Karrin and I looked at each other, her expression mixed with worry and consternation. The glow around her had completely faded. Yang covered her eyes with both hands, looking through them.

"Am I a ghost?" Her mind skipped ahead. "Am I dead?!"

"I don't think so," I said with confidence. "Let me check something." I'd noticed that while Yang was translucent, the borrowed robe was not. I stood and made my way back to the bathroom. When I turned on the light, my suspicions were confirmed. I grabbed the neatly folded clothes and boots, and then returned to the kitchen. I set them down on the table; they were also mostly transparent.

"Where's your scroll, Yang?" She reached into a pocket on her jacket and pulled out the little device. Sliding it open, she made a gesture, pulling up her team stats. It was a little hard to see, but her aura bar was nearly empty and flashing red. "That's what I thought. It also raises more questions."

"Like what, Harry? What are you thinking?" Yang was doing her best not to panic.

"Well, for starters, I don't think you're a ghost – spirits don't bleed like you did for Andi. They also don't eat food. I'm just spit-balling here, but I think you're here, sans body. It's not really a stretch that anyone with an activated soul wouldn't project a solid presence." I admit, it was damned strange, but I did spend the better part of a week disembodied and running around, possessing people. Strangeness is a spectrum.

"But what does that mean for her?" Karrin asked. "What happens if her aura gets completely depleted?" That was worrisome. I honestly didn't know.

"Could be one of two things happen." I held up one index finger and looked at Yang. "One, you could snap back to wherever your body is or, two…" I let it hang there. Yang thought about it for a second.

"I could die." Murphy glared at me.

"The body can't live without the soul, Sparky. I don't think that'll happen though. The real question is who or what sent you here? I get the feeling that whoever did it, they sent you to me for a reason."

"That's a pretty big assumption," Murphy deadpanned. I shook my head.

"It's a gut feeling. Work with me here: In the whole wide world, she just happens to show up on my doorstep? Come on. Even you can't ignore that." Murphy rolled her eyes.

"Fine, oh lord of Q.E.D. What does that mean for our not-ghostly friend, here?"

"Hey! I thought we agreed that Bob held that title." I didn't give her the chance to retort. "Whatever sent her here had to go to an awful lot of trouble. I mean, why go and do that if they wanted her out of the way for whatever reason? Seriously, it would be easier to off her – no offense, Yang."

"None taken. What's your point?" she asked, brow furrowed.

"It would take an unreasonable and insane amount of power to get you from Remnant to Demonreach, and past all its defenses." The more I talked, the righter it sounded. "Someone putting out that kind of effort, I'm willing to bet they have some sort of fallback plan in case you get tapped out, so to speak. It's not even hard logic to come by."

"But how?" What did I look like, answer guy? Don't answer that.

"Beats me, Sparky." I doubted Ebenezer could answer that question. Venture a guess, maybe, but me? Not a clue. The only thing I had reference to skated way over the line of wrong.

"Why? What's the motive, Harry?" Murphy thinking like a cop was starting to mess with my Zen thing.

"That's the sixty four thousand dollar question, isn't it? I have no idea, but you got me thinking earlier." Now I felt like I was grasping at straws, but I went on anyway. "How long has Rumble in the Bronx been going on?" Yang had been looking back and forth between us. She held up a hand.

"Rumble in the… Bronks?" She asked. I winked at her.

"The cliché gangsters we ran into earlier today have been busy." Yang made a silent Oh face. "How busy, Murph?"

"A few days. What are you getting at?"

"I just have to wonder, is Yang the only person – or thing – to show up from Remnant?" Yang squinted.

"Torchwick. Those punks are just his style, but…" she paused and frowned. "He's dead."

"Are you sure?" She nodded.

"Ruby saw him get eaten by a Griffon, like, swallowed whole." She shuddered and grimaced. Well crap, so much for that idea. "It was weird though. She said after it ate him, it flew off."

"Why is that so strange?" Murphy asked.

"Because Grimm aren't like that. A perfectly good target right in front of it, and it just flies off? That's not normal behavior for them."

"Could he have survived, somehow?" I asked. Yang shook her head firmly.

"No. People have been gobbled up before and the Grimm that ate them were killed minutes later – it all dissolves away and there's nothing left." Whoa. That's disturbing as hell. Where did they go?

We were talking ourselves in circles. I glanced at Yang's scroll and noticed that her aura was still in the red, but had stopped flashing. I pointed at it. "It looks like you're getting better already."

Karrin pointed at the picture.

"That's your aura? It's like," her face screwed up in thought, "like a life bar?" Yang nodded, and then twiddled her fingers on another part of the screen. She took Karrin's finger and pushed it down on a flashing box that appeared. The scroll chimed and flashed after a moment, and then a picture of Murphy appeared on the screen next to the faded one of Weiss – complete with a big green bar of her own. Cool! "Oh! But why is yours all wiped out now?" Yang shook her head ruefully. She was considerably less worried than she had been a minute ago.

"I'm a dunce, as Weiss would say. Unlocking someone else's aura costs some energy. I didn't know it was – what's the word? Proportional. Yeah. I should be fine after a good night's sleep." While it was a relief to hear her say it, I still had concerns. She did seem a little more solid now, but I could still see the kitchen counter through her head. "It looks like your leg isn't bothering you as much now, Murphy. How do you feel?" Dude. In all the commotion, I completely missed the fact that not only was Karrin not using her cane, but she was actually kneeling on her bad knee. From the look of shock on her face, Karrin hadn't realized it either. She stood up slowly and flexed her leg experimentally.

