Saint James Infirmary: The Full Story

[Sharque]

Driven both by boredom, the irregularities with the site in the last 10-ish months, and a (admittedly likely unhealthy) obsession with SJI, my effort with this post is to do for the 15+ year serial what  user jwik01 did for Beyond Rubies as it was approaching its conclusion back in 2017. Please feel free to point out irregularities, errors, and additional useful information, as in spite of the ludicrous amount of information I’ve consumed regarding Saint James Infirmary, there are doubtlessly still going to be spots I miss.

Volume One: The Night of the Watch (Issues 1-78)


Adrian Cavanaugh, musician and student, transfers to Wilmot College in Kearsarge, New Hampshire. Down on his luck after a recent breakup, he has accepted an offer to rent a room in a house already occupied by three tenants. He is pleasantly surprised to find that the three tenants are a trio of bombshell college babes: Mallory Lefebvre, a brilliant brunette who works with the campus library; Erin Hackberry, a busty, feisty redhead currently cast as Juliet in the campus’s upcoming production of R&J; and Danielle Pellerin, or Dani for short, a beautiful blonde who initially seems to fit the stereotype of the blonde bimbo. All three women are knockout gorgeous, but Mallory cautions Adrian that dating housemates is off-limits, with Erin in particular having a trail of broken hearts behind her. Mallory also informs him that the house they share they have nicknamed the eponymous “Saint James Infirmary.”

Though none know it at the time, these three women will become the seminal members of a harem which eventually spans the campus with Adrian at the center. Each of the girls also harbor as of yet unrevealed secrets which make them all far more than meets the eye.

Erin begrudgingly begins getting to know Adrian better, eventually encouraging him to seek employment at the record store at which she currently works. The boss, a no-nonsense woman named Jacqui, hires Adrian after the interview, though it is clear that Jacqui is not quite what Adrian was expecting. Adrian and Erin get lunch together after the interview in celebration. They have Vietnamese together, and Adrian asks Erin on a tentative “date” afterward. She agrees, and they go for coffee, where Adrian frustrates her by revealing a near-identical taste in music to her own. It is quickly becoming clear that, despite her frosty initial impression, Erin is beginning to fall for Adrian, much to the amusement of local barista and goth Raven.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to three new girls, each in their relation to the on-campus hypnotherapist known as Dr. Zenon. Caitlyn Hess, a campus cheerleader with post-grad political aspirations, is first seen under trance in Zenon’s office, slowly being coaxed out of her pants and masturbating before the doctor at his orders. In the lobby, Amy Honeywell sits as receptionist and assures Laura Lovering, a ginger TA pursuing her PhD in chemistry, that Zenon will be with her shortly. Upon Caitlyn being released, we see her being confronted by a man eventually revealed to be Derek, an ex-boyfriend of Danielle’s who apparently has access to hypnotic triggers which Zenon has programmed into his patients. Caitlyn is triggered by Derek and follows him, allowing him to grope her as she does so. He fucks her in an alleyway (the same one Erin and Adrian pass on their way to the Vietnamese place) and then takes her for lunch, conditioning her further one table over from Adrian and Erin. He makes out with her against the window of the Over Roasted coffee shop while Erin and Adrian are on their date, before sending her away with a dazed expression.

Though we are not privy to their session, Zenon clearly programs Laura with the same set of triggers, as Derek is seen triggering her outside of the coffeehouse where Adrian and Erin have their first date; he and Laura depart, Laura glassy-eyed and unresponsive to Derek boldly feeling up her tits in public.
Christmas and New Years pass in the span of two issues, Adrian gifting each of his housemates a present and receiving condoms from a secret Santa. It should be noted that his gift for Danielle is a certificate for stress management at Zenon’s clinic. Erin is sexually frustrated, unwilling to make a move on Adrian (which is vocally apparent to the other housemates); Laura and Caitlyn spend some time as Derek’s sextoys, clad in costumes for his amusement; Danielle shows up for her first appointment with Zenon; Raven the barista is shown to be considering her burgeoning bisexuality, and Jacqui (up to now only shown in shadow) determines to get laid more in the New Year.

Erin and Adrian bond further, hungover from the New Years Eve celebrations at work. They discuss Adrian’s previous relationship, and he explains his ex broke up with him by phone and mid-coitus with her new man. Derek is seen in the background trying to use a trigger on Jacqui, who breaks his nose for his trouble.
Danielle’s first session with Zenon is shown in detail. She strips without any prompting from Zenon and explains some of her past while masturbating, claiming she had been a good girl until arriving at Wilmot but gaining a wild streak after arriving as an exchange student. Zenon, skeptical, asks if she has ever been hypnotized, which she denies; she does, however, elaborate that her first boyfriend was an older man who had ostensibly hired her as a housekeeper but was really interested in sex. Dani obliged with eagerness and submission, which she recounts while having an animated orgasm. After this, she redresses, is hypothetically given programming from Zenon, and sent on her way.

Erin, seeming conflicted, tells Adrian she isn’t looking for a relationship right now in spite of her feelings for him. He mentions needing to stop at Student Health before turning in for the evening. Adrian leaves her and heads to Student Health to buy condoms (inexplicably, given we have seen no evidence he used his Christmas gift). Outside, a dazed Danielle walks past, and Adrian eventually spots her and catches up to her… right as Derek does the same. Derek leans in and whispers something in Dani’s ear, but before he can capitalize, Adrian sweeps her up and whisks her away, much to Derek’s chagrin. Venting his frustrations, we see him triggering Amy (confirming she has also been hypnotized by Zenon) and fucking her off-panel. He later calls Caitlyn that evening and triggers her, telling her to join Amy at his place.

Adrian carries Danielle home and calls Erin to let her know about Derek’s appearance. Danielle goes upstairs, Adrian thinking she’s been shaken up by the encounter; in reality, we see her doing her makeup and donning a stereotypical French maid’s outfit. Adrian asks Erin if she thinks he has a chance with Dani, and she seems hesitant to respond, but Dani reappears and Adrian hangs up before Erin can reply. Dani presents herself to Adrian and begins to unbuckle his pants, claiming she will do anything he wishes, much to his surprise. Erin’s arrival home startles him and he frantically shoos Danielle to his room. Erin, seemingly emboldened by Adrian wondering about his chances with Danielle, directly asks to fuck him, suggesting they go up to his room.
Adrian, a bit overwhelmed by two women throwing themselves at him in such quick succession, makes out with Erin up the stairs as they disrobe, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. He distracts her long enough to tell Dani to hide in his closet before Erin returns and begins blowing him. Dani, turned on by her view of the show, begins touching herself and falls out of the closet; Erin storms away, furious. Adrian is dejected, but Dani claims to have a solution, reassuring him to wait as she heads for her room.

Mallory, whom we had previously seen considering having her girlfriend Marliese over for a date night, arrives home and assumes the house is empty. She calls Marliese to invite her over as she begins making dinner. Upstairs, Danielle retrieves a box from her room with a spiral-covered notebook, a series of polaroids featuring a host of women, and a golden pocketwatch. She goes to Erin’s room, and we see spread polaroids of Dani using the watch to hypnotize an unknown woman and coaxing her into sexual acts with her former employer as Dani talks with Erin, eventually showing her the Watch.

Dani sends Erin to speak with Adrian while she heads downstairs to confront Mallory, approaching her from behind with the Watch in hand. Erin enters Adrian’s room and asks what happened with Danielle, and Adrian explains the odd behavior Dani had displayed. To his shock, Erin rises and sheds her green robe, revealing herself to be nude beneath and promising to finish Danielle’s blowjob and then let him do whatever he wants to her.

While Adrian fucks Erin, Dani answers Mallory’s phone to tell Marliese that Mallory had to run an errand but that she will be back for dinner and that Marliese is still welcome. She looks down and tells Mallory they should talk about her girlfriend, Watch in hand, as Mallory eats her out. Erin proposes asking Dani for tips on deepthroating Adrian, then proposes that the two women can practice on him together. Adrian heads to clean up before dinner but is surprised in the shower by Mallory, who says that Dani explained things to her and proposes they not let the hot water go to waste. They fuck in the shower while Erin and Dani fix dinner downstairs and prepare for Marliese’s arrival.

Marliese arrives and is surprised by the three women, each clad in slutty garb. Erin and Mallory restrain her while Dani shows her the Watch, which seems to put her into a hypnotic trance. Dani tells Erin to go and entertain Adrian while Mallory finishes dinner, then sets about programming Marliese into Adrian’s adoring sex-slave. Mallory calls Jacqui, whose power has gone out before she’s finished submitting her taxes, and invites her to the Infirmary for dinner; Dani plans on using the Watch to make her into yet another slave for Adrian.

At dinner, Adrian is surprised to find Marliese under the table sucking his cock, and seems for the first time to wonder whether something fishy is going on. The ladies exhort him to simply sit back and enjoy as Jacqui rings the doorbell. Dani welcomes her in and takes her upstairs to hypnotize her while Erin and the others tend to Adrian. Though he is still hesitant, Mallory and Erin eventually persuade him to fuck Marliese over the table.

Upstairs, Jacqui finishes filing her taxes and catches sight a string of pornographic photos displaying more women on Dani’s computer. Notable among them for future reference is a petite girl named Echo, whose photo is right beside Dani’s own. Jacqui asks if Dani was a talent scout, and the maid replies that she was part of a harem as she dangles the Watch before Jacqui’s eyes, telling her that they will now both be part of Adrian’s harem. Jacqui attempts to resist, and Dani explains that Monsieur (her boss) invented the Watch and used it on Dani and other women to make his harem when she lived in New York. Now, seemingly confusing Adrian for her Monsieur, she is intent on resuming her duties and brainwashing women for Adrian.

Adrian, thoroughly enraptured by the crazy turn his life has taken, is finally fully alarmed when both Erin and Mallory refer to him as Master. He hollers for Danielle, who heads downstairs, leaving the Watch and a dazed Jacqui stripping in front of the computer. Dani explains what she has done to Adrian, who is bemused and intent on returning the four to the way they were. Dani reluctantly agrees to fetch the Watch, only to be interrupted as a nude Jacqui descends the stairs, Watch in hand and pissed that she can’t redress herself. The two realize that someone else must have put Dani under and deduce the nature of her hypnotherapy with Zenon. Adrian tells her to awaken, which she does, but she retains no awareness of what has happened since her therapy session and no knowledge of how the Watch works.

Without Dani’s hypnotized mind, Erin and co. are stuck in the slave personas Dani programmed into them. Zenon is conveniently out for a week-long vacation, but Adrian proposes trying to go to Derek to see if he can retrigger her. Dani is reluctant, but Jacqui convinces her with the promise of some sexual favor. She calls Derek, and she and Adrian dress to go meet him, leaving Jacqui to the sexual mercies of Erin, Mallory, and Marliese, who quickly begin having their fun with the record-shop manager.

Derek, having already collected Caitlyn and Amy, enjoys their company along with Laura as he roleplays supervillain and awaits the arrival of Danielle, eager to have her back under his control. En route, Dani tells Adrian that Erin does genuinely care for him beyond the effect of the Watch and proposes (free of hypnotic triggers) that she and Erin reward him for saving them together. When they arrive at Derek’s address, hands reach out and grab Danielle, yanking her inside. Adrian tries to follow, but he too is apprehended. Tied to a chair and confronted by a hypnotized Laura, Caitlyn, and Amy, he is able to use their preexisting trances to persuade them to release him and view him as their Master. Derek, having triggered Dani, is prepared to fully reclaim her, but Adrian and his new slaves burst in and rescue her, Derek once again injuring his broken nose in the process. Adrian and the four women hastily redress and flee into the night, the four still dazed from their experience under Derek’s control.

As they are entertaining Jacqui, Mallory and Erin stumble upon the Watch, left at the Infirmary by Danielle; they use its power to finish Dani’s brainwashing, properly inducting Jacqui into the harem in spite of her best efforts to resist. When Adrian arrives back with his four rescues, his three slaves and Jacqui (secretly now a fourth slave) greet him enthusiastically. Erin claims they discovered how to turn off the Watch, temporarily undoing the programming. Mallory says she will use the Watch to purge Caitlyn, Laura, Amy, and Danielle of Derek’s influence, while Jacqui encourages Adrian to enjoy the fruits of his heroic labor and have sex with Erin upstairs. However, once he is gone, Mallory, Marliese, and Jacqui program all four women into Adrian’s sex-slaves with the Watch, including Danielle, who has previously not been under its influence. The group then descends into a sapphic orgy while Erin reassures Adrian that she is open to Danielle and other women being a part of their relationship.

STOP

Thus ends the Night of the Watch! Though Adrian does not know it yet, he has suddenly and unexpectedly been saddled with eight obedient, adoring sex-slaves who have been programmed to obey his every command. In the coming volumes, his slaves will grow more bold in their desire to not only formalize the harem, but to open its doors to others… whether they want to or not.

The Watch, a seemingly innocuous and charming reference to the ultimate stereotype of the hypnotic genre, eventually evolves into the most consequential artifact in SJI’s mythos, able to rewrite thoughts and personalities in whole with no limits on suggestibility or timeframe. More will be revealed as to its origins and predecessors in due time.

Derek has been established as a semi-recurring character who will eventually be revealed to be tied to much bigger players in the overall story of SJI, and mysterious secrets in Danielle’s past with her boss which will ultimately form the crux of the story are teased in the form of the polaroids, her known history at the time, and her possession of the Watch itself. Even Dani is not aware at this time just how impactful her presence in Kearsarge is.

[Sharque]

Volume Two: A Blessing in Disguise (Issues 79-128)


Following the chaos during the Night of the Watch, life begins to return to normal. Derek goes MIA, and the girls begin to adjust to their new sexual obsession. Amy is seen on the phone with Zenon, confirming he has returned from his vacation, while Laura and Caitlyn gush to their social circles about their new boyfriend. Dani and Erin install a stripper pole in the Infirmary in preparation for Mallory’s birthday party, which had previously been decided to be held at local strip club Sawyer’s (Dani’s former off-campus job after arriving at Wilmot). Jacqui suggests to Adrian the morning after that he should accept the thanks of the women he saved, implying he ought to assert himself in this burgeoning harem, though he seems reluctant. He is, however, willing to fuck her after she returns from her lunch break.

Laura is working in the lab for her TA credit alongside her partner, Vikram Puntambekar, an Indian student revealed to be having a date with Amy. Laura feels bad, knowing the date is fated for disaster, but spares Vik the details. While sniff-testing a new perfume mixture, Laura trails off, eyes losing focus. She regains focus after a moment, remarking on the strong scent of the mixture, and they conclude their work. Vikram takes some of the mixture, marked #49, and remarks he may share some with his sister Kanti to scare off her date, of whom neither he nor Laura approve.

Erin sucks Adrian’s cock behind the register while Jacqui is away for lunch. A woman walks in looking for Jacqui, and Adrian manages to inform her Jacqui is away at lunch. The woman asks if they could tell Jacqui she stopped by, and Adrian asks for her identity. Much to both his and Erin’s shock, the mystery woman says she is Jacqui’s daughter before leaving. When Jacqui returns, she is less than enthused to hear about her daughter, claiming she had taken out a restraining order against her. She then scolds Erin for fucking Adrian on the clock… without waiting for her to join, then drags Adrian into the storage room for sex while awaiting her daughters imminent return. Said daughter, revealed to be a Jewish woman named Miriam, is outraged that her mother is having sex while expecting her arrival and is nonplussed by Erin’s flippant attitude.

Jacqui emerges and it is clear there is no love lost between mother and daughter; Jacqui refers to her as Pearl, though Miriam insists on her other name. Miriam informs them that she has transferred to Wilmot’s Jewish Studies program and will be in town for the foreseeable future, having come to discuss how they will avoid each other for the duration. The ladies have a tense lunch to hash out the details and split, intent on never speaking again.

That night, Erin and Adrian play pool. When Erin knocks the cue ball off the table, it is recovered by her and returned by Quentin Tarbox, also known as QBox or simply Q. Q returns to his own table and his own date, who happens to be Kanti, Vikram’s sister. She tries on the perfume sample Vik had given her and, like Laura, she fades out of focus, eyes glassy and mouth open. Q approaches her from behind and suggests that they go home and fuck all night, and she dreamily agrees. He backs off, claiming to have been joking, but as Kanti regains focus, she suggests that they do just that. Q pockets the vial, seeming to take note of the reaction. The two leave and have sex, Kanti eagerly urging Q to recover so they can continue. He suggests she go down on him to inspire his recovery, which she says she does not do; however, after another sniff of the vial, she finds herself sucking him, admitting it is fun. Sidenote: Q seems to have picked up very quickly on the suggestive side-effects of Laura’s compound, taking immediate advantage of them on Kanti and knowing enough to source her new suggestibility to the perfume.

On their walk home, Adrian tells Erin what Jacqui had said about the breakdown of her relationship with her daughter. According to Jacqui, Miriam screwed up an engagement she had with another man when she ratted him out for legal trouble, claiming it ruined her life for a few years without going into great detail.
At Zenon’s office, he and Amy discuss the incident with Derek… while Amy has her blouse unbuttoned and her bra exposed. He is later heard calling someone and claiming that “we have a problem.” While he feigns innocence and claims Derek happened to discover the patients’ triggers when speaking with Amy, the phone call makes clear that whatever Derek was trying to do with the girls, Zenon was connected to it, as well as to whomever else is involved.
Erin stalls Adrian by having sex with him in the campus steam system tunnels, while at the Infirmary, Mallory, Dani, and Caitlyn practice their pole dancing and prepare to surprise Adrian when he returns home. While in the tunnels, Erin and Adrian find strange machinery reminiscent of radio equipment, along with four glowing scallops. They return to the Infirmary, Adrian waiting outside as Erin, Mallory, and Dani get dressed. When he enters, they have decked the living room in oriental decor and are dressed in gauzy silks. They proceed to alternately dance for his pleasure and suck him off, reassuring him that he can stop worrying about them after the Watch and that they are here because they want to be. Caitlyn is eventually revealed to also have joined the fray, and the four romp long into the night as Adrian begins to truly enjoy his newfound position as harem head.

Jacqui closes her shop, gazing wistfully at an old photograph of herself and Miriam. She calls Sawyer and lets him know she will be dropping by the club for a drink, but on the way, she is stopped by a woman in a green coat, whom she greets as Rain. Enigmatic and nebulous, Rain has history in Kearsarge and at Wilmot which predates much of the present’s nonsense and, over time, is revealed to play a very important role in the story. Here, however, she merely informs Jacqui that someone (later revealed to be Q, her previous boyfriend) is out of prison and back in Kearsarge.

At Sawyer’s, Jacqui bemoans Q’s return and remarks to Sawyer that he had better stay away from both her and Miriam. Sawyer remarks Q likely got a job with someone called Yves. He reconfirms that Jacqui and Danielle eventually plan to make a dual performance at the club for Mallory’s birthday, then tells his right hand man to send word to Yves to let Q know that Jacqui and Miriam are off limits.

On her way home, Jacqui feels fairly depressed at her day, which quickly improves as Amy and Laura find her, kiss her, and take her home with them to fuck, introducing her properly to the sapphic side of romance. Jacqui displays a natural talent for cunnilingus despite never having done so before.
Marliese visits Rain, seeming to have recovered something from him after using his alarm code. It is unclear whether Rain provided the code or whether Marliese knew it from somewhere else, but Rain has clearly sent Marliese to confiscate whatever items of interest she has swiped. Rain remarks that Zenon does have a “private stash” of said items, and then she and Marliese disrobe and enjoy each other. The precise nature of Marliese has always been somewhat confusing to me personally, especially given the drama which happens with her regarding the Watch in the 900s and in the late 1200s-early 1300s. Rain is slightly less obfuscated, but the fact that these two characters interact with each other this early to steal something from Zenon is quite odd considering future developments.

Elsewhere, Derek appears before his boss, a leather-clad dominatrix poser named Claudia, who rebukes him for thinking with his dick when his assignment was simply to find Danielle and the Watch. Flanked by nude women in lingerie (eventually revealed to be a busty blonde named Meghan and Adrian’s former girlfriend Echo), she warns him he will be sorry if he fails again and tells him to wait for further instructions from her in Newark.

Sawyer’s man informs Q of Sawyer’s warning, to which Q agrees to avoid Jacqui, though he expresses surprise at learning that Miriam is back in town.
Raven watches as Jacqui, Amy, and Laura enjoy their morning after at Over Roasted, bemoaning her lack of current companionship. On cue, Erin enters and compliments her jeans. She encourages Raven, whom Laura had recently invited to dinner at the Infirmary, to bring an overnight bag; Raven becomes flustered at Erin’s forwardness. Adrian talks with Amy, who enthusiastically tells him about her time with Jacqui and Laura, much to Erin’s amusement, and the two set up a date.

Later, as he works at the record shop, Adrian is approached by Rain, who claims she needs to speak with him. While their conversation is left ambiguous as they walk across town, she apologizes to him that he has landed himself in a mess of relationship drama while seeking to avoid it. Upon their return to the shop, he confronts Jacqui and, apparently prompted by his conversation with Rain, gives her permission to call him Master for the first time, which she does with relief. He subsequently texts Erin and Mallory with the same permission, much to their delight, then walks to escort Danielle (who has picked up a new job servicing planes) home from her interview. He expresses his mixed feelings about all that has transpired and says that Rain warned him something bad might be coming. He worries over whether he is ready for it, and Dani throws a snowball at him. The two devolve into a snowball fight, which ends with them tenderly making love in the middle of the snowy woods. Rain looks on and bids an unknown audience to, “Watch over them.”

STOP

Volume Two introduces several new and noteworthy characters. Vikram will eventually become something of a secondary antagonistic force as more and more of the women in his life seem to fall under the effects of mind-altering shenanigans, while Q and Kanti’s relationship (and Q’s past with Miriam) will continue to evolve as the story progresses.

The two biggest additions, however, are Miriam, who will eventually be inducted into the harem through wacky hijinks and schemes, and Rain, who seems to know the most about what is actually happening while revealing the least possible at any given moment.

Noteworthy additional developments include Laura’s development of #49, which will be revealed in the third volume to be the infamous substance known as Pink Clouds, Adrian’s renewed resolve to take ownership of his women after his discussion with Rain, and Danielle’s sudden aviation job… in spite of having no listed knowledge or history in regards to planes beyond “dating a pilot.” This last detail in particular is another hint that not all is as it seems where the busty, somewhat ditzy Quebeçoise is concerned.

[Sharque]

Volume Three: Don’t Let Her Go (Issues 129-191)

Upon their return home, the girls congratulate Danielle on her new job. Adrian turns right back around, having promised Amy a date that evening, and warns Erin not to break Raven for her first time around. Erin seems to ask Adrian if he is interested in Raven, to which he says no but thanks her for asking. Erin and Raven have their date, Raven increasingly flustered and blundering until Erin takes initiative and shuts her up with a kiss. The two enjoy each other for the evening as Raven fulfills a longtime crush.

At his home, Q gets out of the shower and shaves. He considers the pink vial of perfume, still in his possession since his last date with Kanti, and seems prepared to dump it down his sink drain before the doorbell rings. He quickly dresses and opens it to see Kanti, likely under the effects of previous suggestions of his, dressed in an elaborate sari and bidding him “Namaste.” He eagerly welcomes her, his earlier temptation to ditch the perfume forgotten.

Vik calls Amy, only to see her and Adrian and realize he’s been stood up. Dejected, he attempts to make himself feel better, only to trail off as he sees Kanti and Q on their own date. Following their date, Kanti and Q begin walking home, Kanti wondering as to her own actions, claiming she’d intended to never wear a sari. At Q’s urging, she reveals she is pantyless beneath the dress, and he passionately pulls her into an alley and bends her over. Later, after their date, Kanti asks him what landed him in prison, and he reluctantly agrees to share, saying he will understand if she doesn’t want to continue their relationship afterward.
On their way home from their own date, Adrian and Amy discuss Zenon. Amy reveals he was obsessively getting all the Wilmot females into his office and hypnotizing him after a trip to New York. She mentions a woman he was calling, but cannot recall the name. Later, however, as they have sex (after shamelessly flaunting her Master in front of her disapproving twin sister, Hayley), she recalls the woman’s name as Claudia Coulbeck. Adrian reacts, recognizing the name as a friend of Echo’s, and suggests they discuss more later. Sidenote: This is the first direct link given between Zenon and Claudia, as well as between Claudia and Echo, implying that what has happened to befall Adrian may have been far less accidental and more purposeful than originally theorized.

Speaking of Echo, while putting Raven to bed, Erin discovers a picture of her taped to the inside of Adrian’s nightstand, along with an engagement ring which he never got the chance to give her. They discuss the next day, and while Erin expresses sympathy for Echo’s sudden breakup with him, both she and Adrian are happy to be together. Jacqui arrives, and he shares his history with Echo. Afterwards, he plays music for them both at the record shop, impressing them with his ability, while Rain listens from outside with a smile.

The History: Adrian and Echo were at Juilliard for music and ended up together. However, she dropped out and moved back to England, the news being communicated to him by Claudia, Echo’s roommate at the time.

At her townhouse, Claudia receives a letter. She calls Derek and gives him an address on Wall Street, urging him not to “fuck this one up.”

At Student Health, Marliese gives a checkup to Hitomi, a busty Asian cheerleader and roommate of Caitlyn, who has been complaining of headaches. She prescribes her some medication and sends her away; after Hitomi’s departure, she looks wonderingly at her recent charts, all marked by Diagnostic Code 339.82 - headache associated with sexual activity. Later that evening, Caitlyn looks after Hitomi and offers to skip class to watch over her. As she does, she sheds her bathrobe, and Hitomi ogles her nude body.

Q, the perfume bottle in hand, asks Yves for lab access at Princess Pink, the beauty supply distributor they both work for. Yves agrees, later asking Q as he plans to head out for delivery if he’s alright. Q admits that he thinks Vikram has created something called “Pink Clouds,” to which Yves visibly reacts. He advises Q to stay clean.

At work, Dani sees a flash of herself in getup similar to the maid outfit she’d worn the night she had been triggered by Derek and cries out in fright.
This will not be the last time that Dani seems frightened of flashes to her past, and more and more clarity will be revealed with each one. She later sees another flash when admiring one of the owner’s pet birds, this flash taking her to a skyline apartment with a much expensive bird in a cage and a nude woman.

In New York, Derek uses a proxy to confirm that the room information given to him by Claudia is accurate and to scope out the building. The next day, he uses the proxy as cover to break into the room, which seems to have a strong odor. Once inside, he calls Claudia, remarking that her boss is sick. However, he confirms to Claudia that he’s found Danielle and is seen holding a pair of her panties. It is unclear what specifically Claudia is seeking or why she is having Derek look for Danielle in New York when he theoretically knows she is still at Wilmot. It could be, however, that she is really looking for information about her boss, and Dani’s article merely confirms she had been in the apartment at one time.

Vikram confronts Laura about her relationship with Adrian, displeased to learn he is also dating Amy and wondering what it is about Adrian. Laura tries to calm him, but upon both Adrian and Kanti arriving, Vik seems to be overwhelmed and excuses himself awkwardly. Afterward, Laura and Adrian go on a date to get to know one another better, and Kanti and Vik talk; despite his begrudgement of her dating Q, he is at least glad to know that she has not also fallen under Adrian’s spell. Unnoticed by anyone, as Vik and Kanti discuss #49 while leaving and closing up the laboratory, an unknown person picks the lock, sneaks inside, and photographs Laura and Vik’s chemistry notes.

At student health, Amy’s twin sister Hayley seems to be suffering from the same sexual headaches as the slew of other women. She imagines her sister nude and pauses, seeming perturbed and yet intrigued by the idea.

After their date, Adrian and Laura go home and prepare for anal sex. Dani enters and disrobes, showing her pilot logbook. She reveals as they romp that she learned to fly from her father while in Mons, as well as revealing that she was originally schooled in Paris before moving straight to Wilmot. This is in direct contradiction to her earlier profession whilst under trance to Zenon that she was an English exchange student, which Adrian also seems to notice. Following Laura’s departure, he brings Mallory Dani’s flightbook, surprising Mallory, who claims that Dani was not a pilot but had expressed interest in becoming one in the past. Dani’s statements to Laura seem irreconcilable with what the Infirmary tenants know of her, so Mallory and Adrian retire together after resolving to discuss the matter with Danielle in the morning.

Claudia reconvenes with Derek and says she wants Zenon to handle the next phase of their plan, instructing Derek to leave the Wall Street address alone. When Derek wonders what will happen if her boss returns, she tells him that is impossible, as her boss is dead. However, after Derek leaves Claudia sinks into her chair and puts her head in her hands, whispering to herself, “Please let him be dead.”

Erin returns from her rehearsal, walked home by her friends Reka and Weston. She returns to her room and withdraws a pentagram locket from a drawer, donning it with a smile. She then slips into bed with Adrian and Mallory. The next morning, Adrian leaves early to meet with Rain for music lessons as well as further conversation.

Laura is awoken by a call from Vik, who informs her of the laboratory break-in. She arrives to find Kanti and Q there as well, and the three chemists discuss the chemical composition of Laura’s concoction, the aforementioned Pink Clouds. Q says that they would be able to tell if someone was using the formula if they engaged in a foolish public display of collecting women, which inspires a sudden bout of worry in Laura as to her relationship with Adrian. She attempts to convince herself that her feelings are genuine, but the others imply that Adrian might have dosed Laura without her knowledge to gain access to #49. Laura spitefully responds to Kanti’s suggestion of the sort that Adrian is not like Q and storms away, leaving Kanti to conclude Adrian is the likely culprit. Laura calls Amy, asking if she’s had any headaches recently, as they are a symptom of extended exposure to Pink Clouds. Amy confirms she hasn’t but says Hayley had one the previous day, sparking Laura’s fears. She abruptly hangs up.

Amy subsequently checks on Hayley, whose headache is gone. Hayley, seemingly throwing caution to the wind, propositions Amy to sleep with her, recalling a previous time when they were drunk when Amy had suggested it. Haltingly, Amy agrees, ignoring a call from Zenon as she and Hayley have sex.
At the Infirmary, Erin and Mallory discuss some of Erin’s insecurities about their new relationship, only to be interrupted by a scream from Danielle upstairs. Danielle has a nightmare in which she is told to take steps closer and closer to the open skyline window from her flashbacks, finally stepping off of the edge and falling when the voice instructing her fails to catch her. Mallory and Erin comfort her. When prompted by Mallory, Danielle claims she was in New York in the dream and that “he” was being cruel to her. Laura arrives and informs Erin that she desperately needs to speak with Adrian.

In her room, Hitomi does her makeup and dresses herself in a slutty schoolgirl outfit, preparing to hit the campus and get laid. Passing by a fairly ridiculous amount of public displays of affection, she eventually finds Imani, another cheerleader on the squad, and Coates, who are currently heavily petting on a lounge couch. Biting her lip, she asks to join them. Hitomi learns that Coates is married to an archaeology student who is okay with him and Imani’s affair. The two assure Hitomi she is under no obligations, but when she finally boils over and demands they take advantage of her, they eagerly comply.

As Kanti and Q leave Vik at the lab, Kanti asks if Q used #49 on her. When he admits he did notice the symptoms, she asks if he took advantage of her suggestibility, and he lies, saying he did not. The two plan how to get inside the Infirmary and recover Adrian’s imagined stash of Pink Clouds.
Adrian has several messages as he departs from Rain’s tutoring. Erin is complaining he didn't wake her up with sex, Laura is calling with her frantic concerns, and Mallory is calling to inform him of both Laura and Dani’s distress. He shows up at work to find a distraught Laura, with whom he departs to explain matters. He promises to explain to her what Rain has told him and what happened on the Night of the Watch.

While we do not get the full scoop on the Watch, the characters are now aware of what we will eventually know. The Watch is capable of making deep and permanent changes to an individual through its influence, meaning that the suggestions it made on the minds of Erin, Dani, Mallory, Jacqui, Laura, Caitlyn, Marliese, and Amy are irreversible. According to Rain, Dani’s old boss, whom she calls the Watchmaker, was its inventor. When Laura asks if they can just use the Watch to undo the original commands, Adrian admits that, according to Rain, that would leave even more damaging effects, and Laura herself admits it wouldn’t even work. She does warn him that they need to keep close track of the Watch, as Dani may misplace it in her absentmindedness, but overall, Laura seems put at some measure of ease.

Adrian and Erin take a break from work with Jacqui’s permission to have sex at the Infirmary. Alone in her shop, Jacqui curses Rain for unknown reasons, likely simply frustrated at her continued interference in her life (the two women were previously established to be on rocky terms due to history between them). At the Infirmary, Adrian recalls mid-coitus that he needs to check on the Watch, and he and Erin are alarmed to see its box pulled out from beneath Dani’s bed and empty. They rush back to work and have Jacqui drive them to the hangar to warn Dani about the stolen Watch. However, much to their relieved chagrin, she reveals that she is carrying it on her person.

On the way home, Dani discusses her dreams and flashbacks with Adrian and Erin. She has conflicting memories of her boss as sexy and kind, but her dreams and flashbacks indicate a cruelty at odds with her memories. She does not know what became of him, or even why she is at Wilmot, but turns down the idea of using the Watch to recover her memories fully, never wanting to look into it again.

Abruptly a car swerves down the road behind them and strikes Dani, from behind, grievously wounding her. Desperately, Adrian tries to call for help, but Erin orders him to take her hand. She seizes Dani’s other hand and seems to brace herself for some dreadful undertaking, urging him to not let her go.

STOP

Volume Three begins to properly introduce Pink Clouds, though we won’t fully understand the compound’s capabilities and history until Volume Four. Q seems to be a character of two minds, struggling not to give into the temptation to use Pink Clouds and instead trying to do the right thing by neutralizing Adrian. His and Kanti’s aspirations are noble, if mistaken, as the Watch is the true source of Adrian’s harem.

Danielle’s past continues to unfurl, revealing contradictory memories of her history with le boss and increasingly implying a sinister origin. Dubbed the Watchmaker by Rain in her conversation with Adrian, he appears to be at the root of most of the madness that has unfolded thus far.

The climactic moment of Volume Three is, of course, the hit and run of Danielle, which will function as the inciting incident for Erin’s own mysterious background and abilities to begin creeping into the story, revealing her to be as complicated and mysterious a character as Danielle, if not moreso.

[Sharque]

Volume Four: All the Devils (Issues 192-292)

Adrian speaks with a doctor about the injuries of Erin, who is unconscious in a hospital bed. The doctor informs Adrian that while her injuries are fairly serious, they are not life-threatening and that things could have easily been worse. While alone, Adrian asks her unconscious body what she did back on the road. Jacqui and Mallory are waiting in the lobby with Danielle, who is inexplicably not only alive but unscathed by the hit-and-run. Her sweatshirt, however, is bloodstained and torn, indicating she was indeed hit by the car. When Adrian returns and Mallory and Jacqui demand an explanation, he describes what he saw: through unknown means, Erin seemed to transfer the injuries Dani sustained to herself (along with the pain the injuries caused). She then weakly told them to call for help, with Adrian finding Dani cradling Erin in her arms when he returned.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Mallory seems to have returned home, but Jacqui, Adrian, and Dani are awoken by a nurse wheeling out a conscious and mostly-recovered Erin. Erin jokes about Adrian calling himself her fiance but agrees to eventually marry him. Raven arrives at roughly the same time in a panic. Soon after, Erin is discharged from the hospital. The group heads back to the Infirmary, and a seemingly-cured Erin emerges from her room clad in a sheer, silken robe and her pentagram pendant, wielding a long, jagged knife and claiming she has something to do.

At the store, Raven runs into Caitlyn, who asks her about Dani. Raven expresses confusion, having believed Erin to be the victim of the hit-and-run, and the two leave for the Infirmary together. Meanwhile, cashier Alexandra steps out back and greets someone driving a Princess Pink truck. When she returns inside with a box, she is rubbing her head, indicating someone likely dosed her with Pink Clouds. Her coworker asks why they were delivering so late, but she shrugs off the question. She opens the box and withdraws several tubes, asking if Sawyer’s is still open and planning to go see someone named Katie dance. Her coworker asks if she thinks that is a good idea and seems generally confused by Alex’s shift in behavior, but she claims to be fine and says she’ll see him tomorrow.

Outside of Saint James Infirmary, Erin has made some sort of blood crest with her own blood and the dagger. Based on her conversation with Adrian, she seems to have some sort of powers in addition to her ability to save Dani’s life. When they reenter, they see Mallory, Dani, and Jacqui with coffee and firearms… many, many firearms. Jacqui says that whoever tried to kill Danielle will likely try again and that they need to speak to Sawyer. Mallory claims she has someone she can ask as to the perpetrator’s identity, but before she can say who, Raven arrives and freaks out at the sight of all the guns. Erin eventually interrupts her frantic babbling and drags her upstairs and aggressively fucks her, while Adrian and Jacqui head to Sawyer’s and Caitlyn (who arrived with Raven) tags along. As they pass by the place where the accident occurred, they fail to notice a parked car with its lights off. Someone gets out and, after digging through the brush by the roadside, discovers the broken mechanism of the Watch.

At Sawyer’s, Jacqui pays for Katie to give Caitlyn a lapdance. Sawyer speaks with Alex and orders her, “No drama,” before meeting with Jacqui and Adrian. Jacqui tells Sawyer the details of the car, who promises to find out what she can. Alex is seen pulling back the curtain of Katie and Caitlyn’s booth, brandishing a spray bottle. When we next see Katie, she is holding her head, indicating she’s been sprayed with PC. Alex brings her to another booth and they begin to feel each other up, while Yves discovers Caitlyn stripped down to her panties and dazed by Pink Clouds. He feels her up and eventually pays her both for a blowjob and for sex, donning a condom before fucking her. After, he offers to get a bite to eat with her, and Caitlyn, still suggestible due to the lingering exposure, agrees. Adrian and Jacqui argue as to whether or not the hit-and-run was purposeful, and when Jacqui checks on Caitlyn on her way to the bathroom, she finds her missing.

At the Infirmary, Mallory and Dani walk the perimeter of the house to check for weak security points. They look at Erin’s blood crest and muse on the secrets each of them keeps. Mallory is alarmed to hear that Danielle does not have the watch but Dani produces a glowing red scallop and claims that it is what is important. The scallop looks reminiscent of those previously seen in the steam tunnels of Wilmot University during Volume Two.

The two turn in, and Erin and Raven cuddle after their intense intimacy. Danielle is seen sleeping while Mallory sits cross-legged on her bed with a photo and various rocks and bones strewn across her mattress. Outside, the dark car sits with the lights off. Late in the evening, a man emerges from the car and begins ominously walking up the walkway of the house, but something red and glowing reaches for him and scares him off, making him run for the vehicle and speed away. Erin watches from the window and assures a sleeping Raven everything is okay.

A lipstick smeared Alex and Katie run into Yves on the way out of the strip club, who is preparing to leave with Caitlyn. Alex thanks Yves for the sample he delivered, but Yves claims there were no deliveries tonight. Alex bails, dragging Katie along with her. Inside the club, Jacqui searches for Caitlyn, asking Sawyer where Katie got to. She and Adrian pass Katie and Alex as they dash back inside, and Adrian recognizes Yves’ car. He stands in front of it and demands Yves return what belongs to Adrian. Caitlyn jumps from the vehicle, apologizing frantically, and Adrian tells Yves to meet them at Sullivan’s to talk. Katie and Alex watch from a distance, and Alex searches for her dropped spray bottle. An unknown person hoists it from where Alex had dropped it and doses both Alex and Katie with Pink Clouds, covering their faces with masks and claiming everything will be fine before driving them away in a yellow car.

At Sullivan’s, Caitlyn recalls Alex pulling Katie away from her and the scent of burnt rubber and oranges. Yves facepalms and claims it is Pink Clouds; Jacqui responds hotly, but Yves denies having anything to do with this. For a confused Adrian, Yves gives the first proper explanation of what PC is: a substance developed by Q which induces a state of high suggestibility in a female subject (Q had earlier theorized that PC doesn’t work on men because of its interaction with testosterone). Yves explains that the duration and intensity of suggestions given while under the influence vary depending on the person. Jacqui fills in that Q got caught because Miriam tipped off the feds, and that while they couldn’t pin anything on him besides “improper disposal of hazardous materials,” it forever ruined the relationship she had with her daughter. Yves lets Caitlyn keep the money he gave her and tells Adrian that the only way to know someone is using PC is for them to do something public and stupid, “Like having a Wilmot cheerleader call him ‘Master.’”

Caitlyn, shaken up from the night, asks if she can come home with them. Adrian says he mostly believes Yves, but that both Yves and Jacqui were not being entirely honest about what they knew. At the Infirmary, Jacqui fills in the missing details regarding her relationship with Q and Miriam’s interference; Miriam, according to her, claimed to the police that Jacqui had been handling distribution, nearly costing her everything if not for Q’s family lawyers. Adrian asks if he came between Q and Jacqui, as she had planned to wait for him to get out of prison, but Jacqui assures him of her devotion. With Caitlyn, the three spend a tender night together.

Erin and Raven leave together the next morning and discuss the upcoming productions of Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet, in both of which Erin is starring. Raven accompanies her to rehearsal and watches as she and Reka spar, rehearsing the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio from R&J. They and Weston head for coffee afterwards so Raven can get to work. As Wes and Reka begin walking Erin back to rehearsal, she seems to pause at the sight of an approaching woman clad in a pink coat. They speak, with Erin referring to her as Cherry and seeming shaken at her appearance. When they part, Cherry gets into the dark car which struck Danielle and claims to the driver that it went “very well.”

With Rain, Adrian laments his lack of a path forward, claiming he does not know how to fight, his parents being hippies, and that he doesn’t have any weapons. Rain counters that he has eight very dangerous weapons in the form of his women. After Adrian departs, Rain laments to an image of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester and founder of Wilmot College, that Adrian may not be strong enough to endure what is coming. She receives a delivery, and upon opening it, sees it is a clock fashioned after Atlas holding up the world, along with a short written note (which I have tried without success to decipher). In a fury, she either drops or smashes the clock, which shatters into pieces on the ground. This is a piece of the lore which I confess to not understanding entirely, as Rochester and his lover Polly are shown in issues 139-140 during 1679 AD. Polly seems to possibly be either Rain herself or an ancestor of Rain, and Rain addresses the painting of Wilmot as “my love,” but I am currently uncertain as to Wilmot and Polly’s precise impact on Rain and the plot. The implication of the clock is also one which is currently lost on me. I have seen others comment before on possible allusions between SJI and the Titanomachy of Greek myth, but I am uncertain as to how it precisely maps onto the serial and what the significance of the Atlas clock would then be.

Mallory and Marliese lounge together, and Marliese notices that Mallory has a box of cigarettes on her bedside table. When asked, she claims they are for a friend.

At the store, Caitlyn argues with her mom over the phone about her new boyfriend, before spotting Alex and Katie walking inside. She moves to confront Katie about being drugged, but Alex comes up from behind and presses a cloth laced with PC to her mouth. They quickly drag her outside and shove her into the same car that picked them up the night prior, arguing about whether or not to bring her with them. Danielle appears, however, and pulls a gun on Katie as she prepares to get into the driver’s seat. Alex pulls Dani’s hair back when she goes to check on Caitlyn and nearly sprays her with PC, but Caitlyn recovers and kicks Dani back, the spray missing her. She strikes again, kicking the bottle from Alex’s hand, and both she and Dani prepare for a fight. Alex bails, however, and dives into the door of the car, which Katie quickly puts in reverse and uses to escape.

As Amy leaves her place, she calls Zenon, who informs her of the break-in at his office. As she hangs up, someone she seems to know approaches her and sprays her with Pink Clouds. Later, in his first actual appearance up to this point, Zenon and Hayley see that someone has trashed the place, security informing them that the burglars used the janitorial code. Zenon hesitates when asked if anything is missing and asks Hayley if there are any appointments. She says he is clear, and he says he needs to make a call. Hayley says she can clean up, not having to be anywhere until 7. Despite the only people we had previously seen breaking into the office being Marliese and Rain, I have reason to suspect this break-in is a separate incident caused by different characters whom we will meet later in the Volume. Interestingly, among the scattered mess is a book bearing three red scallops on its cover. The iconography seems associated with the school, causing one to wonder once again just how far back all this nonsense goes.

Erin gets home from her rehearsal and asks Adrian what the deal with Rain is, but he responds with his own general lack of knowledge. She asks Adrian what the worst thing he’s ever done is, seeming severely depressed after her encounter with Cherry. Later, while Adrian and Marliese enjoy each other’s company, Erin gets into the bath to shave. Danielle enters while Adrian and Marliese are fucking and informs him about her and Caitlyn’s wild day at the store, showing off the spray bottle they recovered. Adrian breaks off with Marliese to see about getting more details.

Laura is invited over when the story is spilled, and Adrian tries and fails to get in touch with Hayley, leaving Amy a message to call him back. Jacqui decides to test the bottle on herself and confirms it is Pink Clouds, saying that the mix has never worked on her. The door rings, and Dani opens it to welcome Cherry inside, dressed in vibrant purple and asking if Erin is there. Amy calls Adrian and informs him Hayley is not at their house. She decides to go to the clinic to see if she is there, and Adrian, after being assured by Dani it will be fine, leaves to meet her.

Earlier in the evening, Mallory has a video call with her sister, Laurel, to check in on the family. While the rest of the crew is discussing PC and meeting Cherry at the Infirmary, Mallory goes out into the woods and calls upon Baron Le Croix, a demigod of the voodoo tradition, brandishing rum and the box of cigarettes from earlier as an offering. The Baron appears and expresses familiarity with Mallory, indicating he has had dealings with her before. She offers him the offerings she has brought, which he accepts, and then asks him to show her the face of her enemy. While the Baron is seen as her patron, it is also clear there is some sort of sexual element to their bond as well, as we do see Mallory and him entangled in a passionate embrace in later panels. We later see Mallory running back to the Infirmary with an expression of horror on her face.

In an unknown apartment, a nude Katie presents a nude and dosed Hayley to an unknown man, bearing a ring on her finger and clearly being controlled to think he is her husband, while a nude Alex hangs decorations in the background.

While walking to meet Amy, Adrian dwells on his earlier conversation with Rain, in which she informed him the Watchmaker is believed to have died in an airplane crash but that his lingering legacy is still a threat. She tells him to be very careful, and as he nears the clinic, he is stopped by a bald man in a black coat. This is Julian, and though Adrian does not yet know it, he is Cherry’s compatriot and was the driver of the car that nearly killed Danielle. He offers Adrian the destroyed Watch lattice and tells him to give it to Danielle to repair. Adrian is confused as to why Dani would know how to do so, and Julian tells him not to underestimate his women. He claims he will return for the Watch, and when Adrian asks why he would just give it back, Julian replies that he thinks Adrian will decide it is his best course of action.

[Sharque]

At the Infirmary, Cherry begins to introduce herself. She reveals she has read one of Marliese’s published books and discusses Caitlyn’s future political aspirations post-graduation. In the background, Laura speaks first with Amy and then with Adrian about the missing Hayley, eventually coming to think that Vik might have abducted Hayley in bitterness over Adrian “stealing” her from him. He thanks her and asks her to tell Dani to give him a call. Dani does so as he reaches the twins’ apartment, and he asks her if she could rebuild the Watch if he asked her to. She reluctantly says she could and would, and he thanks her before lovingly bidding her goodbye. Dani expresses bitterness to Cherry that Jakob (the name of her employer, which she has now remembered, never acted lovingly toward her the way Adrian does. Cherry said he was incapable of love, claiming she did not know him personally but that she’d seen his impact. She and Dani discuss her past; Dani tells her Jakob only used her for sex, but Cherry coaxes her to admit that Danielle was the one who truly made the Watch, on Jakob’s orders. She displays the scallop when Cherry asks if she still has the Watch, and as Cherry asks to see it, Erin coldly rebukes her and tells Dani to put the scallop away. Cherry greets her, glad she and Erin finally have the chance to talk.

Q and Kanti have been working to devise an antidote to Pink Clouds, but they are confronted by Yves when Q enters the Princess Pink lab late that evening to work on the formula. Yves is highly suspicious of Q, believing him to be the person who dosed Alex and later abducted her and Katie from Sawyer’s. Q protests his innocence and tells Yves about his plan to synthesize an antidote; Yves is skeptical and still suspicious but agrees to let Q work, saying he wants Vik there to assist as well.

Adrian convinces Hayley to come with him to Vik’s in their search for Amy. She agrees, though she is still suspicious and distasteful of Adrian. Adrian warns her to be ready for someone to attempt to dose her with PC as they open the door. The door opens and Amy steps out in a pink robe, dosing her sister with the spray bottle. Thinking fast, Adrian grabs both of them and attempts to leave. However, a tuxedo-clad Vik emerges and accosts him with a gun. Adrian says he knows Vik has been using #49, but Vik counters spitefully that Adrian broke up his engagement and has been enslaving women himself. He then prepares to shoot Adrian, saying he’ll simply make the girls forget about it, before Julian shoots the gun out of Vik’s hand from long-range. Vik’s gun discharges, grazing Amy in the arm, and Adrian and the girls run for it. Vik ducks back inside when he sees the laser painted across his chest, and Julian ruefully congratulates Adrian on his clever move.

At the Infirmary, Cherry and Erin talk. Cherry is surprised neither Rain nor Marliese (again, I am still uncertain as to her specific involvement in all this), never told Erin about the Watch. She reveals Jakob Kuppler used Dani to build it and, contrary to what she told Dani, says she was one of Jakob’s girls. She also says the only good thing about being Jakob’s was that she could forget what Erin did to her. In their past, Erin and Cherry had apparently attempted some sort of ritual which was extremely dangerous, so dangerous even their mentor Aiken could not have attempted it. The ritual nearly killed Cherry, who blames Erin for leaving her for dead. Erin counters that she healed Cherry, but Cherry responds in turn that Erin ran, and that Jakob only claimed Cherry in search of her. She also claims that, while his incompetence hindered the execution, Jakob sent Dani to Wilmot with the Watch in order to claim Erin and her mysterious powers for himself. Cherry claims they can use the Watch, rebuilt by Dani, to undo all of the artificial conditioning either Jakob or Adrian has implanted in them, contrary to Rain’s statement that the Watch’s changes are irreversible. She claims Erin owes her this, piling on about Erin’s abandonment of her and inability to admit she loved Cherry. She asks why Erin was okay with healing Danielle after the hit-and-run, but not willing to help her. She brings up that Echo, Adrian’s former girlfriend, is still in New York and under the control of Jakob, and Erin, unable to take any more, rushes upstairs. However, in her passion, Cherry has made an error, as Dani asks how she knew about the hit-and-run.

Fumbling, Cherry admits Julian was at the wheel that night and only struck Danielle thinking she was Mallory, as Mallory is apparently far more dangerous. Laura leaves to meet Q and Kanti (who called her after being unable to get ahold of Vikram), and Caitlyn flies into a rage when she hears about Cherry’s confession from the kitchen. Cherry dismisses Caitlyn’s vitriol, claiming that Mallory has several deaths on her head, and begs Dani to free them all from Jakob. When Dani refuses, Cherry asks her when she last spoke with her father, but Dani replies that her father hates her. Cherry says that he rather hates the puppet Jakob made of her, and claims that she can help and share more knowledge if she will just fix the Watch. Dani seems on the verge of agreeing, before Jacqui (who had been called by Marliese as the situation began to devolve) arrives and throws Cherry out of the house. Cherry leaves and joins Julian in the car, saying the evening did not go as well as she’d hoped. Julian says they have the crystal and formula, but Cherry says they need to lie low and switch vehicles.
Upstairs, Jacqui and the others burst into the bathroom to find Erin attempting to slit her wrists with her shaving razor, but they stop her, Jacqui saying she will not lose another daughter even as Erin claims everyone will be happier with her gone. Cherry’s presence has dangerously deteriorated her mental state. Due to her powers, she heals quickly, and the girls reassure her that Adrian loves her and will marry her.

Laura calls Adrian to tell him about Q and Kanti’s intentions while Hayley bandages up Amy’s wound. Adrian brings the girls to Princess Pink, where Laura, Q, Kanti, and Yves are at work synthesizing the PC antidote. Amy wants to call Vik, but Adrian shuts the idea down. Kanti expresses disapproval at such insistence, doubting Adrian’s claim that her brother was the one who abducted Hayley. However, after she sniffs the antidote, she emerges from her PC-induced haze and thanks them for saving them. She then becomes incredibly turned on, as the side effect of Laura’s concoction seems to be an aphrodisiacal horniness which overtakes both sisters, who drag Adrian into a nearby room for sex. Kanti and Q sample the antidote themselves and follow suit, leaving Laura to play cards with Yves. She eventually joins Adrian and the twins after the small exposure she received without a mask gets to her. They leave after agreeing to dispose of the remaining PC for Yves. Sidenote: From this point forward, Kanti and Q seem satisfied that, whatever happened with Adrian’s women, it was not Pink Clouds, as there is no further mention of their schemes to break into the Infirmary to swipe his supposed stash.

When Adrian and co. arrive back to the Infirmary, Mallory suddenly bursts in from her evening rendezvous with an earth-shattering revelation: Jakob Kuppler is, in fact, alive, contrary to what every character had expressed to believe before.

STOP

And on that cliffhanger, Volume Four ends. Technically, the reveal of Jakob’s survival is something which occurs at the beginning of Volume Five, but it fits neatly here as a conclusion to V4 regardless, and who really cares about the organization? While it is something of a surprise to the characters themselves, the survival of Jakob from his supposed death in a plane crash had been subtly hinted at by Claudia’s fears of him not truly being dead, as well as Rain’s cryptic language regarding him.

Julian and Cherry will eventually be revealed to be working for Jakob during this time, though events in Volume Five will quickly cause their paths and his to diverge. For now, however, both seem rather antagonistic forces who are desperate to recover the Watch, or at least the scallop crystal which seemed to make it function.

This volume is also the first time that the history of Pink Clouds as a substance is spelled out in detail, being invented by Q and causing no shortage of trouble for Jacqui due to Miriam’s NARCing. However, as will be seen in Volume Five, Miriam’s memories of the situation are not 100% in accordance with reality, and the suspicion with which Adrian now views Yves will be shown to be justified.