Darkness Falls...

Hey! Sugar here! I really want to get to the action over in Rampant, so I'll just give a bit of info then hook up the StoryStreamer! Okay, they were trying to reach Giovanni, believe it or not, for nearly two weeks! He got a new cell phone since Astrid last saw him and they were spending that time tracking him down. So, they've managed to contact Giovanni, and he has agreed to meet them on Lover's Hill (how appropriate). But, he doesn't know anything. He thinks that Astrid's just had a change of heart and wants to get back together. He doesn't know about Leo or Marisa or any of that, so yeah, he's in for a surprise!

Astrid and Leo stand at the top of the hill. The magic has already been preformed on her, expecting for Giovanni to arrive sooner. Due to a late flight, he arrived at the airport a day late. Marisa went to pick him up half an hour ago. Astrid looks around. Leo grabs her hand. "Don't worry, he'll be here." Leo reassures her. Astrid looks unconvinced.
"But will he be here in time?" A silver SUV pulled up to the side of the hill. Leo smiles as Marisa gets out and waves. A tall, strong figure emerges from the passenger side, carrying two suitcases. He shields his eyes against the setting sun and smiles when he sees Astrid. "Wow." Astrid whispers. "He never smiles. Not for real." She blushes a little. "Usually, he smiles with his eyes. It's really adorable." Marisa helps Giovanni get his bags out of the trunk. Astrid smiles wider than ever as Giovanni begins to make his way over to her. Astrid's hair is now grown out and full, the scars have all but disappeared, as have the strange markings in her eyes. All those things vanished when the magic was performed. Marisa and Giovanni reached the top of the hill. The RTs watch happily as Giovanni wraps his arms around Astrid's waist.
"Who did you tell him you were?" Leo whispers to Marisa.
"A unicorn hunter." she replied. Leo raised an eyebrow.
"And he bought that?" Leo seemed impressed. Marisa shrugged, then pointed to Astrid.
"Uh, Leo..." Marisa trailed off. Leo looked back at Astrid, who was beginning to glow a faint red. 
"No!"Leo shouts, "Astrid! The magic! Lock the magic!" Astrid stares at her uncomprehendingly, then stiffens up, falls out of Giovanni's arms, and onto the ground. Everyone stares at Astrid's body in horror. Leo falls to her knees. She pushes on Astrid's chest, feels her wrist for a pulse. "No, no!" Giovanni begins to shake. Marisa steadies him. "I never fail! I can't fail! No! Astrid!" Leo screams. Tears well up in Marisa's eyes and she wipes them away with her sleeve. Giovanni kneels next to Astrid. He's paler than she is. "Aslan help us!" she cries. After a few moments, she more or less regains her composure. She takes her communicator from her pocket and presses a button. "This is TrailBlaiser calling RTHQ. Come in RTHQ." she sobs. After a few moments of static, a voice comes through.
"This is RiverFlyte responding, what's the situation? Over." Fresh tears roll down Leo's cheeks. She closes her eyes and lets them fall. 
"Sep, she, she's dead." Leo cries. A few moments of silence pass. The feeling of depression lays thick on everyone's shoulders like a dark fog.
"I'll be right there."

Whoa. I, uh, I'm gonna just leave it running. I'll set the computer to cut it off at various intervals. There won't be commentary for a while. Just story. I've got to man the headquarters until RiverFlyte gets back. Um, dream on, I guess.

            -Agent SugarPlum