"Oh, wow." She slowly crouched up and down partway a couple of times. "It's sore, but not the savage ache I've gotten used to. I think I can fee– Oh. My. God. I. Am. Starving!" Whatever thought she'd had was so completely overridden by the need for food that she went straight for the fridge. I stared as she limped over to it, yanked open the dented door and pulled out a large covered bowl of something. She tore off the foil and plunged in a hand, pulling something toward her face. From the sounds she was making, I was a little glad her back was turned to us.

"Uhm… Murphy?" Yang asked. Karrin whirled around, chewing furiously on a drumstick of chicken. "Can I have some?" Murphy growled and clutched the bowl to her chest. "Oh. Harry, a little help here?" I looked at Yang, and then I looked at Murphy, who had not stopped. There was a dangerous glint in her eyes. I'd seen that look before, on Thomas, of all people. NOPE.

"Screw that, Yang, you're on your own." I wasn't even going to try. Hell no. Yang laughed and leaned back. There was a bowl of bananas on the counter, and I slowly side-stepped my way toward it. Karrin's eyes tracked me until she was sure I wasn't coming to take away her food. I brought the fruit over and set it on the table without taking my eyes off Karrin. "Here, munch on that. Is she alright?" Yang picked up a banana and took a bite without peeling it. Alright, coffee she knows, but an unpeeled banana? That's just gross.

"Oh sure," Yang said between crunchy chews, "she's okay. Her body needs the energy to heal. Give it a minute." I sat down next to Yang and watched in awe as Karrin finished off the entire bowl of bird. Once it was reduced to bones, she stared down into it in disappointment. She came back to her senses and looked back up at us sheepishly.

"I don't suppose we could pretend that didn't just happen, could we?" My lips twitched – Yang didn't have that kind of self-control and snickered around her third banana.

"I dunno, Murph. Are you still hungry?" She looked down at the bowl, disconsolate.

"I suppose I am, but I'm not cooking this late at night."

"Pizza Spress is still open," I ventured. She gave me a look that managed to be daggers and delight all at once. I really needed to learn how to do that. Seriously, you guys. Shivers, every time.

"You are a bad man, Harry Dresden." She plunked the bowl on the counter and fished a box of light-bulbs out of her junk drawer. She tossed it to me. "Here, Jolly Green Giant, put that in and turn off your glow worm. I'll go make the call." She decided that maybe using her cane was still a good idea and fetched it before making her way to the living room. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside to see her barely need it. I was also glad she was taking it easy.

I changed the broken light bulb out and collapsed the spell. I found the broom and dustpan and cleared up the broken bits. After that was done, I poked my hand through a couple of empty window frames and shook my head. I'd have to find some cardboard or some plastic sheeting until we could see about getting new glass.

Yang contented herself by not speaking and finishing the last of the fruit. Jesus. There were like, nine of those. I shuddered to think what a whole school full of these kids must cost to feed. I still had no idea how Charity fed her brood for all of those years. It was then that it occurred to me that now Murphy might have a similar problem. I giggled. It was a cute image.

"What's so funny, Harry?" I smiled.

"I was just imagining tiny Murphy eating enough food to choke an elephant." Yang clenched her tongue between her teeth.

"Yeah, we do eat a lot." Murphy came hobbling back in and sat down.

"Pizza will be here in thirty-ish. You're paying for it, Dresden." I winced, but it was only fair. I pointedly did not look at the windows. "Did we actually resolve anything?"

"Not really. We don't have anything but a serious lack of information and wild theories. Think you can find out more about what's been going on here in town?" She grunted but nodded her assent.

"I can head over to the BFS tomorrow and do some digging. What about you?" I knew what I needed to do before anything else happened.

"I've got a summoning to set up. Bob suggested that I reach out to the Loa – they're more familiar with The Dreamlands. If nothing else, I can bargain for directions." I hoped. The Ulsharavas was a long shot, but I had to start somewhere. Hopefully Mab's dubbing wouldn't change her attitude toward me.

"What about me?" Yang asked. "Am I still your pea in a pod?" That was a fair question. Instinct told me that having her around for a chat with Ulsharavas might not be such a hot idea.

"Summoning spirits can be finicky. It might be better for you to tag along with Murphy." I lifted my tone and looked to Karrin.

"Sure, she can come with me. If there's down time, maybe she can walk me through Aura exercises." We sketched out a plan for the day, and it didn't take much to convince Karrin to avoid talking to Marcone's people unless absolutely necessary. They might have intel on the new player, but I really didn't want him knowing about Yang at all.

A knock from the front signified that pizza had arrived. I went to answer, grabbing my wallet along the way. The front door opened to reveal a skinny twenty something kid with dark eyes and thick eyebrows.

"Hey, Harry! 'Nother game night?" He had two bags on each arm. I waved him in once my eyes stopped bugging out of my head.

"Hey, Seth. I wish – come on in." I thought about taking him to the kitchen and then remembered see-through Yang, so I had him take it over to the living room table instead. He unloaded bags and gave me the damage, which wasn't really all that bad. I think the manager must have given me a permanent discount – I'm sure I'd put at least one kid through college with all the business I gave them. Once he was paid (with a healthy tip) and on his way, I stacked the boxes and carried them back to the starving women.

Let me tell you, the way they slaughtered those twenty pizzas is the stuff of legends. And maybe nightmares.