Season 2 - Episode 56: We Have Some Concerns

## Synopsis

Bjorn updates Indigo on some things he'd left out of his reports - namely Salem and Judson. Indigo tells him not to leave anything out of his reports again and that he can trust him. They also discuss a cover story for the murder of the mayor and Indigo says the media seems to have taken care of it for them. A few days later, Bjorn goes to check on Ben and Salem only to find that Masa is molting. He helps them appease Masa with some booze. At school, Henry is still diving into research on the Empty Man and a cure for Gideon. Later on that day, he spots a boy threatening River and gets in his first fight at school. He takes out the boy's knee before River tells him to get out of there. Sammie and Oliver have been researching how to write spells. While going through a book, Stanley calls Sammie and tells her Miguel needs her help at the Fort. Begrudgingly, Sammie agrees. She helps Miguel paint protection runes in the Fort and they have a tense conversation about what happened with the spellbook. Eventually, they both agree on the fact that they'll find a way to get rid of Jadis.

## Episode Description

Bjorn makes a confession and then makes a visit. Sammie is forced to spend quality time with Miguel. Henry tries to defend River.

## Key Events

* Bjorn tells Indigo about Judson and Salem but advocates that they are left alone until they can learn more about the Empty Man and a potential cure for them.
* Henry gets into a fight at school to try and defend River. He cracks the kid's knee before River shoos him away.
* Sammie has been working on making her own 'clean' magic spells with Oliver helping her research.
* Sammie helps Miguel paint the protective runes back onto the Fort and they finally clear the air a bit after what happened with the spellbook.
* Bjorn discovers that Masa is molting and helps Ben and Salem to calm Masa down with some booze.

## Summary

Bjorn is writing his report for H.U.N.T.E.R. about what happened with Raul. He calls Indigo after submitting the report to let him know that they're going to have to come up with a good coverup story for this one considering the mayor has been killed. Indigo does some looking into it and tells Bjorn that he doesn't think they'll have to coverup this one - that the local media is reporting it as a suspected 'murder-suicide' as the mayor was having an affair with his aide and his aide was also killed. Bjorn is relieved by that but moves on to the next thing he needs to discuss with Indigo.

Bjorn tells Indigo about Salem and Judson. He admits that he omitted them from his reports because he wasn't sure how to explain that he wanted to keep them around rather than eliminate them like they normally do with monsters. He explains to Indigo that they are high-functioning undead humans and not like the zombies they fought at the time. Bjorn believes they can help them through this and eventually find a cure for them because an entity known as the Empty Man is responsible. Indigo tells Bjorn to write a report on all the knowledge he has on Salem and Judson so they can make an accurate assessment and tells him to not keep anything like this from him in the future.

Henry is trying to cope with the fact that he killed the mayor. He's been trying to research as much as possible both to not think about what happened and because he's determined to find a cure for Gideon. Even at school, he's reading some books he brought from home at the library. River comes up behind him and startles him and asks what he's working on. Henry explains what he's doing and River offers to help somehow. Henry tells her that if she ever comes across information on an entity known as the Empty Man to let him know.

Sammie and Oliver have been diving into research on how to write magic spells. Sammie is determined to prove Miguel wrong that she can't write her own magic and is trying to figure out how to write a 'clean' version of the finding spell from Jadis' spellbook. Eventually, Sammie gets a call from Stanley. He tells her everything is fine but he has a request and she's not going to like it - Miguel needs her help activating the runes that protect the Fort now that it's finally been drained of water. Sammie apprehensively agrees and then tells Oliver she has to head to the Fort. Oliver suggests she try to talk to Miguel and maybe ask him questions about magic and Sammie counters that Miguel doesn't like answering her questions. Oliver says he's going to find a friend to help him translate the book they're trying to read and wishes her luck.

Bjorn heads to the hotel to check on Ben, Salem, and Masa. He asks Salem how things have been going with Judson and Salem says Judson has been helpful. He then asks Ben how Masa is doing and Ben nervously says Masa is fine. Bjorn tells them they are getting ready to move back into the Fort and catches Salem up to speed on what and where the Fort is. Ben nervously shifts foot to foot as Bjorn brings up Masa again and tells him they'll have to be ready to move him to the Fort too. There is suddenly a thump in the attached bathroom. Bjorn tries to see what's going on but Ben blocks him, finally confessing that they gave Masa alcohol and now they think he's molting.

Later in the day at school, Henry is walking down the hallway and sees something out of the corner of his eye. He turns and sees someone leaning over River. River is backed up against the lockers with a larger boy leaning over her. Henry catches him say something about a 'freak like you' as he approaches. Henry calls out and tells the boy to back off but the boy doesn't budge. Henry checks that River is okay and River mouths at him to go away. The boy starts to walk toward Henry and Henry eggs him on. The boy calls Henry scrawny and asks if he thinks he can take him on and Henry says he needs the practice.

