《My Ability》


 Chapter one: Hero

    In life, some people are dealt a better hand than others.


    Life was never meant to be easy. It doesn''t get any easier either as you get older , boy can I vouch for that! Most worry about what they''re going to be in life, or what career they''re going to choose or how they''re going to put food on the table, you know, regular adult stuff. Regular everyday things that have become so common it''s actually rather boring. So boring in fact, that it''s no surprise that most find themselves wishing for a different way of life. Something so out of the ordinary that would make everyday an adventure! Like becoming a super hero or having crazy awesome super powers! Sounds awesome right?


    Wrong.


    Even when given those circumstances life would never make it so easy to live. Especially not peaceful. Why do I know that? Because that''s the kind of world I was born into. I don''t know why I ended up like this, but I did. Don''t get me wrong, I don''t hate my life, Good and bad things happened same as any other person''s story. But, well, a normal nine to five somehow doesn''t sound that bad now. I remember when I used to believe I was normal, even after changing I still liked to believe that I was originally normal. Who knew that ignorance really was bliss?


    Well then, shall we take it from the top? Great! I remember that first day as if it were yesterday. God, even now I get such a sense of nostalgia...


    [In a battle torn field, I find myself holding onto a beautiful woman. She should be a stranger to me but in the depths of my being I can feel that I truly care for this one frail creature, but this woman is no longer alive. The reason for her death is not clear to me yet I can feel such sadness... such anger that I cannot contain myself. Cold heavy drops of rain fall upon me and with that awakens my "Wrath". But I only see myself crying, crying like a newborn desperate for attention. I press my forehead against hers and I begin to pray to who knows what.


    "Please.......Let us meet again!!!" I yell with such emotion that I can practically feel the words come out of my mouth so painful and intense. With eyes filled with tears, i look into the puddles of water in the mud. I can see myself in the reflection but.....that''s not me?.....]


    Startling awake, Axel quickly sat up and gasped. With his shirt drenched in sweat, he pullted the collar away from himself and aired his chest out.


    (That dream again...) He thought to himself wiping his eyes. This particular scenario had been playing in his dreams for as long as he could remember. Though, he could not figure out why. In the end, the fact that he was back in the real world always relieved him and made him forget all about it.


    ¡°oh man!I''m going to be late!¡± He exclaimed once he glanced at the time on his phone.


    Waking up early to go to school on a monday morning was one thing that Axel was bad at.He spent his entire winter break staying up late and waking up late. He didn''t have much to do anyway. School was really the only thing to look forward to.


    School started at exactly 8 am. The time right now was 7:50 am. Realizing that he only had 10 minutes before school started, he ran to his closet and quickly picked some clothes and put them on. He decided to skip breakfast and just run to school.


    ¡°it looks like I''ll make it as long as I don''t slow down..¡± he said while trying to settle his otherwise messy hair.He grabbed his backpack and quickly looked in the mirror before running out the door of his house.


    Axel wasn''t very handsome in his eyes. He was a tall slim guy with night colored hair which seemed rather disorganized but fitting in a way. It didn''t stand up or point out and it didn''t get in the way of his eyes or even tickle the lower part of his neck so he rolled with it. It also complimented his hazel brown eyes.


    He didn''t really care how he looked though. It¡¯s not like he wanted to impress anybody. That was the least of his worries. The only special attribute and interesting fact about himself was his hair color. Under certain lighting, it would appear to have a night colorish look. Almost purple in a way. Enough to get a couple compliments here and there but that was about it. After all, there were way more other interesting things to pay attention to.


    Sonic City. Home to about 2 million people. Located right next to San Diego, California. It was a really nice city that he had lived in for as long as he could remember. He lived really close to the beach and had a really nice home. At the moment, he lived alone. His parents and little sister went to live in San Diego because his parents had found better job opportunities there.


    Since they owned the house in Sonic City, they decided to allow Axel to live there and continue going to school. It¡¯s been 6 months since they left and Axel was very happy with the way things have been going in his life since then. Sometimes,however, he worried for his and his family¡¯s safety.


    Axel was apart of a very strange world. The supernatural, powers and abilities, stuff like that actually existed. A certain group of individuals known as the Peacekeepers occasionally cause tragic accidents and terrorize the world. News about them has spread all over and bounty''s have been put on their heads but that doesn''t stop them. Their intent, their background, who knew. Little to nothing was known about them, not even how they came to be but Axel wasn''t entirely sure that this was coincidental. It was more like this information was confidential.


    His reason for believing that is that they once played a big part in world history, according to his history teacher at least. From what he had learned in class, they were once really big worldwide. Every one knew who they were. However, between humans and superhumans power struggles started to break out which pretty much led to most of the superhumans being hunted down and killed. Aside from uncanny abilities, they were still humans and could be killed like any other. And so, because of this, they were nearly wiped out but some still remained even to this day. They mostly live in hiding and sometimes rampage around like terrorists in an attempt to jeopardize human''s regular everyday lives. It was a little hard to believe that this was all the intel humans had on them. It was much more plausible to assume that this was all the public information available with the rest being kept confidential.


    Even so, He just thought that as long as they didn¡¯t get mixed up in his life or his family''s then he shouldn''t have to worry about it. He was just a regular high school boy in the 11th grade so right now school was his biggest priority.


    ( i¡¯m almost there! Just a little but further¡­)


    Axel thought this as he closed in on his school, Honeybell high. He ran through the gates and went straight for his classroom. Unfortunately for him, his school was one of the biggest in Sonic city and his class was located in the far back quadrant. This particular school was made up of 4 quadrants. They were separated according to grade. One was for the 9th grade ,the other for the tenth and so on. Once he got to his class he was relieved to see that the bell had not rung yet.


    ¡°Thank goodness¡­..i¡­..made it¡­.haaaa¡­..¡±


    He tried his best to catch his breath while bending over and placing his hands on his knees.


    ¡°Axel, you idiot. What were you thinking being late on the first day of school after winter break?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Axel was about to enter his class when he was suddenly stopped by a female. She was a caucasian colored girl who was almost as tall as Axel. She had long black hair and a nicely developed body. She was a very beautiful person. She wore a long brown coat that was buttoned over with blue jeans and brown boots that matched the color of her coat. Her bangs covered her forehead and reached her eyelids but didn''t reach her brown eyes.


    Her name was Jeniffer Santiago and was Axel¡¯s classmate. The two have known each other since the 1st grade and have been going to the same school since their meeting. He talked to her often when the chance presented itself and she always seemed to be scolding him whenever he¡¯d mess up on anything school related. She was an honor student with perfect attendance and was seen as a role model by the entire school so she doesn''t like seeing others fail in anything school related. She picked on anyone, particularly Axel. Despite that, Axel considered her his friend.


    ¡°Eh?what do you mean? Everyone hasn''t even taken their seats and there is still time before the bell rings. As far as I¡¯m concerned I made it on time.¡±


    Jeniffer glared at him and crossed her arms and leaned forward a bit. It looked like she was lecturing him.


    ¡°when the class bell rings I make it a rule to be 2 minutes early to class! Any time after that is being late!¡±


    Axel suppressed a chuckle and walked past Jeniffer going to his seat at the back of the classroom. Jeniffer continued to glare at him in irritation as he walked past her.


    ¡°You said it. You make it a rule, not me.¡±


    ¡°What are you!-¡±


    Before she could retort, she was interrupted by the sound of the door suddenly opening. It was the classroom teacher. She was a bright happy woman in about her early 30¡¯s. She had shoulder length blonde hair and wore the standard teaching attire, a mid-length black skirt with black leggings under and a button up shirt that was tucked into her skirt.


    She stood in front of the classroom and signaled for everyone to have a seat with a wave of her right hand.


    ¡°Alright guys I hope you had a lovely vacation and a happy new year! Now it''s time to get back to work!¡±


    Everyone quickly took their seats. When the teacher began talking Axel began daydreaming. The world was a very strange place to him. He didn''t know what kinds of unimaginable things went on behind the scenes without anyone knowing and his curiosity made him feel eager to know.[A thought which I sincerely regret even to this day! You really have to be careful what you wish for!]


    (......)


    Noticing some writing on his desk, he moved his hand to get a better look. It read "Hero Ison, Asshole" in large sloppy writing.


    (This fucking guy again....) He thought as he wiped the words from his desk. Asshole was just what they called him since it sounded similar to his name "Axel". As for Hero, he didn''t really wanna think about it...


    He stared out the window of his class in deep thought. So many amazing things the world had to offer and yet he had to deal with classic high school bullying... but besides that,


    Hearing about strange supernatural phenomenon wasn''t too surprising for Axel. He of course thought it was strange but , coincidentally, he had grown up with a friend that also had some strange power. Her name was Casey. For some reason this girl seemed to be able to control heat. As a child he didn''t think much of it, just as another cool thing in the world. Her parents told him to not tell anybody about her power. They said they were afraid of her being taken away by the government or something.


    She couldn''t do much. All he had seen her do was make her body a lot warmer and touch the stove when it was really hot and she didn''t even so much as flinch.


    He still doesn¡¯t know why she has that ability. She was just born with it. Whether a blessing from God or a curse from the devil, he did not know. Nonetheless she was his close childhood friend.


    She currently lived on the other side of town but Axel had not seen her in almost a year. She apparently started going to a different school that was pretty far away. Axel didn''t know what the reason was for her transferring to another school but he didn''t put too much thought into it.


    She wasn''t the only one that had moved away. Two of his friends also moved away when he was small. One was his friend, Kyle. A total jerk really. He was a kid brimming with self confidence. The second was a girl, Cindy, and Kyle''s opposite. A super sweet girl who was actually very timid. He wondered where they were.


    (in fact¡­)


    Since he hadn''t seen her in awhile, he decided that he should try and visit his close friend Casey sometime soon. She was the only one that lived close anyway. He used to visit her almost everyday of the week but her schedule became very mixed up and so he didn¡¯t really see her as much anymore. Eventually he just decided to let her come to him, which evidently hadn¡¯t happened thus far...


    After a couple hours of sitting in class he finally heard the lunch bell ring. The teacher stopped what she was doing and dismissed the class.


    ¡°aaaah, finally¡­.¡±


    Axel let out a yawn teary eyed and got up to exit the classroom. That is when a certain someone put their arm around his neck.


    ¡°Heey! Got up a little late did we?¡± said the boy in a mocking tone and a smile on his face.


    This was another of Axel¡¯s friends. He was a boy who was about Axel''s height, had long blonde hair that looked like he had worn a hat to keep it down , and had white straight teeth. He wore a pair of jeans and a gray hoodie. His name was Tony Anderson. They had been long time friends as well.


    ¡°Unfortunately yes. how did you even know?"


    ¡°Why else would you be late?¡±


    ¡°Ah..I wasn''t late though.¡±


    Both chuckling, They began walking toward their school cafeteria while discussing what they did over the winter break. Just before entering the cafeteria,however, Axel suddenly remembered something.


    ¡°Oh man I totally forgot,¡±


    ¡°Hm? what is it?¡±


    ¡°Go on inside without me, I gotta check my locker for my keychain. I think I left it in there before the vacation started..¡±


    Tony nodded and kept on walking toward the cafeteria.


    ¡°Sure thing, but try and hurry up. Getting lunch alone makes me sweat uncomfortably..¡±


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry I will!¡± Axel assured Tony as he turned heel.


    Axel walked toward his locker which was located on the other side of the quadrant he was at from where the cafeteria was located. The keychain he had was a gift given to him by his grandfather, Harold. His grandfather wasn''t exactly sane. He was always telling mythical stories and saying that they were real and that they had actually happened but no one, including Axel, believed him. They were too outrageous to be true. Numerous times Axel had heard heard him say terms like ¡°Savants¡± and ¡°Shadow Hunters¡± but he didn''t think much of it.


    Despite that, his grandfather was still a kind and caring person. He had taken care of him and his sister many times as a kid when his parents went off to work. During those time he had given Axel a keychain that looked very similar to a test tube except it was filled with a blue substance that glowed at night and it was very durable. Axel had dropped it many times but it still doesn''t even have a scratch on it. His grandfather told him to take care of it and to never give it to anyone else. As long as he did that he would always be safe. So that keychain meant a lot to Axel.


    Unfortunately his grandfather had died a couple years ago in a car accident. The last time he had seen him was before his birthday on april 17th. Things weren''t really the same without him around telling crazy stories all the time but, like all things in life,he had to keep on moving forward.


    "Well if it isn''t Axel "Hero" Ison."


    The sound of the male voice made him tense up and stop in his tracks. He knew this voice all too well. It had been haunting him for years now after all...


    "y-yeah? What''s up Carlos?.." He said to the male behind him. Axel very sowly turned around and met face to face with the boy that had stopped him. He knew that shaven head anywhere, and like usual his group of friends were standing behind him. He wish he could say that these were his friends as well but that just wasn''t the case.


    "You like the message I left on your desk?" He said trying not to laugh. His possy,however, weren''t so good at it. When he heard Carlos say that, Axel clenched his fist in silent anger.


    "Hey man, can''t you just let that go? I was a kid when I had those stupid dreams, get off my back already.." Axel managed to muster out. Half of him honestly hoped that Carlos didn''t hear that, but life wasn''t so easy on him.


    "What''d you say, asshole?" Carlos blurted out suddenly sounding angry. Axel began to nervously shake and raised his hands.


    "W-wait! I just thought that we should drop this and just move on already! that''s al-" Axel tried to finish his sentence but was cut off due to Carlos approaching him and punching him in the gut. Axel felt his breath leave him as he bent over and held his stomach.


    "Argh!? W-w-why dude? What did-??"


    "Shut the fuck up, bro. I don''t really care what you have to say." Carlos said grabbing Axel by the hair. He slammed Axel against the wall and signaled for his friends to check his belongings. Axel struggled against Carlos and tried to yell but only to have Carlos hold his mouth shut. He could only watch as they went through his pockets and backpack. Axel locked eyes with Carlos and saw only an empty minded hatred with no real conviction behind it. What was the cause for this? Who knew.... The pain of it all really got to him, stuff like this was impossible to get used to. Axel''s eyes were cloudy with tears and after a while he stopped struggling.


    "Ha! I found it!" One of the girl''s in the group yelled holding up a notebook. She handed it to Carlos and let him open it. Skimming thorugh the contents, he held Axel in place despite Axel already haven given up. Axel veered his eyes off to the side and felt Carlos''s piercing gaze after a while.


    "You see this shit? this shit here is what pissess me off." He heard him say.


    "Look at me.....LOOK AT ME!!" Carlos yelled forcing Axel to look at him. He held up the notebook that belonged to Axel and showed him one of the pages in there. It was a sketch of Axel himself dressed in strange clothing. Black large boots, Armored black leg protectors, grey sweatpants, and a black hoodie. In the sketch, he was flying over a city.


    "What the fuck is this?" He asked lifitng his hand from Axel''s mouth.


    "It''s....It''s me..." Axel replied softly.


    "Doing what?"


    "....Flying over a city....as a hero...." Axel let out with one tear flowing out of his left eye.


    "And you want me to let go of the past when you yourself can''t? Why the fuck do you wanna be some terrorist? Huh? you''re human and you always will be!" Carlos said dragging Axel by his collar. Axel gasped and watched as he was forcefully pulled toward the garbage area. It was a small blind spot in the school which only had a large dumpster. It was basically an alley. Axel struggled once more to break free but was forced along by Carlos''s group of friends. They lifted Axel and threw him inside of the dumpster. Axel immediately smelled the foul odor of rotten food and gasped for air. However, before he could jump out of the trash, the lid of the dumpster was closed over him and locked in place. He was stuck there...


    "Wait! come on please dude get me out of here!! I''m sorry! I''ll never do it again!!" Axel pleaded slamming his fists against the wall of the dumpster.


    "that''s what you said last time, Hero. See you around loser." He heard Carlos say as his friends laughed. Axel heard a dull thud crash against the trash can and flinched. The laughter grew fainter and fainter until finally he couldn''t hear it anymore...This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Axel gritted his teeth and angrily punched the wall of the dumpster once more with all he had. Then again and again and again. Ignoring the throbbing on his knuckles, he began to furiously weep. Why did people like that have to exist? Was it wrong to dream? Could one not be themself in this world?... Was it so bad to be different?...


    Simply laying there in anguish, Axel laid there for what felt like forever honestly contemplating just ending it all.. For years, those group of people had been bullying him for one reason and one reason only, because Axel wanted to have super powers. He wanted to be a hero...and because of that he was ridiculed by them and bullied. They tried to force his dreams and ideals to change simply because they didn''t allign with their own point of views. To them, super humans were evil and did not deserve to live.


    It wasn''t like it was possible anyways, Axel was and always will be just a human. But, those guys just couldn''t givve it up and continued to ragdoll him even to this day. He tried letting the adults know, but what good ever comes of that? Sure, the bullies would stop once the adults were in the room but what happened once they left? They''d settle the score of course for trying to hold them accountable. "Snitching" as they called it. The adults did nothing. Axel had to fend for himself...


    *tap**tap*...


    After what seemed like forever, he heard soft footsteps approaching from the outside. Axel soflty raised his head and listened. Then, he heard the metal bar holding the lid of the dumpster shut move and the lid softly rose. He squinted as the light suddenly hit him and blinded him for a moment.


    "Hi, strange place to be taking five, no?" He heard a familiar female voice say.


    "y-yeah...I guess so." Axel said looking away and wiping the tears from his cheeks. He stood up and shakily jumped out of the dumpster. He lost his footing a bit and stumbled but was caught by the female who had let him out. She held him tight and let him regain his ground. Axel stood up straight and gently backed away from the soft girl.


    "Thanks.." He said to the girl standing before him. She had long beautiful curly blonde hair and peculair colored eyes. They were blue greenish and extremely bright. Wearing appropriate winter clothing, she smiled at him and nodded "no problem".


    Lucy Renford, a hyperactive girl who Axel admired a lot. She was pretty wierd but also rather birght. No matter what she did, no one batted an eye. She was just that loved by mostly everyone. He wouldn''t say she was popular though, she was just a very likeable person.


    "did those bullies do this to you again?" she said already knowing the deal.


    "Don''t worry about it.." Axel said turing around looking for his backpack. He didn''t search for long, he found it outside of the dumpster with his notebook laying next to it. It was soaked in water and the ink had been ruined. Axel angrily stuffed it in his bag and stood up.


    "Axy, your hand looks busted up! Let me see it!" She said grabbing his injured fist. Axel flinched a bit but didn''t let her see.


    Axy was a name that Lucy alone called him sometimes by. It was a cutesy way of saying his name Axel. Since it was her, he didn''t mind at all. On other occasions she would call him Hero but she would use it out of affection and not to make fun of him, which is why he didn''t mind her calling him that either.


    "woah, did you actually fight back or something?" She asked sounding surprised.


    "Sure did, taught those guys a lesson" He said trying to sound cool.


    "Oh yeah, you sure showed the wall a thing or two didn''t you?" She responded mockingly seeing right through his lie. They laughed for a moment as Lucy stood up and pulled Axel away from the dumpster alley. She led him down the now empty halls toward somewhere. Axel just let himself get pulled and followed her. He looked around and noticed that no one was there. He figured that lunch must''ve ended.


    "So did lunch just end?"


    "Yup yup. About 10 minutes ago, I think?" She responded.


    "Seriously? Damn, I let Tony hanging..." He said to himself. Lucy came up upon a door and held it open for him to go inside. Axel obliged and thanked her. He quickly found a seat and watched as Lucy flicked on the lights and shut the door. The room itself was rather small. Originally it was an office space for a counselor but due to its odd palce in the school it was quickly abandoned. It was now used for when a teacher needed to quickly speak to a student or for random counseling sessions. Some students even used it to get some quiet time. For Axel, however, this was his nurse''s office, Lucy usually being the nurse. It always went like this, he''d get beat up and injured, Lucy would find him and fix him up, that was the flow of things.


    "So, how''d you know where to find me?" He asked as Lucy was digging through the one desk that was in the room.


    "Well, when you didn''t show up at the library like you said you would I knew one of two things had happened, Either you forgot or you had trouble along the way." She said pulling out a cloth and a roll of bandages. She knelt in front of him and carefully began cleaning his fist. Meanwhile, Axel tensed up and remembered the promise that he had made to her the day before winter break. He had agreed to meet up with her at the library during lunch to hang out and talk. He had completely forgotten! but he couldn''t let her know that...


    "And, judging by your reaction I think it was both, right?" She said not giving him a chance to make a lie. Axel froze and immediately began to apologize.


    "I''m sorry! I completely forgot about it but not because I wasn''t looking forward to it! I just had a pretty rough morning and I-"


    "It''s okay! You''re making up for it right now aren''t you? I mean, this counts as hanging out, I think? haha. Anyways, as I was looking for you in the hallways I saw Carlos. I asked him if he had seen you and he was so sure he didn''t know anything. He reeked of lies so I asked him again "nicely" and he told me you were here, and so here we are!" She said tying up his busted up hand. Axel was surprised that Carlos had told her so easily which made him wonder how close the two of them were.


    "Carlos almost always does what you ask him to...Are you guys close?" He asked out of curiosity.


    "Close? Well, he asked me out on a date once and I said sure." She said without a change in tone.


    "Really? and how''d that go?" He continued suddenly feeling a tad flustered.


    "Well, like your average date would go. We laughed, we talked, we ate,etc.. we even made out for a little while..." She said once again without much change in expression and still completely focused on his fist. Axel however felt his heart burst into a strange song and dance routine and not the good kind. he could only make it out to be jealousy but he didn''t want to make it obvious so he looked away from her and toward the celing.


    "Oh? So you had fun then..." He said trying not to sound disappointed..


    "...."


    Though he expected a response, it never came. Also, it appeared that she had stopped wrapping his hand up, Confused, he looked down at Lucy who had already been looking at him with a half smile on her face.


    "Ah, so I had you worried there for a second didn''t I?" She said revealing that she had been joking. Axel felt his face redden and looked away once more.


    "And this is why I didn''t go to lunch with you." He fired back. They both chuckled as Lucy once again started tying his hand up. At the same time, Axel felt his heart ease up and fill with relief.


    "In all seriousness, everything I said except for the making out part was true. The date was pretty fun and it made me realize that he''s not such a bad guy when he tries not to. He bought me plenty of goodies and took me out to a lot of cool places, but after that I made it clear to him that I was not interested in going out again. He seemed devastated but understanding. He still hits me up every now and then but I don''t really listen." She said to him.


    "Hm? How come you''re not interested in him?" He asked genuinely unsure why.


    "Come on now, Hero! Why in God''s name would I like the guy that picks on and harrasses you almost all the time? He''s a jerk who is probably more interested in my body than anything else anyways. Guys like that don''t interest me." She said as if it should''ve been blatantly obvious. That''s when it hit him.


    "Lucy,don''t tell me the only reason you went out with him was to-"


    "Waste his time and money? Yes!" She answered proudly.


    As Lucy chuckled and carefully wrapped up his knuckles, Axel couldn''t help but feel a strong sense of joy. Someone like her was looking after him in such a way that it made tears surface on his eyelids. Sniffing and shutting his eyes, he too giggled and wiped away his waterworks.


    "Okay! So it looks like we''re done here! Don''t use that hand too much and put some ice on it when you get home alright? Leave the walls alone Axy, they always win." She said giggling. She stood up and allowed Axel to get up and look at his hand. It was bandaged up really well and it wasn''t hurting him as much anymore. Like this he could at least write comfortably. He thanked Lucy for her help and offered to buy her something to eat sometime this week.


    "Hm? I''d love that. In the meantime, why don''t we head back to class? I''ve got a couple assignments I have to catch up on after all..."


    "Yeah, I agree. I leave class for a second and I risk not knowing what''s going on. Let''s go."


    Axel and Lucy exited the room together and faced each other preparing to go their seperate ways. For a moment, neither of them really knew what to say. So, since Axel was feeling rather gutsy all of a sudden, he leaned in for a hug, an action which was happily reciprocated by Lucy. She was so warm and soft, she even smelled nice. It was moments like these that seemed insignificant but were very special to him. Especially since this was the first time that they had hugged for real and not a standard sideways hug. Though it may have been a couple seconds, it actually felt like forever and Axel was glad that it did. None of them said a word. It wasn''t until Axel backed his head up to ask a question that something was said.


    "Didn''t you have lunch with you? I assume you had gotten some? Where''d it go?" He asked her.


    "Oh, I gave it to Carlos, he seemed hungry" She said not removing her head from his chest. Axel shook his head and held her there for a moment longer before finally pushing himself away from her. She too backed away and acknowledged that it was time to go. She stepped back and somehow seemed satisfied. When she opened her eyes, something happened that Axel did not pick up on. Her eye color had somehow turned slightlybrownish.


    "Okay well, I''ll text you later! Bye!" She said turning heel and quickly turning the corner down another hall out of sight. Axel waved bye and stood their for a moment proccessing what had just happened. The instant he did he felt his heart flutter and took a deep breath to relax. He was feeling super lucky all of a sudden, a feeling which grew as he walked back toward his class.


    (Oh! My keychain! I better get that since I''m here anyway!) He thought recalling his initial intention for being there. And so, he quickly began speedwalking toward his locker which was nearby still thinking about Lucy. He was just so lucky to have her around. It was people like her which really seemed to make life worth living! As he thought this, he wasn''t paying attention to his surroundings and simply kept daydreaming. This went on until he spotted a familiar group of people. Axel quickly jumped behind a bench and tried to get a better look.


    Just as he feared, it was Carlos and his group of assholes, but this time it seemed like they weren''t roaming the halls looking for trouble. Instead, they were crowding around Carlos who was sitting down. They were seemingly trying to clean him up. He appeared to be drenched in milk, covered in stir fry, had a head full of beans, and clothes covered in fruits. Had his lunch fallen on him? but he spent his luch picking on Axel, he didn''t have time to get food did he?


    "Oh, I gave it to Carlos, he seemed hungry."


    Lucy''s words replayed in Axel''s mind and he suddenly knew exactly what had happened. Smiling like an idiot, Axel lightly tapped the bench with his fist and ran off. Once again he found himself thinking about Lucy and what a fiesty girl she was. He''d be lying if he said that he didn''t find it attractive in a way. Still not paying attention to where he was going, he was nearing his locker when he suddenly ran into a soft object. For an instant, his nose was filled with yet another sweet aroma.


    ¡°Woah!¡±


    ¡°Kyaah!¡±


    Axel fell on his behind and the object yelled and fell as well. Well actually, the object was really a girl.


    ¡°ow,ow,ow¡­.¡±


    He held his head with his left hand and looked at the girl. She looked to be around 13 or 14 years old. She wore a pair of jeans and a bright green hoodie that matched her brilliant emerald green eyes. She had well kept white skin and what would catch people''s eyes first had to be her long jet black hair that was tied into two twin tails that reached up to her feet. She was a beautiful girl indeed.


    ¡°Hnyah? hey watch where you''re going buddy!¡± she yelled irritated.


    ¡°Oh sorry sorry! Are you okay? here let me help you up..¡±He said as he quickly got up and extended his hand out to help her but she ignored it and instead got up on her own.


    ¡°No, I can help myself thank you¡± She said with a dose of sass.


    ¡°Oh okay,,. What were you doing anyway? I don''t think I¡¯ve seen you in this quadrant before¡­..are you new?¡± He asked looking at her closely.


    This quadrant was made specifically for juniors. All of the juniors of this quadrant had been going to school with him since his freshman year and some even before that. By now, it was only natural that he had pretty much remembered all of their faces and vice versa. If someone was new, he would know it right away. This girl stood out too much for him to overlook her. No one had eyes that bright.


    For some reason, the girl stiffened her shoulders. Axel¡¯s expression showed confusion as he scratched his head. She then took one step back and began to fidget a bit awkwardly.


    ¡°Uh no i was just uh, looking for someone¡­.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well what''s this person''s name?What do they look like? I happen to know just about everyone here¡­¡± he replied.


    The girl tried to protest many times but Axel kept on insisting. He thought it was the least he could do after smashing into her. It took a lot longer than expected but he was able to get through to her after saying that he would at least take her to the principal¡¯s office for help.


    ¡°Fine fine! Just stop asking already!¡± She stammered.


    ¡°Great! So what does this person look like? Or their name?¡± He began.The girl thought for a moment then looked up at him with her large emerald eyes as if considering something risky.


    ¡°What do you think about the supernatural?¡± she suddenly asked him.


    ¡°What? Well, I don¡¯t really understand the logic behind it but I don¡¯t really care to anymore¡­¡± he responded.Axel was confused at the sudden strange question but answered anyway. She then looked down again and nodded her head seemingly coming to a decision.


    ¡°Okay¡­.. Have you ever experienced something that you couldn¡¯t explain?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t explain what¡¯s going on right now. Does that count?¡± He sarcastically responded.The girl lightly chuckled and shook her head. Axel sighed and rested against the wall behind him. She wasn¡¯t describing anyone at all. Instead it felt like he was being interrogated.


    ¡°What are you really doing here? You aren¡¯t looking for someone are you?¡±


    The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance and adjusted her hair.


    ¡°Nevermind. I was just being silly¡±


    ¡°Oh really? wow, I hadn¡¯t noticed..¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Apparently, you¡¯re a comedian. Listen, I''ll just continue this hunt on my own but I appreciate your concern¡±She assured him extending her hand for a handshake. Axel was a bit disappointed since he was of no help but he knew there was nothing he could do since she really wasn¡¯t giving him much to work with. So he reached out to take her hand.


    ¡°Ah sorry. I guess I''ll see you around..¡±


    ¡°Sure you will.¡± She responded sounding fed up.


    That''s when something odd happened. As soon as their hands touched, he felt her hand slightly twitch. He then felt a cold sensation run throughout his chest. The feeling was similar to when he would drink cold water after waking up in the middle of the night really thirsty. He shivered,she gasped, and they immediately let go of each other''s hands.


    ¡°gah!?what the hell was that?¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°!!, um it''s time for me to go. Goodbye..!¡±The girl frantically said and ran off without looking back at him causing Axel to try and stop her.


    ¡°h-hey wait!...argh damn¡­.¡±


    Axel was left with constant chills going down his spine every 5-10 seconds. He looked at his right hand. Something had happened when their hands touched but it wasn''t like a shock that people usually get. No. it was as if something inside him started pouring out....or in? He couldn''t explain what it was.Out of worry, he started carefully inspecting his own body.


    (I don''t look any different¡­...maybe that was just a coincidence...maybe the cold affected me in some way?...)


    He remembered that the girl also acted a bit strange when their hands touched. Could she of have felt that sensation as well? He couldn''t make sense of anything that just happened but,he decided not to worry about it for the time being.


    (I guess I may never know¡­..)


    He made his way toward his locker somewhat nervous and put in the combination to open it. Inside, he saw the familiar blue glow his keychain emitted.


    ¡°Ah, here it is. Alright better get back to class.¡±


    He grabbed the keychain and clipped it onto the side of his pants. The shivers and chills had stopped by this time but the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach remained. The walk back to his class was....something. It was a mixture of sadness with joy and confusion. Things were definitely getting strange. When he was outside of his classroom he heard many voices talking over one another.When he walked in he found his teacher lounging in her chair while everyone else was talking amongst themselves. One of his classmates noticed him and let him know that she had assigned a project to everyone and also partners.


    ¡°well okay, who''s my partner?¡± He asked.Axel looked around for the one person who was by themselves but he didn''t see anyone.


    ¡°umm, I am.¡±He heard a soft voice say directly behind him.


    ¡°hm?¡±


    He turned to look and saw one of his classmates standing there looking down timidly . A girl who was shorter than him and had long beautiful blonde hair that was tied up to a pony tail with a red ribbon. It matched the blazing red jacket she had on. She had well toned white skin and had a pinkish tinge to her cheeks and her bangs covered just above her chocolate brown eyes.Although they had the same class he didn''t talk to her as much. Who could forget her name, though? It was extremely unique!


    ¡°Oh, Natsumi? What''s up! Ready to get this thing started? Let''s go!..¡±Axel patted her shoulder feeling pumped for some reason already forgetting about lunch entirely and walked over to his desk.


    "Right, okay.." She responded.


    Axel sat with the blonde beauty Natsumi and discussed their assignment. Axel was pretty calm while Natsumi was very fidgety for some reason. After some time of just discussing their schedules to work on said project and exchanging numbers, the bell signifying that school was over rang.


    ¡°Alright class, you can continue on your own time with your projects. Now then,you can go.¡± The teacher dismissed everyone and everyone got up to leave.


    "Whaaaaat, school''s over already??" He jokingly said.


    "Yeah, you were gone for a long time, you know? what were you doing?" Natsumi asked. Axel started stuffing papers in his backpack with ease and lifted his desk to pick up a pencil that he had dropped.


    "Oh, I hurt my hand so I had the nurse.......fix...it up?" Axel finished saying confused as he noticed that his hand was not hurting anymore. It wasn''t like the pain had died down, It was actually as if nothing had actually happened to it! Even the swelling had completely gone away.. what was up with that?... He swiped his hand around and tested it for pain but nothing came of it.


    "That''s strange.." He said feeling wierded out.¡°well anyway, when exactly is this due?¡± He asked Natsumi.


    ¡°oh um, next week on friday..¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Well that''s plenty of time to do this.. I have to go. I''ll be seeing you then.¡±


    ¡°oh uh,okay!..¡±The girl waved bye as Axel walked out of the classroom. As he headed out, Axel took the time to unwrap his bandages and examine his fist. It was just as he thought, his hand was completely normal. There was not a scratch on it. What had caused this?... Did it have something to do with that girl from earlier?..


    Whatever it was it was strange. Speaking of which, he hadn''t seen Tony around anymore. It was possible that he had gone to help the principal as he often did. In which case, he''d have to text him and apologize for not showing up to lunch. Since he left his phone at home this morning, he''d have to do it when he got home.. Axel was walking toward the school gate to leave when he was suddenly stopped by a girl and a boy.


    ¡°Hoho? Well if it isn''t Hero!¡±


    The first one that spoke out of the two was the boy that was about his height and had brown hair that was kept down. He wore black jeans with a brown jacket. He had brown mellow looking eyes and a casual expression.


    Axel had known this guy since his days in elementary. His name was Michael Ivy, A totally mellow boy that liked to go with the flow and tease Axel in whatever way he could think of. He was one of the few that actually joked around about it though, he was actually a really good friend and also one of the few that Axel allowed to call him Hero.


    ¡°Hiya Axy! How come you took off your bandages?¡± The second person said jumping into his arms.She had already been introduced a couple of hours before. She was none other than Lucy, a girl with long blonde hair that was usually always curly and not tied up in any way. She wore black pants and a light gray jacket. She had a black and gray beanie on and a green scarf that matched her now light green eyes.


    "My hand feels better now so I took em'' off." Axel said hugging her back.


    "You''re right, looks like nothing ever even happened. How cool! Very Hero like!" She mocked which made him giggle.


    Since he could think calmly now, he recalled a little about her background. He had actually officially been friends with her only about 2 years prior. Before that he had seen her around and talked to her casually every now and then. She initiated friendship first when she found him in the same dumpster she pulled him out of today. They instantly hit it off and Axel grew to admire her greatly, enough to the point where he allowed her to call him Hero as she pleased.


    For some reason, this girl found joy in teasing Axel in the most weirdest ways. She was really cheery and bright and always helped him in his darkest days. He didn¡¯t know why she was so fond of him but he was never really willing to ask presumably afraid of the answer. Even if he pushed her away she would still come back. She was extremely loyal and she liked this about her.


    After letting her go, he asked what they were doing together. These two were not in his class so he had no idea.


    ¡°mmmm we got paired up to do a project together.¡± said Michael nonchalantly.


    ¡°that''s a dangerous combination¡± He quietly muttered.


    ¡°you''ll see, We are going to make the best project ever!¡± Lucy announced gleefully.


    (I hope they''ll be supervised for the school¡¯s sake¡­....)thought Axel trying to avoid Lucy''s joyful gaze. As much as he liked Lucy, she was dangerous. There was the poor sap Carlos to vouch for that.


    ¡°so, what exactly are you planning to do after school then?¡± He asked Michael.


    ¡°I''m trying to get it over with, So I figured we should stay back a bit and work on it as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°i see, well then I''ll leave you to it then.¡± Axel told them stretching his arms.Axel turned to leave but something stopped him. Actually someone had stopped him. He turned and saw that Lucy had grabbed his sleeve and stared at him with a mischievous smile.


    ¡°but where do you think you''re going so soon? Our project requires a specimen to study and analyze. You are a perfect candidate!!¡±


    ¡°ahn? Wait wait!!let go of me!argh!stop dragging me like that!! Isn''t this kidnap?!!!ahhh!!¡±Axel yelled as he was dragged against his will by Lucy''s, surprisingly, monstrous amount of strength.


    "Sorry dude, but no one else would do it and Lucy said you owed her so....this is the result.." Michael empathetically announced as he watched them wrestle..


    _______


    By the time he was finally released from Lucy''s grasp the sun had already started to set.


    ¡°damn it.why did I have to get dragged into that?I don''t know what type of project requires you to eat in different positions¡­..They aren¡¯t normal that¡¯s for sure..¡± He said rubbing chocolate off his shirt.The thought of lucy forcefully restraining him filled his mind and brought a chill to his spine. Still though, she seemed happy through it all so that in turn made him happy.


    He was walking down his usual path home when he came across a familiar fork in the road. He stopped. He knew which way would lead him home but, he also knew where the other road would take him. He had taken it many times when he was younger.


    ¡°well, I said I''d visit her soon, might as well make it today.¡± he muttered.


    He looked down the path that led him away from home and to someone else''s. He made one sigh and went down that road.This path led him to his heat loving childhood friend, Casey. It had been a while since he had last seen her so what would his excuse be to come now all of a sudden?


    (I guess I should wish her a happy new year¡­)


    As he made that excuse in his head, he started to remember the first time he met Casey. Those were very bad circumstances and the meeting was accidental. Had he not decided to go where he did that day,he would''ve never of have met her. Not that he regretted it, most meetings were accidental anyway.


    This meeting, however, was during a very dangerous situation. So bad in fact that he couldn''t even remember the details of what had happened that night. All he knew was that if he hadn''t been there, he would''ve been visiting her grave instead.The thought of that possibility made him shiver and he was grateful for being there to help. He wasn''t even sure if Casey could remember much about that night either but he preferred not to bring up.


    After thinking for a long time he noticed that he had finally made it to Casey''s house. He recognized the large two story blue house that was surrounded by a white fence.


    ¡°hmm?¡±


    There was no car in the driveway but he could see that a light in one of the rooms was on. He figured that somebody had to be home. So he opened the gate of the white fence and walked toward the front door.


    (Here we go.) He thought somewhat bitterly.


    He was afraid to hear her reaction after not seeing him in over a year. Knowing her she would probably beat him to death for not visiting her sooner, but that would be the easy way out.He reached out his hand to knock but before his knuckles made contact with the door, it swung open and he was suddenly tackled down.

 Chapter Two: Power Magnet

    Part 1


    Axel didn''t know what had just happened. He was about to knock on his old friend''s door when it suddenly flung open and someone rushed out and tackled him, knocking the breath out of him.


    ¡°!!??gaaaaaah!!¡± He yelled in confusion and pain.


    He heard a high pitched cry right at the same time.


    ¡°Where have you been!!!!!!????¡±


    ¡°Wah?! What the hell?¡±


    He was thrown on to the lawn with a girl on his abdomen tightly holding onto him. He wasn''t imagining it, there was really a girl there! Thing was, she wasn''t just some random girl, she seemed way too familiar.


    ¡°what the hell?wait, are you-?..¡± He stammered.


    The girl finally looked up at him with large irritated eyes. Axel got a good look at her features and winced. She appeared to be around his age but was obviously shorter than him. She had long brown hair that reached her back and was curled around the edges. She had brown eyes and wore a beige colored wool sweater with a white top under and black leggings with some uggs on. She also had a burgundy scarf wrapped around her neck.


    ¡°you!! Why haven''t you been answering my calls?! Am i just chopped liver!!!¡± The girl said punching his stomach repeatedly.


    ¡°huh?!wait wait!!please stop shaking me!!¡±


    The browned haired girl then decided to grab his collar and shake him furiously. With that short fused temper, It finally dawned on him who this hot headed girl was.


    ¡°ah!C-Casey?Is that you?!i¡¯m sorry!!but please let go of me!!¡± He pleaded.This girl was his childhood friend named Casey Smith. He had just not recognized her. She must''ve gone through a lot of change during the course of one year.


    Hearing him say her name and acknowledge her, she finally stopped shaking him. The boy laid limply as she slightly widened her eyes and raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°oh? Well, I guess I''ll let you go¡­¡± She said sounding happy.She let him go and with a soft thump, Axel hit the floor. She got off of him and he unsteadily got up on his feet. Casey stood with her hands on her hips and watched him closely sighing.


    ¡°let''s go inside . it''s soo cold out here¡­¡±She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered before quickly running inside her house.


    Axel wondered how she could go from angry to normal so fast. Though, he had always wondered that. When they were kids, he once took a doll of hers and tore it apart on accident. She was of course furious but easily cooled down after he swore he would get her a new one. Funny enough, he never did buy her that doll...


    After realizing that Axel had not come inside yet, Casey poked her head out of the front door.


    ¡°hey?come on! The hot air is going to get out!!¡± She yelled.


    Axel snapped out of his trance and went inside her house.The inside looked a lot bigger than the outside of the house. The living room looked just like the one in his memories from when he would come here as a kid. it brought a nice taste of nostalgia to be in there again.


    ¡°I see that this place hasn''t changed much at all.¡±


    ¡°yeah well, it''s only been about a year. Have a seat. I''ll get you something to drink.¡± She said walking toward the kitchen.Axel sat on one of the blue couches in her living room and quietly waited for Casey.She finally came back with two cups of hot chocolate in her hand after about ten minutes. She handed one to Axel.


    ¡°here you go,¡± She said.


    ¡°than-ow!that''s hot!¡±


    The cup of hot chocolate was burning hot. Axel held his burning hand and blew at it to cool it down. He looked at Casey who seemed to be perplexed while holding the boiling cup of hot chocolate.


    ¡°? Oh, i forget that not everyone is like me. Sorry.¡±


    She put the cups of hot chocolate down on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat next to Axel. He stared at her hands and was fascinated by the fact that they didn''t hurt.


    ¡°i see your power is still there and in proper working order. Have you figured out how exactly you can¡­..do what you do?¡±


    Casey sighed


    ¡°No. I don''t really know yet. I may never know really.¡±


    ¡°Ah, i see.... Hold on, How did you even know i was here?you suddenly tackled me just as i was about to knock.¡± He asked sounding confused.


    She held her chin with her hand and stared up.


    ¡°about that, I''ve been able to detect people with their body heat recently. I sense familiar ones and strange ones. I can only do it from a certain distance though.. and i sensed yours. Somehow i just knew it was yours..¡±


    She looked at him and smiled. From that distance he suddenly noticed just how close she was to him. Was she actually closer than she was before? Suddenly feeling a bit shy, he fidgeted awkwardly.


    ¡°o-oh. That makes sense¡­.¡± He said nervously.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the deal? How come you haven¡¯t been over or answered my calls in such a long time?¡±Casey said this and laid back while using her phone. Once she started to act like her ususal self, AXel in turn began to feel comfortable and laid back as well.


    ¡°I was busy helping my parents move plus my phone number was changed since I kept getting calls from an unknown number all day and night.¡±


    ¡°That was probably me you asshole!! My number is different as well!!¡± She yelled at him while sitting up and clenching her fists.


    ¡°Oh, I never thought of that¡± Axel said as he placed his fingers on his chin. Seeing her get so flustered though really made him chuckle.


    Axel was finally able to laugh genuinely and seeing him like that Casey couldn¡¯t help but giggle too. From there, they were finally able to talk with each other more openly like before. He learned that school was really fun for her, and she learned that school was actually really stressful for him. Both their parents were okay, and they discussed funny stories that happened over the course of one year.


    Finally,After catching up with Casey for more than an hour, Axel decided that it was about time to leave.


    ¡°well, it''s been fun but, it''s getting really late. I think it''s about time I leave.¡± He announced.


    Casey suddenly pouted and crossed her legs.


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean, you can just spend the night.¡± She offered.Axel got up to leave and looked down at Casey who was still sitting on the sofa.


    "Hm, I suppose I could do that. But I didn''t bring anything so I''d have to go back home anyway. What about next time?"


    "Hmmm, yeah that''s cool too. But in the meantime how about you promise me something?" She asked standing up to be level with him.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°You''re going to start showing up here more often and avoid becoming a stranger!¡± She demanded.


    Axel looked at her face that held no hints of a joke and answered chuckling.


    ¡°sure thing!"


    She got up and held her fists in front of her chest.


    ¡°I''ll also make sure to stop by as well!" She threw in. Since it was Casey it really wasn''t a big deal so he agreed. After that was settled, he once again began his departure.


    ¡°Well, I''m going. Say hi to your parents for me.¡±He reached for the doorknob and was about to leave when suddenly a hand grabbed his own. Casey''s hand.


    ¡°w-what? is there something else?¡± He asked.


    Casey remained silent for a bit and then spoke with a soft tone of voice. Her face expressed vulnerability in that moment.


    ¡°it was really nice seeing you. Please be careful on your way home.¡±


    At that moment, a soft glow emanated from the palm of her hand that was holding Axel¡¯s. He was about to pull away when he suddenly felt heat reach his hand other than Casey''s own. Did she increase her own body heat? He did not know the answer so, he just calmly smiled. Even though he couldn''t understand very well, he unerstood her gesture perfectly. It was quite heart warming...


    ¡°sure, thank-¡±


    That''s when it hit. His heart suddenly felt cold. His entire torso felt like it was getting frozen from top to bottom and the feeling began from the hand Casey was grabbing. He instinctively pulled away and gasped.


    ¡°!!¡±


    ¡°what in the-¡±


    From the looks of it, Casey had probably felt a similar feeling.


    (This is just like that time!) He thought


    He recognized this feeling. It was the same feeling he got when he shook hands with the girl he met earlier. Why had he gotten it now?what was going on?


    Casey was utterly confused and stammered.


    ¡°A-axe. W-what was that?¡± she said sounding frightened.


    She even reverted back to calling him by his old nickname she gave him. She probably said it unconsciously. Anyway,Axel did not know how to answer.


    ¡°I¡­.I''m not sure. Listen I gotta go. Take care of yourself..¡± He said turning away.


    ¡°w-wait!¡±


    Casey yelled after him but Axel was already out the door.


    Axel walked down a path he used to take after leaving Casey''s house when he was younger. At this point, he was really anxious. He wanted to know what had happened when he shook that girl¡¯s hand. What if maybe she did something that doesn''t allow him to have regular physical contact with people? Or if she implanted something inside him?


    What if?


    What if?


    What if?


    He couldn''t make sense of it all.. Thinking about it now, he kind of felt bad for leaving Casey without an explanation but he just couldn''t think of anything else to do.


    He just wanted to go home and pretend like today never happened. He inspected his body once more like before and took in a deep breath. He reached a busy part of his route fairly far from Casey¡¯s house where lots of cars and people were usually around but this time hardly anyone was there. It was around 9 at night but for this place to be barren already was strange. However, instead of finding it weird, he was glad that he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the usual hi and bye¡¯s from strangers. Right now he was just craving a sandwich.


    (Things can''t get any stranger right?) he told himself in an attempt to lighten up his mood.


    BOOM


    As if stomping on his wishes, an explosion sounded off across the street from him. He didn¡¯t immediately turn around, instead he stood dumbfounded and let the wind ruffle his hair. Then, ever so slightly, he turned his head toward the blast with cold sweat flowing down his forehead.


    The building, about 20 stories high, now had a huge hole on the side of it. The blast must¡¯ve impacted the first three floors at least. He couldn¡¯t really assess the damage since flames and smoke covered most of it. From where he was standing he could smell the sickening smoke.


    His legs tensed up and locked and he fell on his rear. His body began to fail him and he began to hyperventilate. What would he do? What should he do?


    All of a sudden, the news from the other day he watched played in his mind.


    Terrorist attacks are rising higher than ever and people are advised to be careful while running errands and even walking down the street. In the event of a terrorist attack, please do not delay and run!


    (T-t-t-t-that¡¯s easier said than done lady!!)


    It was happening! It was really happening! He had to run!Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    As soon as this realization hit him, Axel finally felt adrenaline rush through him. He jumped up and began to run the other direction with all he had. And just as he was about to think that he was lucky no one was around, people started swarming out of the nearby buildings by the dozen panicking and pointing at the burning building.


    For the first time in his life, he felt his body turn cold to the touch. He stopped running and yelled


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!RUN!!!!¡±


    But his frantic screams didn¡¯t reach their ears. He then felt a low rumble coming from the ground. He nervously looked down at his shaking legs. The ground was shaking softly. It wasn¡¯t enough to attract attention away from the fire but it was there. He looked at the building and something inside him told him exactly what that meant.


    [it¡¯ll fall¡­] Something said.


    And at this moment, something caught his eye amidst the flames. There was something standing there¡­.someone¡­. The cloaked figure stood watching him and just like that disappeared. He looked around and it looked like no one else had spotted it.


    It was a loud crack that finally snapped him back to reality. Time began to slow as his thoughts began to quicken. At this point the only thing that was audible was his own pulse.


    *Beat*Beat*


    The people noticed it too. They gasped and experienced the same thing he did. He watched as one another grabbed each other to protect themselves from the inevitable. Some scrambled to get away. Some began to pray, some began to cry. One mother desperately clung to her two children as he watched them. The little girl in her arms shed one tear but it felt like it¡¯d never reach the ground because the scene before him was moving frame by frame despite it actually happening in a matter of seconds


    *Beat*beat*beat*


    The building was visibly tilting now toward them. Soon it would be over now, all here would die, he would die, he could do nothing¡­¡­ his wide eyed stare was all he could muster out. His body would not respond any longer and tears began to overflow in his eyes.


    *Beat*Beat*Beat*Beat*


    It was¡­..over¡­¡­.he would die here like the coward he was¡­..


    As he watched people try and evacuate, he noticed something. Under a large mass of rubble from the building, he spotted someone, a girl who was struggling to break free. Flailing around and desperately trying to claw her way out, she yelled for help but nobody would listen.


    "Help! Please, someone help!!!" She pleaded through sobs. The entire lower part of her body had been trapped and there was little to nothing she could do. Flames suddenly began spreading all around her and soon she would be consumed.....


    No one was there to help, no human could help. He was so afraid, he was not ready to die, he was not ready to die.... So then, why?


    In those moments, I remember wondering why on earth i was doing something so stupid, but at the same time i thought to myself, how could I ever face God if I didn''t? Was it out of fear of God, or out of fear of betraying who I am, who I wanted to be?.... Who knows!


    Despite all of that! He ran toward her with everything he had. Going against the wave of people he dodged them to the best of his ability. It didn''t take long to reach her and when he did he immediately started digging.


    "Shit!shit!shit!shit!shit!shit!shit!shit!shit!shit!....!!!" He exclaimed terrified as he continued to try and lighten the load on her body. At the same time, the girl watched with wonder as she saw him do that. It appeared that she had recognized him.


    "What on earth are you doing here?" She exclaimed while trying to push herself out. While still pushing rocks off of her, he quickly threw in a glance and finally made out who she was. She was none other than the girl that tagged along with Carlos and also the one who pulled out his notebook from his bag earlier that day.


    Yes, it was true that she had bullied me for a very long time, I also know that she was the one that labeled me as "hero" to make fun of me. If I were a bad person, I probably would''ve left her to die there, though the impulse did cross my mind truth be told. But I am not a bad person, so in that one moment I wasn''t really thinking about any of that. What I was thinking was that it was really great that I would finally be able to show her something. Something that would inevitably change her way of thinking forever.


    "What.....what kind of person do you think I am?!" He sobbed while pushing on the largest piece of rubble. She stopped for a moment and looked up at him.


    "And what kind of "hero" do you think I''d be if I just sat there and did nothing?!!" He yelled as he finally got the last piece to move. With that, she was finally able to scramble out with some help of Axel. She appeared to not be able to move well so Axel placed her arm around his neck and helped her run. Nothing was said in that moment, they simply ran to safety as Axel''s tears jumped out of his eyelids and in to the wind. Despite things looking good, the building behind them was still about to come down no matter what.


    (Damn it!! We can''t escape in time!!) He thought feeling powerless once more. That''s when it spoke to him again...


    [Even after all this time, despite appearing different on the outside you''re still the same on the inside, and that''s what I love most about you!] An angelic voice said. He was about to remark when he suddenly felt his body ignite with strength.


    [So don''t worry, as long as we''re together nothing can stop us!]


    His eyes snapped open and a powerful glow filled his eyes. He crouched and bursted forward with such force that the ground below him cracked. In the next instant, everyone in the area had dissappeared.


    But that wasn¡¯t enough. The building was already collapsing fast and was going to collide with the one directly in front of it. People were still clearly inside that one and would surely die, but for some reason he knew he could save them. With a completely straight face he jumped up at the falling building and swung his fist forward.


    That was all it took. With one swift motion the entire building shot away toward the heavens as it tore apart in the process. A huge amount of wind pressure swirled the surrounding area but other than that no further damage was made.


    He had done it.


    As his consciousness returned to him, his expression changed into one of pure amazement. By now, the building was nothing but a twinkle in the sky. Had he really done that!?


    Just as he tried to put his hands up in a cheer, a massive pain engulfed his body. He grimaced and looked behind him. His expression slowly changed to that of fear. To his horror, his arm was bent the wrong way and clearly the bones within it were shattered. His legs? It felt like every single one of his muscles had been torn to shreds. The worst part? He was still in mid air¡­.


    [uh oh¡­...I may have overdone it¡­..] was the last thing he heard before gravity took its toll and he was personally introduced to the ground, then everything went silent and dark.


    Part 2


    ¡°hmm¡­.¡±


    She let out a deep sigh.


    The day is now Tuesday morning. She had been walking around town almost all night stopping only to sleep for about an hour once she felt comfortable doing so. Her name was Maria. A young girl in her late teens. She looked to be about 19 but she was really only 17, about to be 18 soon though!


    She had a well kept body that she was very fond of and skin that had been maintained for quite some time, her pride and joy in a way.She was a girl who was about 5 feet 6 inches, she wasn''t too short which was wonderful. She had long golden brown hair and eyes that were the same shade. She wore a long white dress that complimented her body''s curves and had frills on the bottom edges of it. Although this was an ideal outfit for every other day use, it was not an outfit for every single day use.


    (Where am i supposed to go now?....) She wondered.


    Despite her looks, she was now homeless. After she had gotten ¡°the news¡± , she was kicked out by her family. She had broken up with her boyfriend prior to being kicked out and now had no way to contact him. Even if she wanted to, her phone was not charged.


    Now, how could her parents possibly be that heartless one might ask? Well, the world may never know if she were being honest. Never in a million years did she think this would happen to her, her situation honestly hadn''t fully sunk in yet.


    All of this had started by making one huge mistake. One that Maria will both be grateful for and upset about one day. Now, she just had to focus on finding a place to stay. She was only allowed to take the clothes on her back by her parents, nothing else. Luckily, she had some money in her pockets. Well, inside the one white purse she had around her shoulders.


    She walked along the streets and entered a coffee shop, the warm temperature from the inside felt absolutely heavenly. She ordered a cup of hot chocolate as she rubbed her hands together and sat in deep thought. The chill of winter''s air reached her now warm skin causing her to shiver. She was not even allowed to bring a sweater unfortunately so she had to endure.


    The news played in the background as she daydreamt. Red words moved along the screen. It read: ¡®Collapsing building mysteriously obliterated, no clear witness explanation¡¯


    A couple moments later, the waitress arrived with her order.


    ¡°here you go miss.¡±


    ¡°Oh! thank you¡± She gratefully responded.


    The waitress placed the cup of chocolate on the table and bowed a little before leaving. Maria sipped on her hot chocolate and flinched a little.


    ¡°ow...that''s hot¡­¡± She remarked holding her hand over her mouth.


    She then thought about her next move. Walking around like this was a no go, she had to do something and quick lest she freeze to death. She did have one idea in mind and that was to go to her boyfriend''s house. Well, her Ex-boyfriend now. She at least knew where he lived. Hopefully, he would take her in.


    She stayed in the shop for a couple more minutes while she enjoyed the only warmth available to her and then decided to head out. The sooner she could find shelter, the better.


    ¡°well, time to go¡­¡±


    After paying for her drink, Maria stepped out to begin her journey.


    Part 3


    ¡°uh¡­¡­...gruuuuuhhhh¡­¡­.¡±


    Axel opened his eyes and let out a groan. His body hurt all over. Especially his legs. They felt like they were filled with led. He tried to sit up using his aching arms but with little luck.He could see that he was practically covered in bandages. His arms, legs , and half his torso. His legs looked especially bad. He was laying on a bed in a bedroom that looked to be empty except for the one bed.


    ¡°hey, don''t try and move yet. You''re still recovering¡±He heard a familiar voice. It was a girl''s voice.


    He looked over at the girl who was trying to stop him from sitting up and froze. The first thing he noticed were two long jet black twin tails attached to a girl who looked to be about 13.


    ¡°wah! You''re that girl from yesterday!!¡±


    The day before, Axel had run into this girl who was looking for someone. That wasn''t the strangest thing that happened though. When they shook hands to go their separate ways, a cold feeling entered Axel''s chest and after that he magically started experiencing phenomenons way out of the ordinary. He didn''t know what the cause of that was but something told Axel that she knew why since she hurriedly left after that.


    She frowned.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with that? Now quit moving! I''m trying to help you sit up!¡±


    After a bit of a struggle, the girl finally managed to control Axel and have him sit up. The reason he stopped struggling appeared to be because he had remembered something.


    ¡°Wait a minute, what happened to everyone??What in the world did I do?!!!!! How did I do that??!!!!¡±


    Axel continued to yell many questions while flailing around his bandaged arms seemingly trying to get up. The girl really wanted to be patient with him and was doing a good job at it....... or at least she was up until he back handed her face on accident. She blinked multiple times and brought her head back in a questioning manner as if utterly appalled.


    ¡°Oh no you didn''t you little shit...... Stop asking so many questions and sit still!!!¡± she yelled as she sucker punched Axel in the arm. Axel winced and did as he was told while biting his quivering lip.


    ¡°The people at the scene are alright. Most of them passed out so they don¡¯t really recall anything. Those that saw can''t really remember seeing anything other than a blur and then it was all over¡± She replied rubbing her now red cheek.The boy relaxed his shoulders and fell back on his bed.


    ¡°The culprit of the explosion wasn¡¯t found but they suspect it to be a superhuman. As for that building you destroyed, no one was in it at the time fortunately¡±


    The boy relaxed his shoulders even more but he seemed to be deep in thought. He furrowed his brow in frustration. At the same time, he felt relieved. For a split second he thought he had killed people possibly still inside the collapsing building...


    The girl sighed.


    ¡°let''s start with introductions. My name is Ella.¡± She said regaining her composure.


    The boy looked up and nodded.


    ¡°Ella?...¡± He whispered.


    ¡°good. Now what is your name?¡± She asked


    ¡°Axel Ison.¡±


    Ella widened her eyes just a bit after hearing his last name.


    ¡°Ison huh?....well, I''m sure you have lots of questions to ask so I''ll just start from the beginning. This should hopefully give you an answer.¡± She said twirling her hair with her fingers.


    Axel nodded and decided to focus on the girl.


    ¡°First of all, as I''m sure you are aware of, I was looking for someone yesterday. I know you found it strange that I kept asking you strange questions but i was testing you to see how you would react. It¡¯s a way of weeding out those involved with the supernatural and those who aren¡¯t. My Captain taught it to me.¡±


    ¡°Captain? from where?¡± He asked confused.


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of superhumans before haven''t you? And how we are supposedly a danger to the community?¡±


    Axel backed up against the bed he was laying on and suddenly felt danger.


    ¡°n-no way. This is a joke right? And you''re apart of t-that?!¡±


    Axel started to shake nervously and began looking for a way out again. There was no possible way that she was one of them. A small girl like her couldn¡¯t possibly hurt a fly!......right? Then why was she here? What had she done to him? Was she here to recruit him?! Would she eliminate him right here and now?! Not a chance, not this guy.


    ¡°Will you relax!? Why would you believe everything the media tells you!!I won¡¯t hurt you!¡±Ella pleaded. She had to physically restrain Axel so he would listen and not run away.


    ¡°ngah!!Then why are you strangling me!!!??bafgh??fine!!then what do you people want?who are you after?me?¡±


    Ella let go of Axel when he finally began to calm down and sighed before continuing to speak.


    ¡°The peacekeepers that are being presented to you and the rest of the world are not actually peacekeepers. They are imposters that have set out to give us a bad name. A ploy which has succeeded. We actual peacekeepers are exactly what the name suggest, we are those superhumans which want to bring peace to the world. The ones that are out there causing havoc, such as yesterday''s incident, are like us but from an enemy group. They also possess the same power we do known as the Soul of Shadows¡±


    As Axel heard her spill all that mumbo jumbo, he smirked.


    ¡°Haha, that name doesn''t roll off the tongue at all.¡±


    ¡°don''t tell me that. I''m not the creator. Anyways, I can go more in depth about our power later but for now I have more important things to talk to you about.¡±


    Ella turned and pulled up a chair that was next to Axel''s bed. She sat on it and crossed her slender arms and legs.


    "Now then, I''m sure you''ve been told how the world turned on the superhumans, correct? Well, I can confidently tell you that that is true, however that''s not the full story. My predecessors did not wish to wage war with the world, it went against our very reason for living, to protect life. So they chose to hide in hopes that our pacifistic protest would be heard but even to this day it seemls like it was all for naught. We have lost so many along the way and yet we still seem to have gotten nowhere." Ella clenched her fists as she spoke and seemed to struggle with continuing but did so anyway.


    "What''s worse, during the early stages of the war against superhumans an internal supernatural conflict arose. The peacekeepers brought it upon themselves to quickly collect certain objects that if left in the wrong hands could spell doom for not only mankind but the entire universe itself... Due to the nature of such circumstances, the world leaders had no idea of what was going on, butthey knew, and it was all the more reason to ignore the world and focus on them.."


    ¡°Who''s them?what are these objects??¡±


    Ella could tell that Axel was very lost by the way he looked. She understood him. This was sudden after all, and this was only the tip of the iceberg. But unfortunately, she didn''t have time to go into detail.


    ¡°I''m sorry but that''s as much as I''m going to tell you right now. In the meantime, there''s something else we have to discuss.¡±


    She adjusted herself in her chair before going on.


    "Somewhere along the way, the peacekeepers were blessed with a mysterious power that helped in many different combat situations. It was a power that no ordinary superhuman could be born with.¡±


    ¡°What? You had an avatar or something?¡± Axel mocked.


    ¡°Let''s keep your face the only funny thing here, okay? Now, as I was saying, this ability came to be known as Power Magnet because of its peculiar features. What''s more, the ability itself chooses who gets to wield it.¡±


    ¡°Wait wait....somehow I get the feeling that this is a bad thing....¡±


    Axel looked tense and hugged himself already dreading her response.


    ¡°Anybody could still use it but not to its full potential. If the ability finds a worthy wielder while being used by someone else, it switches to said person. IF it does switch forcefully then that would mean that the chosen person would then become the permanent wielder of power magnet until death...... or so the legend goes¡±


    Axel held his breath for a moment and felt his pupils dilate.


    ¡°Are you saying?.....¡±


    Ella exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment before bringing down the bomb on him, forever changing his life..


    ¡°You guessed it! I was the one holding on to Power Magnet up until I shook your hand. Congratulations "Avatar", You''ve been chosen!" She said holding up jazz hands and a smile, but it was only her because Axel Ison was most certainly NOT laughing....

 Chapter Three: Decisions

    Part 1


    Maria was walking along a neighborhood while internally attempting to calm herself down. She was making her way to her boyfriend''s house, who was her ex boyfriend now actually, in hopes that he would take her in and help her. After several minutes of internal pep talk, she noticed that she was finally nearing his house.


    (I know he will take me in. He has too¡­.right?.....)


    As she got closer and closer to her destination, she started to feel a strong sense of doubt come over her. The last fight they had ended rather harshly and she was sure they wouldn¡¯t talk again. She cursed her fate realizing that she would have to go crawling back to him. But this time, it wasn''t just about herself, so she had to put her pride aside and face the music.


    (No. He will. This whole thing takes two people anyway...)


    She lightly smacked her cheeks to snap herself out of her state of nervousness. She kept on walking, chest held high. If she began to falter now she would never be able to face him face to face. She was no coward. She had to suck it up and continue forward no matter what!


    After a couple more feet or so, she reached her destination. She felt her heart beat faster and her adrenaline suddenly began to reach an all time high. She pressed the palm of her hands on her chest as if trying to calm her heart down.


    The house wasn''t anything special. It was a one story house that was painted green. It had no garage and was surrounded by a metal gate. It had one cement walkway leading to the front door. The grass was well kept and the porch was neat.


    (What if he''s at school today?....today of all days!¡­no,...I can do this god damn it.. so help me if he is i''ll just wait for him!¡­.)


    She took a deep breath and opened the front gate. Speaking of which, She hadn''t gone to school today either. She decided not to do so. Not only would her mind not be there if she did, She also wanted to make sure that she had a place to go afterward. There was that and then there was also the fact that she did not want her friends to find out about her situation. Though, it was probably far too late for that.


    Her boyfriend, now her ex, usually did not go to school. He was set on trying to become successful by becoming a professional skateboarder. She knew he was a little in over his head but seeing his determination brought butterflies to her stomach. Nothing got her going like a guy with a goal.


    Overall, he was a really nice guy to her. Sure he had his defects but, he was.....nice...


    She reached the front door and stopped. She looked at the driveway and noticed no cars were parked there. His parents must''ve been gone. She took one final deep breath and knocked on the door.


    A moment later, a response came. A tall slender boy with untidy gray hair came out. He was dressed like a typical skateboarder, cargo pants, long socks and a graphic t-shirt on.


    ¡°I already told you I''m not going to school!! oh, it''s you. What do you want?¡±


    The boy came out yelling but relaxed when he saw Maria standing at the door. He sounded disappointed in seeing her and dropped his eyelids.


    ¡°umm, J-jason. We need to talk¡­¡±Maria forced out those words to him and felt her knees tremble. She was nervous but confident¡­..somewhat¡­...


    The boy named Jason sighed as if having no choice but to listen.


    ¡°fine fine. Come in but make it quick I have stuff to do.¡±


    ¡°o-okay!¡± she stuttered surprisingly.


    Jason turned and went back inside his house as Maria followed suit. The inside was a little messy. The couches smelled like pizza and had many screws and bolts around them. Two skate boards were on the side of the tv stand and a pile of dirty laundry was on the corner of the room. Jason lazily fell on one of the couches and maria politely sat down in front of him. For just a moment, she wondered how on earth his parents allowed their living room to be this messy....


    ¡°so what is it?are you here to yell at me again? I thought we were done.¡±Jason asked not even looking at her. He just changed his position and laid on the couch.


    Maria straightened her back, hands clenching the bottom of her dress that reached her knees and prepared herself.


    ¡°no we are but, I have a problem. We have a problem.¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about?¡± Jason asked starting to sound a little more interested.


    ¡°yesterday, I was kicked out of my house by my parents. I got some news that they weren''t happy about..¡± Maria stopped and looked off to the side. Her face was red and tears filled her eyes. The event that was slowly changing her life was something that she had disclosed to no one but her family. It was chewing her up and eating her alive. She couldn¡¯t keep a straight face now. How could she when she was already filled to the brim with so many emotions ranging from sadness to happiness? Fuck that, She didn¡¯t care right now.


    Jason looked at her from the corner of his eye.


    ¡°hey!hey!hey!?what are you talking about? what news? why is this my problem?¡±he said in annoyance.


    Maria held back her tears. She breathed in and got ready to tell that boy ¡®the news¡¯ that had just about ruined and helped her life. This was their war now.


    ¡°Jason, i found out¡­..I''m pregnant¡­.¡± she said sounding apprehensive but excited. She smiled through tears and anxiously waited for a response as the atmosphere simultaneously shifted.


    This time jason truly looked at her. He immediately sat up and looked at her with a blank expression. Mouth opened wide. Maria sat with both fear and happiness. She was going to be a mother! At such a young age, she was both blessed and cursed. And Jason was the father!


    Would he be happy? Would he treat her like a princess? Would she finally get the respect she deserved? She could not wait!! Right now, it did not matter whether or not they were together!


    After what seemed like hours, Jason finally made a move.


    He stood up.


    Maria watched him closely and followed him with her eyes. A piercing silence hung in the air as she sat there. At the moment, nothing seemed off to her....


    Jason walked up to his kitchen counter and rested his arms on there. He had his head down and stayed like that for a moment before finally speaking.


    "I don''t want that." He said.


    "What? I''m sorry but that''s not something you can just up and decide on your own like that! This is something we both have to go through together!" Maria said feeling perplexed.


    "Listen, I already made up my mind and I said I won''t-" He began to say but Maria stepped in.


    "You will! No way in hell you can just leave me like this! Even my own parents didn''t want me because they said they couldn''t handle an irresponsible brat like me hoeing around like some slut!! I already took that from them and I refuse to take it from you too!!.." She yelled in frustration. Jason visibly fidgeted and stayed frozen for a moment. In that one moment, Maria thought that she had managed to get through to him. She was beginning to feel accomplished when he suddenly said something that completely threw her off.


    "Then get rid of it." He said.


    Maria shifted her eyebrows and uttered a "huh?.." as softly as she could but still to a point where it could be heard. In this moment, nothing still seemed wrong to her, so she didn''t think about standing up or moving. a decision which she would later regret.


    "What do you mean "get rid of it"? Are you saying I should go for an abortion??" She fired back.


    "Exactly, do that and I''m sure everything will be alright. Even if your parents don''t take you back you can stay here and we can go back to the way things were, how about that?" Jason suggested simply as if nothing about that was wrong.


    "You can''t be serious! I can''t just......kill my own child! I don''t want that!"


    "WELL I DO!" He snapped causing her to flinch.


    "You either get rid of it, or get out.. you have five seconds to answer.." He demanded. Maria moved her head back in utter confusion and slightly gasped. There was no way he was actually serious about this. How could he possibly force her to choose like this and with such little time? Not only that, but what would happen if time ran out and she didn''t have an answer?...


    "time, what''s your choice, darling?" He asked sounding impatient.


    "W-what? Don''t be ridiculous, I can''t possibly choose out of the blue as if it''s something that doesn''t-!?" Matter...she wanted to end with matter but before she could a sharp and intense pain shot her head back and forced her down. The pain was so out of nowhere that her body went limp. At the same time, she heard what sounded like the sound of glass breaking. For a second, she blacked out. As she was coming to, she heard Jason speak again.


    "I gave you the chance and you blew it. But thinking about it now it''d be bad if you started to spread rumors, so I think I''ll keep you here after all....that way I can get rid of that myself."


    You''d think she''d be happy about that outcome, right? No, happy was far from it. The way he said that suddenly made her fear for her life. This man was not about to let her stay here in peace!


    She felt him grab her and carry her somewhere, but before she could find out where she quickly grabbed a shard of glass she was hit with from her chest and stabbed him on the shoulder as hard as she could. She felt penetration and Jason yelled in pain. Out of reflex, he let her go and she dropped to the ground. She threw the shard of glass to the side and stood up. It turned out to be a piece of a coffee mug. A thick one at that. It was no wonder her forehead was in so much pain. However, now was no time to wory about that. Ignoring the blood flowing from her forehead, she quickly turned heel and ran for the door to leave.


    However, another sharp pain hit her back and she fell. Jason had thrown his skateboard at her full force. She writhered around in pain and attempted to stand once more.


    "You do so well in school that I thought you''d be smart enough to know that this way is so much better for you. Get rid of that kid and you can go back to a normal life but instead you do this? Haha, I''m not going to let you get away this time."


    His voice was serious and cold, they were far past the point for this to be a joke. Now more than ever, Maria was terrified. Fight or flight kicked in like a bullet and had her up on her feet in no time. Ignoring him once more, she made a dash for the door. She would''ve liked for it to have ended there but it didn''t, he was already at the door just as she managed to open it. He slammed it shut and launched his fist at her face. It hit her cheek and she staggered back as a pinching pain pulsed in her head. Everything began to vibrate as she turned heel and made a dash for the hallway.


    "You tough bitch I thought that would bring you down for sure!" He said as he went after her. He ran down the hall knowing exactly where she would be, his room since that was where she always went when she hid in times like these. Once he had his hands on her, he would teach her a lesson for sure... But just before turning the corner, a fist popped out of the bathroom and was planted on his cheek. It barely even fazed him.


    "that''s all?" He said grabbing her arm with both of his. Maria with her brow furrowed instantly reacted and swung her other arm forward revealing what appeared to be a wrench in her hand. Jason saw it and gasped. Like this, it was far too late to counter. All he could do was say,


    "Shit"


    "Raaah!" She yelled as she hit him on the side of his head with the wrench. She felt it make contact with his skull and watched him fall like a doll. It was over. The hallway instantly got quiet leaving only her heavy breathing to be heard.


    "That enough for you?" She gasped. She didn''t want to kill him, so she instinctively held back. Luckily he wasn''t bleeding but he was definitely going to have a massive bump on his head.


    Maria looked at her trembling hands and tried to calm her breathing, but it was no use. She dropped the wrench and fell to her knees. Her mouth was vibrating and her body felt exhausted. She looked at Jason who was now unconscious and began to wonder why things had ended up this way.


    For so long, she thought that this man would be the one that would maintain her, that would help guide her through the world, how could something like this happen? This man once promised her the world.. How could this person....do this.


    The person that said he loved her. The person she said I love you to. The person that gave up every spare time he had for her. The person she gave up her time for. The person that said he''d never hurt her. The person that said he would always be there. The person that said he would always love her. The person that said he only had eyes for her. The person that said he only wanted to be with her. The person that said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.The person that said he wasn''t calling any other girl. The person that said he wasn''t still talking to his old girlfriend. The person that she saw flirting with another girl. The person that swore he was home but was actually out. The person that yelled at her for the smallest things. The person that criticized her flaws daily. The person that threatened to break up with her if she didn''t follow his rules. The person that gave so little when she gave so much. The person that forced the innocence out of her....


    The person that¡­¡­


    Why had it only dawned on her just now? How could she have possibly forgotten. How could she have thought that this man would change? How did she forget the massive fight they had over a stupid missed call? Why was she so stupid? Why¡­..?


    Was this happening to her?..


    It suddenly felt like something broke within her. Rage and anguish bubbled up inside her and she began to weep. After some time there, she got up to leave. Then it suddenly occurred to her, this man should know something, something that would hopefully give him the message that Maria was no longer of concern to him...


    ...........


    After she was done and far from that house, she sat bandaging up her head with bandages that she took from his house. Her clothes had drops of her blood on them and she had a couple scratches but she was otherwise alright. She was hiding in some bushes in a park she used to go to all the time. She was certain that no one would bother her here. Just as she finished adjusting her hair, she suddenly bursted into silent tears. Falling on her back, she wept as quietly as she could not wanting anybody to bother her....


    Back at Jason''s house, Jason was slumped in the hallway when he finally began to regain consciousness. He sat up and winced as he touched his throbbing head. Suddenly, he quickly looked around in search for Maria as he recalled what she had done to him but there was no sign of her. However, he did find something right next to him. It was his skateboard, and scratched on to it was a message. It said,


    "You Are Nothing To Me"


    Jason sat back and processed that for a second. Though, he didn''t wonder what it meant. In fact, he knew exactly what it did. This meant that he was nothing of Maria''s. and she was nothing of him... Her problems were none of his, just the way he wanted it....


    Part 2


    Axel held his hand in front of him. He had been chosen? By some power unknown to him?


    He was still in the room he woke up in and Ella was also there twirling one of her twin tails. She repeated it to him.


    ¡°That''s right. You were chosen by the ability itself. Congrats¡± she said sounding sarcastic.


    Axel clenched his sheets. How could this happen to him? How could he get dragged into something he tried so hard to avoid his whole life? How could he unwillingly get thrown off the path of normal by some ¡®power¡¯ he did not even want!


    He refused to accept that.


    ¡°no¡­¡± he muttered


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°No! This ¡®thing¡¯ must be wrong! It''s got the wrong person!! I am not pure of heart! I don''t have some special talent like..like, you freaks!!¡±


    Ella brought her eyebrows closer in irritation.


    ¡°hey you better watch what you say cause as of yesterday you also have a talent like the rest of us ¡®freaks¡¯¡±


    Axel tried thinking of a way out of this situation. He did not want to be burdened with a power that he could not control. A power that could harm others. This wasn''t for him! No sir it was not..


    ¡°wait. If this power chooses who wields it, then can¡¯t it choose someone else?¡± He pleaded.


    ¡°nice try but i already told you. once power magnet chooses its wielder, that choice is absolute. No exceptions.¡±


    Axel slumped back down on his bed feeling disappointed.


    ¡°why? I''m sure there are plenty of people in the world that are pure of heart and have special talent! People more qualified than me!!¡±


    This time, ella took action. She swiftly stood up and slapped axel as hard as she could. The sudden attack left axel speechless. His cheek instantly burned up from the slap he had received and raised his hand to soothe the pain.


    ¡°ow!! what was that fo-!¡±


    ¡°Because i needed to blow off some steam.Now,take a look outside!¡± she yelled sounding frustrated with him.


    She pointed to the outside window on the left side of his bed. He was able to just barely see what was on the ground outside. He could tell they were on a second story building of a house. There were people standing there. They looked familiar. A woman who was dressed in winter clothes and who seemed to be in her late 20s with a baby in her hands and another little girl there playing around some bushes.


    ¡°Hey, isn''t that-?...¡±


    ¡°Yes. They were there during that night and the only ones that witnessed your heroic actions. Ah but remember, you saved them with your power. Thanks to that they were able to live to tell the tale¡±


    Axel was speechless. He looked down at his hands again.


    He saved many people yesterday. Had it not been for him, their days would''ve been numbered. He had this power. Was he a hero? Could he really live with this? Could a guy like him change history? Yes. He had power. He could use this power!


    (But, even so¡­)


    Axel clenched his fists.


    ¡°that is even more reason of why i should not have this power. I only managed to save them by pure luck. I''m just a regular high school boy. I can''t be trusted with other people''s lives!¡±


    Ella frustratingly sighed. She then lightly pressed the palm of her hands against his own.


    ¡°you need to believe in your power. Believe in yourself. Didn''t you feel relieved that you were able to do something when you helped that woman? Don''t you feel comfortable knowing that you now have the power to change the course of this world?¡±


    Axel felt conflicted. How could he possibly accept this power? How could he not? He didn''t know what he wanted to do. After seeing him not coming to a conclusion, ella finally lifted her arms.


    ¡°i will leave you for now. You need to choose what it is you want. To save those in need, or become a bystander watching helplessly from the sidelines as people get hurt.¡±


    She began walking towards the door leading out of the small room. Axel still wanted to know something, so he stopped her.


    ¡°wait!before you go, explain to me what i did. Or what this power is.¡±


    Ella sighed but did not turn to look at him.


    ¡°Power magnets ability is absorption. In other words, you can absorb and use the abilities of others. You can''t use an infinite amount of abilities. At half power, it can only hold 1 or 2 abilities. With the ¡®chosen one¡¯ it can hold up to 5,as far as we know. I had 2 when i used it so whatever i had is probably with you now¡±


    ¡°did one of them include super strength or something with explosions?¡±


    Ella looked up.


    ¡°about that, that power was not one of my own. It¡¯s possible that you absorbed it from someone..maybe?¡­¡±


    (So it must''ve been¡­)


    He felt a strange sensation once more when he touched a certain someone. He must''ve gotten it from there.


    ¡°also¡± ella said with a tone of warning.


    ¡°Your body can not handle the sudden power of an ability. It will have serious repercussions on you due to just being a human and not a superhuman who are born genetically stronger and are able to withstand a lot more of pretty much anything. As you can see from using it once, your legs and arms were nearly torn apart. I advise you use the power with caution. Maybe even refrain from using it at all yet. Maybe that''s a good thing. That is what you seem to want isn''t it?¡±


    Now she looked at him from the corner of her eye. Axel looked back down in an attempt to dodge her piercing gaze.


    She simply sighed again.then she pointed out the window where the woman was waiting.


    ¡°the woman is waiting for you. She¡¯s the only one that got to see you in action. I talked with her and she agreed to stay quiet as long as she could talk to you. There is a wheelchair in the closet. Get it and go see her. You decide what to do from there. This is my temporary house so, you can''t stay. I got other things to do too. Good bye.¡±


    With that, she left. Axel then looked over at the closet, then his legs.


    He spoke to the vacant room with some disappointment.


    ¡°but how am i supposed to get over there?....¡±


    Part 3.


    Somewhere, in a place far from civilization was a man,hidden from the world. He was in a huge secret facility that was for him and his men alone. He sat silently watching the video clip of a certain boy using a power that was not supposed to be his to wield. Despite this unforeseen turn of events, He grinned.


    ¡°so¡­ they made their move have they?..¡±


    He glanced at the desk next to him where a file with information on his foes lay causing him to smile even wider.


    One of his henchmen approached the man whose body and face were concealed in darkness.


    ¡°sir.¡± said the henchman in question


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°all the preparations for the invasion are complete. Ready to go on your mark.¡±


    The man in the shadows stood from his chair that resembled a throne. He smiled wickedly and placed his hands behind his back.


    ¡°very good. So then, i think it''s about time we step out of the shadows...prepare the ships and the artificial entities.¡± the man demanded.


    ¡°yes sir!¡± the henchman saluted and went off to follow his orders.


    ¡°now then, show me what you''re made of¡­¡­¡±


    He grabbed the file on the desk and threw it across the room concealed in darkness. A picture attached to one of the files came out. It was of a boy with spiky hair. The lettering under the picture read:


    ¡®Power Magnet latest permanent wielder. Threat level: maximum. Name: Axel Ison.¡¯


    Part 4


    Back to civilization, in sonic city¡¯s honeybell high school, sat a blonde beauty. Her long golden hair was tied up with a red ribbon. Her golden brown eyes were filled with concern. She looked over at the empty seat that was in the corner of the classroom.


    ¡°hummmmm¡­¡­¡± she sighed.


    Her partner was not here today, leaving her to work on their project all alone. Everyone else sat happily working on their own projects since their teacher was nice enough to let them work on it in class today.


    She nervously shook her legs.


    Her anxiety had reached its peak yesterday night. She heard news about a building collapsing and disappearing due to another terrorist attack. She wondered if axel was involved with that. She wondered if maybe he was unfortunate enough to be around¡­.What if he was injured? Somewhere out there begging for help. The image of axel crying out for help covered in blood filled her mind.


    ¡°Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!¡± she yelled in fear, her anxiety reaching its peak again. Her classmates turned to look at her with eyes of confusion. She paid them no heed.


    She got up from her seat and dashed out of the classroom door.


    Part 5


    After a bit of a struggle to get on the wheelchair, axel made his way downstairs to where the woman and her children waited. He was sort of skeptical to go out there. He was wearing the clothes he had on before but they were torn up. All the bandages he had on his legs showed and it was cold outside. Nonetheless, he still went out.


    ¡°I''m so sorry to keep you waiting! I know it''s pretty cold out here¡­¡±


    He apologized and waved his hand with a smile.


    The woman saw him and her face lit up. She quickly got up from where she was sitting and ran over to him with her baby in hand. The little black haired girl looked over at her mother. Axel glanced at her and unintentionally sighed in relief.


    The woman quickly grabbed his right hand with her own.


    ¡°i owe you so much! Mine and the life of my children!thank you thank you thank you thank you!!...¡±


    The woman continued to thank him and bow for a while longer. Axel felt really embarrassed and blushed.


    ¡°no you don''t have to do that. Really,..you can stop now¡­¡±


    The woman stopped but continued to hold his hand.


    ¡°I''m so glad you''re ok! You''re hurt but at least you''re in one piece! I''ve been wanting to thank you for a while now.my name is crystal by the way!¡±


    ¡°oh uh, axel ison. Nice to meet you.um, do you know why i ended up in this house instead of a hospital?¡±


    He wondered how he ended up in a house instead of a hospital.if the police arrived at the scene and took everyone in individually why would they just leave him out on the the ground? He doubted that a hospital would let some stranger take him.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The woman let go of his hand and took a step back.


    ¡°yes! That girl with two twin tails picked you up before the police arrived. I was distracted in tending to my children so i wasn''t able to stop her...i informed the police of what she did but i didn''t know who you were. The girl later found me and told me you were here but asked me to keep it a secret. So i agreed and rushed over here!!¡±


    The woman, crystal, seemed to be filled with enthusiasm. Axel relaxed a bit.


    ¡°oh right,so how is your daughter?the baby?.¡±


    ¡°oh! Thats right mckayla!come here.¡±


    She beckoned to her daughter. The girl looked over at them and slightly quivered.she hesitantly walked to her mother''s side.


    Crystal patted her head.


    ¡°my baby is fine thanks to you. And so is my little mckayla...she''s been wanting to meet her hero for a while now as well.¡±


    (Hero?....but...i¡­)


    Crystal addressed her daughter this time.


    ¡°this is him sweety. You''re hero. Axel.¡±


    The girls eyes softened as she looked at her mother. Her eyes filled with astonishment. She looked over at axel and took one hesitant step. Her mother gently pushed her back. The girl looked at her mother and crystal nodded as if saying it was okay.


    The girl took one more step toward axel and another, and another until she was finally in front of him. She looked down for a second and then looked up at him.


    Axel began to realize something deep within his heart. Something tugged at his heart and his very being rendering him unable to look away.


    (How could i¡­?)


    The girl had a smile with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°thank you¡­.thank you for saving me! For saving us!¡±


    She threw herself onto him and embraced him. His injuries burned in pain but he did not care. The emotions flowing within him were much stronger than the pain he felt. The girl continued to say thank you and sob on his shoulder.


    Crystal held her mouth and silently cried, the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms.


    (How could i abandon them?......anyone?..)


    He couldn''t just abandon people in need. How could he allow himself to do so?how could he do that? Their lives were saved because of him. It wasn''t just the power, it was him too. The little girl in his arms is going to be able to live a happy life now. He would make sure of it. For everyone. His path was clear. He did not get dragged away from his old one, he was simply shown a new one.


    He patted her head and whispered in her ear.


    ¡°no,...thank you¡±


    Part 6


    She was alone, hurt, and now hungry. Maria left Jason''s house not knowing what direction to head to now but at the same time not really caring. Her one hope had crumbled to pieces, never to return to normal. Her pain and despair was unimaginable.


    She walked with her head down and heading to one final place that all of a sudden came to her mind. The clouded sun was still up and was placed in the middle of the sky. She guessed it must''ve been noon. As such, school should still be in session.


    (Maybe, my friends will help me?...)


    Thinking that her friends would help her brought joy to her distraught heart. Perhaps she could mend her broken heart with them. They always had many different times before. Especially her best friend. They were friends since kindergarten and had always had each other''s backs. Cynthia was the name of her best girlfriend.


    Maria was still in highschool. This was her last year in it. She had good grades and followed the rules. She just didn''t go recently after she got her news. Her friends would understand her problem. At least, she hoped so.


    Her school name was Delray high. A really nice school overall. She had gone to it her entire high school years. Her dream was to graduate and become a really great wife and a doctor. She hoped that that would still come true despite things not looking so clear.


    She approached the small blue school and walked around toward the gate that had the lunch area on the other side of it. She went to an area that had a small gate opening that ¡°he¡± used to leave school from (he being jason. She refused to even think of his name at all). she slipped through and went to where her friends were usually at.


    She saw many people hanging out and eating outside the cafeteria. It was just as she guessed, it was lunch time. So, her friends would definitely be here.


    She arrived at a quiet place that was shaded by trees just outside of the school library. A nice and calm area. Under the trees was a familiar group of guys and girls. They were her friends. She could get help now!


    With a renewed spring in her step,she wiped her tears and blew her nose to make herself look presentable. She mustered the courage and was about to walk toward them but, she heard them talking and couldn''t help but wonder what they were talking about. So she hid by the side of the library and listened in.


    A large blonde guy spoke to the crowd. Conveniently it was the start of a conversation.


    ¡°hey have you heard about what happened to maria?¡±


    Her brown haired friend replied.


    ¡°i heard she got kicked out of her house..and apparently she got her ass handed to her...by jason¡±


    The crowd gasped. Simultaneously, maria also gasped. How could they''ve known? There was no possible way that anybody could''ve told them that. Unless, her parents did? But what about that incident with jason that only just happened a couple hours ago? There was no way that anyone would know that unless he deliberately told them. He had before in order to get her friends to shun her. Did he do it this time around again? Did they know about her ¡®condition¡¯!?


    No. No, surely they wouldn¡¯t because jason was determined to let no one know. And she sure as hell wasn''t keen to tell anyone anymore.


    She figured that they would at least ask if she was okay or where she was instead of asking for more information but¡­.


    ¡°I called her house so that she could help me with my work and her parents told me everything. The reason that she got kicked was because she got pregnant by that bastard jason.¡±


    (Cynthia!)


    That was her voice. Her friend would surely stand up for her!


    But¡­.


    ¡°I always knew she was a bit of whore. Having to get along with her is a hassle at times. She¡¯s been so perky ever since we were kids, but she does help a lot with my homework. Don''t tell her that though..¡± She laughed and so did the crowd.


    The blonde haired girl,cynthia, was her best friend. Or at least, she thought she was. Is this what they talked about behind her back? She held her chest.


    Was this really want they thought of her? Was this really even happening right now or were her eyes and ears playing tricks on her? Why would everything start to go down hill all at once? What was next? Would she be charged for a crime she didn¡¯t commit and executed publicly?


    One of the boys spoke loud enough to interrupt her rapid thought process.


    ¡°she always wants to be with us. She''s too much of a drama queen and is always wanting attention cause she thinks she''s miss perfect. Ha!what a joke. Now she''s pregnant?all according to plan i guess¡­¡±


    The crowd continued to laugh at her completely unaware that they were finishing off her tortured heart¡­...They continued to laugh at her¡­¡­.. Her heart broke. Her life was falling apart. Who exactly was she to them all this time? Was she just some annoying person that no one wanted to be rude enough to tell it to her face? No. did they not have the balls to?


    Reality seemed to be an illusion and she nearly fell on her knees. She should just disappear right now. She just run as far away as possible and never turn back!


    And yet, she refused to let anymore be said. She put strength into her and bursted out from where she was hiding.


    Her friends immediately stopped laughing. They turned a pale white and were at a loss for words.


    Her ¡®best friend¡¯ spoke first.


    ¡°m-maria?! Good to see you! How have yo-¡±


    ¡°is that all i am to you? Someone you can use to copy their homework? A girl that asks for attention? Well guess what?¡±


    Maria cut her now ex friend off and spoke her mind. Rage and despair filled her words. She would not allow these people to see her as a nobody. As a person asking for attention¡­


    ¡°i didn''t ask for any of this!!!¡± she yelled at them. Tears began to fill her eyes and before long they started to pour from her eyes.


    Her so called friends stood in silence.


    ¡°i never wanted attention!i just wanted to be accepted!! Accepted by people that would actually care for me! People that i could rely on no matter what! And what do i get? Nothing but a bunch of backstabbing jerks!!! Even my own family has disowned me! Because of a mistake that i committed¡­ why can¡¯t you all see that!?¡±


    She cut open her heart and poured out its contents in the form of words allowing those people to hear. She hugged herself and leaned forward as if going to throw up.


    ¡°Why is it that i have to go through all of this!?why is that i am getting made fun of because i made what every other human being could make?A FUCKING MISTAKE!!! WHY ARE YOU ALL STARING AT ME LIKE I¡¯M SOME WEIRDO THAT ONLY WANTS ATTENTION!? How dare you all look down on me because i just wanted to fit in. every single time that i woke up in the morning never did i once think ¡°Wow, i can¡¯t wait to annoy my friends today!¡± never did i once think that any of you would be stepping stones to popularity. Never! So why do you all seem to think that!? Why did you all fake so many things to me!? Why did you lead me to believe that you were all my friends when in reality you were all holding my strings to play me like a fucking blind puppet!! Why did you all let me blindly fall in love with jason when you all had the ability to pull me away from a clear danger to my life and well being? You all saw the way he treated me and allowed me to stay with him for as long as i did. Did you think i could do it on my own? Did you think that i would open my eyes so easily on my own!? IT¡¯S NOT THAT EASY!!! I¡¯M JUST A 17 YEAR OLD GIRL. i can¡¯t do everything on my own and i don¡¯t know why everyone seems to think that i can! What kind of fucked up people are you guys that you¡¯re cruel enough to let a girl falsely believe that she had friends to hold onto when really she was holding onto the rope around her neck!! You guys think you¡¯re better than me? You think i¡¯m some annoying girl that just wants to sleep with every guy she lays her eyes on? You think I see myself as miss perfect? WELL FUCK YOU!!! I DIDN¡¯T ASK TO BE THE TOWN SLUT AND I SURE AS HELL DIDN¡¯T ASK TO BE SURROUNDED BY A GROUP OF FUCKING ASSHOLES!!!! You guys are that insecure that you need to pick on me to make yourselves feel better!? Grab your standards and shove them down your throats you hypocrites!!!!! You¡¯re all so sure about me wanting attention and me being a drama queen yet you guys are the ones that are acting like a bunch of immature brats! As if life will always be a straight road for you! What are you gonna do when your life starts to hit the fan and everyone you know walks out on you!?? How will you all handle that!?How would you all feel!? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE LOST EVERYTHING!??!!!!¡±


    She poured out her soul like she had never done before. She yelled at the top of her lungs through sobs and fell to her knees. By this point,Many of the kids gathered to see what the commotion was about. Their whispers tortured her. As if each and every one were rubbing against her with cold, jagged knives.


    The group of kids that were her ex friends looked to be ashamed all at once. They traded looks and were unable to muster a single word. One tried approaching her but maria jumped back.


    ¡°leave me alone. You, every single one of you¡­..I HATE ALL OF YOU¡­..¡±


    Her voice shaked and more tears flowed out from her eyes. She gave them one look that will forever haunt their minds. An expression of sadness mixed with pure and utter hatred. One of which they had never seen before and probably never will.


    As if symbolizing her pain, it began to snow. A light amount of snow.


    She turned back and ran from where she came from at full speed until she was far from the school, And she did not stop there, she continued to run as if hoping to eventually reach the end of the world so she could jump off. She ran and ran until she couldn''t no more¡­.


    (There¡­.is no one¡­..i hate everyone!!!!!!)


    She yelled this inside her heart, knowing full well that she at least wanted someone. Her savior that could hold the final piece to her nearly shattered heart¡­.


    Part 7


    After having a nice chat with crystal and her daughter, axel was now walking down town. He finally started to regain feeling in his legs and he was able to move with the help of some crutches. According to ella, his body would begin to heal faster thanks to help of power magnet itself. Apparently, his body was shifting into that of a superhuman.


    He wasn''t really looking forward to it but it was really useful and handy thus far.


    Even crystal took notice on his remarkable healing ability. Speaking of which,


    (I didn''t think she would want to stay in contact¡­)


    Crystal insisted that they exchange telephone numbers in order to keep in touch. Axel didn''t expect that though. He could understand being grateful and what not but usually people just go their separate ways¡­¡­...right?... She had also whispered to him something that caught him off guard. She said


    ¡°don''t worry, I''ll keep your little farting trick a secret!¡±


    Axel tried to let her know that that wasn''t the case and explain to her what really happened but she stared at him with a blank expression. So, he just changed the subject.


    Now, since ella was nowhere to be found, he was walking home in his torn clothes. His legs felt the chill of winter''s air. To make things worse, it was snowing.


    He continued walking until he reached a park. He figured he could take a shortcut through the park and make his way home faster. So he did..


    __________


    In truth, she just felt like laying down and dying. Maria somehow made her way to a park in some neighborhood. She was out of breath, tired, hungry, and totally broken.


    She sat on a park bench and began to wonder what to do. Memories of today filled her mind. when she got hit by jason, and when she saw her so called friends true colors. She immediately felt dizzy and she held her head in her hands.


    (Why?..)


    She sat on a bench and tried to control herself but it just wasn¡¯t possible at this point. So many emotions were running through her that she just felt like ripping out her own hair.


    Just as she was about to let out another sob, she felt someone lightly sit on the bench behind the one she was sitting on. She heard the sound of crutches being placed down.


    She did not turn back to see the person. Whoever he was she was too busy wanting to die to care. She just continued to look down. Her throat felt like it was tied in multiple knots and her head was aching terribly. Again, as she was about to start sobbing, she was interrupted.


    ¡°I can tell you''re going through a hard time.¡±


    A boy''s voice cut off her thoughts.


    ¡°......¡±


    She just remained silent refusing to speak or trust another human being.


    ¡°I don''t know what it is. But if it helps, i can say that i relate. I don''t really know what is going on in my life. Everything just seemed to turn upside down. Why? I don''t know. And now, i don''t know what to do. Either be the good guy, or the selfish guy¡­.¡±


    Hearing the word selfish made her heart shake. She hated those who were selfish. Just as she was about to tell him that, the boy spoke again.


    ¡°but i do know one thing. The Life of a human being isn''t something to take lightly. I know that now. No matter what it takes, i will do my best and i will keep moving forward. There may be a rainstorm now but, there is always a rainbow right after. And that is what I''m waiting for. And of course, i hope that we can both see it someday happily.¡±


    She held her breath.


    For the first time in a long time, maria lightly touched her belly.


    (That''s right...how could i forget? The life of my child¡­¡­..i have to do this...for my child!)


    She was being the very thing she had begun to hate. Selfish..How could she possibly forget the life of her child? How can she take her own life knowing full well that she carried the life of another? She couldn''t do that. There was no way she could. No¡­¡­. no matter what was going on now, she had to keep on pushing forward. She had to continue living and be someone in life in order to provide the absolute best for her child! She owed him/her that.


    She came to terms with what she had to do and made up her mind. The pain of Being abandoned was great, but greater would be her determination to bring her child a happy life. She recognized that now and her heart ever so slightly lightened.


    Of course, she couldn''t of have figured this out on her own. The boy helped her! She turned to see him but, he was gone¡­


    She must''ve had her head down for a long time. But still¡­.


    (Yeah¡­..i hope we can see the rainbow one day¡­..together)


    She promised herself that and stood in the snow falling from the sky at a slow rate¡­.


    _________


    After talking to the girl he saw that seemed down, axel left the park and made his way home. He was walking down a narrow alley and he met someone unexpected along the way.


    ¡°why exactly aren''t you in school?¡± he said to the person walking beside him, inspecting his entire body.


    ¡°well i¡­...i heard about another terrorist attack...i wondered if maybe you were involved in that.. and you weren''t at school so i thought, I thought I''d look for you¡­.and i was right!!you are hurt!¡±


    A blonde beauty with her hair tied up with a red ribbon. His classmate natsumi. She had nearly tackled him while turning a corner. She must''ve been running in search for him.


    ¡° i didn''t know the project meant so much to you. Don''t worry though, I''ll get back to it now..¡±


    ¡°o-oh..yeah the project...haha¡­¡±


    ¡°Ow! Did you step on my foot?¡±


    ¡°Hm? no.¡±


    Natsumi was really after axel in general but, axel was too much of an idiot to figure that out. She guessed that he must''ve not had any experience with girls. Even so, she did not seem to mind. She at least was getting a chance to speak with him.


    (At least it''s a start¡­)


    ¡°hey? What''s the matter? Do you zone out like this often?¡±


    Hearing axel¡¯s assumption, she snapped out of her thought process.


    ¡°oh. No, i just was thinking about something¡­...hey?what in the world did happen to you?¡±


    Axel shook his shoulders at the sudden question. He didn''t want to remember anything about power magnet and its use at the moment. So he remained discreet about it.


    ¡°well, it''s a long story..¡±


    Natsumi slumped her shoulders in disappointment. Axel started to slightly sweat but hoped that she wouldn¡¯t ask too many questions. As they crossed an intersection, axel began to notice something.


    Why was it so quiet? There was not a single person or car in sight. Getting a bad feeling, axel turned to tell natsumi to pick up her pace but, a cold feeling at the pit of his stomach stopped him.


    Suddenly, ominously loud footsteps were heard from directly in front of them. Because of the snow, there was a bit of a fog surrounding the area. They could see a silhouette of a man walking slowly toward them. Axel didn''t really understand why but, he felt a great amount of fear.


    ¡®axel...do you see that?...¡¯ whispered the girl next to him. She also sounded a bit spooked.


    ¡®y-yea¡¯ he replied in a nervous tone


    ¡®let''s go the other way¡­¡¯


    He suggested they go the other way around the silhouette but, then the figure spoke to them in a a cold deep voice.


    ¡°I''ve been searching for you Magnet boy¡­... ¡°


    Axel froze where he was. He knew the man was referring to him. The new wielder of power magnet. He knew this but still foolishly hoped that man had the wrong person. He voiced his thoughts..


    ¡°y-you must have the wrong person...m-my name is axel! Not magnet¡­.¡±


    The man simply chuckled.


    ¡°ah...and now you have confirmed it for me. You are definitely the one...now, make this easy and come with me¡­.or would you prefer this get ugly?...perhaps a little blood on the ground? A corpse? That girl will do¡­.¡±


    The man spoke relentlessly. He showed no sign of joking around and axel still couldn''t see him clearly enough. His mind was racing. Who was this guy? What did he want? No, he wanted the power that was forcefully placed in him but, why?


    He suddenly felt a warm object press up against his arm. A girl. He looked and saw the blonde beauty absolutely terrified. She was shaking.


    ¡°a-axel, w-w-what is that man saying?w-what does he mean i will do?¡±


    She spoke with fear in her voice. Axel had to reassure her. In fact, he had to get her away from here as soon as possible. If a scuffle broke out now, he doubted he could do anything much less protect her.


    ¡°listen to me¡­.as soon as i say the word, you take off running in the opposite direction we''re facing and do not stop!!...¡±


    Natsumi¡¯s face paled at his request. There was only one reason he would tell her that and that would be if there was danger. Was her life really in danger!? And if it was, what could he possibly hope to do?


    ¡°wait what are you-?¡±she tried to ask but axel cut her off...


    ¡°Go!!!go go go!!!¡±


    He pushed her and yelled at her to run. Natsumi now had tears in her eyes but she soon realized what she had to do and ran. She ran as fast as she could. She ran despite wanting to stay by his side. Despite the feeling of guilt she had for leaving him so easily like the coward she was¡­.


    (I''m sorry axel¡­.i promise i will get help and come back!!!) she yelled in her mind knowing that she could do nothing now.


    Then, to his horror, the man then spoke again.


    ¡°ah¡­.this simply won''t do...boss said no witnesses¡­¡± he said in a chilling voice that sent a shiver down his spine getting ready to move.


    ¡°so¡­.¡±


    ¡°Stop it!!¡±


    He tried to stop the man but it was too late. He felt a sudden gust of wind pass by next to him that swept him off his feet and down to the ground. He heard a squeal and a noise of flesh making contact with flesh.


    ¡°kyah!¡±


    ¡°no no no...Where do you think you''re going?¡±said the man in a mocking tone.


    ¡°!!!?¡±


    Axel turned and his heart dropped. In a blinding amount of speed, the man caught up to natsumi and had grabbed a hold of her neck. He picked her up like a doll with one hand and her feet started dangling in protest.


    ¡°I don''t have to worry about you..¡±the man said speaking to axel.


    ¡°you are visibly injured and can barely move...so stay put.¡±


    He inserted more strength into his grip and natsumi let out another painful moan. She struggled but to no avail. The man was too strong.


    All the heat in his body turned ice cold. He felt himself turn pale and the cold icy grasp of fear wrapped around his heart. Cold sweat ran down his spine and tears filled his eyes.


    Axel couldn''t think clearly. He had to do something!but what?


    (My power!i have to use it!! It''s my only chance! But my legs?!!)


    He had no choice but to use his power but, not only were his legs injured, they were refusing to move!! Natsumi¡¯s face was now red because of lack of oxygen. He saw tears fill her eyes.


    He could not move. No matter what he did his body was refusing to move due to horror.


    (Move!!!!MOVE!!!!why can''t i move!!!?? Come on you stupid power!!help me!!!)


    He called out to his power but nothing was happening. He didn''t feel that surge of power like the other day. Had the power abandoned him? Had it deemed him unworthy!? Why now! Of all times! He cursed himself and his powerlessness and began to quiver in both rage and sadness.


    Natsumi¡¯s face was now purple ,her tears flowing down from her cheeks.


    (Please...someone¡­.save her!!)


    He still could not move out of fear. He could only crawl toward her but the closer he got the farther they felt.. He tried to with every fiber of his being. With all his force he continued to try and call for his power but nothing happened.


    Natsumi¡¯s face was now pale..her eyelids twitched and her legs began to stop struggling and dangle freely.


    (I¡­.can''t¡­.)


    He couldn¡¯t do it. Nothing was happening and nothing would ever happen. He was just a stupid crybaby that could never possibly be anyone¡¯s hero. No matter what he did, no matter how much power he had, he was still just a human¡­.. Natsumi and him would die here, and it will all be his fault¡­..


    And¡­.


    Just when he had lost all hope,


    A huge explosion rang out¡­


    ¡°!!?¡±


    The man was sent flying toward a nearby building causing him to crash right through it. Natsumi fell to the ground with audible thud finally free from the man¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°what??...¡± he whispered. Completely bewildered. He hadn¡¯t done anything.


    ¡°seriously¡­.do you not know how to control power magnet yet? Didn''t you use it the other day?¡±


    He heard a familiar voice. A girl''s voice.


    He looked up and saw a girl of about 13 or 14 years old. Two long jet black twin tails danced in the air as she landed in front of natsumi.


    ¡°e-ella?¡± he said calling out to his savior.


    It was the girl that he met the other day at school. He was saved by her¡­.again.


    ¡°Natsumi¡­.¡±he whispered suddenly remembering her.


    The girl was unconscious but looked okay. She was starting to turn back to her regular color but there was a mark on her neck that gave him an uncomfortable feeling...Regardless, His heart was starting to calm down. Then a cold deep voice reached his ears making his hairs stand on end.


    ¡°Damn you brat...how dare you do this to me?...¡±


    When the smoke from the crash started to clear, axel was able to get a look at the man''s face. A man with a short beard that covered his chin. He looked to be about 30 years old and had a huge scar on his left eye. His eyes were black and filled with a malice that gave axel the chills. His short dark black hair had small dust bits in it. He wore one black robe over his clothes. He could see a strange s shaped symbol on the man''s robe¡­


    ¡°leave now, i have called for reinforcements from the peacekeepers.. unless you want to die, i suggest you leave¡±


    Ella warned the man of reinforcements on their way and the man clicked his tongue.


    ¡°heh heh, no matter. At least i know the threat is no threat at all. Everything can proceed as planned¡­Jessica will have no problem taking you down....¡±


    The fog spun around the man engulfing him. Before he could not be seen at all, he set his eyes on axel and said in a cold menacing voice,


    ¡°till we meet again, magnet boy¡­¡±


    Then the fog completely engulfed him. The fog spun and then stopped. When it cleared, The man was nowhere to be seen..


    Ella relaxed her shoulders and let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°thank goodness. He actually fell for that¡­.¡±


    As it turns out, ella had no way of contacting anybody from the peacekeepers. She had been bluffing in order to scare away the enemy.


    Axel''s fear soon vanished right after ella scared him off but, his anxiety only got worse. He didn''t have time to think about that right now though.


    ¡°n-natsumi¡­.¡±


    His blonde classmate was a couple feet away from him. She was still unconscious but otherwise seemed okay. He made a big effort to grab his crutches and walk over to where she was laying.


    Seeing him try to move, ella helped him up.


    ¡°thank you...what did you do to him?¡±


    After thanking ella for the help, axel asked what it was that ella did to blow that man away. Ella shook her head.


    ¡°I''ll answer your questions later. We have to get out of here first..¡±


    ¡°oh, r-right¡­¡±


    Axel walked over to natsumi and placed his crutches on the ground. He stumbled but managed to stand on his own with a sudden burst of energy¡­.. Energy he could¡¯ve used earlier¡­..


    He lightly placed his hand on the side of her neck to check her pulse. She was definitely alive. His anxiety lowered a bit. Relief filled his conflicted heart.


    (Thank goodness¡­)


    He reached down and picked her up in a ¡®princess carry¡¯ type of way.


    ¡°mmmmm¡­..i have to¡­...do my hair..mnyah..¡±


    She peacefully muttered something about her hair. It was as if she fell asleep. Axel had no choice but to smile. Then he looked over at ella who was waiting for him. He nodded.


    ¡°All set? Okay, we are going to have to use my Ability to get out of here¡­¡±


    Ella mentioned something about using an ¡®ability¡¯ as an escape method but, he had no clue what she meant. He just listened.


    ¡°Okay, where do you live?¡±


    ¡°oh!uh¡­.about 4 blocks from here, that way.¡±


    He pointed toward the end of the alley where he was heading to.


    Ella nodded and grabbed his shoulder.


    ¡°okay, do not let go of her and bend your knees. Unless you want them to get snapped in half.¡±


    ¡°wait what?!¡±


    He did not even have time to prepare himself. Before he knew it, the area around him twisted and moved in a strange way. His stomach ached. His head felt like it was spinning. He closed his eyes. He thought he''d throw up any moment now¡­ he just held on to the girl in his arms for dear life. Then everything suddenly stopped spinning. He opened his eyes and noticed he was practically floating above the ground. Gravity caught up to him and he fell on his bottom. The weight of natsumi only made his landing harder. In contrast, Ella lightly landed next to him.


    ¡°gyah!?¡±


    ¡°sorry about that. That''s the first time I''ve used my ability without having power magnet. It feels oddly different so i sorta let go of you before we landed¡­¡±


    ¡°Sure you did¡­...huh?this is..¡±


    He let out a groan and then a questioning remark. He recognized the scenery around him. It was his neighborhood which was supposedly a couple blocks away! He wondered if they teleported.


    ¡°i know what you are probably thinking. No, we did not teleport. My ability is wind. I can control the wind as well as travel with it. It''s kinda hard to explain but we basically merged with the wind and came here...that''s my first time using it without power magnet¡­.i guess it is like teleporting though¡­.¡±


    Ella started to say a lot of things that axel didn''t really understand but he just smiled nodded. Ella looked around the neighborhood trying to find his residence.


    ¡°okay!so, where do you live exactly?¡±


    ¡°oh, um , this way..¡±


    He led the short girl toward his house. She followed him, twin tails flailing in the wind. The blonde beauty''s hair did the same.


    Midway to his house, he had a thought. What would this look like to his neighbors that had known him almost his entire life? A boy in ripped clothes holding an unconscious girl with another girl following him? What rumors would be said about him? What would he do?!


    ¡°what''s wrong with you?¡±


    Axel was close to tears and was shaking his head. Ella asked him what the problem was but, he just shook his head.


    ¡°here we are¡­.¡±


    He said with a disheartened tone.


    Ella looked at his house. A white house with a white fence surrounding it. A well kept flower garden at the front and a gate to the back yard.


    ¡°nice place you got here. How many rooms?¡±


    She told him with a cheerful smile. He quickly opened the front door to his house and beckoned for ella to get inside.


    ¡°4! Come on let''s get in before anyone sees this!!¡±


    Ella hesitantly obliged.


    ¡°what is the matter with you? Are you embarrassed that you''re bringing two girls to your house?¡±


    She told him this mockingly. Axel didn''t completely deny her words. But he couldn''t say that of course.


    ¡°This girl is unconscious!! I have a reputation to keep!¡±


    He shut the door behind him with his leg and rushed over to the couch. He gently put natsumi there.


    She laid there peacefully. It almost looked like she was sleeping, but he did not feel any better. He felt worse.


    ¡°I''m so sorry...this is all my fault¡­¡±


    He rubbed an area of her neck that was practically painted red. The mark of the man¡¯s palm was clearly visible there. He clenched his teeth in rage.


    He felt that she got hurt because of him.


    If he could just control his power, this wouldn''t of have taken place¡­... And why was he not able to? The last time, he even used it without knowing he had it. So now that he knew he had it, why couldn''t he use it? He cursed his fate and punched the side of the couch.


    ¡°She will be okay. She just needs to rest¡­.do you see now why you should take your power seriously? Things like this could be avoided. All you have to do is join us. Help us in our search for peace.¡±


    She extended her hand to him while she told him to join her. If he did, he would be able to learn to control his power. He could protect people. His friends...


    But,


    ¡°Forget it¡­.¡± he said


    ¡°what?¡±


    Ella was taken back.


    ¡° ¡®this¡¯¡± he said referring to what happened to his friend.


    ¡°¡®this¡¯ is exactly why i should not have this power! People like that man would not come after me!!or hurt my friends!! If i were to keep this power, people like that would just keep coming back. He even said it! He said we would meet again!!¡±


    He knew that if he were to keep this power, people like the man from earlier would come back for him. This power was nothing but trouble to him. An unwanted power. A true misfortune magnet. He wanted a way, no , he needed a way to get rid of it. Or hide it, no matter what it took.


    ¡°what would happen if that man happens to show up when I''m with my friends?!my family!? What would happen to them?! what would i do!?this isn''t meant for me! You need to take this thing back because i don''t want to deal with this!!¡±


    ¡°you''re wrong¡± she said to him.


    ¡°what?¡± he replied. He didn''t expect that response.


    ¡°You do wish to protect people. Deep inside your heart, you yearned for the power to help protect her when she was being attacked didn¡¯t you? When that building fell, what went through your mind? Didn¡¯t you want to save them?¡±


    Her words stabbed out at him.


    The worse part was, he couldn''t deny that remark.


    ¡°when you saved those people that night, what was the first thing that came to your mind?¡±


    He slumped down to his knees and tears began to flow to his eyes,unable to hold them back. He couldn¡¯t retort now. There was nothing he could say. He was getting more and more confused as to keep this power to fight for what he cares about, or get rid of it and hide in the shadows..


    ¡°You did not think about your own safety. You thought about power. Wishing for the power to fight.¡±


    She drew her conclusion and kneeled in front of him. She grabbed his shoulders.


    ¡°And so, you got the power. It was not by chance. It was by fate. You can do it.¡±


    She pushed him to join but axel could not think properly.


    ¡°i¡­.i can''t do it¡­¡± he uttered.


    Ella stayed where she was for a moment longer and axel avoided her piercing gaze.


    She then stood up and stepped back a couple steps.


    ¡°That man you just saw. He is apart of the main group that we fight. They are known as the Shadow Hunters. They will attack again. And i can''t guarantee your safety or anyone else''s next time. You need to make up your mind. They will not wait.¡±


    With that, ella made her way to the front door. Axel processed what he was hearing and hugged his knees.


    ¡°i want a definite answer by tonight. I have a meeting with one of my colleagues tonight so, i will wait for you after i finish meeting up with him. I''ll be at the restaurant inside of a tall building on hazard Boulevard at 11. Be there.¡±


    She had his back to him the entire time. Then she left through the front door, leaving axel alone with the unconscious girl. All he could hear was the light breathing of natsumi¡­..


    ¡°ZzZz¡­..¡±

 Chapter Four: My path, my power!!

    Part 1


    In a dark and unknown area, was a man. He sat in a chair resembling a throne and viewed recent footage of one of his men attacking a boy and a blonde haired girl. The girl was being strangled while the boy watched helplessly on the ground.


    The man grinned in pleasure.


    ¡°ho ho? And here i was breaking my head over our supposed new foe. What a joke. The boy can barely stand!...¡±


    He bowed his head in thought. There had to be a reason for the sudden change in wielder for power magnet. If this was this generation¡¯s permanent wielder, then why was he so weak? Such a pathetic candidate. Or perhaps, they were toying with him?


    It was definitely a possibility. Making the boy look like a fool just to make him look like he was weak was a pretty solid tactic to betray his eyes but, it didn''t make sense. The girl was clearly getting hurt and he knew for a fact that the peacekeepers were too soft hearted to let such a thing happen. Then, what was going on here? Was the boy really just that weak?


    (Well, we will see what the truth is soon enough¡­.)


    He turned his chair and faced the darkness. One blinking red light could be seen there. It was a button. A button on some type of a control panel. The man walked over to the button. It had letters under it. It was labeled,


    OPERATION- SONIC_INVASION1


    He took one last glance at the replaying video tape behind him and nodded.


    (You will belong to me boy..Your power, will be mine!!)


    After a short pause, he pushed the button. A confirmation sound was heard and a voice spoke through the speaker of the control panel.


    ¡°initializing sonic city invasion operation 1. Preparing model case ¡®S¡¯.....Preparing Ramoji Berserker Specimen. Codename:Jessica¡­...¡±


    The voice prepared for the invasion and paused for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°preparations made, set to release at exactly 10:30 pm tonight, location ¡®Hazard Boulevard¡¯.¡±


    A timer was shown on the screen behind him. It showed the current time. The time was now 9:37. Exactly an hour before the invasion would begin. The man smiled in a menacing way.


    He heard from his men that the old wielder of power magnet,ella, was rendezvousing with one of her colleagues in Hazard Boulevard tonight so he specifically prepared the attack coordinates to be there.


    ¡°Soon¡­.¡±he said, speaking into the darkness.


    (The crystals, the power, it will all be mine!!)


    Part 2


    Maria held her head up high while scouting the sky in a neighborhood she was in. After a talk she had with a boy, she was filled with a little bit of motivation. Even though she hadn''t said a word. She didn''t talk because she was not feeling well and also had said to herself that she hated everyone. The boy was apart of everyone. As such, she hated him.But the boy actually sensed her distraught state and gave her words of encouragement, which helped. And so, she did not seem to hate him anymore.


    (....i hope a rainbow does show up soon..)


    She thought this to herself..the mystery boy had promised her that they would both be able to see the rainbow one day.


    She remembered his words.


    ¡°there is always a rainbow after a storm¡­¡±


    He said something like that.


    Who knew such a simple phrase could impact her in such a way? What a coincidence. Everything was going so bad for her and just when she was about ready to drop dead this boy basically comes over and gives her a tap on the shoulder and says, it''s not over yet, so chin up and keep going! How gallant! It was enough to make her destroyed heart quiver in joy! Where did he come from? And just what was his circumstances that he was feeling like maria?


    (What if?....)


    She then began thinking to herself a little bit. She was in a terribly negative space at the park. She had lost everything. She had no one. Nothing but her unborn child¡­. How did that boy just happen to be there? How did he happen to know how she felt? And why did he help her even after she didn''t answer?


    There was one possibility that came to her mind.


    (An...angel? God?....)


    An angel from God. That is what she could come up with. An angel sent from God to help her. To help her keep going. She admitted that it didn''t quite help her out a whole lot but, telling herself that she had ¡®someone¡¯ looking out for her made her feel slightly better. If she recalled, God made people cross paths for a reason!


    So, she gave herself a destination. To go pray to God at a nearby church. She had to thank him for this blessing. She had so much to ask him for and so much to promise. Yes, this would be the way she¡¯d pull through!


    She stopped at the corner of the road and looked up at the signs that labeled each street by name. She was on Rosemary Boulevard. She knew there was a church on the other road in front of her. Her mother had taken her there when she was small. So she walked over to that road to get where she wanted to go.


    The sign that said the street name she was on read, ¡®Hazard Boulevard¡¯.


    _______


    9:50 pm..


    _______


    Axel did not know how he could''ve let this happen.


    ¡°.........¡±


    ¡°.........¡±


    ¡°..........¡±


    He was in his house living room sitting on the couch with two girls staring each other down to the death.


    One was a blonde beauty, long golden hair tied up with a red ribbon. Her chocolate brown eyes matched the brown boots she had on. Her skin looked to be carefully taken care of and her body was one that would leave anyone in awe.


    She was Natsumi.


    The other girl was a short tempered brown haired girl. Her hair was curled from the bottom edges and she also had chocolate brown eyes. Her skin was a perfect pale tan and her body was developing as was supposed to at her age.


    She was Casey.


    These two had met unexpectedly at axel''s house. About half an hour ago, natsumi had finally woken up and axel was trying to see if she had any severe injuries he may have overlooked. So, he helped her up to inspect her. That is when everything went wrong. She couldn''t fully get up on her own so axel gave her a hand and pulled her waist. As he was doing that, casey burst right through the door saying:


    ¡°axel?!are you alright!?!why haven''t you answered yo-...¡±


    She walked in and saw axel practically hugging natsumi. He was obviously trying to help her up. Well, at least it was obvious for him. For anyone else, it looked like he was dancing with her while really close together. He was holding one of her hands and the other held her waist.


    That led up to this. A very uncomfortable situation indeed.


    Casey was the first to speak after what seemed like forever.


    ¡°sooo, axel, who exactly is this?¡±


    She talked directly to axel while still holding her gaze at natsumi.


    ¡°i already told you, this is my friend from school,natsumi. We''re working on a project together.¡±


    ¡°For dance class?!!!¡± she yelled out in anger.


    Natsumi finally said something.


    ¡°axel, who exactly is this?¡±


    ¡°like i already said, she is one of my childhood friend''s. Her name is casey.¡±


    The two groaned in anger and continued to stare each other down.


    Axel truly did not understand why they were like this. Sweat started to roll down his forehead.


    (Do they hate each other or something?)


    They hadn''t met each other before so, why were these girls ready to pounce at each other? The tension between the two girls was too much for him. He scratched his head furiously and stood up.


    ¡°gah! I can''t handle this. I have to use the restroom..¡±


    The two girls paid him no heed.


    In truth, axel was really going to sneak out to meet up with ella. Above all else, he did not want anyone mixed up with his issues ever again. The image of natsumi getting strangled shook his heart. He felt like vomiting. He never wanted to experience something like that ever again.


    So,he grabbed his sweater and prepared to jump out his bedroom window. He had changed earlier in the day while Natsumi was out cold. The time was 10 pm. Hazard Boulevard was about 4 blocks away. He had plenty of time to get there but, going early wouldn''t hurt.


    He opened his bedroom window and jumped out.


    (I have an answer this time¡­¡­)


    He sat and thought for a long time during the day. He thought of what to do with his power. Ignore it or Control it? He did not want anything to do with this power but, people would still come after him for it. And there was no guarantee he could protect those he cared about! If he ignored this power, he would do his absolute best to try and get rid of it. If he controlled it, he would be pledging allegiance to some unknown clan.


    Somehow, he felt that deep down inside he already decided what to do. As such, he would-


    ¡°uff?!sorry about that..¡±


    ¡°gah?¡±


    His train of thought was cut off when he bumped into someone while turning a corner. A girl.


    ¡°No that''s ok. It was more my fault. Excuse me¡­¡±


    A girl who was about probably 18. Long jet black hair, and gleaming red eyes. She had rosy pink lips and seemingly perfectly curled natural eye lashes. She wore typical winter clothing and her body was also one that would get even a model jealous of. For some reason, she had a name tag on her shirt. It was barely visible because of her jacket covering it. He could still make out what it said if he looked closely enough¡­¡­


    But he stopped what he was doing as soon as he saw the girl dizzily sway and begin to fall. He extended his arms and tried to catch her but the girl swiftly jumped back and leaned against the wall gasping for air and sweating profusely. It wasn''t a long jump perse, it was more like frantic steps backwards. She seemed extremely exhausted for some reason.


    ¡°Hey? What''s the matter?¡±


    It was only then that the bags under her eyes were clear as daylight.


    ¡°I¡­...I''m sorry¡­.I-i just haven¡¯t slept in a while that''s all¡­¡±


    Was it just him, or did this situation seem a bit suspicious? Well, it may just be that he''s a tad on edge due to fear of the so called shadowhunters. At this point he was paranoid about everything.


    Although¡­.


    ¡°Wait here for a sec, okay?¡±


    Saying so, axel took off running behind her. The girl was momentarily shaken and did not know how to respond. Nonetheless, she waited just to see what the boy was plotting.


    After about 5 minutes or so, he returned with a bag. From it, he pulled out a water bottle and handed it to her.


    ¡°You¡¯re giving that to me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Well, yeah. You look like you¡¯re about to pass out so i figured you were dehydrated. Go on, take it.Free of charge of course¡±


    The girl eyed the water bottle suspiciously but took it anyway. After another moment''s hesitation, she opened it and drank it.


    ¡°So, where are you heading?¡±


    ¡°I have to meet up with someone today. I don¡¯t really want to but unless i want to live in the streets i don¡¯t really have a choice.¡±


    Axel placed his arms on his head, and sighed.


    ¡°I hear ya. Living in the streets is especially hard what with all the attacks from the shadow hunters and what not.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started on them. God, i hate them so much¡­¡± she said wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket.


    Axel narrowed his eyes and leaned his head back.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say?....¡±


    A couple of seconds later, the girl adjusted her jacket and tossed the now empty water bottle at him. Axel caught it and looked up at her with some confusion.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to have caused you some trouble but i really do appreciate it. I have to go now but i hope you make it through the night okay. farewell¡±


    She apologized and excused herself. She seemed sort of jumpy and nervous to him and her skin looked like it wasn''t used to the cold since it was turning red. After saying those interesting choice of words, she walked away rather quickly.


    ¡°ok then?¡­¡± he said looking back at the girl walking away.


    (Glad i didn''t shake hands with that one¡­)


    He laughed to himself and kept on moving forward. It wouldn''t be long now. His destination was just up ahead.


    But before that, there was something he had to do. He looked off to the side and focused on a small baking factory. He had to make it quick but he just had to be there. He was getting a very bad feeling in the very depths of his stomach¡­.


    _____


    10:22 pm


    _____


    Ella was at a restaurant inside a tall building. She was talking with one of her colleagues while they ate dinner.


    Ella was dressed in a emerald green dress that reached her knees. It had frills from her waist down. Her back was exposed except for a couple straps that crossed her back. She had her usual twin tail hair style.


    Her partner was a blonde man who appeared to be about 18 years old. He had a tuxedo on. He had crystal like blue eyes and a serious facial expression. He always seemed serious to ella. Joking with him never turned out well. His name was Andrew Clayton.


    Currently, they were at a fancy restaurant inside a tall building on Hazard Boulevard. From someone else''s point of view it looked like they were having a nice casual dinner but that was not the case. They were in the middle of discussing very important issues and a certain young boy.


    ¡°so, is that how it is? Power Magnet has found a worthy wielder,and this boy is barely old enough to even go out by himself?Plus he''s already been targeted and seen not able to use his power? This is a problem indeed¡­.¡±


    Andrew took a drink from his glass and set it down. Ella nodded. Then she spoke up,


    ¡°he used it once but he doesn''t know how to do it again. Not only that but it almost tore his entire body apart. But it seems that Power Magnet has adjusted to his body somewhat, or is at least starting to. He''s healing faster than a regular human being so that¡¯s progress already¡­¡±


    Andrew bowed his head in thought.


    ¡°well, have you told him what he has been committed to?¡±


    ¡°I gave him the gist of the situation. Although, he doesn''t want to join us. One of his friends was hurt when a shadow hunter attacked. That had a great negative effect on him. It may be hard to convince him but, I told him to meet me somewhere here tonight to give me a definite answer.¡±


    Andrew looked up and took another drink from his glass of water.


    ¡°I see¡­..and what will you do if he does not comply?¡±


    Ella shook her head while eating her salad.


    ¡°Let''s hope it doesn''t come to that¡­¡±


    The boy, axel, was so far a tough nut to crack. Regardless, the boy really didn¡¯t have a choice in the matter. Whether he wanted or not, he had a duty to join the peacekeepers. It has been that way for generations and nothing would change that now.


    ¡°What¡¯s he even like? I assume he is at least as courageous as all the other past power magnet wielders?¡±


    Ella nearly spat out her food in laughter. Andrew knitted his eyebrows clearly confused as to whether or not he had said something funny.


    ¡°Him?Brave? He¡¯s a scaredy cat! He¡¯s a crybaby half the time and is clearly an introvert. He¡¯s not outgoing at all and lacks physical strength. Not to mention that he looks so casual. He just doesn¡¯t stand out!¡±


    ¡°Are you serious? You must be joking! You said he was an Ison right? Surely you must have him confused with someone else.¡±


    Andrew voiced his doubts while ella quickly grabbed and fiddled with her phone.


    ¡°Take a look at this!¡±


    Andrew closed in on the screen of the phone ella handed to him and felt his jaw drop slightly. What was displayed on the phone was a picture of a frail looking boy passed out with tears running down his face and covered in bandages.


    ¡°That¡¯s him?!¡±


    ¡°Yup! I took that once i was done wrapping him in bandages. He was sleep crying the entire time due to the pain. I couldn¡¯t stop laughing. He just seemed so innocent and cute!¡±


    The two laughed and leaned back on their chairs. They just could not believe that this boy was chosen by one of the most special abilities in the world. In truth, she had to fight herself really hard to not agree with all of the arguments the boy had made on why he didn¡¯t want to join them. In reality, she couldn¡¯t agree more! But she could never actually say that. She had a job to do and she had to follow it through to the end...


    She glanced at the clock on the wall while stretching her arms. The time read, 10:30 pm.


    From the reflection of the clock, she suddenly saw some strange movement. It looked like¡­.a snake? A moment later, she heard andrew yell,


    ¡°Look out!!!¡±


    He grabbed her and threw her on the ground. A loud crash rang out and she heard the sound of glass breaking as the floor shook and people yelled.


    ¡°Ouch......what the hell was that?!..¡±


    Dust floated around the area. She looked up from where she was at. The sight left her stunned.


    ¡°oh no¡­.¡±


    The building had been attacked from the side. A huge hole could be seen giving them a clear view of the outside world and letting in the cold frosty air. She heard the screams of many people that were inside the building frantically panicking. They were running toward the exit. Problem was that they were on the 10th floor on a building 50 stories tall! And the elevator had been taken out. Their only means of escape were the stairs which was being crowded by people from that entire floor.


    (If another attack hits us we''ll be goners!!)


    She looked around for her partner and saw him looking around for people that may have been injured. He was currently helping a woman and her daughter. The woman was holding a baby in her hands.


    ¡°Let''s go mckayla!we have to go!!¡±


    She saw the woman take off toward the stairs.


    A moment later, a huge roar was heard.It sounded sort of metallic like. The sound of gears moving resounded through the entire area and it sounded like people miles away could hear it. She jumped up and lifted her guard.


    ¡°groooooooaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!¡±


    What she saw next was enough to make anyone shake in fear. A huge metallic looking snake roared while crashing into nearby buildings. It looked to be the size of 5 football fields. The craziest part was that it was floating!! It let out another roar before its red metal eyes made contact with Ella''s. It then slithered toward her, taking buildings along with it.


    Anybody else would run. Nobody would blame them. But not ella. No. She was born to do this.


    She looked at andrew and they both nodded at each other. This was the reason they joined the peace keepers.


    ¡°What do we have here?¡± said a cold menacing voice that seemed to blurt out all other noises.


    Ella and Andrew looked up at a nearby building. A single man stood there. He had a black robe on and a huge scar on his left eye. A strange ¡°s¡± shaped symbol was on his robe.


    ¡°you!¡±ella yelled in fury.


    It was the man that attacked axel and his friend. Ella had defended axel from this man and the thought of the man strangling the innocent girl was enough to make her blood boil.


    The man grinned wickedly.


    ¡°So we meet again!? I think the time has come to lay waste to this town and it''s people. We no longer have any need for you. Just the boy...will you hand him over peacefully? Or will i have to get my gloves dirty?...¡±


    His voice rang out to them. Even from how far he was, they were still able to hear him loud and clear.


    ¡°Hm?¡± the man looked down on them. The two were on their guard on not moving. They were extremely tense and ready to pounce at any moment. Given the situation, it was reasonable.


    ¡°what''s the matter? Ah, i see...is it this thing behind me? Here, let me get that for you.¡±


    The huge metallic snake was still going after them but it immediately stopped as soon as the man lifted his hand.


    It just stood there. Waiting to rip apart ella and andrew as soon as it got the chance.


    They still could not relax. They knew that this man was dangerous. Far too dangerous and he threatened to wipe out the city. Something which they could not allow.


    ¡°So, the boy?¡±


    Andrew was the one to respond.


    ¡°Drop dead.¡± he said with a serious expression.


    The man lost his grin. It quickly turned into a frown.


    ¡°Very well¡­..have it your way¡­¡±


    The man lifted his arm once more and brought it down like a karate chop.


    ¡°Go!!¡± he yelled.


    The metallic snake let out another mighty roar and charged at them.


    Andrew yelled at ella and pointed at the snake.


    ¡°The snake!!¡±


    He only said two words but ella understood it all.


    And so she nodded. They both ran forward and jumped out of the hole of the building.


    (Why do these things happen while i have heels on? And my poor dress¡­.)


    She cursed her luck and charged forward.


    She extended her arm out and did what no human could, she channeled her energy through her arms and focused on her hands. the wind around her started to move fast and gathered on the palm of her hand. A pale yellow glow emanated from there and a sword took shape.


    She lifted it high over her head and prepared to bring it down at her very large and intimidating enemy.


    ¡°haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!¡±


    Andrew jumped farther than any regular human being. He lifted his hand and water started to come seemingly out of thin air. It gathered in his hand and a pale blue glow emanated from there and a sword also took shape just like ella had done.


    He pointed it downward and prepared to swing it at the man in a black robe.


    ¡°haaaaargh!!¡±


    The man spread out his arms as if welcoming him.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°come¡± he said grinning menacingly.


    Two clashes rang out throughout the city.


    Part 3


    The first move went to ella. The first thing she did was simple. She swung her sword down. Any regular blade would''ve done nothing against this metallic beast but Ella''s blade was no ordinary blade. When she swung it down, a huge powerful gust of wind was directed toward the giant snake.


    The wind clashed with the snake and the snake''s head was blown back. It let out a roar. It swung its huge tail sideways toward ella.


    Ella used the wind to maneuver in the air so she flew right above the snake''s tail, barely missing it.


    (That was close¡­) She thought.


    The snake coiled around and lunged at ella once more. She controlled the wind under her feet and flew above her target.


    ¡°hiiyaaaaah!!¡±


    She swung her sword down again and another powerful gust of wind attacked the beast. The beast crashed down with a roar and a loud bang but it did not stop.


    (I have to finish this quickly! The city and the people are in danger!!)


    All the way down she could see the tiny figures that belonged to people scurrying away. She felt so guilty not being able to lead them to safety. However, she had to take out the one that was threatening their well being.


    Swoosh


    She heard a swoosh. She was too distracted. By The time she realized what it was it was too late.


    (Damn!!!)


    She turned and instinctively brought up her sword to protect herself but, it hardly helped. A giant tailwhip hit her and she crashed into a nearby building. The snake had used its metal tail to land a hit and it worked perfectly


    _____


    (Damn it!ella!?)


    Andrew heard the smack and looked over to see ella crashing into a building. The snake roared in triumph.


    ¡°Now isn''t the time to be letting your guard down!!¡± the man yelled.


    He lunged at andrew and brought his fist down to hit his chest. Andrew parried the blow with the hilt of his blade and moved back.


    ¡°your friend turned out to be a disappointment. I thought she had a little more in her than that.¡±


    ¡°she will be okay!¡± he said to the man but really reassuring himself.


    The man let out a chuckle.


    ¡°you keep telling yourself that!!¡±


    The man ran to him once more. Andrew lifted his sword to defend himself. Water spurted out of the edges. He manipulated it and directed it to the man. The water spread out and prepared to engulf the man.


    (He hasn''t used an ability yet.. i have to figure out what it is!)


    He could see the man through the water. The man''s expression remained unchanged. He lifted his hand and touched the water with his palm. Steam came pouring out fast!


    The entire batch of water evaporated with a sizzle in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°what?!¡± he said in shock. He lifted his blade to protect himself once more while jumping back to gain some distance.


    (He''s going for my head!)


    He thought that as he saw the man''s fist directed at his face, But that did not happen. Instead he was kicked right in his stomach, knocking the air out of him. He fell to the ground and immediately tried to stand but failed. A foot landed hard on his chest.


    ¡°bagfh!!??¡±


    The man stared at him with cold eyes.


    He grinned wickedly.


    ¡°That all you''ve got?you''re not even worth finishing off...I''ll leave you to that.¡±


    He pointed outside. Andrew turned and his heart began to beat fast. The snake set his eyes on him and slithered toward him with a hiss and a roar.


    ¡°baaaaahahahahahahahah!!!!!¡± the crazed man laughed.


    (Shit!shit!shit!) Andrew''s mind raced. He tried to wriggle out from under the man''s foot but it felt like he was under a hydraulic press with the constant pressure that was being added onto him. With the beast mere seconds away, andrew shut his eyes and prepared for the worst.


    Swoosh


    Andrew heard another swoosh and felt a powerful gust swoop him as the pressure on his chest was suddenly lifted. He snapped his eyes open.


    Andrew heard a crash and saw that the man was launched away to crash into the next building by a powerful force.


    ¡°that feel familiar?!!¡± a girl yelled.


    Someone landed in front of him elegantly. A girl in a emerald green dress,Twin tails flailing in the wind.


    ¡°Ella? You''re okay?¡±


    The girl did not turn to face him but, she nodded. She was bloody and her dress was a little torn.


    ¡°it''ll take a lot more than that to take me down!¡±


    She spun and lifted her hand that held her sword and muttered something.


    ¡°Can¡¯t go dying yet¡­¡±


    As she spoke, her sword shifted and transformed. It formed into the shape of a bow. She pulled the bow string back and a arrow made of wind formed between her fingers.


    Only then did he remember the large threat behind him. He turned to see the snake hiss and speed up toward them.


    ¡°wait ella! Your wind had no effect before! Get away from here!! You''ll be crushed!!¡±


    He saw earlier that her wind attacks only barely managed to slow down the metallic beast. It would be no different now. Just what could she possibly hope to accomplish? She had to get away to live to fight another day!


    But,


    ¡°just you wait¡­¡± she said trying to kill his doubts. Andrew, turned to see the snake while already saying his prayers.


    The snake came closer and closer, it opened its giant mouth and,...


    ¡°Now!!¡± she yelled


    She let go of the arrow and it launched forward with a tremendous amount of wind sweeping up the entire area. It even blew ella back a little bit along with andrew. The arrow entered the snake''s mouth and blew it apart from the inside. The huge snake let out one last roar before completely disintegrating into the air. They watched as the powerful arrow completely wiped out the monster and send its remains toward the heavens.


    Andrew was stunned.


    ¡°when did you learn to do that?!¡± he asked her completely flabbergasted.


    Ella merely smiled.


    ¡°A girl never tells her secrets¡±she said mockingly.


    ¡°very well done¡­¡± said a cold voice.


    Andrew stood up and faced toward the sound of the voice with renewed seriousness. Ella and him got on guard. They had a better chance now. With that beast gone they could fight at ease knowing that the city was no longer in grave danger.


    The only danger was now in front of them. He had a couple scratches but nothing too serious. All except for that scar.


    ¡°i bet you think you have the advantage now? But what makes you think i only brought one S model?¡±


    The man lifted both his hands and a multiple crashes simultaneously rang out. Many roars reached their now pale ears.


    Ella and Andrew''s faces visibly paled. They barely managed to take apart one of the metallic snakes. How would they do against many?


    Ella looked behind her. She tensed up. She saw at least 20 of those huge metallic beasts. Her body shook but her will did not waiver. Andrew and her placed themselves back to back. Ella facing the droids,andrew the man.


    He whispered to her.


    ¡°i would call for reinforcements but, i didn''t bring anything to do that with!! I never imagined this would happen. I''m such a fool!!...¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°don''t worry, you''re not the only one who has no way of contacting HQ¡­¡±


    ¡°it was nice knowing you..¡± he said sarcastically.


    ¡°shut up¡± she said.


    Then, in one fluid motion, They moved out in opposite directions.


    ¡°hm?¡± the man wasn''t expecting this one.


    This time ella turned and charged at the man and andrew charged at the many metallic snake''s.


    ¡°haha¡­¡± he laughed.


    ¡°i don''t believe we properly introduced ourselves. I am Ryan the 6th. It''s a pleasure¡­¡± he grinned wickedly and raised his arm.


    ¡°and i don''t care!¡± she yelled while manifesting her blade once more.


    Part 4


    Maria had no idea what was going on. She was inside the church when all of a sudden, she heard a loud crash. It came from the building next to the church.


    She ran out and saw a huge metallic like snake. It crashed from building to building. Debris fell from the sky and hit the church she was in just a few moments ago. It took major damage.


    So, she ran as every other person around her had done. Things only got stranger and worse from there. She saw that the huge snake had been blown apart by some strange force. She was relieved but bewildered. Just what was going on? But then,


    ¡°Roooooooooaaaaaaar!!!!¡±


    She heard multiple roars. She turned and saw multiple metallic like snakes closing in very fast. Her heart dropped and cold sweat flowed down her cheeks. She tried to run in the opposite direction but was stopped by falling debris.


    (Am i going to die here?...) she thought helplessly.


    The debris blocked her path. The many snakes lined up next to each other and flew right over her. Just when she thought they would overlook her, One caught sight of her and lunged out at her.


    (Someone¡­..)


    She called out for someone deep within her mind. She held her belly. She could not afford to die here. Not yet.


    Tears filled her eyes.


    (Someone please!!!help me!!!!) she yelled deep within her mind not able to scream out loud due to fear.


    ____


    Andrew fought off the snake''s with his water but he was barely keeping up. He caught sight of a girl in a white dress. She was cornered and a snake was heading toward her!


    ¡°No!!!¡± he yelled.


    He tried to run after her but 3 snakes stood in his way and stopped him.


    His mind raced. He could not make it in time!!


    (I''m sorry¡­.) He thought.


    _____


    Ella was fighting off Ryan as hard as she could. She heard andrew yell something. From the corner of her eye, she saw him fighting off 3 snakes. She focused on his eyes and traced back to what he was so worried about.


    A girl in a white dress,


    A huge snake heading toward her,


    (Oh crap!) She thought.


    She also tried to run after her but the man named ryan stopped her by swinging his steaming fist at her and standing in front of her.


    ¡°What''s the matter? Didn''t you already guess that there would be casualties?...let''s watch her die together¡­.hahahaha!!¡±


    He laughed wickedly as he mocked her.


    Cold sweat flowed down her neck. This time, she truly felt powerless¡­


    (I''m sorry¡­.) She thought.


    A moment later, there was a loud bang¡­.


    _____


    Maria had shut her eyes, tears going down her cheeks. She had finally come to terms with her fate.


    The faces of her family came to her mind, her friends¡­


    (In the end¡­..i was all alone¡­..) she thought.


    Swoosh


    She felt a strong gust of wind come over her.


    What seemed strange to her was that the gust of wind came from the opposite side the snake was coming from. She heard a loud bang.


    She opened her eyes and what she saw will forever be ingrained into her memory. Never will she forget this very moment.


    (Who-?......)


    _______


    Turning back to a couple minutes ago, axel was walking toward Hazard Boulevard peacefully when all of a sudden he saw a huge metallic looking snake come out of the sky. It headed toward Hazard Boulevard!


    He didn''t know what he could do but, he ran after that snake. He had no time to think. His entire being told him to run away but he just could not. He couldn''t bring himself to do that.


    Before he knew it, he was in the middle of the chaos.


    ¡°woah!! Cool!!¡± he said practically taking a seat and admiring the chaotic battle taking place before his eyes.


    He thought that maybe,they didn''t need his help at all. He opened and closed his right hand. They seemed to be doing fine on their own. Besides, this battle was not his to fight. What he should be doing is looking around for anyone that might need help escaping. Perhaps his earlier preparations would be useless after all¡­.


    Then he heard multiple roars and the sound of many buildings being crashed into.


    He turned and to his utter fear he saw many metallic snake''s heading their way!! His blood froze and his jaw dropped. The hair¡¯s on his neck stood on end as his legs began to quiver and fail him.


    (Oh crap!!) He thought.


    Before he could think of anything else, his legs suddenly bursted forward in a sprint toward the snake''s. Honestly, he had no idea what he would do. He didn¡¯t know what he could do. And yet, against his very will, he charged forward. He knew there were people here. So many innocent people...and he could not afford to just sit around...


    (Come on you stupid power!! Work damn it!!)


    He tried to summon his power but to no avail. No matter what he did it would just not appear. When he needed it most, it would not work. Why? Why did he have it if it was just going to be useless!


    He ran and ran with no plan in mind. Finally, after a long internal battle, he overruled his legs and turned heel with all his might and tears flying it like raindrops. He decided it was best to let ella and the other guy handle it. Maybe her friends would get here soon? The peace helpers or whatever?


    Like this, he would just get in the way. His legs had healed enough for him to run but he still felt a stinging pain underneath his legs bandages. He saw many people running away from the snake''s. He turned a corner and prepared to run with them. His fear and anxiety reached its peak. He could not do it. Just what was he thinking this entire time? Did he honestly think he could make a difference? He was only playing himself! He had to run! He had to get away! No way would he die here!


    But,


    ¡°No!¡±


    He heard someone yell with clear and audible distraught. 3 snakes passed right over him with a powerful swirl of wind that rustled his clothes and blew him flat on his back.


    ¡°!!?¡±


    He looked up and then back down. He saw... a girl? She looked familiar. She had a white dress on and she was kneeling while holding her stomach. She was crying.


    He heard another roar. He turned wide eyed to see a snake with its sights on her.


    Time seemed to stop. Only now did he first experience such a sensation. Such a rush that foze his entire being.


    A single tear dropped from the girl''s face. It slowly fell. He heard a quiet sob. He didn''t know how or why but, he heard something. Someone¡­. As if his consciousness had extended out toward the farthest reaches in search of a cry¡­ a voice...


    (Help!¡­..) the voice said.


    Immediately after, he also heard the voice of ella in his head.


    ¡°will you use your power to help protect those who get hurt by others or watch helplessly from the sidelines?¡±


    The snake slowly got closer..


    He didn''t want anyone to get hurt. But what could he do?.... He could never do anything like he was now.


    The tear almost reached the ground.


    An image flashed in his mind. A girl, surrounded by men. Her entire face filled with tears and fear. She was beaten, exhausted, and terrified. She sobbed and cried out for help. A burning sensation filled his entire being. A sensation all too familiar. The feeling of rage..


    And in the next moment, it reached its limits.


    He bursted out in a sprint without thinking.


    (No way!!!!) He thought.


    A familiar sensation filled his chest and his body. He felt a burning feeling fill his legs once more.


    Sparks emanated from them and he dashed faster than the speed of sound to stand in front of the girl. To protect her¡­


    (I don''t want to blindly follow the orders of some group who doesn¡¯t even take the safety of others serious!!!) He thought remembering Ella''s words to him.


    ¡°...you yearn for the power to help protect those who get hurt by others¡­¡±


    He inserted strength into his legs. It felt like he put in more strength than he could and a loud bang rang out. The bandages on his legs ripped right off. He felt a massive amount of pain but he did not care. He launched straight at the snake that threatened that girl¡¯s life.


    (I want to protect everyone with my own power!! And i refuse to let you control me!!!)


    He raised his fist and cocked it back.


    ¡°I have your answer!!!¡± he yelled to the world.


    He felt the wind smack against his face. He inserted strength into his right arm. Again, more than he could. The few bandages that were on his arm also ripped right off.


    He winced. He felt another great amount of strain get put on his arm but he ignored it.


    ¡°I choose to save people with my own power!! By my own will!!. Not by your commands!!!¡±


    The snake roared and accepted the boy¡¯s challenge. Axel swung his fist forward. Any regular human being would''ve been crushed but axel was no longer a regular human being.


    A loud bang rang out followed by a powerful burst of energy. His punch completely destroyed the snake. The wind pressure was so immense that it tore right through 6 more snakes that were directly behind the first one.


    Multiple explosions occurred. The wind was so powerful that it was enough to make anyone pass out due to not being able to breathe correctly. When the explosions finally stopped, a silence came over the entire city. The wind pressure he sent out spun the clouds themselves. After a couple moments, they sky darkened and it began to slowly rain.


    ¡°I¡­..did it?...¡± he said breathing heavily.


    He looked at his arm that was still extended outward.


    He couldn''t feel it. He felt nothing at all. The worst part was that the muscles on his arm looked like they were forcibly flexed. They bulged out of his skin and his arm gave off steam with a sizzling sound.


    Also, the skin on his hand and wrist was ripped. Literally ripped. He could see hints of a thin layer of soft yellow fat and red blood that didn''t flow out completely.


    The sweater he had on was ripped from the right side of his back and beyond.


    He turned and saw his right shoulder blade. It also looked as if it was forcibly flexed. Steam also emanated from it with a sizzle.


    His legs was another story. He could barely feel them. When he did, a huge amount of pain engulfed his entire body. His sweater was almost completely torn.


    To make matters even worse. Yes, even worse. He was starting to descend. He looked down and saw the ground getting closer, and closer. It would not stop. His left arm had somehow taken damage as well. It seems it couldn''t handle him moving at supersonic speeds out of nowhere.


    He was truly unworthy of this power. He caught a glimpse of the girl in a white dress. She was totally stunned but otherwise unharmed. He felt relief engulf him that somehow soothed his pain.


    (At least i made it in time¡­)


    He shut his eyes and prepared to accept his fate. He felt his body lose all sense of weight.


    Before he landed on the ground he suddenly heard the sound of flames, But they weren''t coming from him.


    ¡°wah?¡±


    He opened his eyes and saw brilliant blazing red flames surrounding him. It somehow caught him without touching him.


    ¡°woah!! This¡­.this is totally new to me!!¡±


    ¡°Kyah!? I knew you were a freak but this is outrageous!!"


    He heard the sound of two familiar female voices. He turned and saw two girls standing there, one admiring the crimson light and the other terrified of it.


    One was Casey. She had her hands extended outward and had an amazed expression on. It looked like she made those flames appear.


    The other was Natsumi. She took cover behind a pole, being cautious of casey.


    Axel was gently placed down by the fire. Then it disappeared. The girls rushed over to him.


    ¡°Are you okay?!¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?!¡±


    They said in unison.


    ¡°Y-you guys? What are you doing here?¡± he said with one eye half closed.


    Casey spoke first.


    ¡°I felt your presence suddenly leave, so i followed you. Well, we followed you.¡±


    Natsumi spoke next.


    ¡°When we came here we saw a bunch of metallic like snakes causing a rampage and we tried to run away. We heard a loud bang and then we saw you all of a sudden falling from the sky and casey burst forward raising her hands up. Before i could say anything fire started pouring out of her hands!! I really don''t know what''s going on anymore¡­¡± natsumi said with a dazed expression.


    Axel looked over at casey. She was looking away while her face showed a bit of embarrassment.


    He slightly chuckled.


    ¡°axel¡­.¡± she said softly


    He smiled at her reassuringly.


    ¡°You''re not the only strange one here¡­..I to have a lot of really strange things going on. There are flying robot snakes for crying out loud!¡± he said without moving.


    ¡°you idiot¡­..¡± she muttered.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°nothing¡±


    Natsumi brought her eyebrows closer in confusion.


    ¡°axel?what happened to you?!¡± she said referring to his torn up body.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­.¡± he said.


    The next moment happened fast. They heard a roar and a loud hissing noise.


    A nearby building collapsed and a snake burst out of it. It caught sight of them and lunged at them. The girls screamed. Axel gritted his teeth. He could not move.


    His body was not responding. It was surely out for the count now.


    (Damn!) He thought.


    The snake never reached them though. It was wrapped around with a huge rope made of water and then crushed and tossed to the side. A single man landed in front of them.


    A blonde man with a serious expression. It was the guy fighting alongside ella so he knew he must¡¯ve been trustworthy.


    ¡°You must be the magnet boy. Is this really the damage your body takes after using it only once? I mean, i saw the pictures but i thought that was the extent of it...¡±


    ¡°magnet boy?what is this guy talking about axel.?¡± casey asked.


    The girls looked down at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about these pictures he¡¯s talking about ¡­¡± he said through grunts.


    The man leaped past the girls and landed in front of axel. He inspected axel.


    ¡°you''re banged up pretty bad but you weren''t totally useless. You took out a good number of them. I can heal you but just once. Try not to over do it. Tame your power¡­¡±


    He told him. He raised his hand and summoned some water. It covered his wounds. Basically his entire body. He felt a cooling sensation and the water let out a pale glow. He then started to finally regain feeling in his arms and legs. Soon he was able to move them freely.


    ¡°w-wow!! How did you do that?¡± he asked raising his arms.


    The man was sweating and breathing heavily.


    ¡°Don''t¡­¡­.ask..¡±he said.


    Before axel could ask, Another crash rang out interrupting his moment.


    ¡°they''re coming...get ready¡± the guy said taking a fighting position.


    He got up and nodded. He opened and closed his right hand. He looked over at the girls in front of them.


    ¡°get away from here.¡± he said seriously.


    ¡°wait. We can help. I can help.¡± casey said.


    ¡°look out!¡± yelled the blonde guy.


    A snake bursted out of a nearby building and debris came crashing down. Andrew grabbed the two girls and jumped away.


    ¡°you''re coming with me¡± he told them.


    They didn''t have time to respond.


    Axel turned heel. He unfortunately could not leave this person. Otherwise his earlier actions would¡¯ve been in vain.


    (Where is she?.....there!)


    He spotted her.


    Her white dress had a bunch of dirt marks and was torn a little but she was unharmed. She was still utterly confused.


    ¡°come on we got to get out of here!!¡±


    He ran and picked her up in a princess carry.


    She wrapped her arms around his neck out of instinct. What she felt was not what she expected. The boy was shaking. Really shaking in fear and yet she looked at his face and saw a determined expression.


    ¡°why?....¡±


    She whispered.


    After escaping the danger zone, axel gently placed the girl down at a nearby park bench.


    Axel turned heel and quickly started to run toward the city again.


    He heard the girl yelling for him to stop but, he didn''t have time.


    He kept on running, Back to the hell that was unleashing.


    Part 5


    Ella was still pretty shocked. She just witnessed axel take out 7 giant robot snakes in a single blow. That even left the man called ryan off guard.


    She was bloody , sweating, and tired.


    But so was her opponent.


    ¡°give it up¡­.¡± she said gasping for air.


    ¡°you''ve seen what just happened. You are no match for us.¡±


    Ryan turned and saw one large snake struggle against something. A moment later water bloated the snake up and blew it up from the inside. A silence once again fell over the city. No more giant robot snakes remained.


    ¡°it''s just down to you..¡± she said.


    The man clicked his tongue. But, he still did not seem worried.


    He grinned once more.


    ¡°i really hoped it didn''t have to come to this but, you leave me no choice¡­.did you really think that''s all i had up my sleeve?¡±


    He said this as if crushing her hopes.


    She had a very bad feeling. It was just her instincts telling her that something much worse was about to rise, but what?


    ¡°What is going on?! What are you doing?¡±


    The man still grinned wickedly.


    ¡°Tell me, have you ever heard of a berserk stage?¡±


    Her heart dropped.


    ¡°what are you saying?! There is no way you guys could control a person gone berserk!¡±


    Cold sweat flowed down her forehead. She looked down toward where andrew was and scouted the area. He could see her. Despite everyone already gone, one sole girl seemed to be here still.


    She looked to be around 18 and had jet black hair. A pair of red eyes gleamed through the darkness. Even from this distance, she could make out exactly how she looked like. But just who was she?


    ¡°Hehe¡­.let''s see how you handle this one¡­.¡±


    A fog came over them and spun around the man.


    ¡°Hey!! Wait you bastard!!¡± she ran after him knowing his exact intentions.


    ¡°i will be leaving you now. Try to stay alive so we can fight again someday¡­¡±


    The fog spun around him and then dispersed. The man was gone once again. She heard him say one last thing.


    ¡°Not that I think you can¡­..¡±


    That menacing laugh echoed in the room before he disappeared, and nothing else could be heard.


    Part 6


    Somewhere far away from the battlefield sat a man among the shadows. He was watching a tape of a boy who had just taken out 7 metallic snakes in one blow.


    He let out a puff of air.


    ¡°so you were toying with me boy?¡±


    He had thought that the boy didn''t know how to use power magnet but this footage proved their suspicions wrong.


    He clicked his tongue.


    Then he heard a man speak behind him.


    ¡°sir, Ryan the 6th is here.¡±


    ¡°let him in.¡±


    A moment later some footsteps were heard and a cold voice spoke.


    ¡°it looks like i underestimated the enemy.. but don''t worry, the Berserker Specimen has been released. Any Moment now and they''ll all be dead.¡±


    The man smiled.


    ¡°good good¡­..now, what shall your punishment be?...¡± he said in an even colder voice.


    Ryan was taken back.


    ¡°sir?¡±


    ¡°you were unable to stop a girl and 2 boys. How more pathetic can you be? And now you''ve let it all up to the test subject? Now there has to be consequences¡­.¡±


    Ryan took a step back.


    ¡°wait sir i can explain i-¡±


    He did not get to finish. In a blink of an eye, his left arm was severed right off from his shoulder down.


    ¡°!?Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!¡±


    Ryan yelled in agony and grabbed the blood spurting wound.


    ¡°Good¡­..get out of my sight before i take another arm.¡± he said mercilessly.


    Ryan shook his head and quickly ran off while grunting in pain.


    The man turned back to the footage on his screen. It was live footage. He saw the Berserker Specimen approaching her target.


    (Now, show me just how much power a berserk ramoji possesses¡­..)


    He thought that to himself and pushed a blinking red button right next to him labeled,


    ¡®BERSERK ¡®JESSICA¡¯ POWER RESTORATION¡¯


    He turned back to the screen and grinned menacingly.


    Part 7


    She clicked her tongue.


    (Damn, he got away¡­)


    She let her sword disappear and looked down at her new¡­...foe?


    The girl was just standing there, confused.


    She looked like a regular teenager that was lost. It almost seemed like she came here by accident.


    (Still...i can''t let my guard down.)


    If she let her guard down she could easily get killed. It could be like trying to lure in a girl with an adorable teddy bear that was secretly packed with explosives.


    So, she proceeded with caution.


    She jumped down from the building she was at and used her ability to land safely.


    She found andrew and axel down there as well. Behind axel were two frightened girls.


    ¡°What''s going on?¡± asked andrew.


    ¡°You¡­.¡± said axel.


    The girl blinked her eyes several times in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s you??¡± she said in perplexity.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here axel? Do you know this girl?¡±


    Axel shook his head.


    ¡°No. i only just bumped into her before getting here..¡±


    ¡°i see¡­.¡± andrew said


    ¡°That ryan guy said she was a Berserk one. But that can''t be, she''s just standing there...not even knowing what''s going on¡­She looks dead..¡±


    Ella whispered only to andrew. He nodded and scratched his head.


    ¡°Tell me, who are you and what are you doing here?¡±


    Everyone looked at the girl. She bowed her head.


    ¡°I¡­I don''t know¡­..honestly...i was just told to be here¡­..but i don''t remember much of anything anymore from the last couple days for some reason¡­... Not even my name. Had it not been for this name tag i wouldn''t have known..¡±


    ¡°They brought you here against your own will?......¡±


    After a moment of thought, andrew suddenly widened his eyes in shock. It didn''t make sense how she was brought here and labeled a berserk one. Plus, she had to of have had an ability. She didn''t seem to be apart of them which meant¡­..


    He voiced his thoughts.


    ¡°don''t tell me?! Are you a ramoji?¡±


    The girl¡¯s shoulders jumped a little.


    ¡°What? That sounds famili-¡±


    She didn''t get a chance to finish her sentence.


    She widened her eyes and grabbed her stomach. She fell to her knees.


    ¡°Oh¡­..oh my God!!...what''s happening¡­...!!!!!.....GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!????¡±


    She hugged herself in a feat of agony and then yelled in pain and fear.


    At the exact same time, pitch black electric sparks shot out of her body. It grew and grew until finally, a pitch black substance began to consume her.


    ¡°shit!!! Everybody get back!!!!¡± Andrew yelled at everyone to run away.


    He grabbed the two girls and jumped away again. Ella followed suit.


    Axel alone stayed. He was shocked. Why were they running away?


    (She needs¡­.help¡­)


    The girl continued to scream in agony and her eye color turned from red to a pitch black. The pitch black substance exploded outward from every side of her.


    Axel covered his face.


    Then he heard another girl''s voice.


    ¡°H-hey? Is e-everything okay?.....¡±


    He turned and to his surprise he saw the girl in a white dress. She must''ve followed him back because she seemed out of breath.


    The girl continued to yell in pain and out of the corner of her eye she saw the girl in a white dress.


    She lifted one hand to her face and held her head.


    The next moment happened fast. The black substance wriggled and moved and shot toward the girl.


    (Crap!!!)


    His legs moved on their own. He felt a familiar feeling in his legs and shot toward her. He caught her and moved away. A second later the black substance smashed into the floor where the girl was standing just a few moments ago.


    Axel landed a few feet away.


    (My legs? They''re okay?...)


    He was surprised to find that his legs did not break this time.


    ¡°Ummmm¡­¡±


    The girl he was holding seemed to be confused. He let her go but she did not move away, Which was strange for him.


    ¡°Sorry you got mixed up in this. I''m sure none of what''s going on today makes sense to you.It sure as hell doesn¡¯t for me either, but please try not to get any closer¡­.i have to go now.¡± he said with a soft smile.


    He moved away and ran back toward the chaos.


    ¡°W-wait!!¡±


    She called out to him but, he did not hear her¡­


    (He was still shaking¡­..)


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    Axel turned a corner and found ella and andrew hiding behind a building pillar. The two girls were also hiding behind a pillar.


    ¡°where were you?!¡±


    Ella asked.


    ¡°i could ask you the same¡­..what is going on?.¡± he asked referring to the girl who at this point was not reachable.


    Ella had sweat going down her face as she took a deep breath and spoke in a nervous tone.


    ¡°I hope you''re ready¡­.She is going Berserk."

 Chapter Five: Remedy for the heart

    Part 1


    ¡°berserk?¡± he said.


    Ella nodded and andrew spoke.


    ¡°Yes that''s right. When someone with abnormal abilities like ourselves go out of control we usually turn into that¡­.¡± he said pointing at the girl who was still screaming in agony.


    ¡°It happens when someone¡¯s mental stability is suddenly thrown of course or their emotions in general go out of control. But it''s so rare. This is my first time seeing it! Their powers go out of control and devours the person. They turn into something completely opposite of what they once were. That is why they''re called ¡°Berserk¡±. An opposite version of themselves..¡±


    Axel couldn''t believe what he was hearing.


    So, what happened to take her turn into this? She was just standing there not even a couple seconds ago¡­


    ¡°You mentioned to her something about being a ramoji or something? Why did that affect her?what even is that?¡±


    ¡°It''s hard to say¡­¡± said ella.


    ¡°is there a way to fix this, blonde guy?!¡± said axel.


    Said guy nodded.


    ¡°The name¡¯s andrew. yes, but it''s going to be very difficult if we can''t get near her¡­.all we have to do is stabilize her mind. she''ll snap out of it if we manage to do that. The problem is we don''t know what pushed her this far¡­¡±


    Axel nodded while gulping.


    ¡°in other words, we need to have her think about something else? Like making her forget her anger or something?¡±


    Ella nodded.


    ¡°yes that is the theory at least.¡±


    An explosion overhead caused them all to jump. When they looked up, they could see that rays of energy were swirling through the air and causing destruction at every turn. If this kept up, the entire city could be destroyed.


    Though almost everyone was gone now, he knew that there were still some people nearby like that girl from earlier. They had to do something¡­.


    ¡°This girl, she''s human right?¡±


    The guy named andrew nodded.


    ¡°She should be, yes¡±


    Axel thought for a second longer and shook his head free of all doubts.


    ¡°I can handle her.¡± he suddenly said.


    ¡°Yeah, and I own a bunny farm back home¡± andrew said sarcastically.


    ¡°I was serious!!¡± axel said with comical tears gushing out of his eyes.


    Ella and Andrew, including the girls, looked up at him shocked.


    ¡°You realize what you''re saying, right?¡± ella said. Andrew nodded completely agreeing with her.


    ¡°You''ll be killed for sure! You''re just a glass cannon right now! You have to focus on getting everyone who still might be around here out to safety!¡±


    ¡°She''s right axel! We have to leave now!¡± casey protested. But yet axel shook his head.


    ¡°Trust me on this. I think i know what I''m doing. Just please, let me try and save her. I''m not just a vessel for an ability!¡±


    Ella tried to shoot down his gaze but for once it went the other way around. He seemed so determined.


    ¡°Damn it, what the hell. Let''s hear it, what are you going to do?¡±


    Axel nodded and leaned in closer. After a couple of moments, andrew and ella looked at each other and shook their heads.


    ¡°Sounds stupid¡±


    ¡°Agreed¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the motivation guys, really!!¡±


    Ella chuckled and looked at him. She sighed and gave him a thumbs up. Andrew crossed his arms as if not believing his eyes.


    Axel exhaled and closed his eyes.


    ¡°sounds easy enough¡­¡­¡± he said nervously while clenching his fist.


    He was more afraid of his own power than anything¡­


    Ella must''ve read his thoughts.


    ¡°A word of advice. Don''t use a super amount of strength. Your body is still getting used to an ability and super strength isn''t being nice to it. Use whatever else you have.¡±


    ¡°So, then how were you able to use that without your body breaking?¡±


    It didn''t make sense how she could use super strength, but not him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know where that ability came from. Perhaps a secret ability within power magnet? I don¡¯t know but don¡¯t use it anymore unless you wanna end up a pile of bones.¡­.¡±


    It was just one mystery after the other with this thing. It was dangerously powerful so he decided to use it as a last resort, but he was sure he wouldn¡¯t need to.


    Another explosion was heard causing the floor to shake.


    ¡°there is no more time! Let''s move before she destroys the city!!¡± andrew yelled out to axel.


    ¡°we''re counting on you!¡± said ella pushing him forward.


    He nodded in confirmation.


    He opened and closed his right hand again.


    Someone spoke behind him.


    It was casey.


    ¡°what about us?¡±


    ¡°wait casey...we can''t do anything¡­¡± said a nervous natsumi.


    ¡°maybe not you, but i can!¡±


    She opened her hand and a ball of flame appeared there.


    ¡°Casey¡­.¡± he said.


    He was totally surprised to see her fully use her power. He always knew she was really hot headed. Fire suited her.


    But, he could not let her get involved.


    ¡°I appreciate it but, i don''t want you getting hurt so please stay here. I''ll be back before you know it¡­.¡±


    ¡°wait!!you idiot!!¡±


    Axel didn''t give her a chance to respond and he took off.


    The girl had been surrounded by a black substance but now, she was totally engulfed in it. A pitch black sphere was there. the sphere floated up, electric black sparks spurting out of it here and there. The black sphere started to become clearer and clearer. They could see inside. The girl who was once wearing casual winter clothes now had the exact same clothes on but colored pitch black. Her lifeless irises were just as black.


    The rain fell upon her as if symbolizing her hatred to the world.


    Axel stood tall. He would do his absolute best to free her from this suffering. This was apart of his promise to protect anyone and everyone. No matter how intimidating she looked¡­


    ¡°Alright, i think it¡¯s time we stop playing games you!!!!¡±


    The girl rested her dark and bottomless eyes on him and took a step forward.


    ¡°You¡­...I thought you were just some nice pedestrian¡­...but you turn out to be with the bad guys¡­.you¡­.have to die¡­..¡± she said in a voice that made it sound like speaking was taking too much out of her.


    ¡°Wow! You can speak!? I have to be honest here, i thought you were a mindless zombie at this point.¡±


    The girl furrowed her brow and shot forward faster than he had ever seen anyone or anything for that matter ever move.


    Within seconds she stood in front of him with her eyes staring him down to the death. In one motion she swung her hand toward his neck. Out of pure instinct, he raised his hand to protect himself and jumped back. However, the girl released the same substance around her and tried to capture him. Afraid to touch it, axel grabbed a rock and threw at her head. She caught it and crushed it as if it was merely made of sand.


    She looked back at axel but he was nowhere to be found. Inspecting the area, she finally found him making a run for it. Seemingly amused, she smiled and followed him. She casually threw waves of energy at him but he somehow managed to dodge more than one of them. He took some damage here and there but he still would not go down. What seemed odd to her was that he was not showing any signs of an ability. What was he thinking?


    Her constant thoughts led her to bump into a wall. She rubbed her head and watched as the world blurred in and out of focus.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?!Can¡¯t keep up!¡±


    She heard him say this which drove her mad. She scowled and raised her hand. The dark energy around her shot at the boy. It was a direct hit. Or at least it should¡¯ve been.


    ¡°What the?....¡± she whispered.


    ¡°You made one mistake today.¡±


    She held her head and looked around. Her head spun and she struggled to focus. When she did, she found the boy¡­...two boys?...Three? More than a dozen!?


    ¡°You bumped into me today, and from then on your defeat was already at hand¡±


    The girl rubbed her eyes and watched as the many same looking boys disappeared and reappeared. She didn¡¯t know which was the real one!


    ¡°What are you¡­.talking about!?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°You can thank your buddy. earlier today after he assaulted my friend, i heard him say ¡®Jessica will have no problem dealing with you¡¯. At the time, i didn¡¯t really know what he was talking about but when i ran into you it all became clear.¡±


    The many figures of axel all spoke at once. She attacked each and every single one of them in an attempt to shut him up but her attacks were in vain. None were making actual contact.


    ¡°They made the mistake of putting that name tag on you that clearly read ¡®Jessica¡¯. Or perhaps they didn¡¯t foresee us bumping into each other and me putting two and two together. I of course had the thought, ¡®what if this girl is just a regular girl?¡¯ in that case i had nothing to worry about. However, you were exhausted and ready to fall at any moment, and when you did, you reacted like i had never seen anyone react. You parried my arm as if it was a deadly blow and jumped back. No regular girl could just up and do that. So, i took action.¡±


    The girl, named jessica, looked around and spoke into the room.


    ¡°Come out and say it already!!!¡± she said as her eyelids fell against her will like doors struggling against the wind.


    ¡°Oh man, weren¡¯t you ever taught to not accept things from complete strangers?¡±


    Suddenly, her eyes shot open once she came to a cold realization.


    ¡°That bottle!? What the hell did you do to¡­...it!?¡± she said as her consciousness dimmed and holding her throat as if wanting to rip it out.


    ¡°Sleeping pills. The kind that dissolve in water. Enough to take out a horse. Since you were so tired, i figured you wouldn¡¯t notice. Now i know what you¡¯re thinking, how could i possibly do that to a stranger? Well, i thought that one of two things could happen. One, a totally innocent girl would be out for a couple of hours at home, or number two, my possible enemy would have trouble staying awake and thus trouble controlling her power. I placed my money on the latter. But you yourself gave me the final piece of evidence i needed. I told you about the danger of the shadowhunters and you agreed as if knowing all about them when in reality no normal person has been told of the shadowhunters. They only know of the peacekeepers!¡±


    Jessica suddenly dropped to her knees without wanting to do so and struggled to maintain regular breaths. She hyperventilated and tried to laugh it off.


    ¡°So¡­..What? That doesn¡¯t mean you can win¡­¡±


    Axel chuckled and waved his finger.


    ¡°Do you know what happens when the brain is fatigued? It¡¯ll begin to take matters into its hands and forcibly shut down in a desperate attempt to rest. Why, you¡¯re not even aware of the precious seconds you just blanked out allowing me to set up the final pieces to my plan.¡±


    Jessica gasped. Had she really passed out for a couple of seconds without knowing? She looked around and tried to locate the boy. Whatever it took, she could not be defeated here!


    ¡°After more of your own protest, you will begin to hallucinate. I mean, you can¡¯t even see where i¡¯m really at judging from all your blind attacks. But i know that trying to put you to sleep won¡¯t be enough. No, i¡¯m going for a more explosive conclusion here. Just take a look around.¡±


    She quickly lifted her head and coughed. There was dust floating around the area and making it real hard to see. She did not know what the dust was but she refused to breathe anymore in. she raised her hand once more.


    ¡°Ah, i wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°!?¡±


    ¡°You see, what you¡¯re standing in is one giant and deadly bomb and all it needs to ignite is a source of heat. Judging from these wounds you gave me, your ability is pretty damn hot.¡± he said raising his arm that was covered in black. It was a spot that jessica had hit earlier.


    (Did he...let himself get hit?)


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve heard of a dust explosion, yeah? They''re infamous in baking factories or anywhere that uses flour or substances similar to it, such as the building behind me where i poured flour all over the air vents earlier. Though, it¡¯s more effective in enclosed spaces, so i had my friend ella manipulate the wind around us creating a small bubble of air and enclosing the flour floating in the air.¡±


    Jessica quickly thought of a way out. This guy was crazy! Surely he was bluffing! No way did he plan to blow them up! But wait, as long as she didn¡¯t use her ability she would not set off a blast. Even if she couldn¡¯t use it, she could still find him and stop him! She had to focus! Focus on the real one!


    ¡°So now you know. But come on, you didn¡¯t think i¡¯d let you alone have the detonator did you?¡±


    He raised his finger tips and prepared to snap, but before he could she had located him! She lunged at him and grabbed hold of his little neck only to watch as her fingers slipped right through him.


    ¡°Hallucinations!!!¡± she heard him yell from above


    She turned and saw him falling from the sky rapidly closing in on her. There was nothing she could do. It was game over¡­ but no matter how she thought of it, this was very impressive. Who would¡¯ve known that the boy would¡¯ve thought this far ahead. Just¡­¡­


    She saw the boy flying down toward her with an expression that almost made her laugh. The damn idiot was about ready to cry with a fierce look in his eye. And yet, there he was.


    (Who¡­...are you?.....) she thought this as she finally rested her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.


    With a snap of his fingers, fire momentarily lighted up his face and next the entire room creating a huge explosion in the process.


    Part 2


    The power of the explosion was contained in the small area and no further damage was done to the rest of the city. Ella and andrew stood by as they watched axel foolishly commit suicide. Andrew shook his head while ella fought back the urge to go find him.


    As for the girls, they were both passed out behind them, unable to comprehend the fact that axel had blown himself up.


    After what seemed like hours, the ball of flames finally died out leaving behind nothing but rubble and two corpses. Ella released the air bubble and felt a scorching heat hit her despite it still raining.


    She jumped down along with andrew and walked over to where axel lay.


    He was on his back staring up at the sky, surprisingly still alive and even awake. His entire body was covered in burns and he had a smile on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­...Pretty sure i just died but the same explosion brought me back to life¡­..¡± he said.


    Ella couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief. She could not believe what was going on. What he had just done.


    She knelt down and put her hand on his shoulder. He grimaced but she did not care. With a chuckle, she slightly lifted her shoulders and tilted her head to let loose a bright smile causing axel to gawk at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay¡± she said.


    ¡°I-...¡±


    However, her happiness did not stop her from punching him square in the face slamming his head back onto the ground.


    ¡°But that was far too reckless, don¡¯t ever do it again.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­.sir..¡±


    ¡°Well i¡¯ll be damned. He actually did it. She¡¯s unconscious and out for the count.¡±


    Andrew applauded his success and lifted the girl jessica from the ground. She hung limply. She was just as badly burned as axel but seemed to be sleeping peacefully. If he didn¡¯t know any better, it looked like she had fallen asleep seconds before the explosion occurred. He doubted she even felt any pain. She probably would as soon as she woke up with all those blisters on her. Regardless, his plan did indeed work. Her clothes were no longer pitch black, they were back to their formal color.


    But, where would she be taken? There was much more to her than just what they witnessed today. He hated to think that she would be taken and punished for her deeds! He quickly sat up despite his body protesting causing him to yell and fall right back down.


    ¡°Don''t worry. She will be ok. We just have to make sure she''s stabilized and that she''s okay. We will return her once we are done. We won''t hurt her.¡±


    She smiled softly and reassuringly.


    He felt himself be placed at ease. This meant that he¡¯d see her again someday. He relaxed and took a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a question though. Why on earth would you drug a girl you wasn¡¯t sure was even a threat.¡± ella said remembering what axel had said to jessica. No matter how one looked at it, his actions seemed rather barbaric and quite extreme. What if things went completely wrong and she died of overdose? Did he not think those scenarios over thoroughly enough?


    Contrary to her expectations, axel laughed.


    ¡°Oh, haha, that. Simple, i lied.¡±


    Ella and andrew put on blank faces. He what?


    ¡°Let me explain, have you ever seen those prank videos where people are led to believe they¡¯re getting drunk when really they¡¯re drinking nothing but water? It¡¯s kind of like that. By fooling the mind, one is able to change the way another person acts so long as they believe it to be true. In this case, I made her think that i drugged her and that the side effects were starting to take effect when in reality it was just her own fatigue that she herself multiplied by believing that she drank some sleeping drug. I made her think back to a moment where she wasn¡¯t really paying attention which made her mind accept my words as true and that it had actually happened! In a way, i rewrote her memories using psychology. The fact that she was already tired was what really gave me the advantage here, though i can¡¯t imagine why she was so sleepy. But anyway, it worked like a charm. It was a gamble but luck was on my side this time.¡±


    Ella unintentionally laughed. She could not believe her ears. Andrew also shook his head and laughed.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? I was being serious!!!¡± he said as tears once again welled up in his eyes.


    ¡°Stop crying so much!!! It¡¯s just that¡­..i didn¡¯t know you were capable of this¡­..it¡¯s amazing..not to mention that you planned this scenario ahead of time and perfectly executed it¡­.¡±


    ¡°Indeed¡­...i take back every doubt i had of you¡­¡± andrew agreed.


    Axel blushed slightly and relaxed his head.


    ¡°Well, i¡¯m glad you were around otherwise i probably wouldn¡¯t be able to contain the blast. I was just lucky¡­..¡±


    After another second of fame, axel stopped and frowned.


    ¡°Now what?....¡± he said looking around.


    The city was almost destroyed. Their battle ripped apart most of the city and Hazard Boulevard was completely gone.


    ¡°The city is going to have to clean this up unfortunately¡­.. We would help but we don''t get along with the higher ups you see¡­."


    He remembered that the peacekeepers were wanted by the entire world. As much they wanted to, they couldn¡¯t help clean up due to fear of being captured and killed.


    ¡°sooo, are you guys leaving?¡±


    Andrew nodded.


    ¡°Yes, we have to leave before anyone else sees us here. Or worse, the police. You should get going too¡­¡±


    (You''re worrying about the police after all this??) He thought.


    Axel simply nodded and staggered to his pain filled feet.


    Ella smiled.


    ¡°We will be seeing each other again soon. We have much to do now¡­¡±


    Despite all of his injuries, He managed to cross his arms to form an X.


    ¡°no way! I said i wasn''t going to join you!!¡±


    Ella was taken back.


    ¡°but-¡± she said in confusion.


    Axel cut her off by raising his still functioning fingers.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°But i will help anyone who needs help. So let me know if you ever need any help¡­¡±


    He said with a thumbs up and a grin.


    Ella smiled softly once more.


    A gust of wind came over them and spun around her and andrew.


    ¡°sure thing¡­.¡± she said before the wind totally engulfed them and they disappeared.


    Axel was now alone.


    (It''s over¡­..) he thought.


    This week was completely crazy.


    He turned and walked toward his house, body entirely feeling like it was on fire.


    (They could''ve at least dropped me off at my house or better yet heal me¡­) he thought feeling somewhat disappointed.


    He at least thought that things couldn''t get any worse. With peace of the city restored he hoped to just get home and rest before actually going to a hospital.


    But,


    ¡°Axel!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±


    His heart dropped. He had totally forgotten about something. Someone.


    Two of them.


    He turned and saw Casey running at full speed toward him with flames encircling her. Natsumi followed suit slowly. Keeping her distance from the flames.


    ¡°C-casey?!¡±


    ¡°how dare you scare me like that!!!???¡± she said with tears gushing out of her eyes.


    ¡°Wait, hold on!!! My body!!!!!!¡± he said trying to run away.


    Casey did not stop. She jumped at him and dropped him on the ground with a powerful hug.


    Axel simply accepted his fate and smiled. Even before he hit the ground he was already out like a candle in the wind.


    This day, this week, was truly a crazy one for the boy named axel¡­..


    Part 3


    Axel was walking down a route home one evening while he enjoyed the fresh cool air.. He had a sling around his left arm and bandages on his other. He had bandages on his legs and around his entire body under his clothes.


    He heard construction noises all around him.


    Two weeks had passed since the incident with the robot snakes and Jessica. The city told the people that they were attacked by an act of terrorism committed by the peacekeepers.


    (Bunch of liars..) he thought.


    He finally saw that ella had told the truth. The higher ups were liars.


    After the attack they immediately began reconstruction. The debris of the metallic snakes was picked up and gotten rid of. Axel was dragged to a hospital unconscious by a steaming Casey and a nervous Natsumi.


    School was cancelled for now for everyone so they visited him often. Natsumi was always fidgeting and Casey was as hot headed as always. She left every time he mentioned jessica.


    He at least got to ask about how she could all of a sudden control flames.


    She said,


    ¡°I''m not sure. When i saw you falling i just¡­ asked for my power to actually do something useful and my body moved on its own. Afterwards using it felt almost natural¡­.¡±


    That seemed strange to axel but he had no other explanation. After all, he had practically done the same with his own powers.


    He had also received flowers from an anonymous person.


    Thanks to power magnet, it looks like he had healed pretty fast. Well, he guessed it was because of power magnet. Even the doctors were left completely stunned.


    He sighed.


    ¡°My life is officially upside down¡­.¡± he said looking at the sky.


    He sat at a bus stop. His house was pretty far from the hospital so he had to take a bus there.


    He shut his eyes to relax. He didn¡¯t have much time to evaluate what had gone on and was really too busy enjoying his newly regained freedom. It felt great being able to sit up and walk without the nurses freaking out over it.


    He hadn¡¯t used power magnet at all and nor had it spoken to him again. Sometimes at night he¡¯d try to talk to it but it would not respond. He almost started to believe that he was actually hit in the head the day the building fell down and he was in a coma since which meant that he dreamt everything up. As tempting as it sounded to believe that, the construction around him could not be justified. Nor his burns all over his body.


    As he thought this, he felt someone lightly sit beside him.


    ¡°hm?¡±


    He opened his eyes and looked directly next to him. He saw a girl.


    Long golden brown hair and smooth looking beige skin. Chocolate brown eyes and a white dress with frills on the bottom edges of it. She looked to be about 19.


    He recognized her.


    ¡°Oh! You''re that girl from 2 weeks ago!how are you doing?.¡±


    Unlike before, her white dress was now clean but still torn. She was in the middle of the fray and was actually the one that served as his motivation to activate power magnet. He may of have saved her life but really it felt the other way around.


    She just stared at him blankly.


    There was a long silence.


    ¡°um, is something wro-¡±


    She cut him off.


    ¡°why did you save me? I was going to die. The world would''ve been better off without me! Why did you come? Nobody wants me anyways!¡± she said with an air of negativity.


    Her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes out of the blue.


    Axel was taken back by her sudden outburst and started to nervously panick..


    ¡°what are you saying? I don''t see why i need a reason to save someone! Everyone deserves to live and your life isn¡¯t something to just throw away!!¡­¡±


    Her eyes widened. She expected to hear that he had wanted her to see him as some kind of hero or that he just did it as some extreme way at getting at her but that was not the case.


    ¡°you¡­?¡±


    He continued,


    ¡°You''re also wrong if you think the world would be better off without you. I don''t know how you value your life but, it''s valuable to me. So please, live on. It''s like i once told someone, there is always a rainbow right after a storm..¡±


    He said it. He said the one phrase that had given her some hope...


    She hugged herself and looked down. She had no way of knowing before who it was that told her those words but she knew now. She was certain of it. It was him.


    But,


    ¡°do you want to know something? I am a 17 year old girl who is pregnant. How despicable is that?¡±


    She did not believe it. People only say that so as to not reveal their dark side. If she were to open her heart out to him, he would betray her like everyone else.


    Any moment now. Any moment now and he would yell out in disgust and curse her away. Just like everyone else.


    But instead, he said the words that she had wanted to hear for the longest amount of time. Nobody had told her this. Not once since her pregnancy.


    He smiled softly and said,


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how the gift of life is despicable. Congratulations.¡±


    Time went slower for her. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Tears of pure joy and happiness.


    ¡°All the more reason why you should value your life. You¡¯re obviously not alone-hey?are you okay?!¡±


    He said this after seeing her tears.


    She shook her head. She really did not know what to say.


    Shortly after, the bus arrived and the boy got up to leave.


    ¡°okay well, i have to go...good luck and congrats again¡­¡±


    He turned to get on the bus but, something wrapped around his waist.


    He looked down to see two slender arms wrapped around him. He looked back and saw the girl in a white dress.


    ¡°hey?what are you-?!¡±


    ¡°please!¡±she pleaded.


    ¡°everyone has left me! Everyone told me that i was a disgrace! Please, I''ve lost hope in this pitch black sea!! Please don''t leave me all alone to get consumed!!¡±


    She started to talk really fast. Axel didn''t really understand but he could tell that she was hurting. She cried onto his back begging for him to not leave her alone.


    Axel''s face got beet red. People were starting to stare¡­


    He scratched his head¡­


    ¡°hey kid, come on! I don''t have all day!¡±


    The bus driver yelled at him to hurry while showing clear anger.


    He scratched his head once more and realized that the girl was not going to let go.


    Part 4


    He sighed.


    He was on his way back home on the bus now. He adjusted his shoulder.


    ¡°mmmmm¡­.quit moving so much¡­.ZzZz¡± Said a girl in her sleep.


    He looked over at the weight that was pressing up against him, sleeping peacefully.


    Axel ended up taking the girl in a white dress with him and when they sat down he tried to ask what she was talking about but, she grabbed onto his arm and fell asleep.


    Just like that. He did not know how to react but, he didn''t want to wake her up. She seemed to be truly exhausted since she fell asleep so fast.


    Her words replayed in his mind.


    ¡°...don''t leave me all alone to get consumed!!!...¡±


    (What did she mean?.....)


    He did not know what she was talking about but she said she was pregnant. She also said her family had called her a disgrace. By the looks of her, she didn''t look pregnant at all. Which meant, this incident had only just happened to her recently. Either that or she was full of it.


    ¡°what exactly did you go through huh?¡± He whispered at her.


    She shuffled around a little and continued to sleep.


    Well, he decided to let her sleep for now. He would ask her whenever she woke up.


    After 20 minutes or so, the bus finally arrived at his destination,in front of an ice cream shop. From here, his house was right down the block.


    He lightly shook the girl next to him. She slowly opened her eyes and yawned.


    ¡°Come on, this is my stop. I have to get off now¡­.¡±


    The girl sleepily nodded. Axel got up and she followed him.


    After they were both off and the bus had left, axel began to walk home with the girl following close behind.


    ¡°So, why are you following me?¡±


    The girl¡¯s expression turned a bit grim.


    ¡°i have nowhere else to go¡­.. after i found out i was pregnant, i told my parents and they kicked me out with nothing but the clothes on my back¡­.i went to my ex boyfriend who is also the fath-¡±


    She stopped there while biting her lip.


    ¡°Well, he''s just a sperm donor.¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°i went to him but things only got worse. He completely denied his child and literally kicked me out. He slapped me and dragged me by my hai-¡¯


    She stopped talking because she bumped into him. He had stopped walking.


    ¡°hey?What''s the matter?¡±


    ¡°are you serious?¡±


    She heard him ask.


    She nodded¡­


    ¡°what a terrible person¡­..i hope i never meet him.¡±


    ¡°why?¡± she asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°because I''m afraid i won''t be able to hold myself back from beating some sense into him¡­.hmm, maybe that''s not a bad idea¡­¡±


    Without wanting to, she smiled.


    He turned back to look at her. Then he continued walking.


    She did as well and continued speaking.


    ¡°after that, i went to see if my friends would help but, they turned out to be two faced jerks¡­¡±


    ¡°what is wrong with this world¡­¡± he said while looking up at the orange sky.


    ¡°So, it''s been about 3 weeks since then. I''ve barely slept and eaten since then...hmmm¡­.¡±


    She trailed off in wonder.


    She saw axel finally stop in front of a house.


    ¡°what''s the matter?¡± she said.


    He smiled and turned to her.


    ¡°My name is Axel, Axel Ison. Nice to meet you! And you are?..¡±


    He introduced himself and requested to know her name while extending his hand out to her.


    She stood in silence for a moment,taken back by the sudden introduction, and then blushed a little while smiling. She shook his hand.


    ¡°My name is Maria. Just Maria...although, I wouldn''t mind taking your last name¡­.¡±


    She muttered the last part to herself.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡± she said feeling delighted.


    ¡°Well,maria,this is my house. Please come on in! I bet you''re hungry!¡± he said in a happy tone.


    He grabbed her hand and led her inside.


    ¡°? O-Okay then!¡± she said while being pulled.


    She had not felt this amount of joy in a very long time. She felt that with him, she would be safe. She had only just met him but she felt like she''d known him forever.


    his house wasn''t much. It was a one story beige colored house that was surrounded by a gate. A flower garden of roses surrounded the edges of the house.


    The inside was just as nice as the outside. The living room was nice and clean and smelled like cinnamon.


    ¡°It''s not much but, it''s home..have a seat in the kitchen. I''ll make you something to eat since you say you say haven''t eaten much..¡±


    For her, it was still all so unreal. The sudden kindness of this boy thawed out her frozen heart..


    At the boy''s insistence, she sat in his kitchen. He started to pull out a bunch of ingredients from the fridge and started to cook. Meanwhile, she stared at his back.


    (I have only just met him and yet¡­..i feel right at home already¡­..why couldn''t i of have met you sooner?.....)she wondered while touching her belly.


    But,


    ¡°So, what was it that happened that night?why did all that crazy stuff happen all of a sudden?.....and, are you even human?..¡±


    It wasn''t like she could forget the events that took place on that fateful night. Nobody could. It was too unreal! Something out of a Hollywood movie.


    Not to mention she saw him come in from out of nowhere and use an enormous amount of strength that took out 7 of those metallic looking snakes in order to save her. Then a girl caught him with fire. It was all too much for her to grasp.


    ¡°....¡±


    It seemed like he didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°Honestly, that was all really sudden. Even i still can''t fully get what went on. When i saved you that was only ever the second time I''ve ever used my power. And that was my first time using such an insane amount of strength, which i hope i never use again. It nearly ripped my limbs off.¡± he said while patting his left arm.


    ¡°3 weeks ago, i was a regular high school boy. Now, i have a foreign power that i didn''t want in the first place. I''m still pretty skeptical about it¡­.. because of it, the city was targeted. Just so some wild enemy group can get their hands on it..¡±


    Maria listened to his every word. She was sort of starting to understand¡­


    ¡°It''s called power magnet. Apparently it was scientifically developed. Well, not entirely scientific. One of the girl''s you saw yesterday? With the twin tails? She had it. Apparently, this power can choose who wields it, and it just so happened to choose me. It only chooses those who are pure of heart and have special talent. Which doesn''t make any sense to me. I have none of those¡­.¡±


    She puffed her cheeks.


    (This boy must be pretty dense¡­)


    ¡°So, have you heard about some strange organization with supernatural abilities running amuck?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°well, it turns out they''re the good guys. Called peace keepers or something. The metallic snakes we encountered that day? Those guys are the real enemy. They''re supposedly from some organization called shadowhunters..That day they tried to destroy the city and kidnap me for Power Magnet¡­..That''s really all i know¡­..The city is trying to say the peacekeepers did it in an act of terrorism but that''s not the case, i can assure you of that..¡±


    She nodded while trying to come to terms with his alleged explanation.


    Up to now, axel was cooking in front of the stove but he turned to the cupboards and took out a plate and a cup. He put some food on it and poured juice into the cup.


    He walked over to her with the plate of food in his left hand and placed it in front of her.


    ¡°Chicken stir fry! Not my best dish but, I''m sorta low on food¡­haven¡¯t been in here for weeks, you know?..i¡¯m still pleasantly surprised that this place is still standing...¡±


    He grabbed the cup of juice and gave it to her.


    ¡°Thank you¡­..¡± she said timidly.


    ¡°not at all¡­¡± he said while smiling.


    She smiled and began to eat.


    ¡°So then, who was that girl? The one in the black clothes. Was she apart of those shadow hunters or whatever?¡±


    She said that recalling the wailing girl that tried to attack her out of nowhere.


    Axel seemed to be in deep thought before speaking,


    ¡°She was just a regular girl when we first saw her¡­ her name is Jessica. She apparently didn''t even know where she was until she transformed into that being you saw¡­. The form is called ¡®berserk¡¯. Or at least that''s what they told me. It happens when someone goes into a deep amount of rage or their emotions go out of control¡­..don''t worry though it only happens to people with abilities!..¡±


    He said the last part after seeing the girl seem a bit frightened.


    She was just thinking that maybe she could''ve turned into that had she been a bit more sad or angry¡­


    But she relaxed when axel told her to.


    ¡°in order to stop her, we needed to stabilize her mental state. Something which i was in charge of¡­¡±


    The girl frowned all of a sudden.


    ¡°so where is she now?¡±


    Axel looked out the window.


    ¡°She was taken to be investigated on but, they promised they''d bring her back to me.¡±


    Maria was drinking her juice but all of a sudden spit it out.


    ¡°wah?! Why did you do that?!¡± he said looking at the mess on the floor.


    Maria ignored him


    ¡°You''re not planning on dating her are you?!¡± she said in a worried tone.


    ¡°What is this? Some cheesy love story? Of course i¡¯m not. I just want to know more about her and what led her to fall in a situation like this.


    ¡°O-oh¡­ sorry¡­¡±


    Axel looked down at her plate. She was done. He picked it up and her cup and placed it in the sink. He took a mop and cleaned up the mess she made by spitting out the juice.


    She just watched him. Silently¡­


    After he saw that the spot was nice and clean, he put the mop back and put his hands on his hips.


    ¡°okay! Come on, we''re going shopping!¡±


    She looked outside. The sun had already set. It was night out.


    ¡°right now? Isn''t it a bit late to go run some errands?¡±


    The boy laughed.


    ¡°Hahaha! Nonsense! Besides, it''s not for me. It''s for you.¡±


    She widened her eyes in pure surprise.


    ¡°W-what are you saying?¡± she said.


    The boy smiled softly.


    ¡°you said that you were only allowed to take the clothes on your back. You have nothing. I remember seeing you wear that same white dress 3 weeks ago. Although it''s clean now. I''m going to take you to get something more adequate for this weather! Tomorrow seems so far! Why not do it today?!¡±


    She truly did not know what to say.


    ¡°but, didn''t you just get out of the hospital? Don''t you want to rest?...¡± she said sounding confused.


    ¡°yes, but this is more important! How did you know that though?¡±


    She bit her lip.


    ¡°i described you to a lot of people. I finally found a familiar looking blonde girl with a red ribbon that told me who you were. She told me where you were and i sent you flowers every now and then¡­. When i heard of your discharge date, i sat outside waiting for you¡­¡±


    Axel remembered the flowers he had received from an anonymous person. She was the anonymous sender.


    ¡°maria¡­¡± he said.


    She barely ate. Which meant she barely had any money. Which meant she must''ve spent the money she had on flowers for him.


    She shook her head.


    ¡°But that''s okay! Don''t worry about it.¡±


    He smiled again


    ¡°i won''t. Because i am about to pay you back. 10 fold! Come on, the night is young.¡±


    He said to her. She smiled and walked out the door with him.


    They walked all the way to a nearby shopping area that hadn''t been destroyed by the battle 3 weeks ago.


    Lights from billboards shone down on them. Snow lightly fell upon sonic city. She was walking right beside axel. He breathed out and saw his own breath. He looked at maria who only had a dress on. He took off the scarf he had on and the sweater he had and gave it to her.


    She looked at him with curious looking eyes.


    ¡°but, aren''t you cold?¡± she said.


    He shook his head.


    ¡°please, you''ve endured this enough¡­¡±


    The thought of her suffering out in the cold merely broke his heart.


    She smiled. By now, she was overfilled with joy.


    The first place they went to was a regular clothing store. She bought many shirts and shorts and sweaters and scarfs and many more! All the while, axel stood next to her. She wondered how he had so much money.


    She voiced her thoughts.


    ¡°I''ve been saving up money on my bank account for rainy days. I''m using it now.¡± was his response.


    She felt embarrassed and bowed her head.


    He must''ve read her thoughts.


    He patted her shoulder.


    ¡°Don''t worry about it. I don''t mind at all.¡±


    She looked up at him. He was still smiling. She got a familiar sensation of butterflies in her stomach. She looked away.


    (This feels like¡­..)


    She remembered these feelings. She had them not that long ago when she went out with jason.


    Axel continued to walk with a bunch of bags in his hands.


    She looked at his hand. She reached out to grab it but he turned a corner before she could.


    By the time they were done, axel had spent well over a thousand dollars on her. Just her.


    When she told him that she didn''t need much he shook his head and turned away.


    She got a familiar butterfly feeling again while Axel had really turned away and cried in his heart.


    (My precious money!!)


    He still did not really mind though. Helping this girl meant the world to him even if his bank account was begging for mercy.


    Axel had his hands full of bags and boxes now. Both of them! Which seemed crazy to maria because just a while ago, his arm was in a sling.


    ¡°because of power magnet i seem to be healing faster. Well, at least i think it''s because of power magnet¡­.but my arm still is a bit sore¡­¡± he said to maria when she asked why his arm was okay now.


    They were on their way home now.


    ¡°But, where am i supposed to put these things in? I don''t have a home..¡± she said remembering her homeless state.


    He bowed his head.


    ¡°about that, i was thinking. Why don''t you just stay with me? My house has 3 vacant rooms and my parents don''t live here anyways so, i wouldn''t mind.¡±


    Her heart beated fast. Joy manifested themselves into tears.


    She looked at him and nodded.


    ¡°Sure! I accept!¡± she said without as much as a second thought.


    Axel looked up and smiled.


    ¡°Great then it''s settled.¡±


    After a really long walk, they finally arrived home. They placed all of Maria''s new stuff in the living room. Axel pointed down the hallway.


    ¡°there are 3 rooms there. One of them is mine. Go ahead and pick one. There are beds there already so don''t worry about that¡­¡±


    She nodded happily and looked back at him.


    She was now really overjoyed. She could not believe how lucky she was. How lucky to have gone to that church that day. To be saved by this boy and to be able to meet him.


    But,


    What if he turned on her one of these days? What if, his kindness was only initial and one day he would abuse her? What if-


    Before her mind spiraled out of control, she tripped on of the boxes and fell forward. However, instead of the ground, she fell into his arms.


    She looked up to see his nervous face.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be more careful! Please don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re naturally clumsy!? If you fall when your stomach is much bigger that could mean bad news!!!¡±


    She listened to his many different scenarios and gibberish and smiled.


    (what was i thinking? How could this soft boy ever bare stealing candy from a baby.)


    She stood up and laughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that was just an accident¡±


    ¡°Oh good. Well, i¡¯m officially worn out. I gotta hit the hay. Remember my house is your house so you can go ahead and freshen up properly and what not. I¡¯ll see you in the morning¡­.¡± he said to her walking into his room and slumping down on his bed.


    She sat on the sofa and smiled in total awe.


    (This must be the rainbow you promised we would see together¡­.) She thought remembering his words.


    And so, for the first time in ever, maria fell asleep with the pieces of her heart slowly returning to their former positions¡­.


    Part 5


    Once again in a far away place, away from sonic city, sat a man. His facial features and body were covered in darkness.


    He sat in his usual throne like chair. He sat in anger and irritation.


    Just 3 weeks before, his last trump card to destroy sonic city was defeated in battle. Berserker Specimen Jessica was neutralized and taken by the peacekeepers. She wasn''t even worth retrieving at this point.


    He clenched his fist. Berserker Specimen Jessica was supposed to be his last ace in the hole for the 1st invasion, but it failed.


    However,


    (That was just round 1¡­..i have plenty more tricks up my sleeve¡­.)


    The sonic city invasion operation was only the 1st one. This man had plenty more to go but, he decided not to focus on the magnet boy any longer. He would get to that soon enough¡­


    But now,


    A man spoke behind him.


    ¡°Sir? We have confirmed the location of the White stone ramoji. We will be ready to attack at your command very soon¡­¡±


    It was one of his henchmen.


    Currently, the ramoji with the white stone crystal had been found. The ramoji were more important and dire to his plan than power magnet was.


    He grinned.


    ¡°Good, tell Kevin the 3rd to prepare to head out.¡±


    The henchman shook.


    ¡°B-but sir?! Allowing one of the top 3 members of the 6 paths is-!!¡±


    ¡°silence!¡± said the man cutting off his henchman. The henchman shook once more.


    ¡°i know all too well how dangerous it is to allow one of the top 3 to handle some of the dirty work but, our opponent is just as dangerous¡­¡­ now leave. It''s bad enough that you''ve made me explain myself. Do as you''re told , or do you want to end up like ryan?¡± the man said in a menacing tone.


    The man nervously shook his head and quickly walked away.


    The man let out a puff of air.


    Letting ryan the 6th go out was a dangerous thing to do, he should''ve been enough to destroy sonic city. However, it seemed to him that ryan didn''t even use his ability. He got too full of himself believing he could take on members of the peace keepers himself. Now, letting the 3rd go was asking for the destruction of an entire nation. Very dangerous indeed.


    He grinned wickedly once more.


    Luckily, this man was not one to take the safety of others into consideration. No, this man was pure evil. He did not care. Especially since his target was none other than the white stone holder. The first of all the other stone''s.


    (Soon¡­..very soon, and the world,no, the entire universe itself! Will be all mine¡­..)


    He chuckled to himself amidst the darkness.


    On the screen of his projector showed an image of a girl and some info on her. The girl had long black hair that was tied into two short twintails. She had ice blue eyes and smooth pale skin. Her age was displayed. It said 17.


    The girl was smiling happily, not knowing that soon her life would completely change more than it already had.


    {{{{Next time}}}}


    Ella was sitting in a laboratory room with one of her colleagues,andrew, and a girl who was about 18. She had long black hair and crimson red eyes. She was jessica. The girl who went berserk just 3 weeks ago.


    She sat on a bed wearing a hospital gown.


    ¡°mmmmm, so when am i supposed to go back to see him?¡± she said sounding impatient.


    She was referring to the boy that had defeated her in combat. Ever since she awoke, she voiced her eagerness to meet him again.


    ¡°a second less than last time you asked that''s for sure.. ¡°


    The girl pouted in anger.


    Ella sighed.


    Andrew was typing on a computer when suddenly he turned to ella.


    ¡°Listen up! We''ve just found the location of a ramoji!¡±


    Ella turned to him in surprise.


    ¡°No way?! What is it? Have you gotten any info on what color the stone is?¡±


    Andrew nodded.


    ¡°so far we know the stone has a wielder. Also, the stone color has been confirmed as white.¡±


    Ella was visibly surprised.


    ¡°Now way¡­.the 1st stone huh?.....¡±


    Andrew nodded once more.


    ¡°it also looks like we will be needing Power Magnet to help us just in case things don''t go our way. Especially because if we have found her, you know who must''ve already found her as well¡­.¡±


    ¡°It looks like we don''t have a choice¡­So then, where are we going?¡±


    Andrew looked at his screen and sighed.


    ¡° Off the coast of Miami,Florida. The savant island¡­.¡±


    Ella was speechless.


    ¡°argh¡­.damn. i have to deal with more immature power users¡­¡­¡±


    Andrew chuckled.


    ¡°what?¡± she said.


    ¡°you''re probably younger than they are.¡±


    A dull thump was heard.


    Jessica spoke up after a while.


    ¡°so will i be going too? I assume that boy has this ¡®Power Magnet¡¯ you speak of? So i want to go!¡±


    She said this to ella with a powerful gleam in her eye.


    ¡°Yes yes fine! You can go¡­.¡±


    ¡°yay!¡± the girl lit up and hugged her knees.


    Andrew rubbed a bump on his head.


    ¡°You sure we should take him?¡± Andrew said referring to axel.


    Ella hesitantly nodded. Then she looked out the window of the laboratory.


    ¡°we''ll need all the help we can get¡­.¡±


    (Prepare yourself axel, the real battle is just about to begin¡­)

 Chapter Six: Florida!?

    Part 1


    Morning entered axel ison¡¯s room.


    He was still sleeping due to school being cancelled. Yes, almost a month ago there was a fierce battle between him and the enemy group called the Shadow Hunters. The damage was pretty bad due to giant metallic snake looking things. Half the town was almost destroyed. His house was still somehow intact except for some of his neighbor¡¯s who ended up with holes in their roofs. His school also took some damage and the entire first quadrant was almost wiped out by a falling flying robo snake. Lucky freshman¡­.. Despite this, school for just about the entire school was cancelled for some time until further notice.


    He sleepily opened his eyelids and adjusted in his bed. He raised his hand to grab his pillow and shifted to his side.


    ¡°.....?¡±


    For some reason, his pillow felt softer and warmer than usual. In fact, it didn''t feel like a pillow at all.


    ¡°hmm?...¡±


    He opened his eyes to see what he had grabbed. His arm froze. It was a girl. A girl¡­¡­.a girl?


    ¡°wha-!?¡±


    He jerked his hand back and fell off his bed, hitting his head on the floor. He groaned in pain and sat back up. He looked at the girl who was laying on his bed.


    He took a deep breath.


    The girl looked to be around 19. Except she was really 17. She had long golden brown hair and smooth looking beige skin. She had a white sleeping gown on.


    She was Maria.


    Yes, this girl had apparently been abandoned by her family and everyone else she knew. The cause of that was in her stomach. She was pregnant.


    Out of pure kindness, he decided to take her in and buy her new clothes but axel began to think that his kindness may have flowed through her a little too deeply. He realized this every time she had a nightmare because she would come straight to his room, Usually without waking him up. He''s had to wake up to her there a lot in the past month they''ve been living together. He didn¡¯t really know what to do. He can¡¯t just push her off, He¡¯s not an animal. She¡¯d probably be absolutely crushed and he¡¯d hate to see her sad. So, he did nothing since he just didn¡¯t know what to tell her.


    She laid there sleeping peacefully without a care in the world. He didn¡¯t know how she was so easily woken when she slept by herself, she was practically dead whenever she was around him. She didn¡¯t even hear him scream and groan in pain when he fell. One time when they were in the living room, she had fallen asleep and axel tried to wake her up but it was no good. She didn¡¯t rise til the next morning.


    Axel sighed and smiled. Girls were just too much. He got up to take a shower.


    Although it looked sort of normal now, his life was definitely not normal at all. One month ago, he accidentally received a foreign power named power magnet by shaking the hand of a girl he had met. This power had apparently chosen him to be it''s wielder much to axel''s dismay.


    There was no way he could get rid of it. He had tried many times. He even prayed to God to take it away and the next morning he tried to see if he could jump up on to the roof of his house and instead slammed into his wall. It didn''t activate but the scratch he had gotten on his cheek stung and disappeared, which meant power magnet was still there. His neighbors stared at him confused as to why he had just slammed himself against the wall all of a sudden. He just nervously ran back inside his house..


    So yes, there was no way. Now he has to help some organization with supernatural abilities fend off evil. It all seemed so cliche to him. Something out of one of those Japanese Manga. Up to now though, nothing had really happened which was great.


    After he finished taking a shower and getting dressed, he prepared to go grocery shopping. He had just bought food the other day but it was no exaggeration to say that the seemingly light girl in his room ate like a cow. He had no idea what it was but that girl was craving every little thing. Not to mention that her mood was off the charts. She would be upset one moment and then totally fine the next. It felt like she was drunk most of the time. However, he found it difficult to get mad at her. She just looked so¡­¡­...cute? There was no real way to explain it. It was kind of like not being able to get mad at his little sister¡¯s since they just looked so adorable no matter what they did.


    He checked on maria before he left, who was still sleeping. He smiled softly and walked out his front door, grabbing his keychain that was given to him by his grandfather. It gave off its usual unnatural glow as he put it in his pocket.


    It was snowing outside. Not everything outside was covered in white yet. It was more like there were small specks of snow on the ground here and there. It was cold but he happened to like the cold. He adjusted the scarf he had on and took one step out onto his frozen lawn. Seemingly normal¡­¡­¡­...and then it wasn''t.


    Swish


    ¡°waaaaaaaahhh? W-w-w-where am i?!¡±


    ¡°ah, so you''ve finally come out of your house..good..¡± he heard a familiar female voice say to him.


    One second he was outside his door and the next he was suddenly teleported into some strange laboratory looking place. It was so bizarre and unlike anything he had ever seen before, or felt for that matter.


    He looked around and saw a girl sitting on a chair with long jet black hair that was tied into two twin tails. Her large green emerald eyes were fixed on him with a peculiar look.


    She was ella. She was apart of the strange organization named the peace keepers. A month ago, she had helped axel protect the city from the shadow hunters. Well, to be more precise, he helped her. The only real thing he did was stop jessica who hadn''t really done much.


    She playfully twirled one of her twin tails and crossed one of her slender legs.


    ¡°you?!¡± he shouted while pointing at her.


    ¡°me.¡±


    ¡°what on earth am i doing here? What is going on? Where am i?!¡±


    Ella sighed.


    ¡°come on now. Haven''t you learned anything? Asking too many questions isn''t going to fly with me.¡±


    Axel crossed his arms in irritation and took many steps back eventually coming in contact with a cold metal wall.


    ¡°Good. Now, you are currently inside one of our air crafts. It is designed for battle and travel at the same time. We call it Thor¡­.¡±she said sounding bored.


    ¡°You are coming with me to meet my leader.¡±


    Axel chuckled in an attempt to calm his own nerves.


    ¡°ohoho? Next you''re gonna tell me that we have to rebel against the empire using laser swords?¡± he said mockingly.


    A moment later a book slammed right into the center of his face.


    ¡°gah?!what was that for!?!¡± he shouted in fury with tears already flooding his eyes.


    Ella smirked, clearly amused.


    ¡°just trying to knock the idiot out of you. Now, our leader has requested that you come see him and the rest of our team.¡±


    ¡°!!The jedi!!??¡±


    Moments later, Another book mercilessly found its way to axel''s poor stupid face


    Axel rubbed the center of his aching forehead and fought back the urge to fight back.


    ¡°so, I''m in a plane? How far is this place we''re going to?¡± he asked leaning against the wall.


    ¡°not too far. We''ll be there in about 30 minutes. Until then, I''ve been authorized to give you some more information¡­¡±


    Ella grew serious. Noticing the change of atmosphere, axel also grew silent and listened carefully. It was about time he knew what was really going on...


    ¡°what do you mean?..¡± he said.


    ¡°you remember me telling you about our group being too busy searching for objects that posed a threat to the world? It''s about that. Put simply, The objects we are looking for are actually a special type of stones.¡±


    ¡°stones?¡±


    Ella nodded.


    ¡°yes,but not no ordinary stones, no. These stones are powerful stones that were once formed by a powerful magician. They weren''t originally stones. It was something much more dangerous. It happened a long long time ago back when the Soul of Shadows ability barely started to manifest into people. The stones were once put together to form something called God''s Scepter¡­¡±


    Axel moved his head back a bit in confusion.


    ¡°God''s scepter? Magicians?What in the world are talking about?¡±


    ¡°Magic was something that appeared alongside superpowers. Back in those days, it was something everybody could do but it eventually died off just as soon as it came. No one knows much about it anymore. These days, there are no more magic users around since no one has been able to learn how to properly use it. It is said that everything there was to know about magic was burned in a fire way back when and was forbidden from being rewritten by anyone. Anyone who tried had a nasty curse placed on them which led to death. They weren¡¯t even allowed to teach it to their offspring! So, once the last magic user died so did magic and what not. As for God''s scepter, it was a powerful object that was able to bend and rip through time and space itself. Luckily, it wasn''t in the wrong hands at the time. But soon, people started to try and come for the magician who created God''s scepter for the power it wielded. It was believed that the scepter could grant any wish so people went crazy looking for it. Seeing the danger that could happen if the scepter fell into the wrong hands, the magician decided to get rid of it.


    ¡°so then, how were these stones or whatever formed?¡±


    ¡°the scepter could not be destroyed. No matter what he tried it would just repair itself. So he did what he could and separated the scepter into multiple stones using his power. Each stone glowed with a different color. He couldn''t completely make the scepter¡¯s power disappear but he at least greatly diminished it. However, he found that the scepter would form together again if all the stones were put together so, he scattered the stones across the world to places even he didn''t know of.¡±


    Axel sat back processing what he was hearing.


    ¡°So? Why are you looking for them? If it¡¯s so dangerous, why don¡¯t just let it remain hidden?¡±


    ¡°If only we could.The stones did remain hidden for a very long time but eventually ordinary people found them. By that time, no ordinary person knew what God¡¯s scepter was anymore so they must¡¯ve thought that they stumbled across a rare diamond. If only they knew that it was something far worse¡­. As soon as they made contact with it, the stones somehow merged with them and it¡­.changed them¡­¡±


    ¡°changed them how?¡±


    ¡°the stones gave the people that found them power. Well, back then, it was just one small boy that was unfortunate enough to find one of the stones. It gave him a piece of the power that was once held in the sceptor itself. Around this time was the time that the world powers started to hunt and kill the peacekeepers. However, the stones started to really cause a problem. If more of the stones were found, the scepter could be re-made and who knows what would happen then. Worst part is that only the peacekeepers knew of this..¡±


    She paused for a moment and then continued¡­


    ¡°so, they started searching for the stones and to do that they sought out the boy that held a stone within him. Amongst their own though, there were many arguments on whether or not to keep the stones locked up or to keep the stones and form the scepter again to eradicate evil. You can probably tell what they chose though¡­.of course they went with just sealing up the stones instead of controlling the world by force. That just seemed like the most logical and humane thing to do at the time. Unfortunately, not everyone saw eye to eye.The group that was against them moved on their own behind the scenes and searched for the stones themselves. When the peacekeepers actually found the boy, they learned that he actually had no memory of holding a stone at all. It seemed strange to the peacekeepers there but, Before they could think of their next move, the group that worked on their own showed up and attacked the boy. The good guys of course helped to defend the boy but they ended up losing. The people there witnessed first hand the leader of that rebel group extract the stone from the boy forcefully, even though at the time there was no known way for us to extract the stone from a living being, and in doing so they killed the boy¡­..¡±


    Ella bowed her head and looked off to the side in deep thought. Axel clenched his fist. How could they do such a thing? That wasn¡¯t exactly peaceful.


    ¡°but¡­..what then?...¡±


    ¡°the group declared their independence then and there and named themselves the shadow hunters. They said that they would take the stones and one day rule over everything and bring about peace in their own way¡­.That is how the shadow hunters were formed. Now, ever since then we have been searching for the stones, hoping that they don''t have a host. For many years, most of the stones remained hidden and we had trouble finding any. However, quite recently we have been finding more and more energy signals similar to the ones a stone would release. Unfortunately, we can¡¯t exactly pinpoint the location of a stone. We can only narrow it down to a certain location, and that¡¯s only if the stone¡¯s power is used enough to send out a powerful signal that our radars can pick up. Sometimes the stone¡¯s randomly send out energy, sometimes their wielder does. It¡¯s usually a wild goose chase. In honor of the boy who was sacrificed, we named people who are the host of a stone after him. His name was Ramon Jio and so, we called them Ramoji.¡±


    After sitting there and listening to all of the interesting things ella was speaking of, Something clicked in axel''s mind.


    ¡°wait a minute! Does that mean jessica is?...¡±


    Ella nodded and confirmed his assumptions.


    ¡°that''s right. Jessica is a ramoji and she currently holds the black stone.¡±


    He remembered what andrew suddenly yelled when they first encountered jessica. He asked if she was a ramoji. Now he knew why, but that meant..


    Axel slammed his fist down on the wall and brought his eyebrows closer in anger.


    ¡°you tricked me?! don''t tell me you''ve confined her!! Where is she?!¡± he yelled.


    He had fought jessica a month ago when she had gone berserk and after they successfully defeated her, she was taken by ella and andrew. Ella promised she would return her after they checked to see if jessica was stabilized, but if what she was saying was true then they must¡¯ve taken her and locked her away.


    Ella sighed and scratched her head.


    ¡°relax. We try and keep the peace remember? We are not some prison. She is fine and is actually anxious to see you again..¡±


    Feeling reassured but still somewhat skeptical, Axel unintentionally blushed and crossed his arms once more.


    ¡°Now then, that day i found you i was looking for the red stone ramoji, Flames. We found a reading of the flame ramoji around sonic city but I never actually found this person. But we did find jessica! Which is just as great..¡±


    Axel scratched his head. This seemed a little more easier to understand and made that day seem much less stranger. He was glad that jessica was in better care now. Though he had to wonder just who in sonic city was this flame ramoji?.....


    A moment later he felt the plane shake and he staggered forward.


    ¡°oh? We''re here. Let''s go.¡± she said beckoning to axel. Axel followed her out toward a hallway.


    (Wait?was this plane empty the entire time) he said looking around the huge aircraft. There seemed to be nothing around. Not even in the room he was just in.


    Ella stopped at a door. It had a turning wheel on it.


    Then axel noticed something, The plane had only jerked forward. He didn''t feel it descend or anything. He knew the feeling had to be similar to a descending elevator but unless he missed it he hadn¡¯t felt anything. He took a step back with his heart beating a few ticks faster.


    ¡°ummm ella? Are we still in the air?!¡± he nervously said absolutely dreading the answer.


    Ella looked back at him from the corner of her eye and devilishly smiled.


    ¡°We need to get you to control your power at will. I can¡¯t have you forming stupid and idiotic plans all the time otherwise you¡¯re useless. As such, you''re going to have to start training...your first challenge will be this.¡±


    Axel did not think twice. He booked it toward where he came from and attempted to take cover but he was too late.


    She spun the wheel on the door and it flung open. Immediately as she did so, the wind sucked everything out like a vacuum as she somehow avoided the power of the wind. Axel tried to escape but the wind grabbed hold of him and threw him out to the vacant sky.


    ¡°Wait!!! You monster!!!!!!!!!!¡± he shouted while falling thousands of feet in the air.


    Seeing the squirming axel,and what looked like a couple of his tears floating back up, Ella shook her head and jumped down too. Unlike axel, she could control her ability so she did so and sped up toward where axel was falling.


    ¡°gaaaaaaaaaaahhaaaaaaaahh!!!!???¡± he shouted while his face was blown back by the wind.


    ¡°Control it!! Seek for your power as if it was just another part of you! Do it as unconsciously and easily as breathing!!¡±


    Given the situation, there was no way he could think properly. He didn¡¯t know of anyone that could in a situation like this. This being the case, it took him some time to gather his thoughts together and understand what she was saying. He shut his eyes and desperately searched for the power within him¡­. He called for it¡­..he felt something cold in the middle of his torso and¡­.he grabbed that power and¡­..Then he lost it. It escaped from his grasp.


    ¡°gnnnnnaaaaah!!!??? I caaaaaaaaan¡¯t!!!!!!!¡±


    His heart began to beat so fast that he was starting to believe that it was not beating at all.The ground was getting closer¡­.and closer¡­.and closer¡­he slowly lost feeling in his arms and legs and his lips began to shake and lose color....He shut his eyes and said his prayers.


    ¡°you idiot!!¡±he heard ella shout.


    Just before he hit the ground, he felt an arm wrap around him and the feeling of weightlessness slowly left his body. His descent rapidly decreased and soon he was suspended in mid air. He looked up to see ella frowning down on him.


    ¡°y-you saved me? Oh¡­.i thought i was a goner¡­I could¡¯ve sworn you were so much more cold hearted¡­....¡±


    Ella sighed and let axel drop to the ground that was now a couple feet below. The fall still hurt axel.


    ¡°ow! Hey watch it!!¡± he yelled at ella who lightly landed next to him holding her skirt she had on down.


    ¡°quiet, we are here¡­¡± she said.


    ¡°huh?¡±


    He looked around the place that was surrounded by a thick set of trees. He saw a place filled with old looking tents. The place looked totally poor. He saw steam flowing from a couple of the tents and many pots and pans hanging outside many other tents. There were people dressed in what could only be described as rags and a couple stands offering what he assumed was food.


    ¡°this is it? This is the Headquarters of some superpowered organization? This looks like a base camp¡­¡±


    Ella looked at him angrily and placed her hands on her hips.


    ¡°well sorry we don''t have luxury houses! But in case you haven''t noticed, we are wanted people! And i would make myself comfortable if i were you, you can be living here pretty soon too.¡±


    ¡°no thanks!¡± he said absolutely sure that he would never end up here.


    She just grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.


    ¡°just come on! He''s waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°he?¡±


    ¡°my leader.¡±


    He walked through the many tents and saw the people that lived there. They looked like regular people. He felt like he was walking through a real poor neighborhood as opposed to a superpowered society. It was for that very reason that he could not let his guard down. The people here were probably just as strong as ella and andrew. They were trained in combat and knew what it was to fight to survive. He avoided making any type of eye contact with them. Even so, he could feel all different types of gazes from every direction press up against him making him sweat profusely.


    He saw ella walk up to a large boulder and stop right in front of it. She knocked 3 times on the rock as if expecting something to happen. Axel began to think that she¡¯d gone crazy.


    (She''s lost it¡­.) He said to himself completely regretting getting out of bed this morning. At this point, he preferred dealing with maria. Thinking back now, why would he ever complain about her!


    A moment later the boulder shook and the front of it opened revealing an elevator. Axel''s jaw fell. Ella stepped inside it and looked at axel.


    ¡°what are you waiting for? Let''s go¡± she said.


    After lifting his jaw back in place, Axel got inside. The elevator closed and it started to descend. A voice that sounded like a robot spoke as a light scanned them.


    ¡°Analyzing¡­..Identified: Captain Ella and Axel Ison, Power magnet host¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a captain?this machine knows me?....¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, it took me just about forever to rise up in the ranks. I lead a company sized unit with Andrew as my principal NCO assistant. I may be young but I¡¯m way more intelligent than I look. Also, Word is getting out about the new power magnet holder so practically everyone knows. That would explain all the stares you got on your way over here¡­¡±


    Axel felt more nervousness enter his being. Was he actually being led to some military base? No one outside even saluted her. You¡¯d think they would¡­ Well, he didn¡¯t know much of anything regarding those matters. When the elevator finally stopped, ella and axel stepped out.


    ¡°woah¡­..¡±


    He saw a room that was filled with monitors and computers and people working on desks and other gadgets. The whole place resembled a NASA facility. All the guys wore suits and some wore strange combat attire consisting of black cargo pants and white jackets with many weapons and gadgets inside them. Most were armed. Girls wore black and white sailor uniforms. Some with skirts and others with pants. They were just as heavily armed. He guessed that their team colors were black and white...


    ¡°this way,..¡± said ella who pulled him out of his daydreams.


    She led him down a hallway toward two large double doors. She opened it and they slowly opened. She pushed him inside with her elbow making him almost trip. Inside was a long table in a dark room that had many chairs around it. A huge screen was at the front of the room.


    Many people were sitting at the table wearing formal clothing. Among them he saw Andrew. The blonde guy simply nodded toward axel, Axel nodded back. One man was shown on the screen. He looked to be around 50 or 60 years old. He wore a uniform that resembled an army general''s without all the badges. He had short gray hair and a short gray beard. His eyes were brown and filled with wisdom.


    The entire room of people including the old man turned to look at axel. The old man spoke first with an old but soft voice.


    ¡°ahh....Axel Ison is it? We have been expecting you. Come on in and have a seat¡±


    Part 2


    Axel felt a little strange. Everyone, including ella who was wearing the same sailor looking uniform with a skirt as the girls, wore formal clothing. He just had on regular jeans on and a black sweater.


    (At least i took a shower¡­) he told himself while taking a seat at the long table. Ella stood behind him.


    The old man nodded.


    ¡°Now then, we can begin¡­ Mr.Ison, I am the commander of the Peacekeeper force. General Richard Styson. It is a pleasure.¡±


    Axel nervously shook his head. Being talked to in such a formal way felt very strange..


    ¡°uh, no no..it''s my honor¡­..¡±


    ¡°Thank you,..now then, I have given Captain Ella behind you the thumbs up in telling you what our main goal is and I''m sure you''ve told him already have you not?¡± he said asking ella.


    She nodded,


    ¡°Yes I have General. He knows about the Ramoji and the stone crystals. Including the shadow hunters¡­.¡±


    ¡°Good good¡­.now then my boy, I am sure that this must be a lot for you to process and it may all be happening so sudden but i am here to tell you that everything will be alright as long as you cooperate with us. I have heard from ella that you wish not to be apart of us but still wish to help in your own way?....¡±


    Axel nervously shook his head again, unable to speak..


    ¡°Well, i and the committee of our organization have come to an agreement. We shall respect your decision however, we expect you to hold your promise and help whenever the situation calls for it..¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    That was more than axel could ask for. He was relieved to hear that they would not push him into joining their forces although, he would still have to help them. That was what axel wanted to do anyways. Remembering Jessica''s rampage made him sure of his decision. It sounded like the same thing but it wasn¡¯t. If he joined, he was dead sure that they would make him live here and enter as a soldier. This way, he would practically be working as a stand in every now and then. Not like he had much of a choice...


    He reached into his pocket and squeezed his test tube shaped keychain. He was deep in thought. He was no soldier to begin with. He hated war and fights and dreaded the thought of leaving home¡­.


    The general snapped him out of his thought process.


    ¡°well young man? Will you agree?¡±


    Only then did axel realize that he did not answer the general''s question before.


    ¡°oh! Sorry...yes, i agree¡­.¡±


    The general nodded.


    ¡°very well. As such, i have something very important to discuss with you¡­¡±


    Axel focused more on the general and nodded.


    ¡°As you know, we are in a search for the ramoji stones and the ramoji themselves. We were recently able to acquire the black stoned ramoji thanks to your help¡­.¡±


    He must''ve been talking about jessica. The black substance that she controlled must''ve been the color of the stone that she held.


    ¡°Now, we have recently confirmed the location of another stone, and this one has a host.. a girl.. We have to act quickly before the enemy has a chance to attack her because we know that if we have found her then the shadow hunters have as well¡­.¡±


    Axel recalled the mess that just one of those shadow hunters caused. The destruction and chaos was unlike anything axel''s ever seen before. He clenched his fist. He did not want this girl to get mixed up with that. He wouldn¡¯t want anyone to get mixed up with that.


    ¡°I understand¡­.but are we supposed to just approach her and ask her to come with us quietly? Or are we supposed to do what cops do nowadays and slam her to the ground because we suspect her?¡±


    The general held his chin and seemed to hold back a chuckle from axel¡¯s comment. Axel mostly said it as a way to relax his own nerves...


    ¡°No harm should be brought to the ramoji. As of now, we have no way of extracting the stones from them. Because of this, it is better to win over the ramoji¡¯s friendship instead. We can watch over them this way¡­¡±


    That actually relieved axel a little bit. He thought he may of had to fight the ramoji and force them to join them, But he still had some doubt..


    ¡°But what if they refuse? What if they pick a fight?...¡±


    ¡°Then you must do what must be done. As much as I hate to say it, you''d have to fight and restrain said person¡­.¡±


    He clenched his keychain once more and told himself that he would never do that to a ramoji. If it ever turned out like that, he wouldn''t know what to do¡­.


    ¡°You must be careful though...this ramoji has been confirmed to be the white stoned ramoji...the strongest of all the other stones so be on your guard¡­¡±


    Axel looked up at the screen and shook his head.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s really all i have for you right now. As you can imagine, i am a busy man. Before I leave, are there any questions you have for me?¡±


    Axel sat up and nodded. There was actually something he was kind of curious to know. Who better to ask then the man himself?


    ¡°Uhhh, yes! There actually is. I was wondering if you could tell me how the peacekeepers came to be?¡±


    Ella hadn¡¯t told him. He pretty much knew when they were first hunted down and what they did but how they were created was still a mystery to him. Ella and everyone else turned to him with curious looking eyes. The General smiled and obliged.


    ¡°Of course. Long ago in ancient times a couple hundred years ago, there was a young man who grew up with war all around him. He grew up as a soldier and was also an orphan at the young age of 3. He hated war and wanted to put a stop to it, and so he would. He possessed what not many others did. The ¡®Soul of Shadows¡¯ ability manifested inside him which gave him the motivation to fight hard and move up in his ranks. Soul of Shadows was an ability widely known in this time and users were often drafted into wars in order to tip the scales no matter what age you were. Anyhow, when this young man was discharged, he and a couple of his colleagues formed together what came to be known as the Peacekeepers. For many centuries, this independent force would fight on the side of justice and help to put an end to most wars. This went on until our force was deemed a threat and almost killed off. This puts us where we are today. Most schools have us look like the bad guys but there really isn¡¯t anything we can do. So, there you have it. Unfortunately, i don¡¯t have much time to give you a detailed story.¡±


    ¡°No, no, that was fine thank you. In history class, we have the option of learning about the peacekeepers or not. I chose not to so I was only taught the gist of the situation since history still played out fine with or without them. I was kind of curious now as to what i was missing out on. I didn¡¯t even bother to remember your organization''s name until ella told me¡­.¡±


    The general laughed and waved his hand.


    ¡°No worries. Now then, i will leave you to get to work. one of the faculty members will give you a picture and some information on this ramoji....¡±


    A moment later one of the people sitting at the table stood up and handed him a file. He nervously accepted it and looked inside. It had a picture of a girl inside. She had ice blue eyes, pale skin, and short jet black twin tails. It said she was 17.


    ¡°hold on a second. Is this ramoji in sonic city?. I''ve never seen this person before.¡±


    The general chuckled.


    ¡°No my friend, she is not in sonic city. Your destination is set to be off the coast of Miami, Florida!¡±


    Axel stiffened his shoulders.


    ¡°................Florida?!¡±


    Part 3


    A dull morning. Nothing went on this day so far,Nothing. A girl sat in the kitchen of a boy''s house eating her favorite cereal, froot loops. This wasn''t really her home. It belonged to a certain boy that had saved her from being homeless, killed, and from darkness. She was eternally grateful to him for that. More than that¡­


    She also owed him the life of her unborn child.


    She was maria. The time now was 11:30 am. When she had woken up, she looked around for axel but found no sign of him. She had sneaked into his bed in the middle of the night in hopes to be able to make her move on him when he woke up but, he was gone! She angrily got out of bed and took a shower. She wore a long brown coat and had brown boots. A red scarf was wrapped around her neck and a white fluffy ribbon held her hair this day.


    She had favored the color white by now. It reminded her of the cold days she spent out in the streets alone wearing a white dress. It also reminded her of the day she met the man that changed her life.


    ¡°there may be a rainstorm now but there is always a rainbow right after¡­¡±


    She remembered the phrase he told her that she started to live by. It comforted her. It was snowing that day.


    As such, her favorite color was now white.


    ¡°So where did you go huh?.....¡± She said into the vacant kitchen. Or at least she thought it was vacant.


    ¡°I don''t think you wanna know. Heck, i sorta wish i didn''t step out either¡­.¡±


    A familiar voice nearly made her jump out of her own skin. She turned to see who it was.


    Sure enough, she saw axel.


    The boy was wearing casual winter clothing with bits of snow on his hair and scarf. He looked tired even though it was still morning.


    ¡°Huh?! Where have you been?! I was so worried!¡±


    Axel shook his head causing some of the white snow flakes to fall out.


    ¡°Don''t worry..I''m okay, see?¡± he said smiling.


    Maria sighed and scratched her head.Axel nodded and went toward the living room. She heard him fall onto the couch.Maria hurriedly put away the cereal she was eating and went into the living room.


    She found axel talking on the phone with someone.


    ¡°...Yeah yeah, i get it¡­..What? You accidentally set your bed on fire?! That''s awesome!! Oh, i mean...you have to learn to control your power Ms.Hot tamale¡­.¡±


    She heard him joke around with someone. The person on the other end was screaming something¡­. She heard the person, a girl, say that she had set her bed on fire. That could only mean that that girl axel was talking with was Casey, A.k.a, Axel''s childhood friend.


    ¡°...so school is still going for ya? Hah, good luck. School doesn''t start here until next week. Ahh¡­.. i see. Well then, thanks for the heads up! Okay, see you¡­¡± and then axel hung up.


    Axel slumped his head back on the couch and shut his eyes. Then he asked Maria a question.


    ¡°Hey? Are you going anywhere?..¡± He said noticing that maria was dressed as if she were going out. Maria shook her head somewhat bashfully.


    ¡°n-no! I just got ready in case we actually ended up going anywhere¡­..¡±


    Axel opened one of his eyes and eyed her.


    ¡°ah, i see¡­.¡±


    Then he shut his eye and relaxed his shoulders. Maria held her chest.


    (This is my chance¡­..) she said to herself.


    She planned to redeem herself for this morning.


    She nodded and closed in on axel. She walked closer and closer to where he was sitting¡­.she could see his chest slowly rise and fall. He was likely falling asleep. She had tried for about a month now but always seemed to fail to warm up to axel. One way or another, something would happen and get her in her way. That wouldn''t happen now! No way!


    She lightly sat next to him and brought herself closer to the point she could feel his own body heat. Just when she was about to make her next move,however,the door swung open causing axel to jump up and maria to flinch.


    ¡°Hello,Axel? Are you okay!? I came to see if you were-¡±


    The girl with a peculiar name that had long golden hair stood at the door confused as to what she had walked in on.


    Her name was natsumi.


    Part 4


    After he got told where the location of the ramoji he was after was, he got told to go back home and prepare to leave before evening. He got dropped off by ella, she threw him out of the plane again¡­.,and was so tired he fell asleep on his couch. When he came to, he saw natsumi standing at the door and maria sitting closely next to him.


    This was yet another uncomfortable situation¡­..


    The two had already met before when natsumi had barged in just like she had just done. When they did, they seemed rather polite, or at least natsumi did. Maria acted like she had forgotten her manners and almost refused to speak at all. Now, it was difficult to say just how well they got along.


    ¡°Anyways, Axel i just came here to check up on you. I''ve been trying to get a hold of you but you haven''t answered¡­.¡± natsumi said fixing her hair on his couch.


    Axel looked at his phone. He navigated it and saw his messages had been full of texts from natsumi.


    ¡°ah yeah. Sorry about that¡­.but I''m okay so you don''t have to worry¡­.. also, I''m going to be taking off for a couple days so, don''t stop by during those days cause i won''t be here. Just maria..¡±


    Maria exclaimed when she heard axel say he was leaving for a while and natsumi raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°you''re leaving? Where are you going?¡±said natsumi


    ¡°I''m going to go visit my parents out in san diego. They''ve been wanting to visit me for a while since the day jessica went berserk. So i thought now was as good a time as any¡­¡±


    Axel tried to say that as earnestly as possible however, he felt that these girls just may have picked up on his bluff on their radar. Although, it was true that his mother had been calling him almost every single day since the attack on sonic city.


    The girls frowned and stared at him. Axel awkwardly smiled. Then he felt a vibration in his hand. It was his phone. He checked it and saw he had a message. It said ¡®meet me at the park near Rosemary Boulevard. We have to get you to use your power¡¯


    He guessed that it must''ve been from ella.


    (How did she get my number?....... is that park really still in tact?....) as he thought this, he got up to leave.


    ¡°sorry, something just came up. Make yourself at home though¡­¡±


    He waved bye to them and headed for the door.


    ¡°Wait! Axel? I''ll go too!¡± he heard maria say.


    He shook his head.


    ¡°No that''s okay. Just stay here and keep natsumi company will ya?...¡±


    ¡°but¡­.¡± she said.


    Axel walked out the door leaving natsumi and maria all alone.


    Natsumi shook her head and sighed.


    ¡°so? We''re following him right?¡± she said mischievously.


    Maria nodded.


    ¡°of course we are!¡±


    ___________


    Axel had been walking for a while now. He hated to turn down maria but, he just didn''t want her to see him use abnormal abilities anymore. He couldn''t explain the feeling.


    So, he walked toward the park near Rosemary Boulevard to meet ella. He looked up to the still cloudy gray sky. Snow slowly rained down.


    Remembering a couple weeks ago, he thought of the time when he first used power magnet. When he saved crystal and her children along with all those other people there,and maria and her unborn child. The sensation that spread throughout his body was one that he could never forget. Strangely enough, the power he held only showed up when he was in a crisis. Whenever he tried to use it just to use it, it wouldn''t activate.


    The strangest part of it all was that the voice that spoke to him that day no longer made an appearance. He couldn''t fathom why.


    After a really long walk, axel made it to the familiar looking abandoned park near Rosemary Boulevard. He found ella sitting on a tree branch twirling one of her twin tails. She wasn''t wearing her sailor looking uniform anymore, instead she wore proper winter attire. A bright green coat and black boots. She had bright green ear muffs on as well.


    (This is?....)


    Axel recognized this park. It was the park where he met a girl who seemed sad. He had tried to give her some words of advice then but the girl never spoke back. He wondered how she was doing. Since he had his back to her, he didn''t get to see how she looked like.


    Axel shook his head and walked over to ella. She noticed him and jumped down from where she was.


    ¡°so you were able to make it. I have to admit, i thought you would bring the girl,Maria, with you.¡±


    Axel shook his head and laughed. Even ella who hadn¡¯t spoken to maria before knew how she acted. Wait a minute, had he ever even told her about maria? He only just met ella again a couple hours ago¡­


    ¡°She almost did come, but how do you know about maria? I didn¡¯t mention her to you.¡±


    Ella¡¯s eyebrows twitched as if she had forgotten something and she suddenly started acting flustered.


    ¡°Anyway! That¡¯s beside the point!¡±


    Axel narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He was pretty sure that ella had been stalking him. Who¡¯s to say he wasn¡¯t always being watched? After seeing first hand all the gadgets and gizmos they had, that possibility didn¡¯t seem all that far off. He wouldn¡¯t pry about it. Sometimes, somethings are better off not known.


    ¡°yeah,okay.....so how are you going to help me use my power more willingly?...¡±


    Ella smiled and the red on her cheeks began to fade. Soon, it was back to the regular pink shade caused by the cold.


    ¡°ah yes, that''s simple. So! What i want you to do is easy..¡±


    She turned and walked over to the tree she was sitting on. Behind it,she pulled out a bucket filled with baseballs. She grabbed one out of the bunch.


    ¡°i want you to throw one as far as I can¡­¡±


    ¡°that''s it? Seems easy enough¡­¡± he said and chuckled.


    Ella smirked. She cocked back her hand and, with a huge gust of wind, she launched the ball up toward the sky almost blowing axel back from the shock wave.


    ¡°wah!???!!?¡± said axel totally stunned.


    The ball ripped through the clouds in the sky and then axel lost sight of it.


    ¡°I-I-I-I-I Can''t do that!!!!!¡± he said with his wide opened eyes staring at the hole in the gray clouds.


    Ella laughed and patted his back.


    ¡°what? Of course you can! If i remember correctly, you defeated 7 metallic snakes with just one punch! All i did was use my wind ability to give my throw a little more oomph. You can do it using your ability too!¡±


    Axel shook his head.


    ¡°but i don''t know how!! Every time i try it doesn''t work!¡±


    Ella shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°well sounds like you have a lot of work to do! I''d hurry up and start learning how if i were you! There is a tournament being held in the island we''re going to and we''ve signed you up! That way you''ll get some more battle experience!¡±


    Axel widened his eyes in shock and held his head.


    ¡°Are you guys crazy!? Why would you guys sign me up for something like that without my permission?! And isn''t it dangerous to use my ability against other people?!¡± he yelled.


    Ella''s expression grew a little serious after he said that. He half expected to get hit by her again.


    ¡°about that, we aren''t going to any regular place with regular human beings. We are going to a place that is filled with people like you and me. The tournament will have plenty of strong people so get ready..¡±


    Axel brought his eyebrows closer as he suddenly grew nervous. His eyebrows were positioned in a ¡°/\¡± type way. They worked as a slide for his coming sweat.


    ¡°no way¡­¡±


    Ella nodded and thus causing his sweat to amplify.


    ¡°I have to prepare the ship for our trip, I''ll be back in a couple hours. You stay here and work on what I''ve told you. Don''t worry about being seen either, This place is close to where the attack happened so nobody is around here, I''ve checked. Good luck..¡±


    She turned and walked off. He stayed where he was just watching the small form of ella slowly disappear. He hoped that along with her, his anxiety would disappear as well but that was just wishful thinking.


    ¡°Oh? Alright then i guess¡­.¡± he said grabbing one of the balls from the bucket.


    He looked at it intensely, He tried to focus in on his ability. He tried to remember the feeling he got when he first used power magnet¡­..It was a hot and intense feeling that he could only imagine was like nitrous pumping through an engine. As if everything in his arm had received one huge upgrade. It was mixed with a feeling that made his arm feel heavier, similar to the feeling he got whenever his arm fell asleep...


    He threw back his hand, he could do this¡­..If this power really was inside him, then he would force it to comply with him!!! He concentrated and used everything in his power to make that power course through him while bringing his arm forward,


    and¡­..


    The ball flew a couple feet,Nothing special, A normal throw. He gritted his teeth and picked up another ball to try again..


    Part 5


    Maria and Natsumi held their breath. They were hiding behind a bush in an abandoned park. They had secretly followed axel all the way to this park out of curiosity to see where he was going.


    They didn''t really expect to hear what they heard.


    ¡°An island!? Did she say they were going to an island?!¡± said natsumi nervously.


    Maria clenched her fist and slammed it on the soft grass ground.


    ¡°he lied! Why would he keep this from me?....¡± she said in fury.


    She looked over the bush at the boy who was throwing baseballs at an average distance. She started to fear that the boy would leave her. What if he never came back? What if he left her for someone else? Was God really threatening to take her one true joy away?


    No, that couldn''t be...right?


    She had to make sure. As such, she had an idea.


    ¡°That ella girl said she was going to prepare a ship? Let''s follow her and see if we can sneak on!¡± she whispered loudly.


    Natsumi shook her head.


    ¡°what are you? nuts?! We can''t sneak into a ship that is probably guarded by people like them!¡±


    Maria stood up. Both maria and natsumi knew nothing of the girl named ella but her name. The last time she saw her was during that chaotic day at the church. If anything, this was also a good a time as any to learn more about her. She was directly involved with the strange organization known as the peacekeepers, the apparent real good guys. If not now, then when? No way would she remain clueless forever!


    ¡°get down! He''ll see you!¡± exclaimed natsumi tugging at the sleeves of maria.


    ¡°i don''t care! If i don''t this, I''ll never know what he''s up too! I must know!¡± maria said.


    She then took off in a sprint toward the direction ella went toward making sure axel didn''t catch her.


    Natsumi let out a groan and followed Maria''s lead. When she caught up,which took some time, maria was already on the tail of the girl with twintails. However, maria was hiding behind a mailbox presumably to avoid being found by ella.


    ¡°is that her?¡± said natsumi.


    ¡°ssshhh!¡± exclaimed maria peeking over the mailbox.


    Natsumi sighed and just started casually following ella. Maria was clearly taken back by this action. Exclamation marks practically appeared all over her head.


    ¡°Hey!? Where are you going??.¡±


    ¡°let''s try and not make it obvious that we''re following her shall we?¡± Natsumi said half mockingly. She seriously doubted ella remembered either of them.


    Maria shook her head and followed Natsumi¡¯s lead while holding her hands up to her chest and fidgeting every steps or so. Ella was turning a lot of corners but keeping up with her wasn''t very difficult anymore since maria had stopped hiding behind things.


    After a very long walk filled with many turns and panicking whenever they lost sight of ella or when she turned back, ella came to a halt in a very vacant place. It was a very narrow alley that had many balconies coming out of the walls. Ella used one of the fire escape¡¯s staircases from one of the balconies and climbed up to the top.


    Natsumi and Maria hid behind a trash can in order to not be seen. They decided to wait until ella got all the way up so they could climb up without worrying about ella looking down.


    They wondered why ella would even go up there in the first place. Would a ship really be out in plain view for all to see? Of course not. They could see up there and there was clearly no ship. So then, what was she doing? They immediately got their answer.


    When ella reached the top, she placed her hand in front of her and grabbed what looked like nothing, but it was something. The outline of a rope appeared in her hand. It was a faint outline but enough to where they could see it. Maria and Natsumi followed it up and saw the outline of a massive ship shaped plane. It was practically invisible but they could vaguely see the outline.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    ¡°N-no way¡­.¡± they exclaimed.


    They saw ella climb the rope and push some kind of a button on the ship and a door opened. Ella got inside of it and when the door closed, she disappeared. After taking a moment to gather their thoughts, they stood up.


    ¡°This is our chance! We have to get up there quickly!¡± said maria filled with determination.


    ¡°wah?! You''re joking! I barely passed the rope climbing test in p.e class! And that was while wearing gloves!!¡±


    Maria did not stay to listen. She went over to the staircase ella used and she quickly started to climb up with outstanding agility. Natsumi cursed her fate but this was the only way to know what axel was going to do wherever it was he was going. She had to know.


    So, she took off after maria despite her legs already trembling. Call it cheesy, but she was really that determined.


    When they both reached the top, out of breath, maria quickly started to look for the rope. She found it pretty quickly. The outline of the rope and ship was once again made visible to their eyes as soon as her hand made contact with that rope. From up close, the distance up was really high¡­..


    ¡°Well, it''s now or never! Please allow me to get up there safely baby¡­.¡± she said softly while rubbing her belly.


    As Natsumi said her prayers, Maria grabbed on tight to the rope and pulled herself up.


    ¡°Glad i learned something in p.e class!¡±


    Natsumi bit her nails. After a moment''s hesitation, she too grabbed onto the rope and pulled herself up. Her muscles were already shaking.


    (I¡­..have to ¡­.get up there!!) She thought motivating herself.


    Almost like a monkey, maria had already made it to the top within a minute. With one hand, she searched the exterior of the ship for a button or lever to open the door like ella did. She didn''t search long. Her cold hand touched a smooth round object on the rough exterior of the ship. She pushed it and a door opened up.


    ¡°Aha! I''ve found it!¡± she said before quickly covering her mouth in fear that someone inside would hear her.


    ¡°I¡­.can''t hold on much¡­..longer¡­..hurry!!..¡±


    She heard natsumi say that through her teeth from below her. Maria looked down at the shivering natsumi. She nodded and grabbed onto the frame of the doorway and peeked inside. No one was around the hallway looking place from what she could see. She then quickly got inside and helped a shaking natsumi up. Maria closed the door that had a wheel on it and exhaled.


    ¡°Oh God¡­.i never want to do something like that ever again!¡± said natsumi not paying attention to the volume of her voice.


    Maria grinned and looked around the hallway. It was white and wide. It resembled a lab room. At the end of the hallway were more doors. Maria guessed that the front of the ship was on the left, meaning the back was on the right. Maria nodded and headed for the doors on the right. She looked back at natsumi who wasn''t moving. She was still pretty scared, it seemed.


    ¡°oh geez, come on you¡­.¡±


    She grabbed Natsumi¡¯s hand and led her to the back of the ship where she was sure ella wasn''t¡­.


    Natsumi shivered and tears filled her eyes.


    ¡°never again¡­..¡± she said with a shaking voice.


    Maria chuckled.


    Part 6


    ¡°hiiyaaaaah!!!!!¡± yelled axel while throwing yet another ball at an average distance.


    ¡°ahhhhh¡­..haaaaaa¡­.¡­.why can''t i do it?....¡± he said gasping for air.


    He looked around the park he was in. Countless baseballs were around the area he was in, scattered mere feet from him. He had been trying to throw it up as far as ella could but, he could not do it. He was at it for quite a long time already. It must''ve been afternoon by now. Every Time the bucket ran out of baseballs, he had to go pick up the one''s he threw.


    ¡°This is starting to irritate me¡­.¡± said axel feeling his face heat up while picking up baseballs off the ground.


    ¡°You know the secret to your power, or any power for that matter, is actually pretty simple.¡± said a familiar voice.


    Axel turned to see andrew standing there with a serious expression, His blonde hair moving to the movement of the wind. He had on casual winter attire now as opposed to his earlier formal attire.


    ¡°oh, it''s you.. you make it sound easy..¡±


    Andrew knelt down and picked up a baseball while axel observed him.


    ¡°That''s because it is easy. This entire time, I''ve gotten the feeling that you''ve been thinking about power magnet as something foreign to your body. Well, you have to start thinking that it isn''t foreign anymore. It''s now apart of you and using it should be as simple as breathing or moving your hand. If you can do that, then it''ll come easy to you..¡±


    As he said that, andrew cocked back his hand and launched the ball up toward the sky just like ella did with a splash of water coming out of his hand. The clouds once again separated from the ball''s path.


    (!! He used his water to push out the ball faster and stronger than he would have on his own?....amazing¡­)


    ¡°Woah!¡± he exclaimed with pure amazement.


    Andrew smiled.


    ¡°believe it or not, power magnet basically has a mind of its own. If you treat it as a foreign power, it won''t adjust to your body. If you do, it will adjust quite nicely. So, when you use it, remember the feeling you had back when you fought against jessica or saved that girl from the robot snakes, Or imagine if you were once again in a position where you couldn''t do anything while those close to you got hurt. Use that as motivation. Grab a certain memory and use it to give your engine a jump start...¡±


    Axel nodded with a brand new smile surfacing on his face. Motivated, axel grabbed another baseball off the ground and prepared to give it one more try. He closed his eyes and focused.


    (It''s not foreign anymore¡­) he thought.


    He focused in on his power. He searched deep within him. He found a cold part of him and instead of calling out to it, he grabbed it as if it was his own. As if simply trying to move his own toes¡­..


    (As easy as breathing or moving my arm¡­)


    But just grabbing it wasn¡¯t enough! He needed to flip on the switches, and he had the keys. He knew exactly what it was he wanted to protect, who it was he wanted to protect. His family, and as of now, the girl that was living with him. No matter what, he never wanted her to see her sad ever again. He pictured it, what if she was in trouble? What if she was in need? What if she was kidnapped? What if natsumi,casey,jessica,jennifer,lucy, and everyone he cared about had their lives threatened? Would he just sit around and refuse to help? no¡­..


    He cocked his arm back.


    He thought back to when he saw natsumi being strangled. When he saw the life almost leave her eyes. The helplessness he felt. The rage...the fury¡­. He couldn¡¯t stand it, something inside him always seemed to scream in protest. When the building tipped over and those innocent people around him were in danger, when maria was about to get killed in front of his very own eyes, what did he feel?


    Rage, anger¡­...frustration¡­..he had to use that!!!


    Right here, right now, those he cared for meant the world to him, and they would be his strength! He felt a familiar hot feeling of power being inserted into his arm and his muscles bulged out as his blood flow increased dramatically.


    This was his own power..


    Andrew suddenly remembered something and tried to stop him.


    ¡°wait! You gotta pump the brakes-!¡±


    But he was too late.


    ¡°oooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!!!¡±


    With a mighty yell, he sent his arm flying forward and flung the ball to the sky with a tremendous boom. A powerful gust of wind came from below them and soared upward rustling their clothes and hair.


    Andrew covered his face before dust got in his eyes. Then he looked up and saw that the ball had ripped straight through the gray clouds in the sky leaving behind a trail of white circles where the ball had flown through. Axel was still bent forward from throwing the ball.


    A massive amount of pain engulfed his entire right arm, and for some reason, his legs and some parts of his abdomen. Even his spine felt like it was on fire. though his clothes were intact, he was pretty sure he tore some muscles. His right arm slowly fell as he struggled to keep it up. The bones were okay but it was like he couldn¡¯t control it at all since it disobeyed his will to stay up.. Despite this pain, he thought of something else.


    (It worked? It actually worked!!)


    ¡°I did it? I did it!! OOOOWW!¡±


    He tried to raise his arms in triumph but a sharp pain stopped him from doing so. He grabbed his right arm with his left and grimaced in pain. Andrew was pretty shocked at axel''s throw but, he shook his head and spoke to axel.


    ¡°That was too reckless. You were so focused on getting it to work you forgot to limit the flow of power to just a certain area.


    Since you didn¡¯t, you strained random parts of your body. Not to mention that you didn¡¯t concentrate on only using a certain percent of power. At least you used wind and not super strength or I¡¯d be looking for the remains of your body. At full power, any ability will have serious repercussions on your body right now, so try and use as little as possible. As you start accepting and using power magnet more, you¡¯ll be able to use more power ¡±


    ¡°ah¡­.sssorry¡­.¡±


    (So maybe, the reason my legs didn''t break that day i jumped away from jessica was because i pumped the brakes unconsciously?)


    Once when fighting jessica, he had used some sort of ability to grab maria and take her to safety by grabbing her and jumping away. He expected his legs to break again like they did when he first saved maria but, they didn''t.


    He was just starting. As he was now, he really was a glass cannon like ella called him. If he really wanted to do anything, he had to hurry and gain full control of this power of his!


    Andrew shook his head as he saw axel flinch in pain at the slightest movement he made. Then he felt a vibration from his phone in his pocket. It was ella notifying him that it was time to go.


    ¡°well axel, nice job but it''s time to go. We have our own personal nurse going with us so she''ll patch you up. I guess this works out fine, it''s about time you met her.¡±


    Andrew pointed his thumb upward.Axel looked up and, by focusing his eyes, he saw the outline of a huge plane.


    ¡°!!?? Is that ella?...¡± he exclaimed.


    Andrew nodded. Then he went over to axel and put axel¡¯s left arm around his shoulder. Then, axel and andrew started floating...floating?


    ¡°wha?..¡±


    Axel looked down and saw water at his feet. It must''ve been pushing them up.


    After a couple moments, they made it to where the ship was. Andrew pressed a button on the ship and a door swung open. Andrew quickly helped axel get inside and then got inside himself, closing the door behind him.


    Axel recognized the area. It was the same area that ella and axel were in when he got sucked out of the plane.


    ¡°wait? Am i going to be able to stop by my house and pack? I haven''t packed anything. What about my roommate? I haven''t told her anything. If i don''t show up she''ll be worried sick¡­..¡±


    Andrew just patted his shoulder and chuckled.


    ¡°There''s no time. We''ll worry about your girlfriend later.¡±


    ¡°huh? What am i supposed to wear in florida? This? And she''s not my girlfriend. She''s a girl who is also my friend¡­¡±


    Andrew led axel to a door that was in the hallway they were at while ignoring his nonsense talk.


    ¡°yeah yeah, get patched up and then meet us in the control room.¡±


    Andrew opened the door and pushed axel inside. Andrew closed the door and swiftly walked away.


    ¡°hey?! Wait!¡± axel yelled after him but andrew had already left.


    Axel looked around. For a nurse''s office, it was pretty dark. Axel could see a few monitors here and there and he saw a couple hospital beds lined up against the wall. He saw one person sitting on a rolling chair in front of the monitors. The person''s back faced him.


    ¡°U-um? Excuse me? Are you the nurse?...¡± he said nervously.


    The person in the chair turned to face him. His heart rate, which was already flustered, intensified for some reason. Purely against his will and with no real cause at all.


    The nurse was a girl. She seemed to be really young. She had long cool ice blue hair and crystal like eyes. Her pale skin complimented her rosy pink lips and cheeks. She had on a white nurse uniform. She had a blank expression on her face. Almost¡­.like a doll.


    The girl nodded once.


    ¡°yes, i am the nurse here. My name is Saphire. Saphire Simon.¡± said the girl plainly.

 Chapter Seven: Memory Lane

    Part 1


    ¡°Saphire huh?...¡± he said softly. He felt his face flush a little bit. Though he didn''t really understand why.


    ¡°Yes, and you must be the boy named Axel right? You¡¯re injured, come and have a seat there¡±


    She pointed at the first bed to her right. Axel nodded and limped toward the bed. Saphire got up and inspected him.


    ¡°your right arm?...¡± she said.


    ¡°I um,...i can''t move it¡­.some parts of my legs and my spine too.¡­¡± he said embarrassingly.


    The girl narrowed her eyes a bit and turned on a lamp that was directly above them. She then gently touched his aching arm,causing him to flinch. She shook her head a bit.


    ¡°If power magnet ever gets used to your body, it is best not to go overboard until you have gotten used to it yourself. As you have probably already heard, your ability is apart of you now. That doesn''t mean it can''t wear out,It is like a muscle. If you overwork it, it''ll rip. The same result will occur even if it adjusts to your body. Maybe not as easy, however.¡± she said in a robot like tone.


    However, axel knew she wasn''t a robot. The touch of her finger was definitely a girl''s. So gentle¡­ a sweet apple like aroma filled his nostrils. His heart began to beat faster for some odd reason.. As if a feeling was being intensified against his better judgement. What was going on?


    ¡°regular first aid won''t work. Your bones seem to have many fractures around them and the skin on your legs are probably in the same condition¡­.don''t move¡­¡± she said.


    ¡°ow ow¡­.¡± he grimaced.


    She grabbed his arm with both hands and slowly brought it up. Immediately after, his arm began to feel cold...really cold. He looked down and saw his arm getting covered in a blue coating of ice, and it didn¡¯t stop there. It spread to nearly his entire body except for his neck up.


    ¡°!!¡±


    ¡°relax...This will help you¡­.¡± she said softly to him when he tried to jerk his hand away.


    At her command, axel relaxed and watched as his arm and body got frozen over. When it was completely covered in ice, it started to glow. Slowly, he started to feel his arm getting better and the pain started to fade away. His spine,legs, and abdomen felt the same. It was such a satisfying feeling to have pain be alleviated all in one go. Eventually, he felt nothing, Just the cool chill of the ice.


    Saphire closed her eyes and the ice shattered and disappeared, the crystals of ice twinkled in the air. She let go of his hand and he brought it up to his face


    ¡°no way¡­.¡± he said.


    He opened and closed his right hand and moved his arm around. It felt as good as new! He kicked his legs around and felt no sting of pain. He was better!


    ¡°it feels great! Was that your ability? That was awesome!! Umm- i mean, thank you so much.¡± he tried to say formally.


    He blushed a little and extended his arm to shake her hand. Saphire stared at his hand and raised up her own.


    ¡°No need. My job is to heal you and all the others. I''m only doing my job.¡±


    Disappointed and somewhat awkwardly, axel put his hand down.


    ¡°I see¡­.well, i thank you anyway. Your ability is something else alright¡­¡±


    ¡°as of now, you only have 4 abilities correct?¡± she said changing the subject


    Axel counted the ones he had used so far. Casey''s fire, someone''s super strength, ella¡¯s wind, a some type of electricity.


    ¡°um, yes. I have 4 of them. I don''t know how to absorb them though¡­¡± he said half timidly.


    Saphire nodded.


    ¡°power magnet must of done it for you. In any case, when you want to absorb an ability just try and imagine reaching out to the other person with your own aura and taking a chunk of their power. In a way, you create a gateway between you and them allowing you to use their power.¡± she said plainly.


    Aura? He didn¡¯t know what that was. Well, he didn¡¯t have time to sit around and chat with her all day. Though his heart was fluttering, he was feeling very uncomfortable and wanted to leave as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t know why and that more than anything was pissing him off.


    ¡°how do you know so much about power magnet?¡± he asked trying to forget his anxiety.


    ¡°i made sure to study on it as much as i could in order to benefit you in anyway.¡± she said emotionless.


    ¡°ohh¡± he said softly.


    The girl looked at the clock on the wall. She went over to the chair she sat in when axel first walked in to see he and sat facing her monitors once more..


    ¡°It is time for you to go.¡± she said.


    ¡°huh? Oh, i guess it is¡­¡± he said with a face that didn¡¯t actually show his emotions.


    He got up and walked over to the door half expecting her to call him back so they could continue talking. After realizing that she wasn''t going to, he asked a question instead.


    ¡°eerr,... which way am i going?...¡±


    She pointed to her left.


    ¡°oh um, right got it¡­¡±


    He opened the door and walked out and made his way down the hallway to the left.


    (That was strange¡­)


    He thought back to his encounter with the girl named saphire just a couple moments ago. For some odd reason, axel had felt a tingly feeling in his stomach all during that time. He could not explain why. Axel felt his cheeks burn up a bit and he tried to shake it off.


    Thump.


    ¡°!? Hm?¡±


    Axel quickly turned when he heard a thump noise come from behind him. He didn''t see anyone though. He scouted the area with his eyes one last time before continuing to walk to the end of the hallway.


    _______


    Maria and Natsumi were both holding each others mouths hiding behind a door. They were just discussing their next move when suddenly they heard a conversation going on in the room next to them.


    One voice sounded familiar. The other sounded like a robot talking. Maria confirmed the familiar voice to be axels.


    She, including natsumi, seemed to have gotten very upset at their conversation. Not so much the conversation but, the way axel sounded to them. He sounded like an excited little boy.


    Furious, maria was about to charge out of the room but, natsumi stopped her.


    ¡°if we get caught now we''ll get in huge trouble!¡± she said grabbing on to Maria''s arm.


    ¡°No! Can''t you see my man is being taken from me?! I''ll kill her! Let me at her!!¡±


    They suddenly grew pale when they heard the room doorknob turn and the door swing open. They quickly ran back into the room they were in and stood completely still.


    When maria peeked outside to look, she saw axel with a tinge of pink on his cheeks. She unconsciously stomped her foot in fury. When she saw axel turn back, she quickly brought her head back inside the room she was in.


    ¡°!!¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    Maria gasped and seeing that, natsumi gasped too. They both grabbed each others mouths and stood completely still. When they heard axel¡¯s footsteps getting further and further, they let go of each other.


    ¡°phew, that was close¡­.¡± said natsumi feeling relieved.


    Maria clenched her fist.


    ¡°.............i need to have a long talk with axel..¡± she thought remembering the tinge of pink she saw on axel¡¯s cheeks.


    She didn''t admit it but, she felt very jealous of whoever the girl in the other room was.


    Seeing maria practically burning in irritation, natsumi let out a small chuckle. One word came to her mind to describe Maria''s current behavior.


    ¡°Jealous.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± exclaimed a steaming maria.


    ________


    After walking down the hallway, he had finally made it to the front of the ship. Inside he found ella and andrew conversing with each other.


    ¡°woooaah¡­.¡± he said in awe.


    The front of the ship was pretty large.Unlike before when it was empty, It now looked like a mini NASA facility inside with one throne like chair placed higher than the others. Possibly the commander''s¡¯ chair where the entire front could be clearly seen. It was something he had never seen before. Ella and andrew looked over at him.


    ¡°welcome aboard!¡± she said extending her hands outward.


    ¡° You remember Thor right? Well this is it¡±


    ¡°About that, are we going to stop home first? I haven''t even gotten anything, nor have i informed my roommate that I''m leaving. She''ll be pretty worried if i-¡±


    ¡°don''t worry about that. We''ve got that covered for you. We even remembered to lock your door.¡± said andrew.


    ¡°You packed for me?! That''s how trust issues get started you know!¡±


    Andrew looked to the side.


    ¡°You should be thanking me instead,digging through someone¡¯s personal belongings isn¡¯t exactly fun for me¡­ Oh, your girlfriend wasn''t even there.¡±


    ¡°huh? Really? That''s strange¡­..she''s not my girlfriend though¡­.¡±


    Thump.


    Another thump was heard from outside the door axel had come through. Axel turned around and looked back at ella with questioning eyes.


    ¡°don''t worry about her¡± said ella clapping her hands together while walking toward the door behind axel.


    ¡°I know exactly where they are.¡±


    ¡°you make it sound like there''s more than one.¡± said axel.


    Ella walked over to the door and pulled it open. Two girls fell out because they were leaning against that door. Axel knew these two.


    ¡°Wha?! Maria?! Natsumi?! How on earth did you guys get on here?!¡±


    They didn¡¯t respond to his question.


    ¡°You blew our cover!! Why on earth did you stomp your foot down all of a sudden?!¡± said natsumi while rubbing her head.


    Maria frowned and rubbed her cheek.


    ¡°Oh shut up¡­.. how did you know we were here?..¡± she said talking to ella.


    Ella smiled.


    ¡°When did i not? I always knew you were here. Did you think i wouldn''t notice two girls with such strong intentions behind me?¡±


    ¡°so then why did you let us go?¡±


    ¡°eh, i just wanted to see how far you''d go. I didn''t think you''d climb all the way up here though¡­.¡±


    Maria and natsumi looked to be a bit disappointed and embarrassed that they were never actually undercover.


    ¡°Now then, your guy''s stuff was also packed along with axel''s. No need to worry for i handled the girl''s stuff¡­¡±


    The two girls exclaimed and stood up with confused expressions. After some explanation, it was revealed that natsumi and maria would be joining axel since they went through so much to follow him. They understood rather quickly and had no objections. Axel scratched his head somewhat disappointed by the amount of stalkers in his life. He then went to go take a seat at a nearby chair. At some point, maria had grabbed a chair and sat directly behind axel. She looked like she was hiding. Natsumi sat next to him but at a fair distance.


    ¡°why are you hiding?¡± he said to maria who seemed a little scared.


    She just shook her head and didn¡¯t look at him.


    Thinking back, he remembered that maria had a very unpleasant experience that happened all too sudden. The world had been very cruel to her. She had given up hope in humanity. She found a glimmer of hope within axel but, she still seemed very skeptical of the outside world. He liked to think that she was reborn, As if she was a new person. She acted very differently. Sadly, he had come to one harsh conclusion. Just a couple weeks prior..


    He simply sighed and smiled softly to the girl behind him. It was because of ella that she was hiding.


    (She must''ve been afraid to be alone, that¡¯s why she came¡­..but what about natsumi?....)


    The blonde beauty was sitting next to him calmly as if waiting for her order of food to arrive. He was glad that she was with her. Natsumi did not know about maria¡¯s disorder but she did know about what had happened to her and felt bad for maria. Since he told her, she softened up and actually made friends with maria. Which was a good sign since maria was a tough cookie to crack. Trust issues were apart of her too...


    ¡°So, axel, before we begin i would like to introduce you to our crew. I''m sure you''ll love them¡­..¡± ella said sounding excited. To contradict that, axel was still in deep thought about maria when he turned his attention back to her.


    A pair of double doors next to the commander''s chair opened and a couple figures walked out.


    ¡°This is?!....¡±


    The people that walked out all looked extremely familiar. As if he''d met them somewhere. No. He had met them.


    ¡°Tony? Michael? Lucy? Jeniffer? What the hell is going on here?!¡± axel said standing up from his seat.


    These were axel¡¯s classmates. Some he had known better than others but, he knew who they were regardless. They all walked out with mixed expressions and didn¡¯t say a word.


    Ella chuckled.


    ¡°that''s right some of your closest friends are all here.¡± she said twirling one of her twin tails.


    Part 2


    Axel¡¯s heart was beating fast. How could some of his closest friends be working for this strange organization? He racked his head around and felt his thought process multiply dozens of times over. Michael must''ve noticed this.


    ¡°Hey man,We know. This must seem very strange. It is for us too. To be quite frank, we don''t actually know why we ended up here either. When we were young, we all lost most of our memories and the only thing we knew was that you were our friend. We grew up together, we were sure of that,but for some reason the life and everything around us was different from what we thought. None of it made sense. And somehow, we ended up here. Since we can''t remember why we are here, or even most of our childhood, we wondered if maybe you see us in your earliest memories?¡±


    Axel shook his head nervously.


    ¡°no¡­.¡± he whispered.


    ¡°that''s impossible. I only just met lucy. I didn''t meet any of you at that young an age. I¡­.i would remember¡­..wouldn''t i?¡± he said with a shaking voice.


    Lucy looked down disappointingly.


    ¡°so you don''t know either huh?..... it''s true.. i can vaguely see you in my earliest memories. You are there.. but for some reason, you have forgotten..even i almost forgot but i haven''t..¡±


    ¡°Although i hate to interrupt, we''ve got things to do, you can explain the situation later.¡­.take your seats guys. We are almost at our destination and I need you guys working.¡± said ella with a firm voice.


    The crew made up of axel''s friends nodded and rushed over to their seats. They put on headsets and began to work on their computers. Axel watched them silently. He was at a total loss for words. He was just about ready to yell for them to bring out the cameras because he knew he was getting punk¡¯d. It made absolutely no sense. so what if they were crazy since they were kids? Why would they join the peacekeepers? Did that mean they also had uncanny abilities!? Were they really apart of that? What on earth was going on!? He was so confused!


    Ella sighed and snapped her fingers to get axel to pay attention to her again.


    ¡°Axel, i have something to tell you before we get there, So please divert your attention from your friends for a second¡­¡±


    It took a couple seconds but, he finally turned to face ella, albeit with a stunned face.


    ¡°good¡­.¡± she said.


    ¡°now, we are going to a very strange place in florida. We are going somewhere right off the coast of Miami. Have you ever heard of the bermuda triangle?¡±


    Axel nodded slowly only just barely hanging on to her words.


    ¡°well, dead smack in the middle is an island called savant island.¡±


    Axel had heard that word before, ¡°savant¡±. His grandfather had said it when he was talking nonsense. Was she talking about the same stuff?


    ¡°Savant? My grandfather used to talk to me about savants. Something about them but, I never payed attention to him¡­¡±


    ¡°well, you should''ve considering that your grandfather was actually apart of us at one point.¡±


    ¡°........¡±


    Now this one was another shock for axel. It was just one thing after the other.


    ¡®WHAT!!!???¡± he yelled out in shock while holding his head.


    ¡°you mean to tell me that my grandfather was actually sane?!! And he was apart of you?!! No way!!! He was insane and yet sane the same time!?¡±


    Although he wasn''t really showing it,deep down he knew that this actually kinda made sense to axel. His grandfather showed many hidden talents that made axel believe that he wasn''t completely insane. And more than anything, it finally put him at peace to know that his grandfather was perfectly fine from his mind.


    ¡°Yes, that is why your last name left me a little surprised the first time we met. Mr.Ison helped out alot. He is still missed among us¡­.but that''s not the point here, let me explain to you this very important subject. It''s vital that you know so pay attention..¡± she said getting serious.


    Axel was still pretty shocked which made his mind race and he sat up to listen. If he didn''t brace himself for another shock now, he''d faint. What was next? Was his mom also some freak?


    ¡°savants around the world as you know it are usually known for being extremely talented in a specific area while being very poor in others. Some are even disabled in some sort of way. Now, the savants that we are talking about in the world of the supernatural are about the same but have much more special talents. These guys have developed what they call ¡°Skills¡±.¡± she said.


    ¡°skills?¡±


    She nodded


    ¡°these skills are what we know as abilities that they have manifested. These type of savants are very rare. They need to have both a strong soul and spiritual energy on top of being born with a special talent. Only about 4 thousand savants like these have been born possessing a special ability. These savants have been gathered and brought to islands where they will be safe from harming others or themselves. The government keeps these guys locked up so they can watch over them and make sure that they don''t get riled up and try to harm the world. They are aware of the savants power¡­¡±


    His head was starting to hurt due to all the information he was taking in.


    ¡°not all savants are captured and gathered there. Some still live normal lives since their ability either has not manifested properly or because they do a good job at hiding them. Who knows. Now, in the savant island, there is a ranking system that they have. The strongest to the weakest, All marked by categories. 1 to 7. 1 being the weakest and 7 the strongest. There are a lot of people that are in the 1st through 5th category however, there are very few in the 6th and 7th category. In the 6th category, only about 5 people have made it there. Very powerful indeed. In the last category, those who have been blessed with an extraordinary power have been placed in this category known as the ¡®locked category¡¯. Only 11 people have been granted a power like that. No one can attain this rank, Only if you were born with such a power.¡±


    In other words, if one were to be born with a power like casey, fire, she would be placed in the first category but would be able to strengthen her skill and advance in categories. However, the highest rank would be the 6th category. The only way to get into the 7th category would be to have a naturally strong power straight from birth. The 7th category was the top of the heat. An unattainable rank¡­. He wondered just what type of power they had and how strong they were. If anything, he hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to go toe to toe with one of those guys...


    ¡°are the people ranked even within their respective categories?¡±


    Ella nodded.


    ¡°in the locked 7th category, there are 11 people that are all ranked by numbers. 11 the weakest and the 1st the strongest. Same goes for the 6th category. All the others don¡¯t matter. Let''s hope you don''t run into any of these guys in the tournament tomorrow¡­¡±


    ¡°You read my mind¡±


    Axel gulped. He knew that whether he wanted to or not he¡¯d face up against someone super strong. Someone with years of growing with their power and learning to use it in every way possible where as he was barely getting the hang of it.... Savants were scary creatures¡­. Then something came to his mind.


    ¡°Does that make my friend casey a savant? Is that what she is?¡±


    Ever since they were kids, she had that strange heat controlling talent. Up until just recently, she wasn¡¯t able to do much. Now she could spout flames from the palms of her hands. That description of what a savant seems to apply to casey perfectly.


    Ella held her chin and looked up in thought.


    ¡°You know i think she very well may be. I can''t think of any other reason to explain her flame skill. Since she isn¡¯t in any islands i can only assume that she managed to hide her presence from any officials. So yes, let¡¯s go with yes.¡±


    That finally made sense to axel. He finally had an explanation for casey. She was a savant! This closure would probably kill her curiosity to know what she was once he tells her.


    ¡°Now that i¡¯ve told you that, let me tell you why we really signed you up for this tournament. It¡¯s because we believe that the ramoji we are after is also going to participate in it. If she does, we can convince her to join us¡­.¡±


    His stomach started to feel queasy. Axel looked outside and looked at the rapidly passing clouds. They must''ve been traveling fast. He moved his hands to his stomach and clenched it. Ella narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°The tournament starts tomorrow at 11 am. If you have any more questions we can discuss it in the morning. Go ahead and get some rest¡­


    Axel hated to admit it but, he was feeling pretty worn out. Both mentally and physically, Even emotionally. He nodded and stood up without another word. The two girls near him fidgeted a little. Natsumi seem to of have been in a deep thought and jumped when he moved all of a sudden. Ella pointed to the door on the other side of the chair she sat on.


    ¡°down that hallway there are 3 rooms. One for each one of you. Your stuff is in one of them so go ahead and make yourselves at home. Oh! There is food in the cafeteria too if you''d like.¡±


    Natsumi nodded.


    ¡°sure, I''m pretty hungry¡­¡± she said accepting Ella''s offer.


    ¡°I..uhh¡± said maria looking over at axel.


    Axel stood silent for a moment before looking up to look at them both.


    ¡°you two go on ahead. I''m pretty worn out.¡± said axel stretching his arms and yawning. He walked over to the door ella pointed at and walked through it.


    ¡°oh um..Alright..¡± said natsumi somewhat disappointed.


    Maria was going to go eat but she felt worried for axel. Hearing that many shocking things at once was not an easy thing to just shake off. That and she didn¡¯t want to be alone with these guys.


    ¡°........ you...umm...can go...i¡¯m going to..sleep¡± said maria staring at the door stuttering and clearly shaking.


    ¡°oh,..okay.¡± nodded natsumi.


    Maria smiled awkwardly and turned to find axel. However, a gust of wind stopped her and momentarily made her shut her eyes. Ella jumped in front of her faster than she could react and lightly placed her hand on Maria''s growing womb.


    ¡°Ah yes, i forgot that you are carrying an extra piece of luggage..¡± she said inspecting her.


    Maria''s face reddened as she struggled to think of something to do to get out of this situation.


    ¡°oh uh yes¡­.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re fine,right? Do you need anything? How long have you been pregnant?¡± she said.


    Maria''s eyes spun at Ella''s sudden amount of unwanted questions.


    ¡°Oh uh no no, I''m¡­.fine¡­.I''m only about a month in¡­..¡±


    Ella breathed through her nose and admired her for a couple seconds before saying something that caught the entire room off guard.


    ¡°Did that idiot really put a bun in your oven?¡±


    Her face went blank. Well, everyone¡¯s went blank. The crew made up of axel¡¯s friends were no exception. Lucy out of everyone turned faster than humanly possible to hear the answer and also to confirm what she had just heard. Up until now, no one knew that she was pregnant, and maria had no idea how ella did.


    ¡°So you¡¯re pregnant? My¡­ congratulations! But aren¡¯t you underage?¡±


    Maria¡¯s ears twitched.


    ¡°Axel is also underage. Don¡¯t tell me you guys did such a thing? How are you supposed to take care of the baby?¡±jeniffer asked in an assertive tone.


    ¡°It was probably just in the heat of the moment. You can¡¯t really blame her for making a dumb choice, we all do it!¡±


    They all continued to converse among themselves on maria¡¯s pregnancy. All while maria listened. It felt like every one of their words echoed in her mind. The criticism, she couldn¡¯t bare it. The only thing that came to her mind was her parents, her friends¡­.., the world¡­ even if what they were saying held no wrong intentions, it felt like a saw grinding through her ears. Like nails on a chalkboard, She hated it. She wanted nothing to do with it. She didn¡¯t want to listen¡­ where was he?.....Where was he!?


    Ella shifted her eyes away from the crew when she noticed maria begin to shake and her eyes fill with tears. What was going on?


    Maria held her head. Memories, so many memories filled her mind and threatened to eat her whole. The streets, the cold lonely streets, where the savages went to feast, where she was hunted by the eye¡¯s of many, where was he?..... She was going to be crushed, if she didn¡¯t fight now, she¡¯d die! She had to live! She had to fight to survive!! She needed to-


    ¡°Maria¡±


    Light. It was very bright. It felt like her mind was placed at ease and a sudden burst of confidence was finally coursing through her being. Her nervous shoulders relaxed and her body stopped shaking. She turned to look at the door with such emanating joy that she was sure the whole room felt it.


    Ahh, There he was


    Axel had returned and peaked his head around the door he came from. With a sigh, he beckoned to her.


    ¡°I found the room with your stuff in it! Come check it out!¡±


    Among everyone, it could be felt. There was such a strong pressure here between these two that no one felt like interrupting them. Lucy held her chest and slowly turned around to face her screen again. Jeniffer also followed suit. With a smile, maria nodded and turned to ella.


    ¡°To answer your question, no. axel wasn¡¯t the one that got me pregnant. It was someone who isn¡¯t the love of my life anymore, and I appreciate all your concerns but I will figure out a way to support my child. Besides, my 18th birthday is coming up so i won¡¯t be a child anymore. I hope you guys understand that, bye now!¡±


    Saying so and waving with a smile that lit the entire room, maria ran off with axel down the hallway. Ella sighed. That transformation just now was not normal, and she was sure everyone knew that.


    (She''s been through a lot¡­ had it not been for axel, who knows where she would''ve ended up..) she thought remembering the time axel jumped up to protect maria from a metallic snake. Who knew that one event would save that girl¡¯s life multiple times over?....


    ______


    After leading maria away from ella and the others, he left her in her room and let her get ready to sleep. Then, he went into his room and jumped straight into bed. He didn''t immediately fall asleep however. He stayed up for a long time thinking about a lot of things. Random stray thoughts flowed through his mind and he expanded each and every one. By the time he got to seriously thinking, the noises outside of his small room had gone silent. This could only mean that everyone had gotten ready for bed. His head hurt a lot, His stomach ached, He just wanted some rest. Especially since he would have to fight against people tomorrow.


    ¡°savants?...¡± he said into the empty room.


    Strange people born with supernatural powers. He once craved to know the secrets of the world but, now he wasn''t so sure he wanted to know anymore. His friends were really people from his childhood, and his grandfather was apart of the peacekeepers¡­. It was just too much. He was confused, Conflicted, and having to face another opponent like jessica made him feel scared¡­. Not to mention the other savant monsters.


    The world was vast and extraordinary, it was amazing. He felt like he had already known everything there was to know, but now he felt so¡­...small. All of a sudden the world felt much larger. So much more¡­...intimidating.


    Most of all, what was up with his school friends? They said that they remembered him in their childhood and that they grew up together, but why didn¡¯t he? His childhood was spent with casey, kyle, and cindy. Those 3 pretty much made his childhood what it was. So then, just what on earth was going on? What if he¡­.what if he thought back? What would he see?.....


    Flames¡­¡­.Rain¡­..A girl screaming¡­..he was crying, she was crying, she was surrounded, he had to help¡­¡­..A girl¡­ blonde hair¡­.a bossy girl¡­.and a lazy boy¡­.a gateway...an explosion...


    ¡°!?¡±


    He gasped and sat up in his bed as fast as he could. He took multiple deep breaths and touched his heart. It was jumping up against his ribs. He must¡¯ve fallen asleep. He rubbed his neck and felt sweat all over it.


    (What...was that?)


    It was like a surge of unknown memories played in his mind. It was blurry and sketchy and felt like a scratched dvd or a ruined videotape that stuttered. It was so..bizarre? Was that just a figment of his imagination? or was it something much more?¡­..


    Part 3


    A ray of sunlight that was hitting his eyes made axel wake up. He squinted and sat up on his bed. He stretched and yawned making a couple drops of tears surface his eyes. When he brought his arm down he felt it hit something squishy. He turned to see maria fast asleep.


    Of course, despite him telling her not to worry about anything she still made her way here. Whatever, as long as he didn''t wake her up he could continue his morning like normal.


    He found his luggage, then the bathroom and took a shower. After he got done dressing and grooming himself, he stepped into the command center of the ship. There, he found all of his classmates working at their set stations.


    Tony was the first to greet him.


    ¡°Hey good morning man! You sleep well?¡± he said smiling like his usual self acting like nothing was wrong.


    Axel took this opportunity to ask some questions that had been bothering him the entire night. He needed to know.


    ¡°I slept fine. All of you, tell me¡­ why did you all keep this from me? Why did you all act like everything was okay? What was the point?¡±


    The smile on tony¡¯s face left. He sat with a troubled expression, struggling to find something to say. Axel knew that what he had just said seemed a bit rude but he just had to know. Everyone of his classmates looked at him with troubled expressions as well, as if they felt ashamed. Lucy spoke up to break the silence.


    ¡°I''m sorry axy¡­.we all are but, we didn''t want you to get involved with these type of things since you hadn''t woken up in the lair with us¡­.¡±


    ¡°lair? What are you talking about?¡±


    Jeniffer answered him this time.


    ¡°about 10 years ago, we all woke up in a lair with members of the peace keepers watching over us. We didn''t know why we were there nor how we ended up there or for how long. We also realized that we couldn''t remember anything from our childhood. Nothing except for the fact that you were our friend. We remembered our families and what not but they don''t remember us¡­..¡±


    For the first time in ever, he saw jennifer''s eyes fill with tears. Their parents had forgotten them? That must¡¯ve been a terrible feeling.... Why? That was the question here. Why?


    Michael spoke up and added to jennifer''s statement.


    ¡°That''s right, They don''t remember us. As if we never existed. The peace keepers tried to warn us of that but we didn''t listen. We went to our homes and all of us got rejected by our families. Having nowhere left to go, we came back to the peace keepers and we got offered jobs. Yes, 6-7 year olds were trained to work in exchange for a place to stay. That is around the time we met ella,who was even younger than us, and we''ve been here and going to school ever since. We tracked you down and attended the school you went to but we found out the hard way that you didn''t remember us either. I remember it like it was just yesterday¡­..¡±


    { In the busy hallways of an elementary school walked a very hyperactive young boy with a blanket tied around his neck to make it look like a cape. He was around 6 years old and had black blueish hair with large brown and curious glowing eyes. He marched down the hallways like a soldier followed by two young girls. One was a girl of the same age with brown curled hair and the other had mixed light brown hair with natural darker brown highlights.


    ¡°Where was our classroom at? Do you even know where it is axel?¡­.¡± said one of the girls.


    ¡°Of course I do cindy!! Come on now, be more like casey! She''s knows i know what I''m doing!¡±


    ¡°I''m actually just very¡­.nervous¡­¡± said the girl named casey.


    The tiny boy named axel laughed while continuing to march down the hallway. His steps were uninterrupted until he turned a corner and ran into someone.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Axel yelled as he staggered backwards. It was lucky he wasn''t going too fast.


    ¡°I knew you''d run into someone!¡± cindy yelled while running up to him.


    ¡°Owwwww¡­.my head¡­. Watch where you''re going!!!¡± he yelled at the person he hit. A girl with curly blonde hair and soft brown eyes. She held her hands up to her chest and began to stutter.


    ¡°U-um¡­.A-xel?¡± She said.


    The boy named axel raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Eh? How do you know my name? Can you read minds!? That''s so cool!¡±


    Ignoring his oncoming energy, the girl looked like she was about to cry before turning heel and running.


    ¡°Huh? Hey wait! What did I eat yesterday!???¡±


    ¡°She can''t read minds.. no one can do that! Can they?...¡±Cindy asked.


    ¡°You made her cry axel. Why are you so meeean?¡± Casey said as she lightly punched axel.


    ¡°me? Mean? I''m not kyle.¡±


    ¡°hmmm? Did you say something about me?¡± said a blonde spiky haired kid that appeared from behind axel. The boy had dull blue eyes and a mean look on his face.


    ¡°Ah!? Kyle!? No, i, uhhh¡­..look! There¡¯s my class!!¡±


    ¡°Get back here you spaz!!¡±


    As that small crowd of kids ran away, another group of young kids huddled around each other around the corner from where the boy axel was originally at.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t recognize you lucy¡­..which means he doesn¡¯t remember us either¡­¡± said a boy placing a hand on the shoulder of the crying girl named lucy.


    ¡°I¡­..I knowah!! Wha¡­.what...is going on?!...Tony, what do we doo!??...¡±


    ¡°I¡­..I don¡¯t knowww!!!!¡±


    The group of four all burst into tears, unable to explain the situation they were in¡­. Shortly after, teachers came rushing over and took all four emotionally destroyed students to the office¡­..}


    ¡°I knew lucy seemed familiar! So that girl that day was you? That¡¯s awesome. And i remember hearing about 4 kids that started crying out of nowhere, but i never found out who it was. Guess, i know now.¡±


    Tony rubbed the back of his neck and sat back in his chair.


    ¡°After that happened, we decided to just keep on moving forward with our lives. We met you and made friends with you the normal way. Lucy didn¡¯t have the courage to until just recently. We never asked you if you remembered us or anything because it was clear that you didn¡¯t even recognize lucy. So, with no answers, we just made the best of our situations.¡±


    Everything was starting to make sense¡­..sort of. It was definitely a reasonable story. If he thought about it, there wasn¡¯t really any reason not to believe them. Then again, there was no reason to believe them either. But why would they lie? That explanation perfectly explained why lucy ran away from him when they were kids, and it also,call him crazy, just felt like it was true. Something inside him told him to believe their words. After all, any and all logic he knew was thrown out the window the moment he received power magnet and was involved with these kinds of people. But then, the question remained, who would alter their memories? Like most things up to now, he would just have to wait for an answer.


    ¡°anyways, what seemed strange to us was that you have also forgotten most of your childhood but, your parents know who you are. We wonder why that is¡­.. We hope to find an answer soon¡­..¡±


    Axel clenched his fist again as he suddenly started to feel very angry. These guys were forced to work here and pretty much had no family. What an awful fate. Never before had he been so grateful for his family. However, none of what was said made any real sense. it just didn''t add up...


    ¡°But don''t you remember anybody else? Why just me? don''t you remember casey? Cindy? Kyle? my sisters?¡±


    Lucy looked at him and then at everyone else before shaking her head. "Aside from school, no" Then she gave him a question that absolutely sealed the deal for him.


    ¡°If you still have trouble believing us, then try this. Do you remember anything from before you were 6?¡±


    ¡°What of course I-¡±


    As he was about to confirm her foolish question, his confidence soon dropped. His heart fell to the soles of his feet and his stomach felt sick. He couldn¡¯t remember anything. Not one thing. He desperately attempted to search his mind for answers but found nothing. It was like a brick wall was covering the path to all of his old memories and there was no way to get around it.


    (What¡­..is this?!...)


    ¡°You see? That¡¯s what we experience too. A memory blockage from before we were 6. Now you have reason to believe us.¡± said lucy reading his pale expression.


    Axel felt a chill go down his spine and he shook his head. It was definitely spooky but there was no real reason to panic just yet. Maybe he just couldn¡¯t remember was all¡­ still, at this point he¡¯d have to give credit where it was due and not take their word for granted.


    ¡°Okay¡­...but do you know why this has happened?¡±


    ¡°No...i wish emilia was here, maybe she''d know¡­.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Emilia?¡± he said hearing the name that sounded strangely familiar.


    Lucy seemed to bite her tongue as her eyebrows twitched and she waved her hand.


    ¡°Oh, just an old friend of mine¡­¡±


    Axel wondered who she was talking about for just a moment before forgetting about it. Axel bowed his head. If they did not remember them, he wondered if maybe casey did...


    ¡°We''ve been watching over you behind the scenes as well to make sure you were safe but, now that you have power magnet our roles just might switch¡­.¡± said tony in an effort to lighten the mood.


    Axel relaxed and nodded. For the time being, it was best not to worry about it. Screaming and crying was not going to solve anything. Maybe one day they would all get answers and finally come to terms with things. That was all they could hope for right now. Axel looked out to the rising sun from the ship¡¯s window. The clock on the wall displayed the current time. 6:57 am.


    ¡°better get ready axy, we are about to enter the bermuda triangle.¡± said lucy working her control panel talking in her usual perky tone.


    ¡°huh?¡± said a confused axel.


    Jeniffer answered him.


    ¡°You''ve heard about the disappearances of ships and planes in the Bermuda triangle right? Well they happen for a reason. The government made that savant island specifically there years ago because of that legend. To reinforce that legend, whenever ships and planes go through the Bermuda triangle they get teleported away from there by a special government made machine¡­.¡±


    Axel had watched on the news about a ship disappearing and reappearing randomly before. This had to be the reason why. Was science really that far advanced?


    ¡°Why do they do that though?¡±


    ¡°Simple, they don''t want anybody finding out about these special savants. It would be bad for the world. And since we don''t get along with the government, we have to sneak in..¡±


    ¡°sneak in? How are we supposed to do that?¡±


    Jeniffer grinned.


    ¡°well, the Bermuda triangle is protected by a huge triangle shaped barrier. As soon as something foreign travels through it, they disappear. They may reappear somewhere in the world or never appear again. That makes sneaking in impossible ¡­.. Unless we already know someone that can get us in¡­¡±


    Axel felt a chill go down his spine. The government allowed ships and planes to just go missing?....axel moved his head back. It seemed like the world was much more crueler than he originally anticipated.


    ¡°what? Who do you know that can get us in?¡±


    Jeniffer smiled in a mischievous way.


    ¡°muahahaha! You''ll see very soon!!¡¯


    ¡°Eh? I¡¯ve never seen you make a face like that..You''re scary¡­..¡± he said looking at the devious smile jeniffer had on.


    Her computer screen flashed multiple times and the words ¡°arrived at destination¡± showed.


    ¡°oh! We''re here? Okay so, are you ready to go?¡± she said to axel while typing on her computer.


    ¡°we''re here?! Well yeah i guess i am but, i haven''t eaten break-¡±


    ¡°Great! See ya!¡± she said cutting off axel who was getting engulfed by particles of light.


    ¡°wah?!! Where am i?!¡±


    Jennifer and the entire command room he was in disappeared. His vision was blinded by many particles of light and he felt the ground below him disappear and for a second he felt like he was flying. When he felt his feet touch the ground once again, he was in a completely different place.


    A small room. A living room to be exact. There was a plasma TV hung on the wall and a white couch in front of it. The room was painted white. He looked around where he was standing at and saw that he was standing inside of a tube shaped machine with buttons and small screens inside. Since he was able to step out, he did as such.


    ¡°Hi!! It''s about time you got here!!¡± he heard a familiar voice say. Yet another female voice.


    He turned toward the direction of the voice and saw a girl in a gray sundress standing there with a huge smile on her face. She had jet black hair that was let down to hang to her lower back. She had ruby red eyes and smooth brown skin. The size of her bosom told him that she was at least 18. Although her skin color was a little darker from before, this was without a doubt the girl who went berserk. Jessica.


    ¡°woah!? No way! You''re jessica right?! It''s good to see you!¡± he said feeling relieved to see her in one piece.


    Right after the battle between them had ended, jessica was taken by ella and andrew in order to get stabilized. Although he was very skeptical at first, he eventually gave in to their demands and handed over jessica. Since then, he had been thinking about her for a very long time. Since he had no way of contacting neither ella or andrew, he had no way to know how jessica was.


    He didn''t expect to meet her here of all places. The girl joyfully shook her head up and down multiple times.


    ¡°Likewise! I am grateful to you! Had it not been for you, i could''ve hurt many innocent people! For that you have my deepest gratitude!!¡± she said while grabbing his hand and shaking it multiple times.. Axel couldn''t help but scratch his cheeks.


    ¡°Eh? No no, you don''t have to apologize...I''m sure anyone would''ve done the same..¡± he said nervously.


    ¡°But you¡¯re plan was so ridiculously planned out! It was self sacrificing and amazing! I didn¡¯t see it coming!¡±


    ¡°About that, i didn¡¯t drug you...i just made you think that..¡±


    ¡°Yes, i know! But it was so well thought out and awesome! But i¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still alive. How did you do it?¡±


    She was possibly referring to that final explosion. Surely any human would¡¯ve died if they were caught up in a blast like that, and he was sure he did.


    ¡°I think i did die, but the same explosion shocked me back to life i think¡­but what about your burns? Were you badly hurt?¡±


    ¡°It literally cindered me which is why i¡¯m a shade darker but other than that no. i was able to make a full recovery and meet you here.¡±


    Smiling and feeling happy to see her again, axel took a look around the room to inspect the area. he asked about his current location.


    ¡°oh! Well, I''m sure they must''ve told you but you are inside the bermuda triangle barrier! This is Savant Island!¡± she said stretching her arms wide. Hearing her words, axel ran out the first door he saw by the side of the plasma TV.


    Outside, there were many skyscrapers and billboards with one huge blimp taking up most of the sky. It had a large screen on its side that displayed the words ¡°Savant battle tournament sign ups today @11!!!¡± Unlike in california, it was really sunny here! The sky was a bit cloudy but he could still see the orange sky and golden sun that was still rising behind them. He saw many kids walking around in the same clothing. Gray dress pants with a white dress shirt and a tie. The girls wore plaid skirts with a button up black shirt. Other kids wore everyday casual clothes. He also noticed that there were almost no adults in sight. The city looked like some future type city. This was definitely not sonic city.


    Axel was in awe. He once again remembered the words he thought just one month ago. He wanted to see what mysteries the world could be hiding. This was obviously one of them.


    ¡°No way¡­..¡± he said to himself.


    ¡°Believe it now? This is Savant Island ..¡¯ She said stepping outside with him.


    Axel stopped staring at the many details and aspects of the city and looked down at Jessica.


    ¡°So, what do i do now? My friends are still up on the ship¡­¡± he said to her.


    He was very anxious to tour the grand city before him but, he wanted to do it with Maria and Natsumi. After all, this would be their first time seeing something like this as well. Sharing memories with them like this would be a great thing.


    ¡°Ah, they should be getting here right after they wake up. You can wait in here for them if you''d like. This isn''t my home but, I''m sure the owner won''t mind if we eat some breakfast..¡±


    Axel shook his head accepting Jessica''s offer


    ¡°that''d be great, but who owns this place?¡± he said while he walked to the kitchen jessica led him to. He sat at a round table that was in there. Jessica sat across from him.


    Jeniffer clearly stated to axel that in order to get into savant island, someone already had to be on the inside. That couldn''t of have been jessica because she didn''t live here before. she also is not a savant. So, it had to of have been someone else. Jessica looked past axel.


    ¡°Well, see for yourself.¡± she said pointing with her eyes.


    ¡°huh?¡± he said looking behind him.


    He saw another girl approaching them. She had long brown hair that was curled around the edges of it. Although, now her hair was visibly tangled and sticking out from certain parts. She wore one white sleeping gown and had sleepy brown eyes. Axel knew this girl...The girl yawned.


    ¡°ugoaaa, jessica what time did you say axe was supposed to-¡± she stopped when she noticed axel sitting there. They both were at a loss for words for a second. Then they both shouted in unison and pointed at each other.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here!!??¡± yelled axel in confusion.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here!!??¡± yelled the girl while hugging herself


    Casey. Axel''s friend that was supposed to be at a new school she had transferred to. Axel recalled the last time he had spoken to her over the phone. She said that she was really busy with school so she wasn''t going to see him for awhile. He didn''t expect to see her all the way out here though!


    ¡°You were about to ask jessica when i was going to arrive!! You should know!! So, what are you doing here!?¡± he yelled at her.


    Casey''s face reddened a bit and she made a complicated expression.


    ¡°eh?! Uh, i ,uh¡­¡­.ah what the heck. No point in hiding it now¡­¡± she said, seemingly giving up. She relaxed and sat down near axel at the table. She crossed her arms.


    ¡°Do you remember the time i transferred schools? Well, i had to come here¡­¡±


    Axel was honestly a little shocked. Around the time that casey had to leave to another school, she said that it was a private school that her parents had forced her to attend. That story was totally believable since her parents were really strict when it came to studies. Axel nodded.


    ¡°So then, you knew you were a savant all along?¡±


    Casey nodded.


    ¡°That is what the doctors told my parents when i was small. They had to


    register me as being a savant...I was still allowed to go to school normally until, for some reason, i was pulled out and told to come here..¡±


    It had not been her parents that made her come here, It must''ve been the government. As to why, he did not know. He did have one question, however.


    ¡°How are you able to travel all the way here in such short amount of time then?¡±


    Casey lived way out in california. Florida was on the other side of the United States! It did not make sense how she was able to travel so fast. Unless¡­.


    ¡°The same machine you came here with is the same machine i use to travel home. It''s real convenient!¡± she said showing a bright smile.


    That made sense. There was really no other explanation. After all, this place was so heavily guarded! There was no way for anyone to enter!


    ¡°But, does the government allow you to leave so easily? If there was such a convenient machine to get in here, wouldn''t that run the risk of ordinary people getting in? I doubt they''d risk it.¡±


    ¡°Well of course they don''t let me! They don''t know about it! My dad made this machine so that i would be able to still come home!¡±


    Axel remembered that Casey''s father was a genius. He actually worked as a scientist and created many things. Although, most of them failed.. Could it be that this teleporter was his first working invention?


    ¡°No way. The old man actually did this? He''s so cool¡­.¡± he said in admiration. Casey nodded pridefully.


    ¡°So then, how did you meet jessica? I see you''re getting along well!¡±


    Casey''s mood suddenly darkened a bit.


    ¡°Not exactly¡­ ella contacted me saying she wanted to use my teleporter because they had important things to do here. I agreed and before i knew it, they sent her here!!¡±


    She pointed at Jessica who''s face reddened a little.


    ¡°All i did was walk in and greet her¡­.but, she just totally blew up and started firing flame bullets at me. Apparently she thought i was back for revenge or something.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­. Don¡¯t worry, she practically tackled me when she first saw me again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh at me! I really thought she was here to kill me so i thought it was the perfect time to turn the tables and kill her instead! No one told me she was good now!¡± she yelled as flames spurted out of the edges of her hair.


    As axel continued to laugh, Jessica sighed and looked at the clock.


    ¡°oh! Don''t you have school in a couple minutes?¡±


    Casey screamed.


    ¡°wah!! I have to go or I''ll be late!!¡±


    Faster than he could see, she ran into her bedroom and came out fully dressed in the same uniforms he saw the kids out side wearing. Then, she bolted out the door. Jessica chuckled and Axel put a hand on his face. It was saturday after all. Jessica looked up at him and stood up from her chair.


    ¡°Well that was interesting. I¡¯m going to take a shower so you can just wait here, i¡¯ll be right out¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, uh, sure¡±


    Axel walked over to the living room as soon as jessica left and he sat on the couch. he couldn''t help but feel relieved every time he remembered the smiling face of jessica. She looked happy. Well. Alive. Most importantly, when he looked into her gleaming red eyes, they were warm. Not cold. He was really glad that he was able to do something.


    Now then, there was someone else he wanted to see. Someone who unfortunately had to suffer because of his lack of power¡­..


    Part 4


    ¡°So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about all of a sudden¡­¡± said a blonde girl holding her cheeks bashfully.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Sorry to ask you to come down from the ship so early..¡± he said apologizing to the girl who was walking next to him.


    After talking with jessica, he called natsumi so that he could talk to her privately. To which she responded with,


    ¡°What?! Are you asking me out?! Oh my...and without maria getting in the way?! I''ll be right there!!¡± then she hung up¡­. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the case but whatever.


    She was dressed quite nicely¡­...Alright, beautifully. She had on a dress that was white from her chest up and the rest black. Her hair this time around was held up by a black bow. She was truly beautiful. Enough that his heart was still beating pretty fast and he noticed a lot of guys were looking their way. She didn''t seem to notice though. He wasn¡¯t good with this kind of stuff. He was sure his face was red all over.


    ¡°what?¡±she said to him tilting her head a bit.


    ¡°Nothing at all, haha..¡±


    Right now, they were walking down the streets of savant island. Not knowing where they were going.


    ¡°well, i wanted to ask¡­.how have you been ever since...you know...we got attacked..¡±


    A little after he received power magnet, he was attacked by a member of the shadow hunters while he was with natsumi. He still did not know how to control his power and, as a result, natsumi was hurt. She was grabbed and nearly strangled to death. All because of his incompetence¡­.. He couldn''t stop thinking about that.. he felt so terrible. Luckily ella rescued her¡­ if not for her, she¡¯d be dead.


    Natsumi sighed.


    ¡°so that''s what this is about? And here i was thinking that maybe you''d take me out today¡­¡±


    ¡°huh? But i,...¡±


    ¡°It''s okay.¡± she said suddenly grabbing his hand presumably for extra reassurance


    ¡°what are you-?¡±


    ¡°I don''t blame you for that. If i did, i wouldn''t be here¡­and it''s not like you didn''t try to do something. Through the little i saw through my eyes, i saw you...desperately trying to crawl toward where i was¡­¡±


    Axel didn''t know what to say...what to think¡­ he was sure that natsumi was at least a little upset about-


    She cut his thoughts off.


    ¡°Knowing that you tried to do something is better than knowing that you did nothing¡­..I''m okay now! There is nothing to worry about!¡± she said while now taking a hold of his arm. It was nice hearing words of reassurance from her. He was very worried about this.


    However,


    He could not accept her saying that she was totally fine. He escaped her hold and stood in front of her.


    ¡°huh?! Hey, what are you-¡± she said puffing her cheeks. She immediately stopped however. The reason was simple, Axel had gently, gently, placed his hand on the side of her neck and slowly moved his fingers up and down to reveal something.


    ¡°Axel!?¡­.¡± she said blushing furiously¡­


    ¡°I know that you are not totally okay¡­. Do you really think i haven''t noticed you trying to hide this with make up?¡±


    Natsumi widened her eyes. Axel rubbed his hand against her neck and, slowly but surely, he started to uncover something that was being covered with makeup. A mark.. There were finger marks on her neck.. Natsumi averted her eyes, too embarrassed to say anything. Axel felt a great surge of rage at the sight of the mark left behind by that bastard from the shadow hunters.


    Natsumi then reached up to hold his hand once more that was still on her neck.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± she whispered.


    ¡°I was left with this mark¡­. Even after so long..I''m sure it will come off eventually but, until then, i knew it would bother you so i covered it up¡­. I-¡±


    ¡°I promise you..¡± he suddenly said.


    ¡°!?¡±


    Axel continued.


    ¡°I promise that i will do my best to never let something like this happen again...no matter what¡­ i promise to do my absolute best to keep you and everyone else from danger¡± he said with determination in his eye.


    What could she say? Natsumi looked into his eyes and wondered this. He was serious¡­that much was obvious. She smiled. Then she looked around and noticed her surroundings. They were in a park, right in front a water fountain. The rays of the sun crossed in front of axel''s face.


    (Such a beautiful setting¡­) she thought.


    Why, just about a month ago she had no real contact whatsoever with him, and now here they were in some high tech island filled with strange and abnormal beings having a chat under the sun. things moved along really fast, but she wasn¡¯t really complaining. It was way better than hiding in the shadows and only thinking about talking to him. In fact, who knew if she¡¯d ever get another chance like this. Life was so short, and if something like what happened last time happened again, who knew if they¡¯d get lucky enough to survive. With that in mind, she knew that every opportunity like this was to be taken full advantage of.


    And so she didn''t waste another moment..


    Chu.


    ¡°??!¡± axel gasped.


    Natsumi had suddenly pulled axel close to her and before he knew it, he felt a soft warm object press up against his cheek. She kissed his cheek.


    At the same time, he felt his heart ache and his stomach felt sick. It wasn''t because of natsumi.. no, this didn''t even feel like his own feelings.


    Natsumi pulled away and pounced back happily.


    The feeling disappeared and he could now feel his heart fluttering normally. axel was at a loss for words.


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you then. I can¡¯t do anything to help, i¡¯m just a human who happened to get mixed up with this, and i know it¡¯s the same for you too. At this point, all i can say is do your best and i will support you in anyway i can!¡­.¡±


    Faced with her brimming cheer, he lost attention to her earlier actions and focused on her words alone. Saying that she was a human that just happened to get mixed up with this hit closer to him more than she or even he thought it would. Everything she said hit home. And for him, it was overwhelming. It honestly felt like it all hit him at once and tears manifested themselves in his eyes. He wiped them away with his forearm and shook his head.


    ¡°You got it!¡± he said.


    She giggled and made her hair sway as she shook her head. Despite actually being amazing to her, he was still such a crybaby. Maybe that¡¯d change one day as he gained confidence? She could only hope.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going back to casey¡¯s house, if maria realizes that i left without her she¡¯ll probab-¡±


    Axel turned heel while saying that to her and starting heading toward the direction they came from but he accidentally ran into someone and was pushed back.


    ¡°ouch. ¡­ sorry about that. are you okay?¡± he said to the person he bumped into.


    It was a guy. Not a girl like it usually was. He was a little taller than axel. He had spiky blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. They weren''t the good kind though. His eyes sent a chill down his spine. As if he...had seen them before. They were ominous and most of all...dangerous. He was wearing the same school outfit he saw on other guys there. Axel could also clearly see that this guy was well built.


    instinctively, axel grabbed natsumi¡¯s arm and pushed her behind him. It was just a precaution but, this guy felt like he would kill without a moment''s hesitation. He didn¡¯t want to risk it. The guy was facing downward and he seemed to be irritated. It took him a bit before he looked up at axel with cold angry eyes.


    ¡°you ¡­. Get the hell out of my way before i-¡±


    He was already sounding hostile but, as soon as he took a good look at axel his face twisted into a look of pure fury. Even though he already seemed angry to begin with. His face twitched a little and then, out of nowhere, axel¡¯s body sent warning signals to him from all over.


    BOOM.


    The next moment, the spot where natsumi and axel were standing at was completely incinerated. The fountain that was there was blown away and nothing remained. Only smoke came from out of the burned ground with a sizzle.


    ¡°That was too close¡­.¡± axel gasped.


    After he felt danger, he didn¡¯t waste another second. He quickly grabbed natsumi and, with his heart set on protecting her, he channeled his power and managed to jump away a considerable distance. Controlling the wind beneath his feet was his aid this time. He thanked his luck for once¡­. His power was able to come through at the last second. Though the soles of his feet started to cramp up just a bit, he didn¡¯t damage them farther than that.


    ¡°A-a-a-axel¡­..w-w-why did that guy just try to kill us??!¡±


    Since he was holding natsumi in a princess carry he could feel her shaking. This was just like that time¡­. This time though, he saved her. So, he relaxed and smiled,a shaky one, to try and reassure her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not to sure but, it¡¯s alright. He won¡¯t hurt us¡­¡± he said.


    He could feel her shaking gradually relax but, she was still clearly frightened.


    He smiled and then looked up at the attacker¡­ the smoke from the blast was covering his body. Axel had felt this feeling of danger before. Not with the shadow hunters. No, it was a more personal feeling that he had felt as a child. Not only that but, the guy he saw¡­ he recognized him.


    When the smoke finally started to clear away, the guy was visible from the other side with his hand stretched out and smoke coming out of his palm. His face was still twisted with rage as he breathed in and out¡­..slowly¡­.


    ¡°You¡­.¡± he said while looking back up at axel.


    Axel fought his memory hard to remember. He remembered this type of behavior¡­


    Natsumi looked around and started noticing many people look at the explosion that just happened but, once they saw who caused it, they kept on walking with a faster pace, Seemingly afraid. She then noticed something, that no one was going to intervene. No one even exclaimed. Was this how this city worked?


    ¡°How does scum like you dare show their face in a place like this?.....¡± he said with a voice filled with hatred.


    At last, axel remembered. He widened his eyes and started to breathe faster than normal...as if running out of breath


    ¡°Axel?...¡± natsumi said noticing the sweat on axel¡¯s face. Now, he was the one shaking..


    He nervously moved his lips to speak.


    ¡°No way¡­..you¡¯re...Kyle?!¡±


    He neither confirmed nor denied but, there was no doubt in axel¡¯s mind. He met kyle when he was young. He remembered that kyle was always so full of himself. A jerk. Everytime he was around him, axel couldn¡¯t help but feel danger¡­ Kyle brought his hand down and clenched his fist.


    ¡°I said, what the hell are you doing here?!! Huh?!!¡± he demanded.


    Axel did his best to stop shaking and answer. He took a deep breath and looked at kyle. Kyle had steam coming out from all over his body as he prepared to probably launch another attack.


    ¡°K-kyle, it¡¯s been a while right? Like 5 or 7 years? I-i-i-i umm, i just came to visit a friend of mine¡­.¡± he said trying to sound casual.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me!! There is no fuckng way in hell they allowed you to come in here just to visit!!!¡± he said yelling at axel while bending over and clenching his fists. It looked like he was getting ready to attack again..


    Knowing his luck, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to evade this time. He tried to think quickly. What was his skill? It appeared to be creating explosions but, the ground that kyle was standing in front of was burnt black..


    (fire then?)


    That was the only thing he could really think of. The ground looked like it had been burned. The fountain that was once there was now a pile of ashes. He doubt an explosion could do that. At least, not one that he¡¯s ever seen. At the most, an explosion would leave behind some debris¡­


    ¡°L-l-listen kyle! It¡¯s the truth! I-¡±


    Before he could finish, he felt his body once again warn him of danger. This time though, he couldn¡¯t react fast enough..


    ¡°!!!??¡±


    ¡°Wah?¡±


    He heard the sounds of flames pass him. He and natsumi gasped in fear and he shut his eyes. He felt his right elbow make contact with an incredible amount of heat and he cried out in pain.


    ¡°Gah?!¡±


    When he opened his eyes, he saw that the ground to the right of him, including his right elbow, had been scorched. His elbow was bright red and he could see that some of the skin had been burned. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to it though. Instead he focused on the girl in his arms.


    ¡°Natsumi?! Are you okay?¡±


    The girl seemed to be shaken up but, she nodded.


    ¡°Y-yes...but axel, your elbow.¡±


    ¡°Compared to what i already went through, this is nothing. I¡¯m fine¡­.don¡¯t worry.¡± he said. It was a lie. It was a big fat lie because this tiny amount of pain seemed to even surpass the one he felt just one month ago. Why did it hurt so much!?


    The flames luckily missed natsumi¡¯s head by a hair¡¯s width. It scared him to think that it wasn¡¯t by accident, instead , it was because kyle was just that accurate. This at least confirmed that kyle¡¯s skill was definitely fire¡­ Kyle once again snapped at Axel.


    ¡°Hey!!!Don¡¯t you ignore me you bastard!!!¡± he said to axel who was talking to natsumi. Axel nervously looked over at kyle.


    ¡°Good¡­.now you listen here¡­.i don¡¯t care why you are here.. But since you are, it must mean that you have a skill too right? Judging by that leap from earlier i can only think that my assumptions are correct.¡±¡± saying this, kyle laughed menacingly.


    ¡°hahaha¡­..hahahaha!!!!You are going to sign up for that tournament today, and you are going to face me so that i can roast your ass!!! Don¡¯t forget!!! Or i¡¯ll personally see to it that you get destroyed anyway!!¡± He held out his palm and created a ball of flames. Then he closed his fist, making the flame disappear. Was the flame supposed to symbolize axel?....


    Kyle took one last look at axel and then walked right toward him. Axel stood his ground and stayed where he was. He tried to conceal his shaking as much as he could.. Other than that he was too afraid to move.


    Kyle stopped when he was right next to him. He said one thing that sounded like a growl.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    Then kyle walked away. After a couple seconds, axel looked back to see people stepping out of kyle¡¯s path. When he could see him no more, axel fell to his knees. Natsumi could still feel him shaking. She couldn¡¯t very well see his expression but, she guessed that he must¡¯ve been very afraid.. She understood that much.


    ¡°Axel?...¡±


    ¡°.....¡±


    Axel was quiet. She was beginning to feel very worried until,


    ¡°Good grief..¡± she heard him say.


    Axel finally looked up and she could see that he was nervously smiling.


    ¡°Huh?¡± she said confused at axel¡¯s reaction. He stood up and calmly looked at natsumi.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± he said finally putting natsumi down. Well, he tried. He bent forward and placed her feet on the ground but, natsumi did not let go or get up. He had to tell her that she could get off now.


    ¡°Oh, right....¡± she said apparently forgetting she could walk.


    She dusted herself off and followed axel who began walking toward the place they came from as if nothing had happened. The people around the area slowly watched them leave with wide open eyes. Natsumi frowned.


    ¡°What was that all about? Why are you acting like nothing just happened?!¡¯ she yelled at axel. Axel let her catch up to him and he sighed.


    ¡°That back there was a childhood friend of mine. Well, friend is a little bit of an exaggeration. Our friendship was one sided.¡±


    ¡°Childhood friend?...¡± she said. Axel nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Even though he''s older now, he still acts like he did a couple years ago. Somethings will never change¡­¡± he said to her.


    ¡°We grew up in the same neighborhood. He was a very angry kid but he was also filled with pride. I dunno why though¡­¡±


    Natsumi tilted her head in wonder.


    ¡°So was that his way of saying hi?¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say that.¡± he said.


    Natsumi hated to think what his way of saying goodbye was¡­..


    ¡°But,¡± said axel sounding serious. ¡°One thing that did change from before though is that he has a skill now¡­.and a dangerous one at that. I guess it fits with his character¡­¡± he said to her. Natsumi scratched her head.


    ¡°Well, i hoped that this tournament would be at least a little easy but, it looks like that''s not going to happen¡­.¡± Axel looked at the sun that had finally risen to the sky. Although reuniting with kyle was scary, it was still nice to know that he was doing alright. Not to mention that he had a very powerful skill.


    Axel grew more and more nervous. He did not really want to win,but he didn¡¯t want to lose either in this tournament and he knew that kyle didn''t either. That could only mean that he''d have to face him eventually and, the feeling in his burned elbow would soon be felt throughout his whole body¡­


    Part 5


    ¡°Miss? It''s morning, you should get some breakfast..¡±


    ¡°Hm?....¡±


    In a plane soaring through the skies, a beautiful girl in her teenage years sleepily opened her eyes when her flight attendant woke her up.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Thank you..¡±


    The flight attendant nodded and left her. The girl yawned and stretched her arms. She took a look at the room around her. She had fallen asleep at her desk while watching a video of a boy doing something incredible. He was using superpowers. It was no movie, no animated video. It was a real life boy using super powers! The footage was very rare and was sent to her by a fan. It showed him destroying multiple ¡°Robots¡± with an outstanding punch!


    She heard about the attack on sonic city but, she never really got much details about what had transpired. By seeing the video, she could tell that the damage done to the city was nothing to laugh at.


    She knew of the peacekeepers and the danger they posed but,to her, it looked like the boy was protecting the city, not destroying it. If this was the case then that could only mean that there were also people with supernatural abilities that weren¡¯t on the bad side. The world was a very strange place indeed. What would that mean then? Was the media not all it was cracked up to be?


    She stayed up all night watching the video over and over again. How the boy swooped in and jumped at the robots with courage and bravery¡­. How he punched the robot with an insane amount of strength¡­.. How he even made the weather change¡­. It was incredible..


    The video made her think a lot. It gave her a lot of questions that she wanted answered. She couldn¡¯t just ignore it. She had to know, and she knew who would give her answers. The higher ups would obviously blow off all her questions, they wouldn¡¯t want crucial information like this getting out. So, she thought of contacting the boy in the video. If he was still alive that is. As such, she used the power of her popularity to find this young man through social media. It didn''t take long to find him..


    All she did was post a status on facebook, along with a clear picture of the boy in the video,asking all of her fans to help her find that boy. In less than a day, one of her fans responded to her status with the boy¡¯s name. It scared her seeing the power of social media but at the same time she wasn¡¯t complaining¡­


    He didn¡¯t have an account on social media, but she found pictures of him from his family members. From there, she was able to gather enough information to know exactly who the boy in the video was. She looked out the window of the plane with a smile.


    ¡°Axel ison huh?.....¡± she said softly. That was the name of the boy. Oddly enough, the boy seemed rather cute to her¡­. That in itself was a rare thought for her. An idol like her rarely has enough time to worry about boys¡­


    Anyways, it was a good thing she had nothing to do for an entire week. Now then, with this free time available to her, and with all the questions she had, she was determined to get answers. And so she would. Luckily, the boy¡¯s name was not the only thing she managed to get¡­.


    The attendant¡¯s voice was suddenly heard through the intercom a short while after¡­


    ¡°Ms.Ivanov, we will be arriving in Miami in approximately 30 minutes.¡± she said.


    The girl could feel herself shake in excitement. Soon now, she was sure she''d be having a lot of fun¡­


    _______


    ¡°Achoo!¡± sneezed axel.


    ¡°Bless you.¡± said the brown haired girl next to him.


    ¡°Ah, thanks. Someone must be talking about me¡­.¡± he said thinking about the superstition that stated that whenever someone sneezed was because someone was talking about them.


    Maria, the girl next to him, frowned in suspicion. Soon after he arrived back to casey¡¯s house with natsumi, he found maria timidly waiting for him like a little girl. As soon as he entered her field of vision, her eyebrows twitched and she walked over to him and practically almost fainted when she saw the wound on his elbow. It was more or less healed now thanks to power magnet but, it still looked pretty bad. Enough to make her freak anyway..


    She quickly grabbed a towel and some water to clean the wound, pushing natsumi out of the way during the process¡­After she had wrapped it up in bandages, he then grabbed said damaged arm and made him sit next to her. Axel tried to protest but she said that whenever she wasn''t there he''d get into trouble. So, she thought this was the best way to keep an eye on him. She then sat on the couch in the living room with axel.


    So, that was the position he was in now. As he thought before, he wasn¡¯t good with this kind of thing. Sure he¡¯d been living with maria for a little over a month now but never had he had to sit with her like this. Usually he was unconscious whenever she got this close..


    ¡°Hey, quit daydreaming and tell us what happened already!!¡± yelled a red faced casey trying to snap axel out of his trance. At some point, she must¡¯ve realized that it was saturday and came back.


    Axel apologized and then told them about kyle. When he reached the part about when he carried natsumi, he again felt a similar feeling like he did when natsumi kissed his cheek. Again, it didn''t feel like his own¡­. He paused for a bit but then kept on going. He of course made sure to skip the part about natsumi kissing him and all that¡­ It took him about 20 minutes to explain everything to them.


    At the end, the girls sat there with worried looks on their faces. It was completely understandable. They must of feared for his safety and wellbeing. In truth, Axel didn¡¯t feel all that scared. He knew long ago that his safety was in danger ever since he received power magnet¡­ Not to mention that kyle used to beat up axel because he got a kick out of it¡­


    As he was thinking about his past and trying to remember more details of it, he suddenly remembered something. Kyle was apart of his childhood. Not only him though, a certain someone in this room was too¡­


    He looked over at casey who was lost in thought. Why didn¡¯t he remember this sooner? Casey was apart of his childhood as well! This meant that maybe she knew something about his classmates¡¯ past! If he didn¡¯t remember, maybe she did. So, he decided to ask her right then. Unfortunately, however, she did not.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember meeting those guys outside of school when we were kids. I remember kyle and cindy but, not them¡­¡±


    Cindy was a girl he met when he was a kid. A total sweethearted person whom he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time.


    Axel laid back on the sofa in disappointment. What could the reason be? Why could not even she remember them? Who would lock their memories away and for what reason? Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t think of a reason.. If casey knew nothing, then chances were kyle didn¡¯t know anything either¡­


    ¡°You know, you could¡¯ve warned me about kyle being here.¡± he told casey.


    ¡°You know, you could¡¯ve told me it was saturday.¡± she retorted


    ¡°Touche.¡±


    Their silence was broken by a sudden whooshing sound behind them. It came from the teleporter. When they turned to look, they found ella and andrew standing inside the tube. The tube was thin so they were pretty close to each other¡­. Ella frantically opened the tube¡¯s door and exited. Dusting off her clothes, she looked over at everyone in the living room.


    ¡°Glad you all could make it her in one piece!¡± she said trying to turn the attention from her entrance. They all nodded and just played along.


    ¡°Well axel, it is about time we get you signed up for that tournament. Come, i¡¯ll take you there.¡± said andrew walking over to the door. Seeing a slight amount of pink on andrew¡¯s cheeks made axel chuckle.


    ¡°Sure thing-¡± he said trying to stand. When he did, he was pulled back down by a strong force. It was maria¡¯s hand. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear. Her breath tickled him and he struggled not to laugh.


    ¡°Can i come?..¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ah,umm.. right...come on maria..¡± he awkwardly said to maria. Maria shook her head in delight and let him go.


    ¡°Okay!¡± she said.


    ¡°Uhhh, i have to go¡± stated casey nervously. She quickly ran out the door again making sure not to look at no one on her way out. Axel wondered what she could¡¯ve been up to¡­ He decided to ask her later. For now, he had to sign up. He walked out the door following andrew¡¯s lead. As soon as they walked out the door, andrew looked over at him and smiled a mischievous smile. Which was weird since that guy never smiled. In fact, he could¡¯ve sworn his skin cracked. Was that pity he saw?


    ¡°Huh?¡± said axel in confusion.


    ¡°Today is the big day! And i know you haven¡¯t had enough training with your ability so¡­.¡±


    Immediately as he said so, he felt someone''s hand land on his shoulder. He turned to see ella standing there with a huge grin on her face.


    ¡°eh?!¡±


    ¡°sooo, how about a little practice?¡± she said.


    Woosh


    He again felt like the world was spinning and the feeling of weightlessness overcame him. His stomach tightened and he shut his eyes, afraid of opening them. He could feel a fresh breeze hit his face.. This was not good¡­¡­ There was another time when he felt a similar feeling like this¡­ well, maybe he was just overreacting? Only opening his eyes would give him the answer.


    ¡°WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!????¡± It was just as he feared. He was currently many feet in the air flying freely¡­. Ella was right next to him floating as if she was laying in bed.


    ¡°Off you go!!! Use your ability to land!!!¡±


    This was bad. Very bad. He was starting to descend before he could think anymore¡­ He looked over at ella who just smiled at him and then disappeared with a gust of wind¡­He was on his own¡­


    ¡°ELLLLLLLAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!¡± he yelled in pure anger. He could see the ground below him gradually get closer¡­.and closer¡­.and closer!! He had to do something¡­..and fast!!!


    (Think damn it, think!!!!)


    He tried to calm his breathing and shut his eyes to calm his nerves¡­.All he had to do was think of power magnet as his own¡­.as simple as breathing¡­ He thought back to every single time he had used power magnet. The feeling he felt¡­


    Motivation,motivation. He wanted to protect his friends, he didn¡¯t want anyone to be killed, he didn¡¯t want anyone to get hurt. Maria, he wanted her to be safe, to be happy, he never wanted to see her sad again. The people around him, he wanted to protect them. He didn¡¯t want to be powerless anymore! His legs burned and crackled like pop rocks. But this time, he asserted dominance and grabbed the leash. He would not break!!!He searched for the nearest place to land on and immediately found it. Luckily this city had a heck of a lot of skyscrapers so it was easy to choose one. He channeled his ability and felt his legs burn with power. He aimed for the roof of the building directly below him. He couldn''t let his bones break¡­.he had to control it. The roof of the skyscraper was getting close fast! He shut his eyes and prayed for the best..


    Crash.


    When he opened them again, he was shocked to see that he had actually landed..


    ¡°I landed? I landed!?!¡± Wahoooo!!! I landed!!!¡± he yelled in triumph. The ground was broken a little but, at least his legs weren''t! Axel widened his eyes and shock overtook him.


    Down on the ground below, maria was shaking in anger. The reason was obvious. She was finally getting time to be with axel and then all of a sudden he was flung toward the sky...away from her¡­ She of course worried for him but, she knew he would be fine. Axel would not die that easily. At some point, jessica and natsumi had caught up with her and andrew. They were walking a good distance from her. It appears that they had felt the hostility in Maria''s aura. If a rattlesnake rattles its tail, it''s a good idea to back off. The same concept could be applied in this situation¡­. Andrew, who was walking in front of them all, looked back and chuckled.


    ¡°you look about ready to kill¡± he said to her mockingly.


    Maria merely snorted and ignored him. Andrew sighed and looked up at axel who was presumably about ready to jump again.


    ¡°I''m sorry about taking axel away from you but, he needs all the help he can get in controlling his power. If he doesn''t, he''s toast in this tournament. You wouldn''t want that would you?¡±


    Maria thought about it for a second, and then shook her head. She didn¡¯t think she could stand watching axel get hurt. She''d probably enter the ring herself¡­ but who was this guy anyway? It was because of them that axel even had to go through any of this.


    Since she didn¡¯t respond, andrew continued to observe axel. Everything seemed to be going fine so far¡­


    Axel was feeling great. The one ability that usually left him like a pile of bones was tamed by he himself, and he was sure he could do it again and by george he was sure as hell going to! He squatted and made his muscles inflate with power once more. He heard a whistle that resembled that of turbo on a car. Was his body making that noise? Better yet, Who cared!


    ¡°Stop you idiot! You¡¯ll break!!¡±


    At some point, ella appeared near him and attempted to restrain him. Now she was worried? Please, he had this in the bag. Before, ella could grab him, he leapt. He successfully managed to fly through the air and over to the next building but that was the extent of it. He brought his legs forward and landed on the edge of the tall building only to feel a bone or two in his legs crack. He flinched and slipped backward.


    ¡°guh!?¡± he gasped.


    Then, he started falling toward the ground.


    ¡°Ah, damn. Well, no worries!¡±


    For a second, he panicked. But why would he worry about this? Power magnet was on his side. He could just land like he did the last-


    ¡°eh?¡±


    It¡­.wasn¡¯t working? It wasn¡¯t working!!!! He didn¡¯t understand! It was working just a few seconds ago! But it was failing him now. It was as if there was nothing inside him anymore because no matter what he did he just couldn¡¯t get the stupid power to work!! And the ground. The ground! The ground! The ground! The ground! It was far too close for comfort and there was nothing he could do!! He said a prayer and braced himself¡­


    ¡°GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!¡±


    he waited for an insane amount of pain to overcome his body but, it never came¡­


    ¡°that was far too close¡­¡± he heard a girl say. Since he had closed his eyes, he couldn''t see who his rescuer was. So, he opened them. The first thing he saw was a pure white substance surrounding him. It was a bright shade of white. One that he had never seen before. Enough to make him squint. For a second he expected to see a giant gate and the book of life in front of him. Thank God it hadn¡¯t led to that, he wasn¡¯t ready. As his eyes adjusted he looked around. In front of him stood a girl. She had a gray sundress on and pitch black hair. Her gleaming red eyes stared at him in relief. She held one hand in the air.


    ¡°jessica?...¡± he said to his savior. The girl who went berserk. She saved him from certain death. He could not be more grateful!


    ¡°Thank you jessica! Aw man, you really saved me there..¡±


    Jessica blushed and dropped her head.


    ¡°No no...really, it''s nothing!..¡± she said frantically.


    Axel shook his head.


    ¡°Nonsense!....but hey, isn''t your ability supposed to be ¡°Dark¡± matter type stuff?¡±


    The ability that jessica used when he first fought her was a pitch black substance that he called dark matter but, what she was using now was definitely not dark. She shook her head.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s just the color it turns in my ¡®berserk¡¯ state. When I''m normal, it''s just white. Though dark matter sounds like a cool name, but like this i think i¡¯ll just call it ¡®Matter¡¯¡± she said opening her palm and releasing more of the pure white substance now known as matter.


    That made sense. From what he knew, berserk state turned someone into the total opposite of what they originally were. In this case, jessica had her matter which is originally white. When she went berserk, it turned the opposite of white and into a pitch black. Along with her outfit as well..


    ¡°I see¡­.but how did you get here so quickly?¡±


    The two buildings from where he was at were fairly large. It¡¯d take a more than a couple minutes to reach where he was by just walking. There was no way she could¡¯ve gotten here in time to catch him.


    ¡°Hm? You should know by now what some of my abilities are. After all, you fought me didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah but not long to remember anything. i don¡¯t recall speed being apart of your skill list¡­.¡±


    The girl placed her hand on her forehead.


    ¡°Oh man¡­. Well, it¡¯s simple. I stopped time long enough for me to get here and catch you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    Looking around, he noticed that everyone around him were completely frozen in place! It was so weird. It was like pressing pause on a film or video.. She must¡¯ve spotted him falling and stopped time. When she was sure she would catch him, she allowed axel only to move again. That was incredible.


    ¡°That is the power of the ramoji crystal i have. It is capable of controlling time!¡± She said raising her hands in the air with joy.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get you to that tournament sign up..i can¡¯t hold time like this for long¡­¡±


    She lent axel a hand and helped him stand. When she placed her hand down, time started to move regularly once more. Axel had one hand over her shoulder and vice versa. When he tried to step with his right foot, his leg screamed with pain. He flinched. That leg wouldn¡¯t work. With his left, it hurt a lot but, it wasn¡¯t all broken. He¡¯d have to walk with that one. luckily he had jessica at his side.


    ¡°I knew you were an idiot but, this is ridiculous.¡± said ella who had managed to locate him after he had fallen.


    ¡°Haha.. sorry¡±


    ¡°Jessica, good work on capturing this fool.¡± she said to her, patting her head. Jessica practically purred with joy at getting praised.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s nothing really...anyone would¡¯ve done the same..¡±


    Ella sighed and smiled. Axel looked at ella wanting to say something.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Other than wanting to wanting to punch you, i think this is a good start.¡± he said clenching his fist.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Normally, after i use super strength, an enormous amount of wind pressure is released destroying whatever is in its way. This time however, i was able to control the output of power and not break my legs! And i held it out for a reasonable amount of time!¡± he said with triumph.


    ¡°Good, keep it up. For now though, we need to get you patched up. Otherwise you can''t compete today. Let''s wait for andrew..¡±


    Axel agreed. It didn''t take long for andrew and the others to arrive. Somewhat reluctantly, andrew healed his legs with his water. When He was done, he was out of breath. While still being held by jessica, he took baby steps with his feet. They felt good as new.


    ¡°Wow! Thanks! But why are you so tired?¡± he asked. Andrew wiped the sweat from his brow.


    ¡°I''m not a magician, healing takes stamina. And it takes it from me..¡± he said breathing heavily.


    ¡°ooh.. sorry.¡± he said apologizing.


    Andrew waved his hand as if hitting a bug which made axel smile awkwardly. Then, out of nowhere, he felt killer intent from behind him..


    Dangerous, ominous¡­. Familiar¡­.He fearfully turned his head to find maria standing there with a dark aura surrounding her. Her head held down and facial expression covered by her brown hair.


    ¡°oh, M-maria...what''s the matter?¡± he said fearing for his life.


    He released himself from jessica¡¯s hold and tapped his fingers together nervously.


    ¡°I knew you''d get hurt¡­...i told you not to leave¡­¡­.and this is what happens?....¡± She said taking steps closer to him. Axel took a step back reflexively.


    ¡°H-hold on a sec! This wasn''t my fault!¡± Maria payed him no heed. She mercilessly grabbed his hand and pulled him away. Axel could not pull away.


    ¡°W-wait!!¡± he said in protest but, she continued to walk toward the tournament location.. Jessica and natsumi were frightened by maria¡¯s sudden jump of character.


    ¡°scary¡­¡±


    ¡°Such killer instincts¡­.¡±


    Ella laughed at axel''s misfortune with girls. Maria was head over heels for that boy, she could tell that much. It must¡¯ve feel nice to have someone that loyal at your side. But at the same time¡­...She suddenly grew serious. Looking at andrew, she guessed that he must''ve been thinking the same thing. Making sure that jessica and natsumi couldn''t hear, she spoke to andrew.


    ¡°She worries me. She''s a little too attached to axel.¡±


    Andrew nodded.


    ¡°That is very dangerous for her.. in axel''s current position, it''s quite possible that maria would put herself in danger in the future to save him. She''d risk her life like he risked his¡­ and a desperate girl with no power is a huge red flag... ¡°


    Ella shook her head. If push came to shove, it was possible for maria to risk her life in order to save axel''s. The girl clearly cared for axel very deeply, and she was not the type to sit around and do nothing if her loved one was getting hurt. Especially if this loved one was the only one she had¡­ This made her very dangerous..


    ¡°We''ll just have to keep an eye on her..¡± she said. Andrew agreed. They looked forward at the backs of maria and axel and hoped never to have to restrain maria. if the time ever came.. they wouldn''t be able to bear it..


    Part 6


    Walking through the streets of Miami was a girl in her teenage years. Since she didn''t want to be seen by others, she wore a hat on her head that hid all her hair inside and sunglasses. She had on short shorts and a red blouse. She wasn''t even allowed to be on her own like this. Her manager must''ve found out by now that she had taken off from the hotel. As such, she didn''t have time to waste¡­


    She had a reason for coming out to miami. She wanted to meet a certain boy in a video that she saw. It certainly raised up a bunch of questions that she knew he could answer, and what better time than the present?


    She had looked for him online and found him. She had also somehow gotten info on his current location! Miami, Florida. In coming to Miami, she received a message from one of her fans notifying her that the boy, axel, was not actually in Miami. Instead, he was somewhere much more secretive that almost no one knew about! This intrigued her quite a bit. Having her curiosity tugged at, she requested to know where he was really at. To which the user replied with,


    If you really want to know, meet me at the nearest cafe restaurant to the airport you arrive in at 11 am. It''s too risky to tell you here. Come alone..


    The message was sketchy yes but, if she really wanted to know where he was at, this was her only chance right now. What really bothered her was the fact that this fan knew that she was heading to Miami¡­ So, when she arrived at the hotel she was going to be staying in, she looked up the nearest restaurant to the airport she arrived at. It was a cafe diner. She made sure that none of her bodyguards, or her manager ,saw her and made her getaway. Now, She was closing in to the diner. She checked her pink phone for the time. It was 10:55 am. She made it just in time.


    When she was finally standing in front of the small cafe, she started to wonder how the person she was supposed to be meeting even looked like. She shook her head and entered the small diner. There were rarely any people inside. She expected it to be packed like in the movies. Where she enters and everyone suddenly stops what they''re doing and stares at her.. but that did not happen. The only people inside were an old man in a brown coat, a old couple, and a little girl with familiar night colored hair that was tied into twin tails. Out of all of them, the old man was the most suspicious looking. Perhaps he was the one that messaged her?


    She could just look at the picture on the person''s Facebook but, it was just a picture of a lake.. Out of options, she approached the man who was sitting near the window close to the door. He was drinking a coffee while reading the newspaper. She held her chest high and made her presence known to the man.


    ¡°ahem,¡± she said.


    The old man took one look at the girl and then grunted.


    ¡°eh? Whaddya want?...¡± he said half mumbling. She did not expect that response. She expected a ¡°ah, so you made it? Quickly have a seat. And don''t make eye contact!!¡±


    But, she didn''t receive that response.


    ¡°uhh, aren''t you the person who messaged me online?¡± she said. The old man narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°oh? I don''t know what you''re talking about missy, but if you''re looking for a good time.. I''m available sweetheart..¡± he said while checking her out. She reflexively took a step back and hugged her chest. Her face got beet red.


    ¡°What!?!!¡± she yelled out without wanting to. The old man laughed. Just as she was getting ready to slap some sense into the old pervert, she felt her sleeve get tugged.


    ¡°eh?¡±


    She turned and saw the little dark haired girl from before. Her crystal like eyes looked up at her.


    ¡°um, miss? It was me that messaged you online¡­¡± she said smiling awkwardly.


    ¡°....¡±


    She didn''t know if she wanted to laugh or scream. It was really this little girl? But what could she possibly know? She looked like she was just getting out of junior high!


    ¡°My goodness Ms.Ivanov! I didn''t think you''d actually come!¡± whispered the little girl with night colored hair. Olivia grabbed the girl and pulled her away. The old man raised an eyebrow but soon shook his shoulders and turned back to his meal.


    ¡°Keep your voice down! I don''t want to be crowded by fans at the moment!¡±


    ¡°Sorry but unless you mean the ceiling fans there¡¯s no one else in here!¡± said the little girl while laughing. Ignoring that comment, They took a seat in the cafe diner and began to talk about the boy named axel.


    ¡°so, you know where the boy is don''t you? Where is he exactly?¡± she said sounding curious and anxious. The little girl giggled.


    ¡°My my~ jumping straight to the point eh? You seem impatient.¡± said the girl with a mischievous grin.


    ¡°Eh? Ah, it''s just cause I''m in a rush¡­¡± she said feeling flustered.


    ¡°Well, i can relate to you there. I''m actually in a bit of a rush myself¡­. So, i can''t tell you much except that he''s right over there¡± she said. She pointed out the window. It took her a second to realize that she was pointing out to the ocean.


    ¡°You''re crazy¡­.¡± she said. The little girl puffed her cheeks.


    ¡°Hey! That''s not nice!¡± she yelled on the verge of tears.


    ¡°You''ve heard of the bermuda triangle have you not?¡± she said wiping away a tear.


    ¡°I have. What of it?¡±


    ¡°the boy is on an island right in the middle of it. It''s a secret island that no one really knows about. Only the special people¡­¡± the girl said sniffing. The girl rubbed her nose and got up to leave.


    ¡°Eh? Is that all you''re going to tell me? That''s too vague!!¡± she yelled.


    ¡°Believe it or not, many people would pay millions just to know that much information about the inside of the bermuda triangle.¡±


    ¡°then how come you know?¡±


    The girl winked and placed her finger on her lips., A smile on her face.


    ¡°That''s for me to know~¡± The girl reached inside the purse she was carrying and pulled out a small USB drive. She handed it to her.


    ¡°huh? What''s this?¡± she asked. The girl leaned in closer to her ear and her tone of voice suddenly changed from sweet little girl, to ominous.


    ¡°later on today at around noon, the boy is supposed to be participating in a tournament. Get a computer that you can dispose of after using it. That USB drive will allow you to see the tournament live. Make sure to throw it away afterward though. Both the USB and the computer.¡±


    ¡°What? But, how can i get in touch with him? With this?¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry about that. Right now, there is no way to enter the island on the bermuda triangle. But you''ll be able to meet him soon...i can guarantee you that. In three day¡¯s time, around this time, go to the Miami Beach. I''m sure you''ll find what you want then..¡± With that, the little girl left the cafe without another word. Leaving her with the plain looking USB.


    The girl talked about special people and an island inside the infamous bermuda triangle. There was no way that was true...or was it? There¡¯s a group of villains with superpowers and call themselves the peacekeepers, was an island inside a notorious area really that far beyond her realm of possibilities? In any case, she did in fact gain some valuable information. Even if this USB didn¡¯t actually hold any information at all, in three day¡¯s time she would be able to see him¡­.


    (........ well, i might as well see what the boy is going to do¡­)


    She clenched the USB in her small hands. This was at least a step closer to her goal. If she could just meet this boy, then maybe, just maybe, he would be able to assist her in realizing her wish¡­

 Chapter Eight: Capture The Flag

    Part 1


    After about a half an hour, Axel and the others had finally arrived at the sign up location. The place where the tournament was supposed to be taking place was huge. It was a huge dome shaped facility with the top of it opened. It resembled a roman battle arena. Only this one was made out of metal. It was surrounded by a brick wall and on the inside of the wall were many booths and stands for people to buy things from so they could enjoy the tournament with them. Things like horns, signs, snacks, etc.


    He saw many, many, many people walking throughout this place. Boys and girls. Some had misshapen body parts because of their skills. For example, he saw a guy with fingers shaped like cannons. He also saw a girl with cat shaped ears, and other creepy stuff. Those mutant looking people were few though.


    ¡°Amazing¡­..¡± he said in awe.


    ¡°Wow!¡­.¡± said Maria who was still firmly holding onto him


    ¡°Flashy isn''t it? I sure hope you''re ready axy!!¡±


    ¡°Eh?!¡±


    He suddenly felt someone grab him from behind tightly. Startled, Maria let go of his hand. In turning to look, he saw a patch of blonde hair. Since there was no ribbon holding up this person''s hair, it couldn''t of have been Natsumi, and she doesn''t call him ¡®axy¡¯ anyway.


    ¡°L-lucy? What are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°haha! Can i not greet you?¡±


    ¡°It''s not that you can''t but¡­.¡± he said blushing. She giggled.


    ¡°She was just excited to see you man. Well,we all are!¡± said Axel''s best friend, tony, who suddenly appeared from behind a food booth. Behind him came Jeniffer and the rest of the ship¡¯s crew.


    ¡°you guys!? you came?¡± he said looking at all of them.


    ¡°we couldn''t miss it! We wanted to protect you axy but now we can''t do that! But we can at least cheer you on for success!!¡± Lucy said while letting him go.


    Maria, who¡¯s ears twitched and seemed genuinely pissed off, hid behind him as soon as she got the chance. She wasn''t very good with people anymore. He totally understood her. Ella, Andrew , and the others who were with him came to join them.


    ¡°Ah so you guys came after all. Glad to see you guys here!¡± said Andrew shaking hands with Michael.


    ¡°I much rather sleep today but, Jeniffer dragged me here¡­¡± he said. Jeniffer gritted her teeth in anger and shot a fierce look at him. Michael took a step back out of fear. Ella and the others laughed. Everyone except Saphire who was staying under the shade of a tree. For some reason or another, his heart once again fluttered against his will when he looked at her. His face reddened and he looked away. Seeing this, Maria felt her heart ache and ran away with her head down.


    ¡°huh? M-maria! Wait!!¡± Axel had no idea what the problem was. As soon as he called after her, he felt an intense pain in his heart. He grabbed it and started sweating profusely. Ella sighed and kneeled next to axel who had fallen on his knees.


    ¡°You idiot.¡± she said to him.


    ¡°Did you not see the stupid expression on your face?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know how to look at my own face without a mirror..¡± he said through gritted teeth.


    At some point Saphire approached and also kneeled next to him with her usual dull expression. He felt his heart once again flutter through the pain he felt. He couldn''t understand it and it was starting to bother him.


    ¡°I do apologize¡± she said.


    ¡°The reason you must be feeling your emotions react uncontrollably when you¡¯re around me is because of my skill¡­¡±


    ¡°what?! But I thought your skill was that ice!¡± he exclaimed.


    Ella giggled.


    ¡°That''s right! She is what is known as a ¡®binary¡¯ savant. A rare type of savant with two skills instead of one. Her second skill is heart key. It gives her the power to control other people''s hearts and emotions. it stimulates the emotion you feel the most.¡±


    Saphire spoke after her.


    ¡°It is a rather useless skill. It works on everyone unless I don''t want it to for specific people. It''s one of the reason I don''t like being in public. When I am, people around me who are feeling hatred, anger, or sadness get that emotion amplified and they tend to act out negatively due to my skill..¡± She touched his shoulders and immediately as she did so his emotions died down. She stood up and walked back to the tree she was standing under.


    That was actually pretty sad. Having a skill like that that was activated 24/7 must''ve been awful. If people felt a lot of hatred or any other negative feeling, they would feel it 10x worse around Saphire. It worked with positive emotions too but, people these days usually felt more negative emotions. And yet, she still made an effort to come.


    Now then, before he met her, he was feeling a bit flustered because Andrew called Maria his girlfriend. That feeling was amplified then. As for just now, he was feeling loved when he saw all his friends come to cheer him on. That feeling was also amplified. Unless she stopped it, it would happen all the time around her.


    ¡°Sometimes I forget to turn it off whenever I meet someone new. Even though I did for your friends who came along¡­.¡± Saphire shook her head in disappointment for forgetting. Ella sighed and stood up. Andrew walked over to Axel and placed his hands on his shoulders.


    ¡°Glad we got that out of the way. Now, we don''t have much time left. Go get that girl back and come check in before it''s too late!!¡± he said to him.


    ¡°Ah! you''re right!!¡± axel got up and ran off toward the direction that Maria had gone off to. Axel knew how Maria must''ve felt. As of now, he was the only one she had. She always hid behind him because she knew he would be able to protect her from anything. she trusted him. So, as her friend, he couldn¡¯t leave her alone!


    ( Now Then, if I were Maria where would I be?) He said to himself trying to think like Maria.


    He was running through the thick crowd of people and attempted to locate the one brown haired girl he knew. If he recalled, she was wearing a polka-dot sundress with brown slippers. He tried to look for that match but, he couldn¡¯t see anyone. Then, it occurred to him. Maria would most likely be in a place that no one would be able to see her in.


    In other words¡­..


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    *sniff, sniff*


    ¡°That stupid jerk¡± said Maria while wiping away her tears. Maria was starting to feel fed up with the amount of attention she was receiving from Axel. Better yet, the attention she was not receiving. The way he looked at other girls. How he treated them...she hated to admit that she was jealous of every single one of them¡­


    Axel was all she had, and yet she wasn''t enough for him¡­ her past with her family filled her mind¡­.. when her friends betrayed her...when her ex boyfriend hit her¡­.. Her eyes started to leak tears and she could feel herself shake. Her breathing grew rapidly and her heart ached. Sweat dripped from her face¡­ she was having an anxiety attack¡­ Just when she was about ready to scream and cry, she felt a sudden warmth on her shoulder.


    ¡°?!¡± her ears twitched.


    ¡°It''s okay¡­.¡± said a boy kneeling in front of her. Black messy hair and warm brown eyes, a soft smile on his freckled face. ..


    ¡°Axel?....how did you-?¡± she said to him wanting to know how he found her.


    Axel smiled.


    ¡°A magician never reveals his secrets..¡± he said as sarcastically as he could. Maria suppressed a laugh as hard as she could. When she collected herself, Maria was genuinely surprised. This was the girls bathroom. No boys were allowed and yet here he was. That was sweet. Anyone would think it was sweet, except for those who entered the restroom not knowing what was going on.


    But,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­..I¡¯m so sorry! I know that I¡¯m a nervous and socially awkward mess! I¡¯m sorry that you have to put up with me but I just don¡¯t know what it is but I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t notice me anymore and not want me around!! ¡±


    Axel was honestly a little ashamed. It was true that recently, with all that was going on, he hadn''t talked to her as often.. He was just a kid. An introverted one at that, how was he supposed to know how others felt? He wasn¡¯t a mind reader.. Nonetheless,


    ¡°Maria, there is not a single thing on this planet that will make me not want you. Nothing. I can understand how you feel, but just talk to me. I will always be there to listen. At this point, whatever you go through we go through together. So when you¡¯re sad, I¡¯m sad. So be happy, and then I can be happy too!¡± he said in attempt to reassure her. He reached out his hand to her and smiled. Maria was at a temporary loss for words. That''s not exactly what she wanted to hear but, coming from axel, it was the best she could get.


    ¡°Now come on. I''ve got a tournament to sign up for.¡±


    Maria sniffed and then smiled. She was truly fortunate¡­ she accepted Axel''s hand and stood up.


    ¡°Okay, but I''m still a girl you know? I''d appreciate it if you showed me some attention too every now and then..¡± she said. Axel nodded and shifted his eyebrows.


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll do my best...¡±


    Natsumi and the rest of the crew were waiting under a tree next to the check in station. They were waiting for Axel and Maria. Natsumi sighed and looked for a sign of Axel¡­


    ¡°You don''t think those two are¡­. dating, do you?¡± she said to Jessica who was sitting near her.


    ¡°It''s hard to say¡­. I can tell that they''re very close though¡­.I¡¯m not really sure¡­¡±


    Lucy, who was also sitting near them, smiled mockingly.


    ¡°You two seem worried about that. Any particular reason..?¡± she said mocking them. Natsumi and Jessica''s faces reddened.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know¡­¡± natsumi said while waving her hands.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Jessica said agreeing with natsumi.


    Lucy giggled. Jeniffer, who was next to Lucy, stared at her.


    ¡°Aren''t you worried about that too, Lucy?¡±


    Lucy chuckled at her statement.


    ¡°haha! Of course not, I know axel well enough to know that he doesn¡¯t know how to speak to girls properly.¡±


    Andrew, who was leaning against the check-in stand, suddenly pointed outwards.


    ¡°They''re here.¡± he said.. When they looked over to where he was pointing, they saw the figures of Maria and Axel walking together side by side.


    ¡°Hey guys! Sorry I took so long!...¡± Axel said while waving at them. Ella got up from where she sat and pointed at the stand next to her. It had a sign over it that read ¡°Contestants check in¡±


    ¡°Shut up and hurry up! You''re running out of time!¡±


    ¡°Oh,right!....¡±


    Axel walked toward the check in stand and looked for a person to help him but the station was unmanned. There was no line. Everyone must''ve already checked in and gone inside. The table just had a clipboard there with many names on it. He grabbed it and looked for his name. He was told that even though he signed up he had to check in so the officials knew who actually showed up. He kind of hoped not to find his name so he¡¯d have an excuse not to enter but he was noy so lucky. He found it on the second page. It had him as ¡°Axel Ison. Age: 16 Skill: unknown.¡± It had a check box next to his name. he checked it and looked at Ella who was starting to look impatient.


    ¡°Okay, now what?¡±


    Andrew looked at his phone for the time.


    ¡°the competition starts in about 30 minutes. We already got tickets for everyone so we better get going!¡±


    Once they rounded everyone up, they began to head toward the entrance of the huge arena. When they made it about halfway there, they found a fork in the road. One side was labeled ¡°Spectators¡± and the other path labeled ¡°Participants¡±. It was time for him to part ways with everyone.. For the first time in a long time, he started to feel very scared and nervous. He hadn''t even eaten any breakfast but he felt like he''d barf soon.. Ella walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Remember, don''t show off all your skills at once. Keep your aces in the hole. and be smart about what you''re going to do. the first event is an elimination round so you won''t go up against everyone right off the bat, I think... Power Magnet is yours to tame. use it well. Good luck¡± she concluded and patted his shoulders. He nodded in confirmation. Tony was the next to come to him. He gave him a high five and wished him luck.


    ¡°Thanks man.¡±


    Everyone else, raised their hands to the air.


    ¡°Good Luck!¡± They said happily. All except for Saphire of course. Seeing them like that alleviated his nervous heart. It was then that he noticed that two people were missing. A certain pair of brown haired girls. It took him a second to realize that one was standing right next to him.


    ¡°M-maria!? Don''t scare me like that.¡± he said.


    Maria had her head down. She looked up at him and, while shaking, smiled.


    ¡°Be safe, Good luck.¡± she said. He patted her head and nodded. He then, making sure not to show his face full of fear, turned heel and walked down the participant''s path. He raised a hand to his face and wiped away his nervous tears.


    Part 2


    The first thing he had to do was get properly suited. he was taken to a locker room and given pure black P.E clothes. When he was done getting dressed, he was led to the area where the first event would be announced. He was led through a large cave like opening and told good luck. At the end of the cave, he could see the light of day and many many cheers. It reminded him of the time he was taken to a football game with his parents. He was very young but he could clearly remember all the cheers and shouts that nearly left him deaf. The light from the end of the cave got brighter the closer he got to it and he shielded his eyes with his hand.


    When he finally made it out, his eyes practically popped out. He was entering a large field with many other kids his age walking toward the center from every direction. There were large and very powerful lights illuminating the field along with the power of the sun. There was no roof so he could see the clouds in the clear blue sky. There were thousands of people seated in the stands of the arena who were cheering and shouting. There were four large jumbo screens pointed in every direction so the crowd could see. Displayed were the words ¡°Welcome to the Thunderdome¡±.There was an announcer box located in the stands with a huge screen right under it where all the names of confirmed players were listed. He would¡¯ve tried to find his if there weren¡¯t so many. A total of 156 to be exact. At least, that¡¯s what the screen said.


    ¡°This place is huge¡­.¡± he said looking around.


    He made it to the large crowd of kids and observed his surroundings. They were looking at a small stage that was set up on the field with yet another large screen for them to look at. Standing up there was a large muscular man holding what looked like a cane. He had brown hair and a straight jaw line. He seemed powerful. He tapped his cane on the ground and a loud, a super loud, thump rang out making everyone jump in surprise. Soon after, the announcer up on the announcer box began talking through the microphone.


    ¡°Welcome everybody! We hope you¡¯re having a fantastic day so far because things are going to get real juicy!! Here today we have many familiar faces along with many new faces! Now then, before we get started here, let us all stand and put our right hand over our heart. Are you all ready? Begin!¡± said the very cheerful sounding girl to everyone who was probably talking long before Axel got here.. Axel placed his right hand over his heart and recited the pledge of allegiance along with everyone else.


    ¡°Great everyone! Now, let¡¯s get this party started!¡±


    ¡°Alright recruits, listen here! I¡¯ll be your umpire this year. My name is Garold, commander in chief of the Savant Police Force. Let me start by saying this, If you¡¯re too much of a chicken or are even having a single doubt in your mind, turn around and go home right now!¡± Said the large man to them as the announcer continued to speak. Everyone looked around to see if anyone would back out. Honestly, he hoped someone would so he wouldn¡¯t have to be the only one¡­ unfortunately, no one left so he had to stay.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve heard your death wishes loud and clear. Now then, In this year¡¯s first event you runts will be playing a little something called capture the flag.¡±


    ¡°Capture...the flag?¡±


    ¡°Now I know what you maggots are probably thinking. ¡°That¡¯s it? This¡¯ll be easy!¡± think again. Capture the flag is just the name we gave it. What it really is is a game of survival! You lot will be taken to a special place where you will spend the next two days and one night fighting to survive.¡±


    Axel felt his heart ache as his stomach clenched. An entire two day event? This was insane. He wouldn¡¯t last. Quickly! He had to leave this insane asylum. He turned his head to look for an exit but noticed that all of them had been closed already. He internally screamed and reluctantly turned back around.


    ¡°During this time players must wear a flag that is visible on their body. 5 minutes after you enter the arena, a horn will sound off in the direction where the flags will appear. You must only grab one and go. After you take one, All you have to do is avoid having your flag taken by other players. If it gets taken, you¡¯re out and must remain in the arena until time¡¯s up. Those eliminated must not interfere with those who aren¡¯t. At around noon on the second day, which is tomorrow, the finish line will appear and you can go for it. However, in order to win you must have more than one flag! Only the first 50 who cross the finish line may move on to the next event! It¡¯s every man for himself so anything goes except for killing. Make use of your skills and remember to use every brain cell, maggots. Good luck and remember, Do your best and expect no less!¡± saying so, the man saluted and signaled toward the announcer.


    ¡°You heard it folks! With all the rules set up, all that¡¯s left is to begin! Good luck to everyone and Do your best and expect no less!¡±


    The crowd roared and anxiously awaited for the first event to start. On the other hand, Axel showered in his own sweat as he nervously shook in the boots he brought. He tried to distract himself from the fear he was feeling. At the very least, they still needed to be taken to the area they were supposed to be fighting in. Therefore, he still had time to collect his thoughts and relax. He shut his eyes and sighed.


    ¡°Alright pixelator! Take it away!¡±


    ¡°Okie Dokie!¡± someone said from behind him.


    He jumped and turned around but he wasn¡¯t able to catch the face of the person who was referred to as pixelator because all at once the world around him dissolved into millions of pixels. In reality, he was the one who dissolved into dozens of pixels. He yelled and tried to run away but with what legs? They were gone. All he did was hopelessly yell and watch as the crowd roared in amusement to his own fear.


    ¡°Awww, the poor boy is already scared beyond his wits! Good luck out there little buddy!¡± was what he heard the announcer say before the world went silent.


    _________


    Once the crowd of kids disappeared, the one known as pixelator held his stomach as he continued to laugh. Just a moment before, he witnessed one of the contestants react in fear from disappearing. Those in the stands also laughed since it was the first time anyone had reacted like that. The funny scenario was played over and over again on the one large screen under the announcer box with the words ¡°Cry Baby¡± blinking in bold red colors.


    Everyone laughed except for a certain group of outsiders. Maria, who timidly looked up at the replay of axel, was on the verge of tears. She genuinely felt bad for axel. It wasn¡¯t like that was something he experienced every day. In fact, even Maria was afraid the moment she saw him dissolve.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. That was a natural reaction of his. What I¡¯m more concerned about is whether or not they plan on having us sleep here¡­¡± Said Andrew who was sitting in front of Maria.


    Maria ignored him and watched the giant screens show where different players were arriving in the battle ground. Every one of them watched in silence to see how things would unfold, and most of all, they hoped Axel would be able to pull through this long first event...


    _________


    When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a totally different place. It was¡­ like a jungle? No, it was a jungle. Things were definitely getting weird. He could feel the powerful rays of the sun attack his skin along with a cool and random breeze of air. He touched one of the plants and examined it. It was definitely real. Over and over again he was reminded just how amazing the hidden world was. The area around him looked so familiar. When he was younger, he often went out on hikes on a mountain that was close to his home. This place sort of had a feeling similar to that, but he knew it wasn¡¯t. He continued to walk forward for a bit and survey the area.


    What now? There was really nothing he could think to do. He didn¡¯t get a chance to get a good look at his opponents since he was so busy trying to take in the scenario that laid before him. In any case, it looked like Ella was wrong. He would have to face off against others whether he wanted or not. There was no helping it, he had to do his best. There was no way he could let everyone think that he was just a push over. That wasn¡¯t him. No, he¡¯d show them! He wouldn¡¯t cry anymore! He¡¯d look forward and tackle this event like nothing! He smiled a wide one and clenched his fist when,


    ¡°Boo!¡±


    ¡°Aaaah!?¡±


    He was startled by a sudden face that appeared out from behind a tree and it was no joke to say that he turned white and jumped into the nearest bushes. Sobs were heard through the bushes as the perpetrator laughed and placed a finger on their lips.


    ¡°Shhhh! You¡¯ll alert other people here you big baby!!¡± said the voice.


    It was all too familiar. He could¡¯ve sworn he¡¯d seen that face before. Plus the voice just rang a bell in his head. He poked his head out of the bushes and looked over at the person standing there. Sure enough, it was the princess of fire. Casey was standing there with a huge grin on her face. She wore the same outfit as him. Axel, all of a sudden really happy, jumped out of the bushes and into her arms.


    ¡°Casey!! I¡¯m so happy to see you! Where have you been!!?¡±


    Casey, overwhelmed, couldn¡¯t help but laugh and hug him in turn. It reminded her of when they were kids. Axel had always been a bit of a cry baby. Even now things did not change. His personality was so unique to her. One moment he was cracking wise jokes and the next he was bursting into tears, but that¡¯s what she liked about him.


    ¡°Ohhhh, there, there! Quit crying and get your head in the game, buddy¡±


    Axel, nodded and took a couple steps back. He wiped his tears away and leaned against the tree beside him. Casey sat down on a rock behind her and sighed.


    ¡°Y-you¡¯re right¡­..but what on earth are you doing here? Are you also here because of Ella?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily. Though, someone did make me join¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­.but, how did you even find me?¡±


    Casey stretched her arms and looked around.


    ¡°It was really easy. I just felt for your body temperature which was extremely higher than everyone else¡¯s. Then I just followed it. I wanted to see how you¡¯d react to seeing me but didn¡¯t know how to approach you so I scared you. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d scream so loudly though.¡±


    Axel rubbed the sweat on his cheek and nervously laughed. Then, the sound of a horn rang out that made Axel and Casey look up. It was officially time¡­.


    ¡°So then what are you going to do? Why did you try and find me if we¡¯re competing against each other?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh, come on silly! I thought we could team up!¡± she said while standing up.


    ¡°Is that really allowed?¡± he asked while crossing his arms.


    ¡°Sure. if you recall, Garold said ¡°Anything goes except killing¡± so I¡¯m pretty sure alliances are acceptable as well. There¡¯s no harm in it, and we need all the help we can get.¡±


    Axel nodded and agreed. As he was now, there was really nothing he could do. At most, four rounds at full power was all he could do. Either that or nothing, there was no in between just yet. Casey¡¯s plan was clearly the best one to go with here. He didn¡¯t expect to see her here but he wasn¡¯t complaining. It felt great having her around to talk to and help. He was really upset that he was going to be alone but it wouldn¡¯t be that way anymore it looked like.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right. Well, just don¡¯t rely on me. If anything, I¡¯m going to have to rely on you. I can barely do anything without breaking a bone or two. don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯ll help out in any way I can but as a human.¡±


    Casey shook her head and looked up.¡±yeah I kind of figured that. But I think we¡¯ll be alright. Let¡¯s just go out and grab our flags. That¡¯s the real first test and it¡¯s also the one where a bunch of people will surely get eliminated.¡±


    Axel gulped and looked toward the direction the horn rang from.


    ¡°It sounded like it came from the north side. We better head over there and see what we can do.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just wait it out until everyone¡¯s gone so we can just grab ours without worry of others?¡±


    Tactically, that was a good idea. However, others would likely think of that as well. It was possible that some people would wait for people to come just to ambush them and eliminate them. But if they went now there would more than likely be dozens of players surrounding the flag area. It would be hectic. Even in that case, they could hide among the chaos and grab a flag and hightail it out of there. From there, they could plot their next move. Either way, both situations were dangerous. Though the odds would be in their favor if they made it there before too many people showed up. At this point, it was worth a shot. He voiced his thoughts to Casey who later bobbed her head in agreement.


    ¡°Okay, sounds good then¡­ let¡¯s go.¡±


    They both nodded and began to run toward the direction of the flags. Though both of them were scared, they were at least happy that they had each other to rely on.


    Part 3


    ¡°So that¡¯s where she went? She could¡¯ve just told us.¡± Jessica said as she watched Axel reunite with Casey. Coincidentally, Axel was one of the one¡¯s most voted to be shown on one of the four jumbo screens. Everyone wanted to see how he¡¯d do, probably because they thought he was amusing. Everyone go to vote with their cellphones. Though everyone laughed when he screamed like a girl. Now the screen jumped from scene to scene showing the progress of all types of players. Under the announcer box was a greyed out list of names. Apparently, once a player acquired a flag, their name would light up green. Once they acquired more than one, it¡¯d turn blue. If they were out, it¡¯d turn red. Since no one had a flag yet, it was all grey.


    Maria kept her eyes on the name Axel Ison. she was so nervous. She wondered how things would turn out for him. She hoped that he wouldn''t hurt himself. Natsumi also sat next to her and nervously bit her finger nails. Every second felt like an eternity and they were only 30 minutes into a 48 hour match.


    ¡°What do you think, Ella? What¡¯re they gonna do?¡± asked Tony looking over at ella who watched the screen attentively. She shut her eyes for a second and exhaled.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. As much as I hate to admit, I¡¯m starting to feel bad for just throwing him in a full on tournament with little to no training¡­.. But he¡¯s not stupid, I know he¡¯ll think of something¡­¡±


    ¡°I sure hope so¡± Tony said while looking up at the screen.


    Ella could not keep calm. None of them could. They were so worried for Axel and started to wonder if they were right in allowing him to join something so dangerous. Most of all, the girl really worried was Ella herself. He was weak, sensitive, and extremely emotional. Did she really just throw him into his worst nightmare? Could she really continue to sleep at night if he got himself killed or tore a limb off from going beyond his limits? Putting the fan on medium was not going to help her out much then..


    Well, there was no use fussing about it now. It was all said and done and the only thing she could do was watch and have faith in that kid. It was all any of them could do¡­


    ________


    It took them a while but soon the area in question was within their field of vision. It was so massive and colorful. It almost felt like the playground at Mc¡¯donalds. It must¡¯ve been at least 50 stories tall with plenty of slides here and there with monkey bars and other obstacles to maneuver through. It looked like fun. Besides that, it was full of people just like they thought it would be. But since the place was so large no one had run into anyone just yet. There must¡¯ve been at least 30 people there right now. As they watched from afar, Casey used her powers to tell just how many people were around.


    ¡°Other than those guys, there are a whole bunch of people that are getting close as the seconds go by. If we¡¯re gonna go, we better go now before it really gets crazy.¡± she said.


    ¡°Got it. So the second we find a flag we grab it and leave right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. And remember, I can¡¯t fully control my flames either so let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t run into any trouble.¡±


    Both confirming with each other, they ran toward the large flag playhouse. They approached it and jumped inside. It was just as colorful inside with yellow being the dominant color. They looked around but found no flag.


    ¡°Damn it, should¡¯ve known they¡¯d make it harder to find just one¡­. Come on, we gotta keep looking¡± she said standing close to Axel. Axel nodded and followed close behind her with his heart in his hands. He was about ready to let his knees give out on him. Just as they were about to enter another room, Axel felt a gust of wind tug him backwards. Before he could react, his body was suddenly picked up and dragged into a nearby slide.


    ¡°What?!¡± he yelled while trying to escape the wind, but it was no good, he was sucked in. Casey exclaimed and tried to reach for his hand only to miss and fall. Then, she was the next one to get mercilessly sucked into the slide..


    Axel yelled and covered his head while bracing for impact. The ride was long and fast. He couldn¡¯t tell what direction he was going in nor how fast. He hit his head against the walls of the slide many times and grimaced. Eventually, he was thrown out into a small baby green colored room. It was dark and had little illumination. He rolled over on the ground a couple times and slammed against the wall. He sat up and rubbed his head. His brain and body ached badly. He looked around and saw no one. Since that was the case, he could only guess that the slides were programmed to do that. It didn¡¯t surprise him at this stage in the game. He got up and was going to exit the room when a bright blue strip captured his eye. He rubbed them and took a double take. Sure enough, it was a flag just hanging from the ceiling.. It was the type that football players wore to play flag football. He lit up with joy and grabbed it. He put it around his waist and admired it for a second.


    As soon as he put on the flag, his name lit up on the scoreboard. The second they saw it turn green, the entire crew gasped with excitement. They watched the screen closer than ever to watch Axel and see what he would do next.


    Axel brought his fists together and celebrated for a while longer before realizing that Casey was nowhere near him. Since she was not, he could only guess that she was still on the first floor. Either that or she was taken to a different room. Well, at this point he had to focus on getting out and reuniting with her later. Or was that really okay? He couldn¡¯t just leave her here¡­.


    ¡°Argh¡­.damn it!¡±


    He clicked his tongue and ran out to look for her. There were many swings and slides inside with no outer walls surrounding the place. Because of that, he could see that he was many stories up in the building. When he ran around the corner, he looked around and caught glimpses of other people running around. His heart dropped whenever he saw them but he hoped that would be the extent of his worries. He saw a slide that led directly to the floor below him and decided to ride it down. Once he landed, he looked around and saw four guys duking it out. Axel tensed up and hid behind a wall before they could see him.


    (There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll find her just like this! I¡¯ve got to make my way down and just hope for the best!)


    Thinking this, Axel hopped down a different slide and continued his way out. The building was too large, he could spend hours and still not cover the entire place. With sweat going down his spine, he stealthily maneuvered around the large playground and attempted to find another slide down.


    ¡°G-get away from me!¡±


    He heard a girl yell from down the hall which made him stop and look. He saw three guys cornering one frail looking girl with glasses. From where he was standing, he could see that she had a blue flag around her waist. They were looking to take it.


    ¡°Just hand it over. There¡¯s nothing you and your stupid power can do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll be doing yourself a huge favor.¡± one of the guys said. They all laughed and continued to close in on the girl. The girl stood her ground with shaking legs.


    ¡°N-no way! I have my own reason to win this, and I refuse to stand down here!¡±


    The large one of the group laughed and waved his hand. In doing so, a powerful wave of ice shot at her. The girl jumped away in the nick of time and fell while still firmly holding onto her flag. Axel continued to watch for sometime and honestly wished the girl the best. She seemed really determined¡­ And so was he...So, he had to leave..


    From the ground where she threw herself, she was once again surrounded and threatened. She shook her head and stood up while bawling her fists. She once again refused to stand down. A wave of vines suddenly spurted from the ground and wrapped her up against the wall in a tight hold. Since he was behind them, they could not see him. The girl grimaced and struggled to break free but couldn¡¯t.


    Axel could not believe it. Why was she not using her ability? Now was a perfect time as any¡­.. Could he¡­..would he¡­...was it really just right to leave? She seemed so determined. She didn¡¯t want to let that flag go¡­.but what could he do? He didn¡¯t know what to do even if he wanted to help¡­..


    The guy with the vine control smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°See? This could¡¯ve all been avoided if you¡¯d just been a good little girl and given up. Weaklings like you have no place here¡­¡± He walked over to the struggling girl and reached for her flag. The moment it was off, she¡¯d be eliminated¡­. Axel stood frozen in place as he watched her struggle to get away. She looked up and caught sight of him. She could¡¯ve yelled. She could¡¯ve said something to alert them of his presence, but instead, she turned a blind eye and let her body go limp. She didn¡¯t jeopardize his chance to escape. She was not going to be selfish...Axel clenched his fist as he saw her accept defeat and hang there¡­..he couldn¡¯t watch anymore¡­..


    ¡°HEY!¡± He yelled at the top of his lungs.


    The three guys suddenly turned and looked at Axel. There was no running now.


    ¡°What? Playing hero kid? Give me a break. Jeice, he¡¯s got a flag, get him and I¡¯ll guard the girl.¡± One of the guys, probably named Jeice, stepped out and faced Axel. Axel raised his fists and felt his mind perform intense calculations. The guys who were standing in front of the girl stopped to watch Axel. The girl hanging from the vines raised her head in shock. She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing.


    ¡°You know what you got yourself into kid? Well, you¡¯re going to regret it!!¡± he said running toward Axel. He came at him with his body bent low and his hands stretched out trying to go for his flag. Running like that, there was only one thing that came to his mind.


    Just as the guy was close enough, Axel jumped and made the guy¡¯s head go between his thighs. He shut them, wrapped his arms around his torso, and,using every bit of his regular power he could muster, he lifted him causing him to flip and now have the guy named Jeice¡¯s thighs around his head. Finally, all in one fluid motion, he dropped himself backwards and bent his knees while bringing jeice down toward them and making him slam against them. The force of the fall was powerful enough that it knocked the air out of Jeice and made him wriggle on the ground with pain. It was what was known as a PowerBomb.


    Axel flipped backwards to his feet and once again clenched his fist with a powerful glow in his eye.


    The crowd went absolutely wild.


    ¡°Woah!!!!! Is that kid actually hiding some killer moves? In a shocking turn of events, The crybaby boy Axel Ison has pulled off an excellent wrestling move with pristine movement!!!¡¯


    Everyone, the crew included, yelled their heads off. For a second, the entire stadium went quiet when they noticed Axel watch a girl get cornered. They all thought he¡¯d run, some thought he¡¯d get eliminated. But no one expected this. The moment she saw that slam, Maria got chills all over. She didn¡¯t think it was wrong to say that everyone got chills all over. Everyone continued to cheer as they watched on in anticipation. The battle wasn¡¯t over yet!


    Axel ignored the sweat running down his brow and slid his feet backwards. Jeice continued to reach for his back and gasp for air. The two other guys behind him had their jaws dropped. It was like seeing a scrawny kid win a basketball competition against a pro. It was unbelievable. After a couple more seconds, one of them shook their head and scowled.


    ¡°You bastard! You¡¯re really going down now!¡±


    With another wave of his hand, a huge wave of ice shot at Axel at a frightening speed. Axel gasped and thought fast as he looked around. There was nothing he could do, if he ran now the girl would for sure get eliminated. He couldn¡¯t even dodge since there wasn¡¯t enough room. There was no choice! He had to use it! He swung his arm back and coursed every bit of power he could to it. It didn¡¯t matter what but he had to destroy that ice! Just as the ice was within 10 feet of him, a sudden wall of flame crossed his path and startled him. He yelled and fell back as the power in his arm snapped away. When the flames disappeared, axel looked up and saw the ground before him begin to melt from the heat. He exclaimed and frantically jumped to his feet. The two guys had dumbfounded expressions as they looked toward the direction the flames had come from. Following the path their eyes led him, he also felt his heart drop. He hoped to see Casey but that was just wishful thinking. He should¡¯ve known better¡­


    Instead, he saw the guy he dreaded to run into. With his blonde spiky hair and his hand leaking smoke, Kyle retracted his arm and shook it. His eyebrows linked together forming a ¡°\/¡± shape. With his piercing blue eyes shooting them down, he grinned. Axel looked down to his waist and saw the familiar blue flag he had on. However, Kyle looked like he had no fear or worry of getting his flag taken.


    ¡°H-hey, I-Isn¡¯t that k-kyle?¡± one of the guys asked suddenly starting to falter.


    ¡°Fuck this! I¡¯m not staying here¡± the other said while turning heel and running away.


    ¡°Wait for me¡± said the former guy while following suit. He grabbed the guy on the ground and helped him to his feet to get away. Once they were out of sight, Kyle looked down at Axel on the ground. Just as axel was about to make a run for it, Kyle turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Try and not lose shit face. Not until I get a chance to whoop your ass properly.¡± was all he said before jumping off the side of the building. Axel heard the sound of flames outside and jumped to his feet. Was¡­.Was kyle on his side? no ,no, he said he didn¡¯t want him to lose just yet. That meant he¡¯d do whatever to help him pass this first round, right? Either way, he was glad that he once again got lucky!


    ¡°Axel?! What was that? Did you do all of this?¡± Casey suddenly said appearing from one of the rooms.


    ¡°Casey? Where¡¯d you come from?Better yet, let¡¯s just get out of here and I can explain later!¡±


    Casey, who he noticed had a flag on, nodded and turned around to head out. But before he left, there was something he had to do. He walked over to the vine filled area and looked for the girl on the wall. She still had her jaw dropped as she followed him with her eyes. Axel beckoned to Casey and began pulling on the tough vines, careful not to accidentally take the girl¡¯s flag.


    ¡°What are you doing? Are you helping her?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story but you¡¯ve got to help me get her out!¡± he frantically yelled at her. Casey groaned and reluctantly placed her hands on the vines. The vines were then burned off and allowed the girl to fall to her knees. Axel kneeled and offered his hand.


    ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    The girl looked confused as she focused her eyes on him. She seemed genuinely bewildered. The second footsteps were heard down the hall, Casey quickly tugged on Axel¡¯s clothes and pointed to one of the room¡¯s.


    ¡°We¡¯ve gotta jump! There¡¯s a pond right outside the window out there! Quickly!¡±


    Reluctant but understanding the situation calling for it, he grabbed the girl¡¯s hand and pulled her with him. At the very least, her legs obeyed and made her run. They bursted through the door frame of the room and located the window. Casey poked her head through it and looked down. She looked back at Axel and gulped. ¡°Lady¡¯s first¡± he said. Casey felt sweat go down her eyebrow as she shut her eyes and made a dive out the window. Seconds after, he rushed to the window and looked out below. Sure enough, the crystal clear pond of water lay stories below. From this altitude, falling would surely be painful. Unfortunately, they could not afford to go any other way, they had used up all their luck so far. He saw Casey surface from the water and swim towards some bushes and trees where he lost sight of her. Axel looked at the girl he was holding onto who still seemed shocked. The second he was going to ask what was wrong, he saw someone enter through the doorway. It was a girl who, as soon as she saw their flags, fired a sharp crystal type ball from the palm of her hands at him, Axel hit the deck and dropped to his back just barely getting grazed on his nose. Axel rolled over just as four more crashed against the ground where he was. He jumped to his feet and charged at the girl head on. She continued to fire those crystal at him as Axel somehow managed to dodge most of them. One hit his left knee cap and another on his rib cage. He grimaced and slid on the ground and managed to slide right through the opening in between her legs. He spun on the ground and kicked her feet causing her to trip and fall. Without wasting another second, he rolled onto his feet and charged at the girl with glasses. He grabbed her and jumped right out of the window. The crystal girl from the ground managed to fire another round at him and hit him square in the back. His vision flickered as he suddenly felt his insides ascend. He accidentally let go of the girl and watched the world spin. In the distance, he could hear her screams as he struggled to maintain consciousness. He bit his tongue and managed to regain his ground. He snapped his eyes awake and looked below him. The pond was about 10 feet from them when a ball of flames suddenly caught them. He watched as he was taken away toward the forest and gently placed down on the ground. The real amazing part was watching as nothing caught on fire.


    Casey ran up to him and placed one of his arms around her shoulders. They weren¡¯t out of the woods just yet, they had to get away. He began to limp as Casey held onto him and walked as fast as possible. Since she couldn¡¯t think of anything else to do, the girl with the glasses followed close behind. Without mustering a single word to each other, they walked on for what felt like miles as the sounds of combat slowly started to get farther and farther away. Only when they heard nothing more and were absolutely sure that they were plenty far away from the combat area did they finally stop to rest. By then, the sun was finally getting ready to descend and set for the day.


    Casey helped Axel lay against a tree and soon did the same herself. The girl with glasses simply cleaned her glasses as she looked for a place to sit. Eventually, she settled for a fallen log. No words were said until they finally regained their breath.


    ¡°Why does...it take me to see you falling...to get my powers to work like that?....I could¡¯ve saved myself a dip in the pool¡­..¡±she said in between breaths.


    ¡°Well, thanks for doing it when you did, I almost passed out for a second there. If I had, I don¡¯t think we would¡¯ve gotten away!¡±


    Casey inspected his body with her eyes and began to feel worried. There were cuts on his face and a nasty gash on his left knee cap and a small hole on the right side of his shirt. He was bleeding from his elbow and was more than likely going to get a nasty bruise on his right forearm. She left him for two seconds and that happened. She shook her head and hugged her knees.


    ¡°Now then, what happened up there?¡± she said sounding sad. Axel inhaled and began to retell the events that had happened in her absence all leading up to the moment she found him again. All the while he felt his cheek sting and presumably heal.


    ¡°Wow¡­. How¡¯d you manage to pull off a move like that?¡±


    ¡°Me and my sister used to watch a lot of wrestling when we were younger. Aside from all the MMA classes we took when we were kids, I used to practice wrestling moves on my sister. Though, I could never actually use too much force or I¡¯d make her cry. So, I used a pillow!¡±


    When he was a kid, he along with Casey, Kyle, and Cindy participated in MMA classes up until they were around 12. It was around the time Kyle and Cindy suddenly moved away that he stopped going. He just didn¡¯t have the drive for it anymore but he at least learned quite a lot from it. It was helping him get through today somewhat.


    ¡°Well that explains that but, What is with you and getting into other¡¯s problems? Now we have to deal with another person with us. Mind telling me why exactly she¡¯s here?¡± she said looking over at the girl who was a fair distance away from them. Axel used his shirt to wipe away the blood on his elbow and thought of a way to answer her question. Except, there wasn¡¯t any real reason he had. He just felt bad. After seeing her try and defend her flag so hard, he felt guilty for not helping. What really gave him the final push was when she didn¡¯t alert the group of guys of his presence. That just told him that there was no way he could continue to just stand there.


    ¡°I just saw her defending herself and that flag as if her life depended on it. Then, I thought that she was just like me since I didn¡¯t see her use an ability. Us powerless guys have to help each other out, ya know?¡±


    ¡°This coming from a guy able to make the weather itself change with a single punch? Oh yeah, powerless alright.¡±


    ¡°You make it sound so cool. It¡¯s actually awful. Imagine the pain you get just to produce power like that. Here, check this out.¡± He said as he grabbed a rock off the ground. He chucked it at her and watched as it hit her shoulder. Casey grimaced and yelped out in pain.


    ¡°Ooouch! What the hell was that for!?¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°It hurts,right? Now imagine that same pain but thousands of times stronger. That''s what I''ve gone through and it''s the very reason I don''t want to use it.¡± He said while flicking dirt off his clothes. Casey slightly widened her eyes as she came to a realization. As soon as she had, she couldn''t help but feel embarrassed. If Axel really went through pain like that, she had no room to complain¡­.


    ¡°Well anyway, I gave her a hand back there and she''s here with us now so whether or not she wants to stay is completely up to her.¡± he said looking over at the girl who sat while deep in thought. Feeling their gazes press up on her, the girl looked up and took a deep breath. She shook her head and seemed to be motivating herself. After a couple of seconds of repeated muttering to herself, she finally spoke out loud.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to apologize. I¡¯m so sorry that I made you go through all of that. It''s just that your actions completely took me by surprise and I wasn''t sure what to do so I panicked and stood completely still¡­¡±


    Axel and Casey had plain expressions as they listened to her story. Axel bent his good knee up and rested his arm on it.


    ¡°Was it really so surprising? It wasn''t that amazing, was it?¡±


    ¡°Of course it was! I thought you were a goner. When I first looked at you I thought, ¡®If this guy gets caught up in this he won''t be much help..¡¯, so I didn''t say anything. But then you up and made me stand corrected. That drop was amazing! And then, the notorious Kyle came to your aide! That in and of itself was amazing since that hothead cares for no one! And then there was that crystal girl, the way you made her trip and fall was also something I¡¯ve never seen before! I was literally stunned!¡±


    Facing so much praise all at once was overwhelming for him, he didn''t know how to handle it. He felt his face light up as he began to sweat. He fidgeted as he rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed.


    ¡°That wasn''t anything really...haha¡­..Oh! But why is Kyle so feared here? I get that he''s scary but why is he that scary? Back there, those guys ran with their tails between their legs the second they saw Kyle. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°You don''t know?! That''s common knowledge! It''s because he stands at the very top of all savants, including the worldwide charts. He''s in the Locked 7th category and ranks #1 out of the 11 others there. His ability is the control of fire and is known as ¡°Incinerator¡±! No one wants to stand up against him since he''s almost unstoppable. Not just his ability, but his pure combat power is incredible! That''s why he''s #1!¡±


    Axel felt a chill go down his spine. Was Kyle really that powerful? Did someone like that really exist? Surely the power gap between them wasn''t that wide, right? From what he was told, the 7th category was only granted to those born with a powerful ability, it wasn''t attainable. Was his fire really that powerful? Casey also had flame control, wouldn''t that mean she''d be able to stand up against him too with the right training? Better yet, would he stand any chance against him at all? Not to mention that there were others. 10 others in total. He was gonna hurl, this was insane! where was the nearest bush!?


    ¡°relax, Kyle is powerful but he''s not unbeatable. Everyone has their weakness, Kyle''s no exception. But Based on what you told me it looks like we won''t have to worry about Kyle, at least not this round.¡± Casey said to him seeing his face turn green.


    ¡°Eh?...really?....what do you mean we?¡±


    ¡°What!? Oh, uh, I just figured if he wants you to pass so badly then if I stick with you maybe he''ll spare me too?....haha¡­¡± she said while getting a bit flustered.


    ¡°Well, okay then. But why is Kyle here if he¡¯s already the best out there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that he just likes to win and that this serves as good excercise. That¡¯s pretty much it. No one else in the 7th category has ever wanted to participate. Well, I heard Miss FrostBite was going to participate this year but it looks like she didn¡¯t¡±


    ¡°Frostbite?¡± He said raising his eyebrows. The glasses wearing girl gasped as if it was impossible for axel not to know.


    ¡°Are you living under a rock!? Frostbite is the 2nd ranked in the 7th category and also the only one capable of going toe to toe with Kyle! She¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. The rest is a surprise for him¡± Casey said while holding up her hand to stop her from talking. The girl seemed a bit perturbed but silently nodded. Axel looked at Casey trying to figure out why she stopped her from talking but it looked like she wasn¡¯t going to say anything else on the matter.


    ¡°Well, Whatever. So, glasses girl, What are you going to do now? You can leave now if you want.¡±


    The girl with glasses quickly picked her head up and placed her hands on the rock while leaning forward.


    ¡°Well, I was thinking about that but I don¡¯t honestly think I¡¯ll last long on my own¡­.. And since you helped me out back there and got me here, I was thinking that...maybe I could join you?.....¡±


    Axel and Casey both again placed plain and serious expressions on their faces as they eyed the girl. This caused her to sweat uncomfortably and shake a little. She wasn¡¯t sure what they were thinking but she wondered if this was how it felt to be at a job interview¡­


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really turn you down¡­..I don¡¯t have a problem with it, you?¡± he said turning to Casey.


    ¡°Hmmmm, this¡¯ll get in the way of our relationship bonding time though.¡± She said to him throwing a fast one hoping to hit home.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had years of it, what more do you need?¡± He said completely having the ball go over his head. Casey laughed pitifully since Axel completely did not catch her intentions at all. Finally thinking seriously, she properly responded.


    ¡°I guess I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The girl with glasses felt her face and emotions rise as she stood up and cheered.


    ¡°R-really?! Thank goodness! Thank you so much!!¡±


    After a while of getting her to settle down, Axel decided that it was a perfect time to get to know each other. This way when he made plans he¡¯d be sure to know who to chose to do certain things. The girl agreed and sat back down. The first to talk was Axel.


    ¡°My name is Axel Ison and I can use multiple abilities. Those consisting of wind, fire, electricity, and Super Strength. I can hold up to five. However, If I use even one of them I damage my own body. That especially applies to super strength. Because of that, I¡¯m only good for a couple hits and then I¡¯ll only be a weight on your shoulders. So, I¡¯ll mostly be attacking with whatever I can do regularly. Try not to rely on me.¡±


    Casey enthusiastically clapped her hands as axel bowed several times. Next was Casey.


    ¡°I¡¯m Casey Smith and I can control fire. Up until recently, I was only able to heat up objects to a certain degree as well as being heat resistant. Now I can produce flames from my body but I¡¯m not able to fully control it and am still learning a lot about myself. Since I haven¡¯t re-taken the ability test I¡¯m still down in the 2nd category. So, try not to rely on me much either¡­.¡±


    As Casey began to bow, Axel started to clap just as she did. Then they both turned to the girl with glasses with large eyes and brimming joy and confidence. She could tell that they were friends long before the competition. Either that or they were insane.


    ¡°My name is Katie Campos. My power isn¡¯t as great your guy¡¯s. I can freeze the time around certain objects and move it around. It has to be small though. I can only freeze time and not speed it up or slow it down. My size limit is about the size of a small person. I call it Time Pocket. This power only places me in the 2nd category too though, so I guess you can¡¯t rely on me either¡­..¡±


    Once she finished, Katie contemplated bowing but didn¡¯t want to make a fool of herself. So, she sat and waited for their reaction. As expected, they didn''t have much to say. They both sat with serious expressions and the only one that moved was Casey but only to play with the curled edges of her hair. Axel simply stared at her as if he was unsure what to say. She understood though. She knew that her power was useless and that there was no way she could be of any help. She knew they¡¯d want her to leave. But that was okay, she should¡¯ve known that it was idiotic to enter a battlefield with nothing but her bare fists. She was trying to fight blades and guns with a pool noodle, that¡¯s the type of situation she was in right now. In fact, why wait for the inevitable? She should just take her flag off right now and hand it to them as thanks for saving her. At this point, it was the most she could do¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool!! Imagine the pranks you could pull? The things you could save!! Oh.My.God. I¡¯d never have to worry about spilling a drink again if I could just freeze it in mid air! Hey, hey,hey! Is there a time limit? What about weight capacity? Does any of that matter?And that clever name, It¡¯s so awesome! Mine has a pretty dull name if you ask me, I don¡¯t like it. Well, I don¡¯t like this power in general but that¡¯s beside the point!¡± he said with a sparkle in his eye. Katie was suddenly hit by such a powerful wave of enthusiasm and curiosity from Axel that she had to put her hands up in order to protect herself. His reaction was something she¡¯s never had to deal before. Was her ability really that great? There was no reason to hype her up so was he really just being genuine? She was actually starting to believe that the boy really did live under a rock if her ability was mesmerizing him to this extent. Had he never heard of Code Breaker? Hurricane? Realm Defier? Wolf Pack? And that was just naming a few of the super cool people in the land of savants. Surely he was trying to patronize her or something, right? Or maybe he was just an idiot¡­


    ¡°Your face says that you think he¡¯s an idiot. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s just not used to seeing any powers at all so the smallest thing will excite him.¡± Casey responded seeing the perplexed facial expression Katie had. Katie shook her head and blinked multiple times as if trying to snap out of something.


    ¡°Well anyway, you¡¯re here and are now apart of us so welcome! And don¡¯t worry, I know your power will come in handy somewhere down the line, just gotta wait for the right time is all!¡± Axel said to her.


    ¡°R-right¡­.¡±


    ¡°What worries me is that we¡¯ve all said that we can¡¯t rely on each other since our powers are either weak or too strong, so what exactly will we do if we face trouble?¡± Casey asked bringing up a real good point. Axel brought his eyebrows closer as he began to think. It was true, they all did say that. He wasn¡¯t too weak though, with what he knew and learned back in the day, he knew that he was an okay close range fighter. Casey didn¡¯t have total control of her flames but it wasn¡¯t like she would get hurt in the process, so she''d work as a mid range fighter. Since she also took classes with him when they were little, she basically knew everything he did. As for Katie, it didn¡¯t look like she had enough combat experience to be able to fight neither close or mid range. Her ability was somewhat useful though. But since she couldn¡¯t fight she¡¯d have to remain in the back and be their long range fighter. If her power didn¡¯t have a range limit, it would be possible to stop any incoming attacks from others. For example, if a girl like the one that shot crystals appeared again, Katie could stop her crystals in mid air and give them a chance to strike or get away. That would be perfect. He explained this to them and waited for their thoughts on it.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s great! I¡¯m in!¡± said casey lifting her fists up. Katie nodded her head and also raised her tiny fists.


    ¡°I agree! I¡¯ll do anything to help!¡± she said.


    ¡°Really? Thanks guys!¡± Axel replied feeling proud. When they suddenly heard an explosion near by, they all jumped out of their skins. Facing Axel, Casey waved her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, there are two guys over there fighting but we aren¡¯t close enough to be discovered. That said, since I can feel them at all means that they are in within my sensing range. It¡¯s not a good idea to stick around here, we should get a move on and find somewhere else to continue our plans.¡±


    Hearing that from Casey made him calm down. Since she could feel body temperatures he knew what she was saying was credible. He looked up at the orange sky and lifted his arms. More or less, they were ready to be swung again. His back felt sore where he was hit but he was good. He stood up and made sure his legs were operational by doing repeated squats and stretches. They must¡¯ve been here for at least an hour. Though his body was healing nicely, he knew that Casey and Katie were not in the same position. Plus, he was already feeling pretty worn out. His eyelids were getting heavier which was not a good sign. He looked over at the two girls and told them to get up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look for a place to rest for the night. It¡¯s dangerous to hang around here right now since I know more than one person will see the night as a perfect opportunity to hunt and eliminate sleeping people. Come on.¡±


    The girls nodded and tried to get up. Katie didn¡¯t struggle much but Casey felt her legs shake as she tried to get up. Axel walked over to her and placed his hand under her armpits to lift her. She was surprisingly light. When she was up, she was close enough to him to feel the warmth of his breath. She stood fixated on him and only was able to muster the word ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Axel shook his head and told her not to worry about it.


    And so, they began to walk as diligently as possible. They paid attention to their every step and made sure to make as little noise as possible. It was true that Casey could sense those nearby but they couldn¡¯t solely rely on that. Who knew what could happen. It was better to be safe than sorry. Axel took the lead while Casey walked close behind him and Katie taking the rear. As they walked through the thick forest in search of a place to stay, Axel took occasional glances at Katie making sure that Casey would not notice. In doing so he was able to analyze her better. She was pretty short and had long black hair tied up to a ponytail. Her large brown eyes complimented her smooth skin. She was probably around his age but he couldn¡¯t say for sure. She was fairly thin but had excellent curves to her which made her attractive. He wondered, just why was she so determined to win? Hopefully, he¡¯d get to know someday¡­


    After many minutes of walking around and avoiding others, they made it to a very peculiar location. It made them look up and wonder just where they were. What was before them was a mountain like zone. It felt like they were walking into a hiking trail now. There were many hills and mountains with not much grass in view. There were many rocks and boulders along with dry bushes and yellow desert plants. The type that would get little pieces stuck in your sock and make your feet itch. Axel turned around and looked at the large and humid forest behind him and then back at the desert. The landscapes were separated perfectly. He wished he had his phone in his hands right now because this was a picture perfect moment¡­. Well, no point in crying over it now. He¡¯d just ask if he could take one once the event was over.


    ¡°This is amazing!¡± he said.


    ¡°No kidding. I¡¯ve never seen something like this¡­¡± Agreed Casey.


    They spent a couple more moments taking in the scenery before moving into the new desert landscape. Unlike in the forest area, it was much more of a workout here. There were many inclines and they had to jump over many rocks. Their ankles would often twist as they stepped on certain grounds the wrong way and they would trip on unseen rocks. At the very least, they were able to see what was around them with a wider view. When the sun set and the moon began to rise, Axel began to feel uneasy. Soon, it would be much more difficult to see so they had to find somewhere fast. After reaching the end of a hill, they came across a peculiar looking terrain. There were many holes on the ground and cracks surrounding the area. It didn¡¯t look like ordinary holes like the one¡¯s animals made. These one¡¯s looked different. He walked up to one and looked down but couldn¡¯t see anything but darkness. It looked somewhat familiar but he couldn¡¯t remember why¡­


    ¡°Axel! Look at this!¡± He heard Katie yell.


    He ran over and looked at what she was pointing at. It was an opening that led down into the ground. It was perfect. He asked Casey to see if she could feel anyone down there to make sure it was safe.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel anyone there.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, Let¡¯s go¡±


    ¡°Down there? But who knows what we¡¯ll find!¡±


    ¡°Apart from sanctuary and a couple of bugs hopefully nothing else.¡± He said looking around. It was more than he could ask for. He was already afraid of having to sleep outside and having to take shifts to keep an eye out for anyone but with this they could all sleep at once. He looked around for a large object and found it. It was a large boulder the size of himself. The entrance to the ground was a bit smaller than that so this would cover it up just fine. He urged them to get inside as he quickly began to move the boulder. They were skeptical but got inside anyway. Axel pushed and pushed but the damn rock did not budge. He felt himself get frustrated as a knot in his throat formed.


    (Please don¡¯t break¡­) He prayed as he placed one foot on the boulder and shut his eyes. He thought of Casey and Katie and imagined them in danger. He motivated himself and felt the gears on his motor turn. He grunted and pushed out with all he had causing the wind beneath his feet to multiply. The boulder was suddenly caused to roll toward the entrance by a powerful gust of wind as Axel fell back on his behind. He felt an aching pain on his kneecap and the sole of his foot but he tried to ignore it. He got up and used the other foot to produce the same power again to make him fly through the air and into the entrance seconds before the boulder slammed into it. The walls of the cave shook as he roughly landed and slid on the ground. When he stopped, he was surprised to feel a soft wall behind him. Well, it was actually Casey who had jumped in front of him to stop him from slamming into the wall. She was lucky to not have slammed into it herself.


    ¡°Thanks so much Casey¡­.I really appreciate it¡± He said while gritting his teeth and sitting up.


    ¡°Just try and stop getting yourself hurt please?¡± she said with a soft smile. He laughed and inspected his legs. They were both in the same condition. They were in pain but not broken. He got up on unsteady feet and looked around. The entrance was successfully shut. The entrance was narrow and seemed to continue down. Somehow, the cave was still lit. He looked around for the light source and exclaimed when he saw it. It was Casey, but that wasn¡¯t what left him stunned. In order to see, Casey had the edges of her hair on fire. It wasn¡¯t like they were just burning but rather it almost looked like her hair itself was made out of fire. It was amazing and truly made her look beautiful. Though he wanted to express that, he could only stutter like a moron. Casey looked at him funny and lightly slapped his cheeks.


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t go going insane on me just yet, okay?¡± She said. Axel nodded and proceeded to head down the cave. After about 10 minutes of walking down, they were met with a large open area that was already lit by itself. It was a beautiful place that had many holes in the ceiling of it. Through some of the holes, blue light shone through and illuminated the area. In the back, they could see what looked like a large pond which reflected some of the light and gave the room a blueish light. They were astonished as the walked in and looked around.


    ¡°Wow¡­.. and here I was thinking that we would for sure die down here¡­¡±Katie, who had been quiet up to now, said. Axel and Casey nodded as they surveyed the area. Casey made sure no one was around and made the flames in her hair die out while Axel looked around the grounds. After confirming that no one was around, he laid down against the wall of the underground area. He heavily sighed as he rolled up in a ball and closed his eyes with his back facing the wall.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked casey. Axel coughed and sniffed.


    ¡°What I¡¯ve been dying to do. Sleep. You guys should while you can too. We¡¯ll discuss what to do next when we wake up. For now, let¡¯s try and not stress about it. I doubt anyone will find this place¡­¡±He said dozing off.


    Katie and Casey looked at each other and raised their shoulders. It was true that they were all tired. Katie looked around and found the most comfortable spot to rest in and laid there. Casey went over to the pond and cupped her hands to the water. She raised them to her mouth and drank. To her surprise, it was salty. She spit it out and tried to call Axel and Katie but none responded. They were already dozing off. She shook her head and used this chance to use the restroom. She found a nice spot and did her lady business. After she was done, she walked over to Axel and rolled up next to him. As kids, she used to do this too whenever either he or she slept over. They were such good times and she wished she could go back and relive them. Well, she kind of was but she didn¡¯t like this situation they were in. Axel, who was the most exhausted out of all of them, was already fast asleep. However, what made her want to cry was the tears she found in his closed eyes. Was he really missing home that much? It was understandable. One moment he was normal and the next he was not. She felt so bad for him. It made her wonder just what this cruel world had in store for him¡­..She wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to calm herself. He needed this. He needed to rest and he¡¯d be fine in the morning. She hoped he would. If not, she¡¯d be there to support him¡­ Like she always wanted¡­


    _______


    In the now semi quiet and dark stadium were many people softly conversing. The arena was warmed up and their seats had turned into reclining beds. They were given the option to leave or stay and were given pillows and blankets. However, mostly everyone had stayed for the show. The four screens occasionally flickered to show different contestants but most were sleeping or trying to sleep. The one large screen now showed many red names with a lot of blue ones and few green ones. They got the chance to spectate specific people over their phones as long as they had a certain app. While most in the arena slept, some continued to watch. Maria, who was snuggled up in a blanket, was one of those people. She used her phone and watched over the boy Axel. Up to now, she had been watching him the entire time. Yes, she felt a little jealous here and there but she couldn¡¯t jump through the screen and stop anything. So, she watched him sleep and fell in deep thought. She missed him. She worried for him. She felt bad¡­.Just one night. She had to make sure not to have a break down during the night or she wouldn¡¯t know what to do except to go to natsumi¡­.She felt her heart quiver as she covered her face in her blanket and pressed the home button on her phone that axel had given her. She stared at her home screen wallpaper in an attempt to calm herself. It was a picture she took of them together while at home. He was happily viewing his favorite TV show while she smiled and was sitting next to him. This picture symbolized home for her. It was all she wanted and all she could hang onto. She wiped a small tear from he eye and prepared to fall asleep¡­


    But she was not the only one. Lucy, Natsumi, Jennifer, Michael,Tony,Ella, and even Andrew. They were all in deep thought as they wondered how Axel would work himself through this situation. But, for the moment, all they could do was sit and wait to see what he did. And like him, they had to sleep and worry about it in the morning¡­.


    Part 4


    The first to wake up of the three was Axel. The moment he opened his eyes he knew that something was not right. He was inside a cave with no soft areas to lay in, so why did the floor under his head feel so soft and warm? He picked up his head and looked. He was greeted by soft white skin. It belonged to a leg, who in turn belonged to the Flame goddess, Casey. He tried to move away but found the he couldn¡¯t. He looked behind him and found Casey clinging to him like a pillow. He felt his face redden as he made her let go. He gently pried her hands off his waist and placed her down, taking extra precaution not to wake her. Flustered, He quietly got up and looked around. He saw Katie some distance away also fast asleep. He tiptoed over to the pond and looked up at the holes in the ceiling. Judging by the light that seeped through, it was about 5 or 6 in the morning.


    He yawned and stretched his arms once he felt like he was a good distance away to make some noise. Then he noticed something, he looked down at his legs and began to squat. He repeatedly squatted and observed himself closely. He then stretched out his arms and punched the air. He twisted and turned and even did a cartwheel. It was true, he was all healed up. Though he hated Power Magnet, he loved the fact that he could heal this fast. He smiled and sat down in front of the pond. Since he was up first, it was a good time to finally get some practice in. This power had to be tamed one way or another. Recently, he had gotten a hang of actually activating his power but he had to find a different way of doing it instead of always picturing someone in danger. Not to mention how to use a specific power instead of having something random show up. He crossed his legs and concentrated. He thought hard and focused on a specific power. He needed to remember how the power felt, remember the sensation that coursed through his veins. It was a feeling similar to his arm falling asleep, like intense vibrations filling his body. He needed to replicate that feeling, he needed to use it once more!. He felt a familiar chill in the center of his torso and reached for it. He grabbed hold and prepared to expulse the power to the palms of his hands¡­.


    BZZZT¡­¡­...BZZZT


    As soon as he heard the sounds of electricity, he opened his eyes and raised his arms, careful not to disrupt his concentration. His arms had tiny jolts of electricity surrounding it and was sparkling brightly. He slowly extended his leg and touched the surface of the water. He kicked it and aimed for the small drops of water he made jump. He shot electricity at it and watched as the lightning traveled through the water and eventually hit the ceiling.


    A small pebble fell and landed in the pond. He gasped and accidentally let his concentration slip. The electricity disappeared and his arms stopped sparking. Despite that, he still let out a tiny gasp of joy. He managed to do that! It was so cool! He grabbed his left forearm and squeezed it. There was a slight tingling feeling but aside from that there was no severe pain. He smiled and felt relief flood him. This was progress, this was definitely progress. Now, with this feeling in mind, he was starting to feel bold. If he recalled, this lightning type power also allowed him to move rather quickly, but if he only used it on a specific part of his body then the rest would be damaged. For example, if he powered up only his legs and moved really fast, his legs would be okay since they had the strength powerful enough to do that but the rest of his body would have the power of a regular human who could not. It was something like that¡­ So, it was time to jump from tier 1 straight to tier 3!


    ________


    When she opened her eyes about halfway, she searched for Axel on the ground with her hands but failed to find him. If they overslept here they would miss the chance to get the drop on others. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around. Though everything was still kind of blurry to her, she could see what looked like a person sitting down and eating something. Immediately as she thought this, her stomach growled like never before and only then did it occur to her that she had ate nothing ever since she came here. When her eyes focused, she was finally able to tell who that person was. It was Axel who was sweating for some reason, and in his hand was a tasty looking sandwich. With his back to her, he looked back and joyfully munched on his breakfast with his eyebrows slightly raised in delight. Then it dawned on her, was he eating without her? She gasped and quickly scurried over to him.


    ¡°HEEEEEEY!!??? Where in the world did you get that!? Give it here! I want some! I¡¯m hungry!!!!¡±


    ¡°What!? No way!! Let go!!! Get your own!!!!¡±


    ¡°I would if there was a food court here!!!¡±


    As some of her hair produced tiny bits of fire, they both stood up and grappled at each other. It looked liked they were hugging until casey placed her right arm under his left and reached around his back. She twisted her body to have her hip hit his leg and pulled his right hand, She pulled him forward. He was tossed over and slammed into the ground with the sandwich still in his mouth. She performed a hip throw. He felt the air leave his lungs but prepared to counter, He spun on the ground and kicked at her left foot just like he had done to the crystal girl from before. She tripped and fell over. Seeing his chance, he got up and ran away. Casey extended her hand and made fire flow through them. From in front of him, A geyser of fire exploded from the ground causing him to fall back. Before he could react, Casey appeared next to him and snatched the sandwich from his mouth. He exclaimed and tackled her which somehow resulted in Casey being on top of him regardless. He tried to get her off but Casey proved to be stronger. She laughed at him and took a bite from the sandwich. This made Axel gasp and struggle even harder until finally, he had enough. She saw him raise his hand and watched as it glowed unnaturally and produced a powerful whistling noise. She quickly reacted and produced fire out of hers. He swiped and she swiped at him. But before they could collide, Katie spoke up and made them both stop.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she said sounding completely bewildered. Axel lost his grip and the glow in his arm disappeared. Casey too let her flames die out but both their hands were still raised.


    ¡°She¡¯s fighting me for my sandwich!¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Because you were trying to eat it without me!!¡±


    ¡°I said get your own!¡±


    ¡°You have the nerve to say that while we¡¯re stuck in here!??!¡±


    As they both once again wrestled each other, Katie made them stop once again by yelling.


    ¡°You know there¡¯s an entire box full of them over there, right?¡± Katie said while pointing at something.


    Suddenly, Casey stopped her fighting and looked over at Katie with curious eyes. Axel was hanging limply from her arms as he summoned the strength to speak.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to tell you that¡­..A whole box of food appeared here this morning with a note inside. It said that we were to eat what we wanted and congrats on making it this far¡­. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s from the people running this tournament¡­¡±


    Casey let him go and allowed him to fall to the floor. For some reason, he felt like he had lived this some time before¡­ Her cheeks suddenly turned red as she rubbed her head and laughed.


    ¡®Oh¡­..ahahahaha¡­.sorry, Axel¡­..¡± she said getting off him. Axel dusted his clothes and sat back up. He extended his arm with a frown and gestured for something. Casey picked up his gesture and handed his now ruined sandwich back over to him. He swiped it back and angrily took a bite. When Casey regained her self control, she followed Katie over to the box that had food inside along with some water bottles. She took some out and went over to sit with Axel who was now back to normal. Once she sat down, Axel began to enthusiastically talk about his progress with his powers. Katie viewed them from far away and started to wonder what on earth was wrong with them. One moment they¡¯re ready to rip each others throats out and the next they¡¯re talking as if nothing had happened. She went over to them and sat in their circle.


    ¡°Jesus, Do you guys always fight like your lives depend on it for the smallest of things? I mean, those were some killer moves you two were using!¡±


    Though they resembles two kids, they fought like two masters! She couldn¡¯t help but admire them. In the world of savants, everyone relied on firepower alone, no one focused on homing their hand to hand combat skills. Since she was used to seeing people fighting with pure skills, she was not used to seeing people fighting with actual skills. They both looked at each other and smiled.


    ¡°When we were younger, We took some self defense classes and hung out a lot. When we argued, like most friends do, we usually ended up getting physical with Casey almost always throwing the first punch-¡±


    ¡°And me always ending up on top! Literally!¡± Casey finished with a sparkle in her eyes. Though he hated to admit it, Casey somehow always ended up winning. And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, she always somehow ended up on top of him as well. She was just that strong. Katie placed a hand on her forehead and laughed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, I¡¯m teaming up with two psychos¡­¡± She said. They laughed and continued to enjoy their surprise breakfast.


    ________


    In the stadium where most of the crowd had returned and things were up and running again, there was a brief moment of silence when they witnessed two supposed teammates fight over a sandwich. Though it was hilarious, the way they fought was superb. They couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying but once it was over the crowd bursted into a fit of laughter mixed with cheers.


    Ella, who watched the whole thing go down, sighed and shook her head. As usual, the four jumbo screens were showing how different players were going about their morning when it came across to Axel and his team. By then, it first showed the girl named Casey grab Axel yelling something. Presumably for the sandwich in his hand which he was protecting with his life. The announcer found it hilarious and displayed it on all four screens for all to see. When it was over and everyone got a good laugh from it, the screens resumed to showing the remaining players. She couldn¡¯t believe what she just saw, No one from the crew did. Lucy especially exclaimed and held her head.


    ¡°To think that she seems so pretty and harmless but is really an absolute beast!¡±


    ¡°Well Axel looks sweet and kind but is also harboring dangerous skills. They¡¯re both crazy.¡± Jennifer responded to her.


    It seemed odd. Both seemed frail but were actually strong. Who would¡¯ve thought? As Ella thought this, she focused on the screens up top. Today was the final day, soon the finish line would emerge but Axel still did not have a second flag. He had to hurry, otherwise he¡¯d lose¡­


    Part 5


    After eating breakfast, the trio made their way back to the surface. When they reached the boulder blocking the way out, Axel froze in place. Casey looked around and closed her eyes. After some time, she opened them again.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one around but some small animals, you can move that boulder now Axel¡±


    ¡°Forget it!¡± He blurted out.Casey and Katie raised their eyebrows.


    ¡°What?Why are you so scared?¡± Katie said.


    Axel raised his arm and clenched it. He stared at his shaking fist with wide eyes. He dreaded using this power, it was insane. It hurt him, it hurt. The pain it inflicted on him was massive and whenever he used it he honestly felt like dying. Sure, controlled it wouldn¡¯t do too much harm but it hurt nonetheless. Other than electricity, there was no way he¡¯d use anything else until he absolutely needed to. No way would he put himself through that kind of pain for nothing. What if he messed up and 100% of this power bursted out? Not only would the rock be obliterated, so would his arms! No way!


    ¡°You do it Casey. Even if you lose control you don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡± He said while lowering his head. Casey furrowed her brow and reluctantly agreed, ¡°Okay?¡±


    She raised her arm and released an intense wave of heat. Axel and Casey retreated behind a rock as Casey managed to push the rock out of the way slowly. When it was done, she lowered her arm and ceased the fire. She turned to Axel and Katie and gestured for them to follow her out. When they emerged, they covered their eyes from the sun.


    ¡°Well, what now?¡± Casey said looking around. Axel held his chin and thought. Today was the final day of this game and in order to win they needed at least one more flag. Which meant, they had no choice but to go out and hunt other players down. It was the only way they could advance. They had to move forward. If they kept moving forward, it was possible to find another terrain. Another forest would be ideal, that way they could hide in the trees. Being out in the open like this was dangerous.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going forward, we need to keep hidden and hope to see someone around that we can catch by surprise. Let¡¯s go¡± He said as he walked in front.


    The two shook their heads and followed Axel. The desert portion of this area was fairly small, it only took them around 20 minutes to find a brand new terrain that was visible from a distance. Just like the last one, this one was a forest. However, the key difference in this one was that it was raining. And the rain wasn¡¯t just light rain, it was raining cats and dogs. Axel was reluctant to go, he didn¡¯t feel like getting soaked and he was fairly certain the others didn¡¯t want to either. He looked around for another terrain but wasn¡¯t able to see anything. Though he was going to hate it, he had no other choice, the cover in the trees would provide great hiding spots. Not to mention that the sound of the rain would make it harder for anyone to hear them, but that went both ways. It was strange, though. He wondered if anyone else thought the same way because there was no one in the desert terrain, why was that? Up to now, they encountered no one. Well, it was better to just count themselves lucky. It was entirely possible that people had passed through here during the night, and it was also possible that there were multiple terrains much larger than this one. Whatever the case, he had to keep moving.


    ¡°Are we really heading for the rain?¡± Katie asked already shivering. Axel nodded and looked back at her.


    ¡°There¡¯s not much else. We¡¯re out of water and that pond water was salty for whatever reason. Maybe we can find a better river in there. Also, it makes for a much better hiding place. Just looks at the size of those trees, if they look big here I¡¯m sure they must be huge up close!¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t think I can last long there...Me and the cold don¡¯t exactly mix well..¡± Casey reminded him, which made him twitch. It was true. Like when he visited her after winter break, she started shivering seconds after getting out of her house and didn¡¯t want the hot air in her home to escape. She was always like that, even when they were young. Just the thought of the cold irked her. However, she¡¯d have to endure. It was just for a short while.


    ¡°Just suck it up, Case. It¡¯ll only be for a little while¡­.¡± he said to her with a wry smile. Casey was reluctant but felt the gravity of the situation and agreed. Seeing her nod, he sighed and looked forward.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s going to be our strategy? What are we-¡± BOOM


    The second Katie began to say something, the ground next to her suddenly erupted and tore apart sending her flying into the sky. Axel and Casey covered their faces and struggled to open their eyes right due to the wind and sand blowing in their faces. When it finally died down, Axel looked around for Katie.


    ¡°Katie!? Casey!?¡±


    When he saw Katie in mid air, He acted fast. His legs ran with all they had toward her. As she neared the ground, Axel got closer but feared he wouldn¡¯t make it. He jumped forward and caught her in mid air but slid on the floor with tremendous force. He bit his tongue and winced. Warm liquid filled his mouth and soon fresh blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth. Katie gasped and looked at him with shocked eyes.


    ¡°Oh my gosh!!! Axel, are you okay!? What just happened!?¡± she said. Axel shook his head and grunted in pain.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­..¡±


    ¡°You guys!! Are you alright!?¡± said Casey who ran up to them. Axel shook his head and stood up with Katie. He quickly looked around for their attacker but couldn¡¯t see anything. However, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash and acted quickly. He grabbed the two girls and jumped away. A second later, the ground where they once stood also exploded leaving a crater behind. Casey and Katie were able to see it happen and looked at Axel who somehow was jumping very fast. When they looked closely, they were amazed. His body from head to toe was sparking. It was like an electric aura was surrounding him with sparks of lightning periodically sparking around his body parts. It was like a mini fireworks show.


    ¡°Axel? What is this?¡± Casey asked him.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to explain! We have to reach that forest!!¡± He said. It was not far now, maybe about half a football field away. He was jumping really fast and he was honestly terrified of tripping or rupturing a bone. Luckily, the terrain was now flat. However, multiple explosions occurred mere feet behind them with each one getting closer. Whoever was doing this was getting even more precise with every shot they took. Sure, this was a game but all this was just going too far. Was this person trying to kill them!? Just when he was sure an explosion barely touched the tip of his boots, with the girls holding on to him for dear life, they finally made it to the rain forest. Axel wasted no time and jumped up to the tallest tree he could find. When he found one, he landed and immediately left the two of the girls go. He desperately tried to catch his breath as he kneeled. The branch they were one was freakishly thick so all three of them fit perfectly on it. The rain mercilessly fell down on them and drenched their clothes almost instantaneously. Though, none of them focused on that just yet.


    ¡°Whoever that was, he won¡¯t be able to find us in here. We must be at least 20 or 30 feet up¡­.¡±


    ¡°So, you mean someone fired those blasts at us!?¡± Katie asked in shock.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I wasn¡¯t able to see who but I know from where. If we¡¯re lucky, this person will come chasing for us where we can take him down!¡± Axel said.


    ¡°D-do you think we can take on someone like that?...¡¯Casey asked that made him think again. To fire off such powerful attacks like that from a long distance and still cause such huge craters was incredible. Could he¡­¡­.Could he really take them on?.... Gritting his teeth, he turned his back on the desert and looked up at the gray sky. Strangely enough, the rain was almost room temperature. It almost felt like he was in a warm shower. This made it much less miserable to be in. He lowered his head and looked around. The trees were spread apart but the branches were large enough to extend out to other branches. Jumping from one to the other shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. He told them this and proceeded to take the lead once more. The two girls walked directly behind him and followed the branches he jumped from.


    ¡°So, what was that power you used just now?¡± asked Casey.


    ¡°It was nothing special. You do it all the time. I just made my electricity powers run throughout my whole body,like you using your fire. It¡¯s great that that power allows me to maneuver really fast. If it weren¡¯t for that, we¡¯d be sitting ducks out there. I practiced that while you guys were sleeping and it seems to be the one ability that doesn¡¯t harm me aside from leaving me with a tingly feeling. But, aside from speed and shocking, there¡¯s not much else to it. I just don¡¯t like that it¡¯s so flashy¡­¡­¡± He said as he hopped from tree to tree.¡±Oh, gotcha¡± Casey replied. Katie raised her eyebrow and stared at Axel. He was practically a stranger, but it already felt like she knew him well. He was a scaredy cat who looked down on himself, that much she was certain of. But what would happen now? Would they just keep on hopping like this? And so they did, for almost a full half an hour in pure agonizing silence before Axel suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Casey, is there anyone nearby?¡± He said with his voice low. Casey looked at him with her round eyes and caught on. She closed them and took a couple moments before opening them once more. She nodded and looked in all four directions.


    ¡°Actually, there is. It¡¯s faint, probably due to being cold, but there¡¯s one person south of us, four to the north, another one to the west, but no one that I can sense to the east.¡±


    Axel held his chin and sat against the trunk of the tree. Casey and Katie also did that right under a large leaf that sheltered them from the rain. Strategically speaking, they could just go south and ambush the person there in a three on one attack, take their flag, then go west and do the same thing to the one person there but, what if they were already eliminated and were just wandering around? Either way, they¡¯d still be a flag short. If they went east, they could avoid trouble and just find someone else but they¡¯d run the risk of running out of time. But, if they went north, they¡¯d be outnumbered 4 to 3. What¡¯s more, what if they were all powerful? There was no way only him and Casey could pull something off¡­..It would take a miracle¡­.


    But still, from where the sun was last time he saw it, they were nearing the time for this event to be over. Since that was the case, they had to do something soon¡­. Time was moving fast and it would not wait.


    Right when he was aiming to get up, his body suddenly surged with power. It felt like it was going to overflow, from head to toe something brimmed from the depths of his body¡­¡­.but, he hadn¡¯t done anything! What was going on!? This was a similar sensation to whenever he used super strength! If power like this was used from all over his body at full power he¡¯d be dead for sure! Even with healing abilities like his! As the power continued to multiply, his anxiety continued to fly through the roof. He was too scared to move, one wrong move and the power would set off without him wanting to. What if he hit Casey?Katie? What if he killed them on accident!? He had to stop this but how!? He was reaching his limits and his body was beginning to crack under the pressure. If this power wasn¡¯t released soon he¡¯d pop¡­.


    ¡°Axel¡± Casey said lightly slapping his cheek. Miraculously, the concentration was severed and the flow of power snapped right off. Soon, he felt normal again¡­.He quickly gasped for air and knelt on all fours. Casey rubbed his back as he threw up the little food that he had eaten before. Concerned, Casey asked what was wrong.


    ¡°I¡­.Nothing...I was just freaking out over our odds of winning here¡­.¡±He said with a solid lie. Casey patted his back and helped him to his feet. She continued to stare at him with tilted eyebrows and eyes filled with worry. Katie, also looked the same way and wondered what had happened.


    ¡°Ar-are you sure?¡± Casey asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­.thank you. You may not think so but you might¡¯ve just saved all our lives¡­. I owe you big time¡­..but I¡¯m fine now. Come on, we¡¯re heading north, it¡¯s our best shot at winning.¡± He said as he turned north and continued hopping. After a couple seconds of mixed emotions, they both followed. Casey presented that something was up, there had to be. She grew up with him and considered him her best friend. As such, she¡¯d be ashamed of herself if she couldn¡¯t tell when he was lying. That was an obvious lie. No one would throw up over a reason like that. Plus, the poor kid was as pale as a ghost. Thinking back, she was just trying to dry her hair when she caught axel staring at the ground intently with wide eyes. At first, she thought he spotted someone but she felt no one near them. Then, she caught something that even Katie saw. His entire body glowed a different type of shine from before. It was like he was a chameleon changing colors. His whole body turned into a bright color as rapid lightning strikes appeared on his face and arms and legs. The bolts of electricity quickly flashed one after the other. It was surreal, but she also knew something was wrong. Why was he in such a state? And that¡¯s when she went over to him and slapped him. Immediately after, the glow in his body disappeared. After it did, she felt so relieved. She didn¡¯t know why, but she began to think that she really did save all their lives¡­.


    Part 6


    High above four unsuspecting people stood Axel, Casey, and Katie. Drenched in water that was beginning to feel cold, they followed the four very slowly.


    After deciding to go north, Axel had Casey lead him to where the four players were. Once directly above them, he attempted to get close enough to see who he was up against. One was a guy, about his height, and was frowning. He had fairly long black hair and dark eyes. What really caught his attention though were the three flags around his waist. Clearly, that took skill to acquire. Next to him, there was a girl. She was pretty short and had short curly brown hair with nervous looking bright green eyes. Around her waist, two flags. In front of them, there were two more guys. One was a bit taller than all the others and had a intimidating look on his face. His sharp eyebrows and gleam in his red eyes made Axel shiver. He¡¯d never seen anyone with red eyes. Were those contacts? His blonde hair was wavy and from where he was standing it look like he was built tough. Around his waist, two flags. What stood out from him was not his look but his clothes. They seemed completely dry. Now that he thought about it, they were all dry. This included their hair. He guessed that one of them could either control water or something. The guy next to the tall one was another short one. He had spiky black hair with peculiar looking green eyes. This one also looked like he was tough but his flags didn¡¯t live up to his look. He didn¡¯t have any flags at all. Since that was the case, that guy was eliminated and could no longer participate. This meant that they only had three to worry about. Taking in a deep breath, Axel climbed back up to where Casey and Katie awaited him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Casey asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s four but one is eliminated so we¡¯ll only have to worry about three. Two of them have two flags and one has three. So, the one to worry about is the guy with a frown on his face, I think he¡¯s the strongest out of all of them. Also, they appeared to be dry so one of them might know how to control water. So two guys and one girl. You guys still remember the plan,right?¡± He asked. The two nodded and recited it to him.


    ¡°Katie tries to create a diversion by appearing in front of them. When she gives the signal, I try and surround them with my fire. Next, you take them by surprise with your speed and take all of their flags, right?¡±Casey said. Axel confirmed and clapped his hands.


    ¡°Right! And if things take a turn for the worst, you guys remember plan B, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do.¡± Katie said. Nodding to both of them, Axel tried to relax and calm his nerves. Finally, he gave them the go ahead to get to their positions. They shook their heads and climbed down. All in all, they were formed as a triangle with Katie being the tip and Axel and Casey being the bottom two corners. The enemy would reside in the middle. It was such a basic plan, he knew that; there was just nothing else he could think of. As for plan B, It was something that he had thought of at the last second and he wasn¡¯t even sure it would work. He slowly climbed down the trees and softly made his way into some bushes. Whatever sound he made was blurted out by the pouring rain. He peeked over the bushes and found Casey maybe 10 feet from the four who were walking without saying a single word. Axel still tried to fight his anxiety and bit his lip. This was the best way to lessen their chances of having to fight. Hopefully it would work¡­


    Suddenly, according to plan, Katie acted as if she was running from something and ran into one of the guys. It was the one who had been eliminated.


    ¡°Ow!? Hey, what the hell?¡±


    ¡°!?¡± Katie gasped and jumped back.


    The guy with black hair scowled angrily and extended his finger.


    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are, huh!?¡±


    ¡°Knock it off, Trent.¡± said the one in the back with three flags.


    ¡®Cesar, she has a flag.¡± Said the girl with curly hair timidly.


    ¡°I can see that, thanks Jess. Cole, take it away¡± He said presumably to the large blonde guy. Cole, the large blonde guy, nodded and approached Katie. Katie shook her head three times and formed tears in her eyes.


    ¡°W-wait! Just let me pass!¡±


    That was the signal, Axel looked over at Casey who appeared to be waiting for him to get ready. Axel nodded and bent over to quickly tie his boots,


    But¡­¡­.


    BOOM


    Everyone in the immediate area stood still, frozen in place. The wind around them lifted and spread out with tremendous force.The rain could not hold up and also momentarily stopped pouring down on them. They all exclaimed as they covered their eyes and knelt down low so they wouldn¡¯t tip over. When the wind died down, Axel stared at his fingers in pure and utter fear. They were destroyed, completely broken. It was him, he had caused that explosion just now, but it wasn¡¯t his intention. The second he tried to tie his shoelaces, his fingers instantly filled with power and discharged the super strength ability. The pain, it was unimaginable. There was no adrenaline running through him right now, so he felt everything. And it felt terrible! He raised his broken fingers to his face and yelled in agony.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡±


    ¡°Axel!?¡± He heard Casey yell.


    ¡°Shit! There¡¯s others here!¡± The guy named Trent pointed out which was already obvious.


    Casey clicked her tongue and sprung into action. She raised her arms and surrounded them with flames just as planned. The four covered themselves and retreated where it was safe. Next, she ran over to where Axel wailed and picked him up.


    ¡°Axel!Axel! Come on, we¡¯ve got to get out of here! Now!¡± she said to him but his heart was running so fast he was having trouble processing what she was saying. He just knew that he was in an immense amount of pain. It felt like each one of his fingers had been smashed with a hammer dozens and dozens of times. It was enough to make him go mad.


    Just as Casey abandoned trying to communicate, she put his arm around her shoulder and began to ran when the wall of flames suddenly erupted out and fell. Simultaneously, the rain once again caught up to them and poured over them. Standing with his hand extended, the man named Cesar continued to frown as he shook his wrist.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t getting away¡± He said in a deep voice which made Casey shiver.


    Then, from the heavens, A familiar voice echoed out and made them all stop.


    ¡°Good evening all players! I ask you all to stop what you are doing and look over at the nice bright blue light in the sky! In that direction is the finish line which will teleport you back to the arena! As you all know, you must have two or more flags in order to move on! Only the first 50 who meet these conditions will advance! Also, all players who have been eliminated, you may now once again participate and attempt to redeem yourselves by taking other¡¯s flags! I¡¯ll see you all on the other side! Good luck!¡±


    Then complete silence once again fell over them. The first one to speak was the short black haired kid. He smiled devilishly and punched his palm.


    ¡°You heard the gal, guys. I¡¯m back in!¡± he said as the water around him gathered and formed a large serpent.


    ¡°Even more reason not to let you get away.¡±Said the girl named Jess(?).


    Casey gasped and she attempted to run away once more. However, Axel shoved himself off her and grunted something.


    ¡°Plan¡­..B¡± he told her. Casey, who was extremely reluctant to leave, forced herself to move and ran in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Said Cole who ran after her. Cesar looked at Jess and signaled for her to follow after them. She nodded and ran past Axel. Axel gritted his teeth and slightly bent his knees while lifting his left hand. The two in front of him also got on their guard and eyed him. Soon, sparks of electricity surrounded him and he made a break for it. He jumped through the trees as carefully but quickly as possible.


    (Where is she!? Where is she!?...there!) He spotted Katie looking up at him with completely confused eyes. He jumped at her and grabbed her. He then continued to run away.


    ¡°What happened!? What¡¯s going on!?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, my fingers just exploded! We¡¯re moving onto plan B! Just wait for her signal! But hey? Where did you get that flag!?¡± he said looking at the second flag around her waist. Katie held onto it and smiled wryly.


    ¡°The second that huge explosion happened, the blonde guy was distracted so I snatched it right from under him. He didn¡¯t even notice!¡± she said. Axel shook his head and admired her courage and quick thinking. With this, she¡¯d pass for sure.


    ¡°I¡¯d stop running guy, there¡¯s not much for you to do in a situation like this, it¡¯s over!¡± yelled the guy named Cesar hot on their trail. The spiky haired Trent was also right behind him riding a wave of water. Axel felt his heart rate multiply as he clung harder to Katie. But he couldn¡¯t stop now, it was clear what he had to do¡­.


    __________


    Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Casey made it out of the rain forest and once again into the dry sahara. She only made it out this fast by having her hands behind her and letting out as much fire as she could handle. This gave her a powerful boost forward. However, the two behind her were keeping up with little to no trouble. The large guy named Cole slid along the ground with what she thought was his ability. The girl next to him literally flew right over him. Casey began to sweat as she tried to speed up.


    ¡°Give it up, you¡¯re done!¡±


    ¡°Get back here! That flag is gonna help Trent win!¡± Jess yelled after her


    Casey looked back and fought back her urge to turn around. She was almost there, any moment now! It was in sight!


    Cole raised his arm and made Jess stop. Casey was starting to come to a halt and stopped her flames from making her accelerate. She turned and slid backwards. The two got ready to fight and watched for her next move.


    Next, Casey extended her right arm and concentrated hard, she didn¡¯t want to kill them! She wouldn¡¯t. She wouldn¡¯t. She wouldn¡¯t! And bam, a flash of light sparked in her arms and caused the two following after her to shield their eyes. They gasped and rubbed them while trying to squint.


    ¡°Argh!? What she do!? I can¡¯t see!¡±


    ¡°Just try and catch her!!¡± Jess said to him while rubbing her eyes.


    It worked, Casey successfully managed to control her heat and create a blinding light, but she wasn¡¯t done yet! She knelt down and grabbed a rock. Adding a bit of her own power, she sent it flying through the heavens with stunning strength. The rock was now like a comet soaring through the skies. Then, the two finally managed to squint and see where they were going. They clenched their fists and lunged at her but, before they could even get a chance to say something, they were thrown into the air by a powerful fountain of steaming water. All around her, multiple geysers suddenly erupted and extremely hot fountains of water sprayed over her, but it didn¡¯t bother her in the slightest. Not only was she already drenched, but she loved the heat. On the floor a couple feet away, three flags floated down and landed on the ground. Casey ran over to them and picked them up. She looked up and saw that the pair were having trouble getting off the geysers. The guy named Cole flailed about and winced as the hot water mercilessly stung him. The other girl also struggled to hold her balance and eventually fell onto a different geyser. Casey wiped the sweat on her brow and wrapped two of the flags around her waist. The third, she tied around her head. This put her at four flags. Now, quickly, she had to run!


    _______


    Axel was running toward the light when he saw the signal. He kept looking back for it. He was beginning to think it would never come but the second he saw that streak of fire in the air he instantly regretted thinking that. He let Katie know who then placed her palms together and said ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡±. After that was history, it was all up to Casey. Now, Axel had to do something about the two who were just running after them without throwing any attacks. It seemed strange. It was one of two things, he wasn¡¯t in range for their abilities to work or they were leading him somewhere¡­.waiting for something perhaps? Well, the joke was on them. He laughed softly and already felt tears swell in his eyes. He looked over at Katie who stared back.


    ¡°What now? You still don¡¯t have a flag! I¡¯m only a burden to you, so put me down! Turn around and take their flags!!¡± she said to him, but axel knew in his heart that he had no chance. His fingers were smashed and the two behind him meant business. That and he was already feeling fatigue wash over him. This electricity form wouldn¡¯t hold for much longer. Since that was the case, he knew exactly what he was to do. He bit his lip and shivered.


    ¡°Just¡­..hold on tight¡­..¡± He said. Not knowing why, Katie widened her eyes and grabbed on tight. After making sure that she was secure, Axel let the power flow cease and he immediately began to slow down to human speed. Seeing their chance, Cesar yelled ¡°Now!!¡± and lunged at them. However, Axel smiled and leaped onto his right leg and leapt once more, but this time with 100 times more power. The wind beneath him pushed out with tremendous force and caused the two following him to fly away against their wills. Axel and Katie were flung into the air with powerful force and struggled to keep their eyes open. Axel held onto Katie for dear life as they suddenly reached the very top of the clouds. With little to no time, they bursted through the clouds and were able to see the bright blue sky. With his back to the ground and Katie pressing up against his chest they flew through the clouds. His right leg was completely useless now as well as completely broken but it did the job. Pain was numbed due to the adrenaline but he was definitely going to feel this in the morning. He looked back and was able to see what the blue light in the sky led to, it was a portal that presumably led back to the stadium. Axel looked around and saw that the terrain had once again changed. This time it was the slope of a mountain covered in snow. At the end of it was the portal. Lucky for him, he just might land at the top of the mountain and slide straight down to get Katie over the finish line. But still, there was one last thing he had to do. As he neared the large white ground, he used the wind below him to slightly push him up and make him land at an angle. It was difficult but it was all he could concentrate on. Soon, he landed on the snow and slid straight down. He grimaced in pain but the landing wasn¡¯t too harsh thankfully. Now all he had to do was make it through the portal. When he was starting to wonder where everyone else was, he looked around and saw many figures bursting out from the trees and also slide straight down. Some had flags, some had no flags and were chasing after others, he was the only one sliding on his back.


    ¡°Why!? Why didn¡¯t you stop and take their flags!? Why aren¡¯t you doing anything!?¡± Katie desperately yelled at Axel who had one eye shut in pain.


    ¡°Because I had no chance, but you do! And I want you to win just as much as you want me to! This is for all those that said you couldn¡¯t do it!!!¡± He yelled at her. Katie widened her eyes and stammered. "How did you know!?" but Axel did not reply.


    Katie did not know what to do and placed her head back down. (You¡­...Thank you..) she thought. Very soon, she suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness and then another rough landing but this time on flat surface. Also, she heard the many roars and cheers of a crowd. Axel finally let go and Katie rolled off him. She slid on the ground for some feet and then came to a stop. She coughed and looked around. It was over, they were over the finish line and made it back to the arena. She caught her breath as she looked over at Axel on the ground. He had tear marks on his cheeks but wasn¡¯t crying anymore. Instead, he sighed and smiled a very relaxed smile.


    ¡°Finally, I can eat a proper meal¡­.¡± he said. Katie stared at him from the ground in awe and took in a shaky deep breath.


    ¡°Axel! You made it! Are you okay!?¡± said Casey who suddenly appeared with bits of snow in her hair. Katie widened her eyes as she counted the four flags she had on her person. Casey knelt and helped Axel up on his feet. Well, the one foot he had that was working. Axel laughed and shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m good¡­..I still can¡¯t feel pain that much but I will be soon, that¡¯s when you begin to worry..but you made it! I¡¯m glad you managed to pull off that stunt of ours!¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t stick to the plan! I was looking for you to give you a flag but you were already too far!......but at least, it looks like you won¡¯t be needing it.¡± she said. Confused, Axel looked up at her and raised his eyebrow.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Um, Axel?¡± He heard Katie say. He turned to her and lowered his eyebrows.


    ¡°What you did back there, I don¡¯t have the words to explain it, In fact, I don¡¯t really know how to feel..But I think...I think you are a far better candidate than me to continue on in this tournament¡­.¡±


    ¡°But Katie, what about your-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why!¡± she said, not letting him finish. ¡°That¡¯s why, I don¡¯t regret doing what I did at the last minute¡­.and I hope that you don¡¯t resent me for it¡­¡±


    Putting her words together, Axel slowly looked down at his waist. He widened his eyes and rubbed them one or two times. Was he seeing things? Or were there two flags around his waist? He looked back up at Katie who had tears in her eyes, he looked at her waist and only saw one. She slowly raised her shaking fist and nodded at him. Axel couldn¡¯t help it, but the waterworks bursted out without warning.


    ¡°K-Katie?...you¡­.!!!¡± he said with overwhelming emotion. He fell to his knees and held his face. Just when he had accepted defeat, this happened. What was he to say? What was he to do? Even after wanting to prove everyone wrong, after wanting to win to show that she could do whatever she put her mind to, why would she give it all up?...


    ¡°Congratulations to all who made it past the first round! If you are injured, please go see the infirmary! If not, feel free to do what you need to do! As for those who lost, You all did great and tried your hardest! Thanks for coming this year!¡± The announcer girl said over the speaker.


    ¡°Alright cadets, Good work out there. Next event is next week, same place and time. I¡¯ll see you there¡± Their instructor said as he walked around the field. Axel continued to leak as Casey rubbed his back. Then,


    ¡°Aaaaaxel!!!!!¡± They heard a girl yell.


    Axel knew exactly who it was as he quickly began to dry his tears. He looked up to confirm his assumptions. It was a very beautiful girl with long brown hair held up with a large plaid bow. She had on a matching plaid dress and only now did he notice that there was a noticeable curve on her stomach. It didn¡¯t make her look fat, so it would be clear that she was pregnant if you looked closely. She was Maria. She knelt near him and held his shoulders to inspect him.


    ¡°Are you okay? You¡¯re so hurt! Oh my gosh! Quickly! Get that blondie to heal you!¡± she said. Axel laughed as he looked at her.


    ¡°Lucy can¡¯t heal.¡±


    ¡°Not her! The weird looking guy!!¡±


    ¡°My name¡¯s Andrew.¡± Andrew said appearing behind her. Not just Andrew was there, Ella, Saphire, and the rest of the crew was there too. After giving up on getting Maria to acknowledge him, He knelt next to Axel and healed him with his water. Soon, he was up on his feet and Andrew down on all fours heaving.


    ¡°T-Thanks man¡­¡± he said as Andrew swatted him away.


    ¡°Congrats idiot. You actually managed to win. Now come on, we can talk in the comfort of Casey¡¯s home¡± Ella said to him. As Axel looked over at all of them who were staring back at him and Casey, he felt like crying again. But, it was time to let that habit go¡­ Instead, he nodded and walked forward with a shaky smile.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± He said following Ella¡¯s lead¡­.


    It was finally over...

 Chapter Nine: Prologue; Battle Royal!

    Part 1


    The second he opened his eyes, something seemed wrong. He was inside his room on Thor and was still wearing his black uniform. The problem was he didn''t remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered doing was agreeing to go back to Casey''s house and then everything went black. Confused and extremely sore, he sat up and winced. His fingers, the ones that discharged on their own, were particularly in pain. He felt like an old man with arthritis. He removed his sheets and headed for the shower. He didn''t know how long it had been but he knew for a fact he was in need of a shower. Coincidentally, he found his phone on top of the nightstand so he got it and entered the shower with a change of clothes. While inside, he entered a state of deep thought. What was to happen now?


    He managed to pass the first round, but what would happen in the next? More importantly, would he be able to keep his powers under control? What about the reason they were here? Had the stone holding ramoji been located? There were so many questions he had¡­


    After some time of thinking and scrubbing, he exited the shower and got dressed in regular everyday clothes. While brushing his teeth, he checked his phone and found multiple missed calls and a message from a certain person he knew.


    (Hm, it is close by¡­.Ah, what the heck? I''ll go today for sure.)


    Thinking this, he ruffled his black blue hair and stepped out of the restroom. By the time he had made it to the main control room, he was ready to go.


    ¡°Rise and shine champ! Glad to see you''re finally up and running!!¡± Tony said to him with a large smile. Next to him, Michael turned and waved.


    ¡°same here¡­.but what happened? How''d I get here? All I remember is following Ella¡±


    ¡°Ah, that. The second you took about 4 or 5 steps you passed right out. We couldn''t really explain it but we guessed that even though you were physically healed your stamina and mana weren''t. You were exhausted. ¡±


    Saying so, he smiled wryly as if saying ¡°I don¡¯t blame you¡±. Axel nodded slowly and once again immersed himself within his thoughts as he sat in one of the benches near him. Was it really that bad? Sure, he was scared to death and in a massive amount of pain but¡­¡­.well, the more he thought about it the more sense it made, he was truly exhausted. Even now he felt like just curling up in bed. The only reason he wasn¡¯t was because he wanted to speak with Ella and the others..


    ¡°Is that what happened?....man, I really am weak¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself! You pulled off some really incredible things out there that really kept us all on the edge of our seats!¡± He heard Natsumi say as she emerged through the door of the hallway. He looked up at her with some wonder in his eye.


    ¡°You think so? I¡¯ve gotta be honest, most of that was pure luck. I was lucky. I mean, if Kyle hadn¡¯t shown up when he did I would¡¯ve been eliminated for sure¡­¡±


    ¡°If I had a dime for every time you downplayed yourself, I¡¯d be rich.¡± Jeniffer said from her work station among the computers. She shook her head and peered at him over the screen of her computer. Axel smiled and scratched his head. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time and slightly furrowed his brow. It was exactly 8 am but there was no sign of Ella or Andrew anywhere. There was no way they were still in bed, those two had to be somewhere.


    ¡°Uhh, where¡¯s Ella?¡± he asked into the room. Michael looked up at him and answered.


    ¡°She went with Andrew to rendezvous with some PeaceKeeper officials to exchange information¡±


    That was strange. They had the power to freely teleport actual human beings but didn¡¯t have the technology to send messages? That was absurd. Reading his body language, Natsumi lightly tapped his head and shook hers.


    ¡°If they use the internet to send messages they run the risk of being intercepted. Duh, Even I can figure that one out¡± She said giggling. Axel realized that she was right and smacked his palm with his fist.


    ¡°Ohhh, right! So then, when will she be back?¡±


    ¡°They just left a while ago and they¡¯ve got a lot to discuss so I¡¯m thinking probably by tonight.¡±


    Axel held his chin with his hand and hummed. If they wouldn¡¯t be back until night time, that would mean that they had the rest of the day to do whatever! That was how it worked, right?


    ¡°While she¡¯s off, Lucy¡¯s the one that¡¯s in charge of things.¡± Tony told him pointing over at a pile of clothes. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the pile of clothes was actually Lucy who was still in her polka dot pajamas. While her hair was somewhat tidy with it¡¯s usual bow, Lucy herself looked like she was about ready to roll over and die. She was sitting in her usual spot at her desk but was not doing anything. Confused he looked back at Tony for answers. However, Tony merely raised his shoulders and sipped his coffee. Why Lucy was placed in charge in the first place was beyond him. He approached her and felt one of the most saddest vibes he¡¯d ever felt, thus far of course.


    ¡°Uh, Lucy? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Everything.¡± She responded. For whatever reason, that one word felt like it was one of the realest things that she had ever said, as if it was more than just an empty joke. Glancing at him from where her head lay on her desk, she sat up and yawned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I¡¯m just super tired¡­.¡±


    ¡°R-right¡­...So, what¡¯s on the to do list today?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely nothing, you guys are free to do whatever you want so long as you don¡¯t bring too much attention to yourselves. Go wild¡±


    Somewhat contradicting herself, She once again let her head fall down to her desk with an audible thump. Still a bit confused, Axel nodded and turned around.


    ¡°Well, since there¡¯s no plans today, is it alright if I go to Miami?¡±


    Jeniffer onced again looked at him over her screen while typing and tilted her head. ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to explore more of Savant Island?¡± she said to him. It was not that he didn¡¯t like savant island but more that he was interested in touring a foreign place of regular human soil. Touring savant island would have to come later after spending time with his own kind. Well, the more and more he spent with people like this the more he started to drift from humanity.


    ¡°I do but I¡¯d like to tour Miami first. I¡¯ve always wanted to go there¡± That and the fact that he had someone to meet, but he decided to remain discreet about it for the time being.


    Jeniffer looked over at Tony and Michael who in turn shook their heads presumably not having any objections to it. She then sighed and continued to look at her monitor.


    ¡°Okay, you can go.¡± she said. Smiling, he shook his head up and down and got up to leave. Natsumi, who also stood up with him, asked him if he was planning on going alone.


    ¡°No, I was going to ask Maria if she wanted to come along-¡± ¡°Just her!?¡± ¡°Can I finish!?¡± Natsumi nervously averted her eyes and waited for him to finish somewhat reluctantly and rather impatiently. Axel took a deep breath and continued.


    ¡°Do you guys wanna come to?¡± he asked the room. Tony and Michael looked at each other and nodded. Looking over at Jeniffer, he saw her shake her head.


    ¡°No thanks, Someone has to look over the ship.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s what Lucy is in charge for, right?¡± Tony said. ¡°Let me rephrase that, properly look after the ship¡±


    Chuckling, Axel then looked over at Lucy who still had her head down but was writing something in a small journal.


    ¡°Well Lucy? Looks like Jeniffer wants you to go!¡± he said enthusiastically. Lucy fixed her eyes on him with a worried look. Then, she frantically shook her head and said ¡°no!¡± Jeniffer bobbed her head back and shot an angry expression at her. Lucy, under the pressure of the intense gaze, buried her head in her desk once again.


    Confused, Axel blinked multiple times and shook his head. ¡°Okay?¡± At that moment, Maria walked through the hallway door fully dressed and groomed. As he noticed her ears twitch, she yawned and approached him.


    ¡°Goooood morning¡­¡­ Is there anything going on today?¡± she asked with a tear in her eye.


    ¡°Well actually, I¡¯m planning to go to Miami. Wanna come with us?¡± He asked. Visibly lighting up, Maria clapped her hands together and jumped up. ¡°On this day!? Of course I do!¡± she exclaimed happily.


    ¡°Good then, I guess that settles it then! Let¡¯s go guys!¡± he said to Tony and Michael, but the two shook their heads ¡°On second thought, you two go on ahead, we¡¯ll go some other time¡±


    ¡°What? Are you guys sure?¡± he said sounding disappointed. Maria, however, saluted them and raised her thumb behind his back. They laughed which caused Axel to turn around only to see Maria looking up at them with a worried expression which made it look like she was also wondering why they were not going. Confused he turned back around.


    ¡°Haha, yeah dude, we¡¯ve got some stuff to handle here. Just have fun! Also, Natsumi, we¡¯ve got some¡­.tests to run on you so we¡¯d like you to stay¡± Tony said.


    ¡°What? Are you serious? But I want to go too!!¡±she said attempting to fight back. However, Jeniffer fired off a deadly stare which made the timid Natsumi cower in fear and oblige. Satisfied, Jeniffer resumed looking at her screen. Having no choice but to respect their decision, Axel sighed and turned to Maria again.


    ¡°Well, just me and you then! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± she replied. Checking his phone for the time, he also looked for the date. It was only February 14th, so why was she so excited about this day? Her birthday wasn¡¯t for some time now¡­...Well, questions would come later.


    As they both hyped each other up and talked about where they wanted to go, Lucy looked at them both with a dead stare. ¡°We gave you a chance and you blew it, but there¡¯s still time¡­¡± she heard a voice whisper from behind. She knew it was Jeniffer but she did not turn around to confirm. Right now, she was fighting herself. After a long heated debate in her mind that lasted a couple seconds, she clenched her fist and renewed her resolve to stay. But, she looked at Axel once more and then felt a sudden urge to talk to him¡­...There was no doubt that it was that feeling¡­.. Damn it, she truly was a sucker...


    ¡°Wait!! I¡¯m coming too!!¡±


    Part 2


    The sky was blue and the times were cool. It wasn¡¯t freezing like it was in Sonic city but it wasn¡¯t hot like the Sahara. It was just right. Walking through the large and beautiful city of Miami were the trio friends Axel, Maria, and the surprise last minute addition Lucy. She decided to join them mere moments before Axel and Maria were about to take off. Happy to bring her along, Axel waited for her to get ready and teleported here. Now, they were ready to get the day started.


    ¡°What do you think we should do first?¡± He asked the girls who were on either side of him.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of any good places...It¡¯s not like I travel outside of California¡­¡± Lucy said. Maria nodded and looked at him. Funny enough, she kept pace with him enough that it almost seemed like she was attempting to hide beside him so that she wouldn¡¯t have to talk to Lucy, Her or the many many people around them.


    Agreeing with Lucy, he thought that it would be best to just walk around until they found something interesting. After he told them this, they agreed and had no objections. After about 20 minutes of looking around, Maria suddenly made them stop by tugging on his sleeve.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I,uh¡­, have to use the restroom¡­¡± ¡°So you do? Then go on, we¡¯ll wait¡­.¡± ¡°.......Can you get me some ice cream?...¡± she suddenly said. Axel, confused, tilted his eyebrows.


    ¡°Uh, sure, but why?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t explain it but I have a real strong urge for some ice cream¡­something cold in general but it has to be sweet¡­¡­..and chocolaty¡­..oh just thinking about it is making me drool but I have to pee¡­..Just go get it!!¡± she said as she sped walk into one of the stores next to them. Leaving Axel to wonder what just happened, he turned to Lucy who was looking at him with a solemn expression.


    ¡°What? Do you want some ice cream too?¡±


    ¡°Okay, first off, yes. Secondly, It¡¯s called cravings. Get used to that because she¡¯s going to have a lot of those, especially during her second trimester of her pregnancy.¡± she said still keeping her solid expression. He didn¡¯t really know much about pregnancies but if cravings were something that happened often then his fridge and pockets were in danger. Axel crossed his arms and looked around. To his surprise, he actually found an ice cream parlor. It was a small gray futuristic looking shop. It stood out so much that he started to suspect that parlor being responsible for triggering Maria¡¯s craving. He checked for his wallet and started to walk toward the parlor. However, Lucy did not follow him. Instead, she decided to wait for him there in case Maria came back and looked for them. Thinking that that was a smart plan, he thanked her and resumed his journey.


    After some time, he returned to find her sitting on a bench looking through her phone with what he thought were sad eyes. This made him stop with the bag of frozen dairy in his hands. Why was she like this right now? Was something going on? He had to admit that he missed the old hyperactive Lucy¡­. He approached her and watched as her expression made a complete 180. She picked up her head to look at him with a large smile and said, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that you got there?¡±


    ¡°Hm? It¡¯s just some ice cream in small containers...More importantly, why did you look so sad a couple seconds ago?¡± He asked her directly. Lucy made her eyes go round as she lifted her phone and showed it to him.


    ¡°Ah? So you did notice? Well, no point in hiding it now!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± he said as he leaned in close to the screen. What he saw wasn¡¯t what he was expecting, it was just a video of a rabbit that was hit by a car and was slowly dying. Though he did feel bad, he was more relieved that it wasn¡¯t something much more serious. Sighing and shaking his head, he reached for the container of ice cream and handed it to her. Taking back her phone, she obliged and took it. He sat next to her and started to eat his. It was all pure vanilla. His favorite flavor was chocolate but it was too sweet and would make him want some water whereas vanilla was both refreshing and not too sweet if cold enough. As he thought this, he felt Lucy suddenly drop her head down on his shoulder. Stunned, he slightly fidgeted. Contrary to him, she once again had a solemn expression on her face with a dash of distant sadness.


    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m just trying to relax is all. This bench has no head rest and so many thoughts are flowing through my mind right now that it¡¯s weighing me down¡±


    Deep, that was too deep. He wasn¡¯t expecting that type of response especially from her. Come to think of it, how long had it been since he had known her? Going on three years just about. However, he had memories of different interactions with her even before that since they went to the same school though none really came to his mind at the moment. The thing was he didn¡¯t actually hang out with her much until two years ago when they were seated right next to each other during freshman year but, could he really say that he knew her? There was this whole forgotten friend thing going on and he still wasn¡¯t sold on that story. Was it true? Was it not? For the time being, he decided not to think nor talk about it, but how long would that last before it would once again be brought up?....


    ¡°Life is so short¡­.so unfair¡­¡­¡± she suddenly said in a low voice that was only barely audible. Was seeing a rabbit die really that rough for her?


    ¡°Hey, what are you planning to do once her kid is born? Are you really going to help raise her kid? I¡¯m not opposed to it, it just makes me wonder whether or not you¡¯re in a relationship with her since you¡¯d practically be the child¡¯s father figure.¡±


    Hearing her say that out loud really made him think, what was he going to do? He wasn¡¯t ready to be a father, and he wasn¡¯t so sure about having a girlfriend either¡­.. He just had¡­.different matters going on that he hadn¡¯t really thought about it, that tied along with the fact that he wasn¡¯t very confident talking with girls,especially ones he liked¡­.and his self esteem was through the floor¡­. So many things¡­


    But, there was no way he was going to just leave her alone. If he really thought about it, his conscious wouldn¡¯t let him. As she was now, in her particular condition, she¡¯d collapse. It wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d want to, but he was sure it would happen. She was only barely clinging to her sanity as it was already.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going out with her or anything, and she hasn¡¯t brought it up to me either, but I don¡¯t plan on leaving her alone. I¡¯ll help her in whatever way possible, and if her child ends up seeing me as a father figure¡­¡­.well, just tell me, what am I supposed to do? Look the kid in the eye and say ¡°I¡¯m not your dad and I never will be.¡±? Cause that¡¯s practically what I¡¯d be saying. I mean, as a child I can¡¯t just crush he/she¡¯s role model, and that¡¯s even if he or she likes me. But when the kid grows up, they¡¯ll know the truth and decide what to think of me then. And in that moment, I¡¯ll completely respect that decision¡± Saying this was like talking to himself. Up to now, he hadn¡¯t come to terms with anything regarding Maria¡¯s child, but it was clear what he would do now. He¡¯d just help her parent somewhat. After all, she was just as much in the dark as he was. If the two of them worked together, they¡¯d do just fine he was sure. But if he was honest, the idea of a child calling him ¡°dad¡± or ¡°daddy¡± was a bit frightening and not to mention intimidating. A title only given to those with authority and responsibility. That or to the kinky and nasty teenagers who find pleasure in being called that by girls..


    ¡°Really? Huh, that wasn¡¯t a bad response. So, there¡¯s no one you¡¯re interested in then?¡±


    ¡°Well, no not really¡­..I mean, I haven¡¯t really thought about it¡­...I think?¡± he said genuinely not sure. As Lucy narrowed her eyes, she exhaled and started her ice cream.


    ¡°That¡¯s not bad, it just means that there¡¯s room for interest in someone to spark. Which in turn means you could fall for anyone of us, who knows¡­..girls of course, unless you play for the other team?¡± she said sounding completely sure.


    ¡°I don¡¯t!!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Good¡±


    She was scary, she definitely was. But she wasn¡¯t entirely wrong. He was a guy, it was only natural to think that one day he¡¯d fall in love, and who knew, it could be one of the girls he was acquainted with today. Though, he wouldn¡¯t mind having a girlfriend either now that he thought about it. If he continued like this, he¡¯d be alone forever! But, he had to think of the danger he¡¯d be putting someone else in that was not a part of the supernatural world. So, even if he did, it¡¯d have to be someone he already knew¡­¡­


    (Wait a minute!? What if¡­.)


    Suddenly multiple stray thoughts flashed in his mind and he just so happened to catch one of them. As his heart rate accelerated, he looked over at Lucy with the corner of his eye who was just munching on her ice cream. He wondered, what if he were to partner with Lucy?


    BADUMP


    Hearing his own heart rattle in his rib cage at the mere thought, he felt his stomach contract in the most strangest way. He never thought about it, and now that he was, he wasn¡¯t completely opposed to it. She was far from unattractive, stunningly gorgeous, and actually really keen. As of right now, she was wearing a long red dress that reached her knees and some sandals. She was an eyesore but in a really good way. Would he, would he even have the guts to ask her something like that?......


    (Nah)


    Shaking his head to rub off his thought process, he attempted to forget about the stray thoughts he was having just now. There was no way he would ruin their friendship. Plus, it¡¯d be difficult to see her in that kind of light. It was difficult for him to see anyone in that kind of light. Besides, relationships were supposed to be the furthest thing from his mind.


    ¡°You know,¡± he heard her say,


    ¡°If you were to spark up an interest in me, I wouldn¡¯t mind that either.¡± saying that completely nonchalantly, she continued to rest on his shoulder and eat her ice cream. Was he really hearing her right? Did she really just say that? Or was it just one of her jokes?


    ¡°A-are you joking or something?....¡± he nervously asked. To this, Lucy slowly shook her head and frowned. ¡°Of course not, I wouldn¡¯t joke about something like this. I mean, Let¡¯s just say if you asked me out I wouldn¡¯t say no. That¡¯s it, nothing to it. Just putting it out there..¡±


    ¡°I, uh¡­...don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡±


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t...you never could talk to girls you liked¡± she said as if throwing her words at him. Stunned and sweating uncomfortably, he watched as Lucy satisfyingly smiled and chuckled. Just as he was going to retort, Maria made her return after what he noticed took forever.


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± she said out of breath.


    Lucy lifted her head from his shoulder and smiled.


    ¡°Wow, what took you so long¡±


    ¡°Really! What took you ages!¡±


    ¡°Well, I was going to the restroom when a group of guys approached me and handed me flowers and started sweet talking me. I wasn¡¯t really sure what to do and just stood there silent. I just nodded and smiled. I mean, you said it was rude to just disrespect people in public right, Axel? Otherwise I would¡¯ve told them to fu-¡±


    ¡°We get it! No need to give us too much detail!¡± he yelled.


    ¡°-lfill their duties elsewhere.¡±she finished. With a blank face, Axel soon broke into a laugh. He was sure she was going to say something else¡­


    ¡°Anyways, After about 20 minutes or so of awkwardly fidgeting, they just left. So, I went to the restroom, threw away the flowers, and returned here!¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re a straight savage and you aren¡¯t even aware of it¡± Lucy said to her while giggling. Shaking his head, he got up and handed her the small container of ice cream she wanted so much. However, she looked at it and scowled slightly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it anymore, all of a sudden I want something hot...like a hotdog! Oooooh that sounds great!! Let¡¯s go!¡± she said grabbing his hand and pulling him.


    ¡°What!?¡± he said as he was pulled away. As she watched them run off, Lucy was left to stare at them with soft eyes. As she fixed her hair, she sat and continued to finish her ice cream. Until,


    ¡°Lucy!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    When she looked up, she noticed that Axel had freed himself from Maria¡¯s hold and was now in front of her. Confused, she stared up at him.


    ¡°Hurry! Don¡¯t think I¡¯m about to leave you here surrounded by guys that might be out to get you like they did Maria! Let¡¯s go!¡± he said grabbing her hand and pulling on her. Stunned but moved, Lucy laughed and ran with him.


    ¡°You idiot, you made me drop my ice cream¡­..¡± she said.


    __________


    After some time of wandering around, they somehow made it to a beach that was filled with tons and tons of people. For Axel and Lucy, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. But for Maria, it was a massive deal. Just the mere sounds of jumbled up voices speaking over each other one after the other was enough to make her head hurt. It irritated her and she felt like lying down. At first, he thought she was exaggerating a bit too much and felt her forehead. She was burning up, exactly what he was afraid of. If she burst a vein here that would mean trouble. Since he¡¯d rather not have her hurt herself, he suggested they sit and wait for him under the shade of a tree while he went out and bought an ice pack and some water.


    ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯ll look after her then!¡± Lucy told him.


    ¡°Great, thanks. Maria, she¡¯s trustworthy, you can talk to her openly about anything so don¡¯t worry about her hurting you or something¡± He said to reassure her. Maria looked at Lucy and then back at him with unsure eyes. After giving her a nod, she responded in kind and turned back to Lucy. Relieved of how smoothly that went, he turned heel and walked off to find a store. Most of the one¡¯s around were just restaurants or small food courts. That¡¯s not what he needed, he needed to find something similar to a liquor store. While walking down the sidewalk built next to the sandy shores, he noticed a crowd of people huddling around something, someone(?). He wasn¡¯t too sure. From where he was standing, he could only see a huge circle of people.


    (are they watching a street performer?)


    In popular areas like these, street performers were a common thing to see. Some were interesting, some were not, each day was a surprise. In Sonic City, there weren¡¯t really much of those guys around but he would see one every now and then. In Los Angeles when he visited when he was a child, he remembered seeing lots and lots of amazing performers out in the busiest parts of town. It was always awesome to see so many talented people. Hopefully one day, He¡¯d be able to go again.


    As he walked by the large crowd, he put his hands behind his head and continued to look around. At the same time he was nearing the other side of the crowd, he heard what sounded like a small scuffle break out and turned to look. In that same moment, he witnessed someone break out of the crowd and fall to their knees.


    ¡°Wait!wait! Everyone please calm down, I¡¯m really busy right now!!!¡± that person said. She was a girl who was probably a little older than him. She was shorter than him and had the most strangest color hair he had ever seen on anyone. It was bright pink and super long, long enough that it nearly touched the ground even after it was tied up into a ponytail. Her long bangs parted neatly from her mint green eyes. Her skin was pale and smooth and her body was well developed. Not too large but not to small. On her person, she wore a white puffy romper. Confused yet again, he watched as the crowd ruthlessly approached the girl once again and did not give her a chance to get up saying, ¡°Ms Ivanov please! Sign my phone, hand,face,etc!¡± Meanwhile, he watched as she was once again swallowed up by the crowd. This made him sweat uncomfortably and panic as he wondered what would happen to her if she got stomped on. Scared, he felt his hand unconsciously rise and his legs approached one of the people among the crowd. Understanding his own intentions, he felt his raised hand heat up and spark with the power of electricity.


    (Don¡¯t kill them¡­...don¡¯t. don¡¯t, don¡¯t,DON¡¯T!!!) he told himself as he touched the shoulder of a man among the crowd. Almost instantly, the man tensed up and yelled out in pain, but he was not the only one. Everyone else there also yelled in pain. As they all struggled to figure out what was happening, they panicked and soon began to scatter like flies. Eventually, only the pink haired girl remained while shaking somewhat,her hair slightly frizzled. What he did was unleash a small current probably only a little more powerful than a tazer and touched one person causing a chain reaction. it only worked since they were so close to each other but that also meant that the girl he was trying to help would also have to suffer a bit. in the end, it seemed it worked out alright. Giving himself a pat on the back, he quickly ran up to the girl while shaking the power off of his hand. He kneeled next to her and shook her shoulders but immediately regretted it as he felt a powerful and painful shock run through his body. This caused his muscles to contract for an instant and he was then left to shake unconsciously.


    ¡°So in the end I got a taste of my own medicine?great..¡± he said to himself. ¡°Hey, we better get out of here before they swarm you again!!¡±


    The girl with pink hair looked up at him with dazed and confused eyes. It was then that he noticed that her hair was super frizzy now due to the electric shock she had just endured. If that was the case, it was possible that his hair was frizzled up as well. Now touching his hair with one hand, he snapped his fingers at the girl with the other. When he was about to just give up and leave, the girl grabbed his arm and stared at him for a good moment.


    ¡°What? Is it my hair!? It feels fine to me¡­.but come on hurry up!¡±


    ¡°No, not your hair! You, you¡¯re that boy! The boy I¡¯ve been looking for!! Axel Ison, right?¡± she asked with glimmering eyes. Stunned and a tad freaked out, Axel stood up and slightly raised his still vibrating hands.


    ¡°Uhhhh, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about..¡± he said as he began to make his retreat. This was bad, very bad. It was not everyday that he ran into people looking for him. As he was now, the only people that would be looking for him would be bad people¡­.since that was the case, he thought it would be best to hightail it out of there now.


    ¡°Yes you do! It¡¯s written all over your face! Anyways, I know you¡¯re wondering how I know about you and where you are but surely my social standing speaks for itself,right?¡±


    ¡°I''m not following you here, what exactly do you mean?¡± he asked her.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who I am?¡± the girl asked suddenly starting to look shocked.


    He dug through his mind and desperately attempted to recall her. He had to admit, there was something about her that gave him the impression that she was important. Not only that, but he felt like he had seen this type of hair color before on multiple occasions¡­..but he just couldn¡¯t put his finger on it¡­¡­


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°What!? Are you living under a rock, my guy!? I¡¯m Olivia Ivanov! The singer and actress? The Diva, as they say?¡± she said to him with growing impatience. Axel started to feel a little overwhelmed and began to sweat.


    ¡°N-no! I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t reme-¡± he began to say but then actually remembered something. His little sister had such a huge respect and admiration for a certain singer that she had numerous merchandise of this singer. He even saw posters in her room of her and what not. He saw her watch this singer on TV on multiple occasions but he just hadn¡¯t remembered her name. It was her! The Olivia Ivanov in the flesh!


    ¡°Ohhhhhhh, now I remember! But what on earth are you doing way out here? Don¡¯t you live in Russia?¡± he said starting to cower in her overwhelming presence. He just felt like she was muuuuch more important than him. Almost like in the presence of royalty..someone so famous was standing right before him..wow¡­


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you figured it out by now?I¡¯m here for you!¡±


    ¡°Wow, you speak English fluently. I wouldn¡¯t even guess you were Russian¡­.And your normal talking voice sounds heavenly all by itself¡­ I¡¯ve gotta get a picture for my sister!¡±


    As he reached for his phone to take a picture, the girl Olivia rose to her feet and pulled him away causing him to almost drop his phone.


    ¡°No need! I can meet her personally if you want but right now we need to follow your advice and get to someplace where nobody will notice me!¡± she said.


    (She¡¯d take time out of her day to meet my sister? Wow, this is so cool!) he thought as he allowed himself to be steered by the pink haired girl. Eventually, she found refuge under a large palmtree and a bench. The palm tree itself was short but the leaves themselves were long enough that they covered their faces. She sat down and wiped away the sweat from her brow. Behind them was a small gift shop so they were able to lean on it to rest. Taking a seat next to her, he got around to asking her what her intentions were.


    ¡°Nothing bad, I just wanted to meet you¡­..let¡¯s see, how should we start this?.....Okay, look at this video¡± she said as she showed him something on her phone. On the screen played a video that unconsciously made him shake. It was a destroyed city with multiple mecha snakes ravaging about. It was no doubt the battle of Sonic City that took place one month ago. It was from the perspective of a guy who was filming the scenery with shaking hands. However, he manages to clearly capture a scene that he was all too familiar with. It showed a girl in a white dress with her hands over her head and then suddenly a blurry figure that jumps out and punches the mechs sky high. The man in the video is clearly shocked and shakes the camera a whole lot more, but the figure is distinctly noticeable falling from the sky if one were to pay close attention. There was no avoiding it, this was him saving Maria. He should''ve known. He should¡¯ve known that people would take the chance to record this incident. He was in the age of technology!! But then, one question remained, how in the world did this chick figure out who he was? Sure his profile was visible but it wasn¡¯t enough to give his identity away!


    Putting the phone back in her pocket, she told him to calm down and listen. ¡°This video has almost been completely taken down from the internet and is almost impossible to find. I had the fortune to find it while it was still fresh and downloaded it. It was difficult but I was able to screenshot the split second your face was shown and asked around the internet if anyone had any information on you. Little to no one knew who you were but some did. One gave me your name and even told me exactly where you were. The minute I got your name and info I took down the post and brought it up no more. And now here we are.¡±


    His face at this very moment must¡¯ve confirmed her final doubts but he didn¡¯t have any time to worry about that. With his jaw dropped, he began to sweat even more and stutter. What he was hearing was incredibly ridiculous. He didn¡¯t know what was scarier! The fact that someone actually went that far to find him or the fact that she was able to find him at all! Was she the only one? Did more people know who he was? Was it bad that she knew!? Would he have to kill her and get rid of the body!?Would he have to spend his days living among the shadows!?


    ¡°Dude, relax. Literally no one cared to know who you were. It was just speculations on the video being fake. Anyways, You can¡¯t deny it now. You are the one in that video.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not! I think you¡¯re thinking way too hard about his and are just wasting your time here on me, have a good day!¡±


    ¡°You did great in that tournament you know?¡± she said to him as he was leaving. This one statement made him stop dead in his tracks as he turned to look at her once more. She, unlike him, had very shiny eyes that said she knew she had him right where she wanted him. If she knew about the tournament, then there was really no backing out now..


    ¡°Okay fine, I am. But how do you know about that tournament?¡±


    ¡°At last you admit! You¡¯re a terrible liar, did you know that? Well anyway, I heard almost everything about you from a small little girl that looks like¡­¡­...that?¡± she said pointing to a certain young girl that was walking around in the distance. She was wearing a mid length purple dress and had a worried look on her face. Almost as if she was looking for something. Her face was round and her eyes were brown, her hair was long and tied into two twin tails. What stood out from her was her dazzling night colored hair.Just as he gasped and realized that he recognized her, she turned to their direction and approached them with quick steps.


    ¡°Um, excuse me?¡± she said.


    ¡°Can you give me some directions please?¡±


    ¡°I can give you more than just that!¡± Axel said moving up the large leaf that covered their faces. The second the girl recognized him back, she widened her eyes in shock and stepped back.


    ¡°Axel!? I¡¯m so happy to finally see you!¡± she said as she dropped her bag and hugged him. Having her cheek pressed up against his own, he squinted and laughed. The girl, Olivia, was going to remark about what was going on until she started to put two and two together. As they were hugging and laughing with each other, she noticed that they looked strikingly similar! It was almost like that girl was the female version of him, and younger at that. So then that could only mean¡­.


    ¡°You¡¯re siblings?!¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°Huh? Yeah, We are.¡± Axel said as he let his sister go.


    ¡°Her name''s Stacey.¡±


    The girl, Stacey, approached the pink haired diva and extended her hand.


    ¡°I''m so sorry I didn''t give you much information before Miss Olivia¡­.I just wasn''t really sure how to say it...haha¡­¡±


    After staring at her for a couple more seconds in awe, Olivia shook her head and shook Stacey''s hand.


    ¡°I just can''t believe you were related to him. Though I guess it makes sense since you knew exactly where he was.¡±


    ¡°Hold on a second here, Stacey was the one that told you where and who I was? But that doesn''t make any sense! Stacey, how in the world did you know where I was and what I was doing? And why on earth did you tell her?¡±


    Stacey smiled and joined them under the large leaf. She took a seat next to him and began to explain.


    ¡°Well, for starters, I called your house a little while ago just to see how things were going after the attack but was instead greeted by a very bossy sounding girl. She said that supposedly you would be out for a little while in Miami and wouldn''t be home for some time.¡±


    (Ella!? You readily told her all that!? What if she was an enemy!?)


    ¡°After that, I figured the only reason you would be coming out here was to go to the savant island. So, I left you a message on your cell and told you to come out here.¡±


    ¡°Now I''m more concerned about you knowing about savants. How do you know about that?¡±


    Stacey laughed and raised her small palm to his face. Heat reached his cheeks as sudden small bursts of colorful explosions popped in her hands.


    ¡°How do you think?¡± she said.


    ¡°What the!? You''re a savant!!?¡±


    ¡°Any louder, bro? Tell the news already!¡± she furiously told him after he yelled. Shrugging her comment off, Axel tried to make sense of what he was hearing. It was simply astonishing. The more he dug into the world of the supernatural the more he realized that nothing around him was ever really normal. Since that was beginning to be the case, he decided not to question things anymore. If they were true, they were true. Besides, if what Ella told him of savants was true then Stacey was just among the few in the world that received a superpower. Suppose there was nothing else to do but hope that she wouldn¡¯t hurt herself.


    ¡°Okay, but why are you out here then? Aren''t you supposed to be inside savant island?¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°No, no. Remember a couple years back when I asked to move out to Miami with grandma because I wanted to see more of the world? Well, since around that time I discovered my ability I managed to slip under the radar. I haven''t had much time to exercise it so it''s still a tad weak. I learned most of what I know from a brown haired girl. A really cute one with curled edges who claims to come from inside the island. She sort of resembles Casey¡­¡±


    ¡°It is Casey.¡±


    ¡°Whaaat? That makes sense¡­¡±


    As they both continued to inform each other of what they didn''t know, Olivia sat in the background just soaking up all the juicy intel. This carried on for a while until she finally got bored. And in that instance, she spoke up.


    ¡°This has been sweet and all, and I now know that you were the one that gave me all his information, but now I''d like to ask a couple questions if I can.¡±


    Axel and Stacey stopped speaking and looked over at the girl who started to look impatient.


    ¡°Oh, yeah sure.¡±


    ¡°Okay so, Stacey, why didn''t you tell me who you actually were when we met?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that''s easy! I just didn''t wanna ruin the surprise!¡± she said with brimming joy.


    ¡°Okay. Now Axel, I''d like to know more about this hidden world you''re involved in. Tell me all about it and then I can tell you why I''m here.¡±


    Axel started to feel a bit nervous and looked away from her. He wasn''t really sure what to do or even where to start, or if he should start at all¡­.


    ¡°Perhaps I can be of assistance and let the young lady know all she needs to know, yes?¡± An outside voice told them.


    ¡°That''d be great thanks¡± he replied without really thinking. However, his sense of security soon ran cold along with his very blood causing him to turn pale. From behind them they heard a voice of a male. Axel slowly looked around but saw no one. The two girls were confused until they saw the look on his face, and in that moment they froze and waited for him to calm down. Yet, Axel couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Up here¡± The voice said which made him visibly jump. He moved his head up and at last saw a figure standing one of the branches of the tree above them. He was a man with blonde hair that reached his shoulders with bangs that stopped perfectly over his eyes. He was thin but tall and had an arrogant smile on his person. He wore a long brown coat, the type detectives in movies wore, along with a fedora. They couldn¡¯t see what he was carrying, but he¡¯d recognize that strange S mark symbol anywhere. This man...was dangerous.


    ¡°Ah yes, already turning into an ice statue filled with fear just at the mere sight of me? My oh my, How you managed to push Ryan back is a mystery to me.¡± He said as he jumped down from the tree and landed in front of them. Simultaneously, the leaf that covered their faces suddenly fell gently on the ground. It was cut clean off from the tree without them even noticing. He was fast!


    ¡°W-what are¡­..¡± He struggled to keep calm. What was he to do!?


    ¡°Relax guy. I''m not here to stir up a ruckus. Unlike that Ryan, I''m more civilized, among other things.¡±


    Hearing him say that was still not enough to make him calm down. If something here broke out, so many people would be in danger¡­. So, as to not provoke him, Axel stayed quiet while biting his own tongue.


    ¡°I''ve heard a lot about you and I just had to come see for myself but I gotta tell you, I''m not impressed so far¡­¡± He said to him.


    ¡°Okay? Is that all you''re here for? You can leave now then!¡±


    ¡°Hey now, not so fast! It''s true that you look weak, but I wonder how strong you really are in a fight. And so, I plan to find out.¡±


    This time Axel really felt the ice cold hand of terror grab his heart as he saw the man in front of him get into a fighting position. He couldn''t do this here, at the very least somewhere else!...


    ¡°I-.....We can''t do this here...Let''s at least go somewhere where we have more space to move!¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, I won''t go all out here as long as you don''t. Besides, this place is as good as done anyway.¡±


    It was no good. It was coming and he could see it. As he shook and clenched his fists, he nervously whispered over to his sister who was watching him with shaken eyes. Keeping his eyes on her, he slowly got up and walked off to the side in order to give himself some room. He was now standing to her side and was about 10 feet from the man.


    ¡°As soon as I say so¡­...Fire off an attack straight up to the skies as powerful as you can¡­¡± he said careful not to alert the guy in front of him. Without really understanding, Stacey slowly nodded her head and took a few more steps back eventually backing up into the wall. Presumably scared, Olivia was the only one left in the dark and at this point really wanting to know what was going on, but ,before she could ask, it had already began.


    ¡°Now!!¡±


    Simultaneous to his yell, many things happened all in rapid succession. First, the man before him jumped at him in little to no time and covered the distance between them with stunning speed and agility. He raised his arm up to meet the man¡¯s and they clashed, forearm to forearm. With what little time he had he reinforced his arm and legs with a dash of super strength and it thankfully did the trick. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve been blown back. At the same time, stacey jumped off to the side so as to not hit the tree above them and fired off a powerful firework up into the air from the palm of her hands. With a huge and shiny explosion the entire beach and its people soon focused in on the source where the explosion had come from. Then, seeing the two of them in the midst of what seemed like a scuffle people began to start gathering around, the exact opposite of what he was trying to achieve here!


    ¡°So it looks like you can tank that much, huh? You may be a worthy opponent after all but I don¡¯t wanna overhype you too much here so what do you say we go for a bit of a spin?¡± he told him as their forearms shook in front of them.


    ¡°Run! Run!!!¡± was all he could yell out in hopes that everyone around him would pick up on his clearly distraught voice. Thankfully, it started to seem a bit odd to people and they soon began to take a couple steps back as soon as they started to see sparks picking up from the atmosphere. These sparks of energy caused every electrical device in the immediate area to explode. That was what really set everyone off. It was abnormal, and in their lives and world, abnormal was bad news. However, like had happened many times in history, curiosity was keeping them in place. It was too late, the next move was about to be thrown and he could no longer afford to divert his focus.


    Gritting his teeth, they both jumped back and caused a shockwave only strong enough to cause a couple people to fall over. Seeing that finally made them all turn heel and head for the hills. Though they were finally running, he still could not calm down in the slightest. The man ran to him once more and threw a punch aimed for his jaw. He fell back to the ground and narrowly avoided the blow with only a couple ticks to spare. Throwing his hands back, he flipped over and used his legs to kick the man mid flip. However, the blow was parried by his arms. While still in the air he felt his legs grabbed and pulled. His insides turned as he was thrown toward a nearby building. He felt every part of his body scream in agony as he broke through something. When his body stopped moving, he felt his vision flicker and his consciousness stand on its toes. There was no way any regular human could¡¯ve survived a throw like that. It could only mean that he was slowly changing and adjusting to superhuman strengths, but he couldn¡¯t focus on that just yet. As his vision stabled, he looked around and noticed that he had crashed into a small liquor store made of thin wood. By the time he was up, there was no one around. They had likely gotten frightened and ran.


    ¡°Is this all you have? Come on now! This isn¡¯t enough to get me going! Get up...and this time, get serious¡­..or die¡±


    Hearing him say that made Axel jump to his feet which in turn made his head rush. He got a hold of himself and suddenly felt a warm liquid in his mouth. When he turned and spit he realized that it was his own blood. He wiped his mouth and clenched his fists. He had to catch him off guard. As it was now, he was sure that whoever this guy was already thought he was a pushover and that would be his undoing. All he had to do was land a solid hit with power magnet. Not enough to kill him but at least render him immobile. This time, Axel charged first and spread out his fists.


    ¡°A head on charge!? I¡¯m game!¡± he heard him yell.


    (That¡¯s what you think right now, but just you wait until you see what I have in store for you!!)


    As soon as he was within range, Axel jumped into the air and used the wind around him to carry him up and over the man. Before he could react, Axel threw both legs under the man¡¯s arms and kept them there. Next, Axel used every last ounce of strength he had to land on his hands and lift the man off his feet using his bare legs. He thrusted him forward and finally introduced his face straight to the ground itself. Axel scurried off the ground and went outside to gather his thoughts before he could get back up.


    What he did wasn¡¯t anything he was taught before, rather it was something he came up with a long time ago but never actually used it because at the time he thought there was no way he¡¯d be able to jump over someone like that.


    ¡°AXXXXXEEEEELLL ISSSSOOON!! Incredible!!!! I let my guard down for a second and this is what you do to me! Now I understand clearly! You are definitely a danger that needs to be taken down right here and now!!¡± he heard him yell from inside the tiny shack. Axel turned to find the cloaked man holding his nose that was clearly bleeding.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s been fun but I really have to finish things up here before anyone actually strong gets here.¡±


    The second he saw the glow in his eye disappear, Axel¡¯s heart dropped. That was the look of a killer. The second he acknowledged that, his breath was suddenly taken and his feet were above the ground. Before he could even gasp he saw a fist lodged in his stomach and the figure of the man that was standing 20 feet from him just moments prior now standing mere inches from him. As the man smiled a cold smirk, axel spat out blood mixed with saliva. He was sure a rib or two had broken, but that was fine since he was close to him like this.


    ¡°!?¡± the man exclaimed. Suddenly, he was grasped by the hand of Axel and a firm grip was placed on him. He looked up and saw something incredible. The right hand of the boy named Axel shone a powerful light and it looked like it had turned a different color. Rapid bolts of electricity shot one after another in his arm as he threw it back and swung at his face. He could feel crazy amount of pressure, and there was no time to dodge!!!


    But,


    When the actual blow landed, it felt like nothing more than a average jab. Yes, his face was pushed to the side but the blow itself was soft. Far too soft. Turning his head back, he saw Axel¡¯s face of triumph soon turn into that of horror. He laughed and finally slammed him into the cold concrete ground.


    ¡°It was a nice try, but I win.. I don¡¯t even think you know my name. Well, as a part of the six paths, I hold the rank of three and am known as Kevin the third. It was a pleasure my dear boy but now it¡¯s-¡±


    BOOM


    Before he could finish, