I hung out with then for a few days before the Police found me and took me back." said Peter
"What happened?" asked Morse
"The Blenheim Vale staff beat me until I agreed to turn into a racoon..." Peter began
"What! Why?" asked Morse
"So I'd be smaller and they could lock me in a big wooden chest" Peter answered with a shudder.
"You're kidding? How long were you in there for?" asked Morse in shock
"Dunno, about a week. They poked some food and water in through a gap in the top." said Peter sadly
Morse just frowned, what could he say to that?

"I was ill for a week after they let me out and I changed back into a human. It's not good good for me to stay as a racoon for more than a few hours at a time... and I reckon they'd found that out. It was supposed to be a punishment to stop me from ever wanting to change into a racoon again." explained Peter
"It didn't work then, I take it?" asked Morse
"Nah, being a racoon is part of me. As soon as I was feeling better, I ran away again. Went home to my parents that time. Told them I was better and that I'd behave." said Peter

"And...?" asked Morse
"They called the Police and I was back in Blenheim Vale by the same evening..." said Peter, before adding
"...They just locked me in my room then for a while. But I gave up running then... where was I going to go? My friends told me not to go back, because they didn't want the police visiting them to look for me when I ran away and my Parents made it clear they'd washed their hands of me..." Peter trailed off with a sad look in his eye.
"Well, it's their loss..." said Morse with a nod as Peter looked up,
"...you're ours now and I'm glad" Morse grinned at him
Peter returned the smile,
"So am I Morse... so am I" he replied

The now seven housemates did live happily ever after from then on in. There were some ups and downs along the way, but life was all in all very good.

The Police and courts in Lincolnshire had been informed by social services that Gwen had sent Joyce to live with Morse and they immediately revised their earlier judgement to include an order that Gwen did now have to pay Morse the £499 back.
Gwen was not happy. After several letters, phone calls and visits to Morse and Joyce, she had to be warned about the offence of harassment by the police and had to give in, in the end, get a job and over the course of the next three years, she paid back the money.

This did mean, however that Joyce was able to afford all the things that any teenage girl could need, without the housemates having to have a 'whip round' to buy her things. Although, they did still buy her presents of course. Morse opened a trust fund bank account in her name where he deposited the money Gwen sent, with a promise Joyce could access it herself when she turned eighteen.

The adults all graduated from their course with flying colours.
Joyce passed all her exams and went on to go to college in Oxford, followed by a St. Finnemore's scholarship of her own.

Morse, Shirley and George did all join Thames Valley Police and after their probationary years, they all ended up being based in Oxford, along with Peter.
When the new lad, D.C. Morse arrived at Castle Gate Police station, there was a murmur of surprise through the CID, when D.I. Peter Jakes asked him to be his bagman.
"He's a good lad... under my wing, he'll make a fine detective and an even better Policeman." he said to anyone who dared question his decision.

Shirley and George bought a flat together in the city and married eighteen months later.

Max split his time between working as a surgeon and a pathologist, so saw quite a lot of the police officers at work. He bought that little house that he'd always dreamed of, overlooking the countryside, where he could sit in the garden and read and after a few tips from Fred over the years, he'd got quite the gardening bug.

Fred and Win decided to relocate to Oxford permanently, as did Joan and Sam, after many visits to the city to see their parents had them falling in love with the place.
The two Thursday children got good jobs in the city and moved into their own flats. Fred and Win sold their London house and had enough money to buy a large five bedroom house, right next door to Max.
"Oh thank the heavens..." said Max when he found out,
"...that's the only other house within five hundred yards of mine, so I'm beyond happy that you're the ones going to be living there!" he'd smiled.

Peter, Morse and Joyce, moved into three of Fred and Win's spare rooms. As Fred said, the three of them had quite a bit of catching up to do when it came to living in a happy family home and they all jumped at the chance.

Reginald and Nicholas went on for many happy years at St. Finnemore's, keeping tabs on any strange goings on. Of which, there were fortunately very few.
Joss did get himself a few small acting jobs with his drama degree, but his main income was a job he landed with the Oxford Mail. He still posted small articles in the Finnemore Times university paper and Dorothea began to post a few things in the Oxford Mail too. They remained very good friends and teamed up on many occasion to get good scoops for their papers.

Jim stayed on at St. Finnemore's for the rest of his teaching career. He figured he would likely still be here for the next demon attack and having an eyewitness to prepare people next time was going to be invaluable. Having some unusual friends living and working in Oxford that he would be able to call upon when the time came would also be a godsend.

THE END