The boy tackles Henry and they both crash into the ground. Henry does an expert move and flips the boy over so he's on top of him pinning him down. Henry tries to punch him in the face but the boy punches Henry in the stomach. River runs up and tells 'Darren' to stop and the boy shoves her away and she falls backward. Henry crashes into Darren's legs and he feels something pop in the boy's knee. He cries out in pain and River tells Henry to stop. Henry stands up and backs away, looking confused as River shoves him and tells him to get out of there. People begin to pop out of the doors to see what the commotion is and Henry hears River give Darren a kick for good measure.

Sammie arrives at the Fort to meet Stanley, who has just gotten lunch for them all and hands her a cheeseburger. Stanley takes Sammie down through the Fort. It is clear of water and all the rooms are starting to look put back together again. Sammie comments that they've been making a lot of progress and Stanley says they want to be home, that this has been home since he was a little kid. Stanley says he hopes they can avoid 'breaking' the Fort again.

Sammie and Stanley walk into the room that had been used to contain Gideon. It is still completely wrecked, however someone has brought in slabs of stone that will be used to rebuild the walls. Miguel is sitting on the ground beside the stone slabs and etching runes into them with a chisel. Stanley hands Miguel his lunch and the room lapses into a bit of an awkward silence. Stanley asks Sammie how things with Oliver are going. Sammie says they are going well and then blushes when Stanley says they're cute together. Once they've finished lunch, Stanley leaves the two of them alone together to work on a different project.

Miguel rolls out a large piece of paper with circular runes on it. He explains he needs Sammie's help with painting the designs onto the ceiling. He says they'll need to etch them into the stone eventually but the paint will work temporarily. Sammie and Miguel start to work silently together with Miguel giving her direction along the way. Eventually Sammie asks where Miguel learned about all of the magical things he knows. Miguel answers that he's read a lot of books but also learned a lot from his wife, Lucy, who learned them from her mother. He says Lucy collected books on magic practices that weren't on the 'approved reading list' from the Council. Sammie asks what he means and Miguel explains the Council wants to make sure people aren't practicing magic that will hurt others so they have a list of 'approved' books but it doesn't mean they can't read other books.

Sammie makes a comment about the Council seeming like a 'real piece of work' and Miguel falls silent. Sammie asks if he has something he wants to to say about the Council, but Miguel says it's not his place to criticize the Council, especially since they've been in here doing a lot of work recently. Without saying as much, he alludes to the fact that the Council may have put measures in place to listen in on their conversations, especially since he and Stanley aren't exactly the Council's golden boys. Sammie gets a bit heated and said she never would have guessed he wasn't on the Council's good side with how quickly he turned her over to Angelina. Miguel and Sammie get into a bit of a spat over who was in the wrong during the situation with the spellbook and who's right about magic. Miguel asks her how her research is going into spell writing and Sammie mumbles about not making much progress.

Miguel admits that he wants to trust Sammie but he doesn't think that he can until Jadis is out of her body and mind. He says he blames himself for not taking the shard out sooner. Sammie says its no one's fault except Jadis' and he can't blame himself. Miguel admits he's been researching to try and find a way to get rid of Jadis but he hasn't found anything. Sammie says they'll figure it out eventually.

Back at the hotel, Bjorn asks how big Masa has gotten since he started molting and Ben explains that he's gone from the size of a dachshund to the size of a pit bull. Bjorn asks if they've tried anything to help him calm down and Ben suggests giving him more alcohol. Bjorn says he was thinking the same thing and tells Ben to wait there. Bjorn goes over to the other hotel suite and starts to raid Stanley's liquor cabinet. He leaves an IOU for Stanley and then heads back over to the room Ben and Salem are staying in. Bjorn tells Ben and Salem to stay back as he opens the bathroom door, puts down the bottle of scotch, and then closes the door.

Bjorn listens as he hears Masa get excited about the booze, chug the entire bottle, and then demand more. Bjorn asks Masa if more booze will help him calm down and Masa just yells for more booze. Bjorn goes back and gets more alcohol and then passes it through to Masa. Eventually, Bjorn hears Masa settle and start snoring. He decides to leave him alone for now and hangs out with Ben and Salem for a few hours before going back to check on him. Masa says he's feeling better now and Bjorn opens the door. Bjorn immediately notices that Masa is bigger now, his skin has changed from a blue-grey to purple and he now has small tusks protruding from his mouth. Masa toddles out the door past Bjorn and then lays on the couch by Ben. Bjorn cleans up the wreckage in the bathroom. Once he's finished, he gently but sternly tells the boys the next time anything like this happens he expects them to tell him sooner and Ben and Salem agree.

## List of Appearances

* Bjorn Olafson
* Indigo
* Henry Marlowe
* River Hanson
* Sammie Overbrook
* Oliver Allen Evans
* Ben Lasky
* Salem Pierce
* Stanley Marlowe
* Miguel Rodriguez
* Masa