BellaPoarch made her way through her beautiful garden, an amazing assortment of roses, hollyhocks, foxglove, delphiniums, carnations, columbines, and her favorite bright blue Canterbury Bells. As she passed each of them, she gave them a gentle touch, a slight sniff, and a generous portion of water. No doubt her garden had flourished beyond her wildest dreams, particularly given the immolation that had come across her older one weeks earlier.

She plucked a few of her most favorite flowers, and made a sizeable bouquet to take with her as she made her way down to the Desolation of Eden Headquarters, located a few blocks away in Queens, New York. As she made her way there, she marveled at the growth taking place all around her, the bustling businesses with customers streaming through the doors, and the vibrant life all around her. She marveled that she was spending less time in the clouds, and far more time being present around the Queen’s streets.

Bella bumped into something astoundingly squishy, and as she fell to the ground, she looked up to see the ass of YourNextWife directly above her.

“My apologies! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Guess I’m at the headquarters though, is Koehler inside?”

YourNextWife looked down at her, shaking her head. “Why am I not surprised that you wouldn’t be paying attention? He’s waiting on you.” She reached down and offered her a hand, which Bella graciously accepted, feeling herself lifted to her feet, as she grabbed her bouquet. Fortunately, the bouquet sustained no damage, and only her skirt and pride showed any evidence of the sustained fall.

“Awesome, thank you! Looking great by the way. Not at all distracting!”

Bella turned and made her way into the familiar surroundings of Desolation of Eden, thinking sweetly of the days spent there before she was tasked with starting her own operation. She went up the stairs, and looked through a few doors to see old friends, before entering Koehler’s office, to find him pacing, again. She generated her most bubbly smile, with disgusting but intoxicating positivity, and bellowed out; “AHOY! You wanted to see me? I brought you something!” She pressed the bouquet into his chest, then flattened her skirt and grabbed a seat, watching him as he overcame the initial shock and took his seat, shaking his head at her. She didn’t quite understand why that was a common reaction to her, but that was a thought for another time.

Koehler gripped the bouquet tightly against his chest. The aroma of freshly picked flowers flowed through his nostrils, forming a gentle smile with his lips. The stress he was enduring was put on hold for a mere moment, before he remembered why Bella was in front of him. He put the bouquet aside and rubbed his temples. He glanced at Bella and leaned up against his desk.

"So, the reason I called you here..." Koehler cleared his throat. "The mayor over in Chicago is starting to lose his shit. After the last operation in the Windy City was destroyed, the mayor has been on a power trip. He's telling the general public how he took care of everything. He destroyed the operation, he is the reason the city is safer, yadda yadda." Koehler took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "He needs to learn his place. That's where we come in."

Koehler spun around to the other side of the desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a map of the United States, slamming it on the desk. He unwound the map and laid it out flat, spinning it around so Bella had a good view. "So, basically, we are here." Koehler pointed to New York on the map. "What we need to do, is go here." He then pointed to Chicago. "You picking up what I'm putting down? Yes? Wow, shocking..."

Koehler chuckled. He loved poking fun at Bella. The two of them were like siblings and had been inseparable for years, always provoking the other but never intending any harm by it. He picked up the bouquet and took a whiff of the flowers one more time.

"The discussions have already been had. You and I are relocating our headquarters to Chicago so we can keep the mayor in his place. Can't have him going off the rails like that again. If he even tries to, we'll be there to stop him."

Koehler could see the excitement in Bella's eyes. "So, what are you waiting for? Get out of my office and go pack up your belongings. I have a few things to wrap up here but I'll catch up with you in the Windy City. Don't get blown away!"

BellaPoarch sat there for a moment, excited and dumbfounded in equal amounts. She was positive that she had actually heard what she thought she had, but her mind had absolutely played tricks on her before. She heard Koehler exclaim to ‘Get out of his office and pack!’ and knew that what she heard hadn’t been a daydream, she was going to Chicago. She shook her head to knock out the cobwebs, and got to her feet.

“My flowers! I’m going to need some extravagant packing to make sure they make the trip successfully. And a greenhouse. I’ll be damned if that wind is going to knock my babies away. I mean, the Mayor. Yes of course. Keep him in line. Stop him. Right! But will my Canterbury’s survive that frigid air rolling in off the lake?”

She looked up at the face of Koehler, and saw him start shaking his head, and opening his mouth. She took that as her queue that she should probably canter off to her own headquarters and begin packing.

A short, mostly uneventful, stroll later and she was back at the headquarters of Immolation of Babylon. She was very grateful to have found a beautiful yellow wild rose growing out of the cracks between two buildings, a true miracle for somewhere like New York. Upon opening the doors to the headquarters, she took a direct sprint to the kitchen, locating a vase and filling it with water. She didn’t want to take any chances on the wild yellow failing to survive.

Once she was confident that her newest friend was safe and secure, she called down SofiaGigante to organize a family meeting as quickly as possible. Sure enough, up to the task as she always was, her family was gathered before her no more than 15 minutes later. She smiled broadly out to all of them, and made a simple statement, not much more was needed.

“Pack your things! We’re moving to Chicago, imminently. The Mayor is out of control, and we’re going to help keep him under wraps.”

She clapped her hands, and watched as everyone went to begin preparations. Bella, of course, had mission critical preparations to make herself, and rushed out to her garden. Over in the corner, she pulled out a variety of gigantic crates, filled with only the best soil, and ensured that each of her babies were secure, down to the root, before returning to her office to pack up her things.

It felt like half a day later when she clamored out of the moving truck. While most of her family had flown in to get things ready, and she appreciated them immensely for doing so, she just couldn’t find it in herself to trust the drivers with all of their belongings without a ride along, and how else was she to enjoy all of the scenery along the way? Of course, the driver refused to stop every time she saw a wild flower, and that infuriated her, but he did have a point. If they’d stopped every time she saw a new flower, they would never arrive. She stuffed a few hundred dollar bills into the driver’s hand, only slightly stiffing the tip in her frustration, and looked up at her new headquarters in the South Side of Chicago. It truly was time for the next great adventure.