Before was hurrying back to his dorm room after that disastrous encounter with a certain dark-skinned Misty. He was trying to ignore the sensation of ten million skittering legs crawling all over his skin and failing. Judging by the cold sweat and constant shudders shooting up his spine. Christ on a cracker, was there something going on between Candace and H? She did say a lot of suggestive things now that he thought about it. Just. Oh ew. Ick. Was that how she got promoted?

He stopped, glanced over his shoulder to look towards the general direction of H's office and shuddered. Whether or not that was how things played out, the mere idea made his stomach turn and the desire for brain bleach multiply ten-fold.

Wouldn't be surprised if it was. Her behavior is very much that of a whore, Vanna sniffed in disgust.

She's a whole ******** of gendered slurs which I will refrain from using too, Before agreed. Still grossed out and still very much convinced that Candace would simply lose it at any given moment and go postal on everyone's a**. Hey, do you think whatever's going on between H and Candace is meant to help the psycho blow of some steam? he supposed.

If it was, your former division leader must be terrible and incredible.

Teal eyes mentally blinked. Say what?

The whore wouldn't be fawning all over him if he weren't able to deliver. And the fact she's still incapable of showing you the slightest shred of decency indicates he's failing in schooling her.

Or maybe that's not the reason why she looked ready to jump his bones? Before frowned then shook his head, deciding he didn't want to deal with that particular train of thought any longer. He needed a shower. Badly. Mostly to wash off the ick and stench of creepy-McCreeperson from him.

A beat.

I believe you're better off being out of Life. That's a wretched leader you have there. On par with the dreadful Death leader, Vanna snorted.

Before frowned and insisted, Hey now, I'll be working under that man again when I become a fully fledge Hunter! You'll see! I'll prove him wrong!

But why would you want that? I don't understand. You may have enjoyed your time in the laboratories and you do enjoy the company of your former fellow Life Divisioners, but being under such an openly despicable and unconcerned leader is... counterintuitive if you seek for growth.

At this point, Before had reached his room, his hand about to enter when he stopped in mid-turn. Oh c'mon, Vanna, please as to not be doing an armchair psychology on me. I mean, yeah, we're totes bonded and we totes get each other and unlike that y'know, female Norman Bates, I would never use someone else's weapon to fight with. Would totes mess our groove and ******** up our synchronity and, ********, I know had a point somewhere... he trailed off.

He spent a few more seconds trying to remember before shrugging his shoulders and going inside, absently locking the door when he shut it closed. Anyway, they put me in Life when we had that evals. There had to have been a reason for that! Being shipped off to a different division feels like... I ******** up so badly there's just no ******** way to make it up. And I should be used to it. Or at least I thought I was... but it's different here. It's different now. It's not just high school. It's not just college. It's. I.

Before sighed deep and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I thought I finally found something I could be good at! Something I could do that would affect the people around me positively!" He threw the Mist coat roughly to the floor, the symbol-side facing up, the sweep of the end curled up into a smirk.

Mocking him.

He was suddenly filled with this violent urge to kick and stomp and tear the garment to shreds. To summon Vanna and just go to town on the poor helpless outerwear. He managed to resist. Barely. Instead he grabbed the coat, bunching it into a ball and hurling it at his closet with a not quite satisfying thump.

He decided to simply play out his fantasies in his head, not bothering to shield any of this thoughts from his partner. Without realizing, it was not the coat he had in his mind as he mentally lived out the fantasy of doing everything he ever wished he could do to certain individuals.

Without his usual cheery defenses and the giddy high from JOY Number 5, all the resentment and anger and frustration from all that had happened since he woke up wearing a gas mask to his recent encounter with H and Candace came rushing to the forefront of his mind. It was for the best that Before had locked the door to his room because he had never felt so pathetic and useless and devoid of allies and oh my God what a ******** waste of air he was and all his wasted potential and how everything about him was just one giant waste that no one wanted to deal with.

The next thing he knew, everything was a blur of tears, muffled sobbing, a scarf almost choking him, a hiccup or two, and this painful throbbing in the back of his head where it was repeatedly slammed against the floor. Vanna was frantically trying to calm him down, and scold him, and coo at him, and just plain old roaring for him to stop because his behavior was unbecoming and unacceptable and HE WAS BETTER THAN THAT!

"If I am, then why was I transferred?!? Why didn't H pick someone else to ship off to Mist?" he demanded hotly.

Recall what that lovely Clarice told you! Mist Leader Aria ACCEPTED your transfer! Recall how Mist is one of the most difficult divisions as you are expected to perform EVERYTHING! So silly Before, YOU MUST STOP YOUR CRYING!

Before was ready to snap back how Aria had been MIA for a good chunk of the time and that she didn't know him well enough to properly judge him and that-

I SAID SILENCE!!!!!!!!!!!

Which Before did. Mentally. Physically. Bleary teal eyes blinking rapidly as he waited for Vanna to continue.

A face wrought from alloy coughed in the back of his mind before the female voice proceeded to talk, in a much gentler tone, I put up with your self-deprecating ways and your tendency to embrace your failures whole-heartedly. And while it is amusing and entertaining at times, they are exactly why H and Caelius and most likely the rest of your Hunter brethrens do not take you seriously. Cease using them as your crutch. You still have potential. I WOULD NOT HAVE CHOSEN YOU AS MY PARTNER IF YOU DIDN'T!!! You will look back on your transfer as the best thing that has ever happened to you. Second only to being chosen by me, she hastilly added.

The Newly-Misty opened his mouth to counter-

SECOND. BEST. THING. she growled in warning.

Before gulped and nodded. Immediately regretting the action as the lump forming on the back of his head throbbed as a result. He hadn't quite accepted his partner's orders. Not fully. Before didn't know if he ever would. Or could.

The face wrought from alloy twisted into a disapproving frown.

Before slowly turned to his side and decided to forgo the shower. He'll show them all! He'll do a Lazarus on their a** and then they'll all see. See what, exactly, Before wasn't sure. It just felt like something he should say. In case his thoughts ever had an audience other than Vanna. Either that or he was just plain crazy. But he'll never be as sick or psycho-like as Candace, he decided with a snort. He placed a hand over the wary-eyed expression of the bottlecap-pin and slowly drifted to sleep.

Yes, while still on the floor. STFU he was too drained to pull himself up onto his bed.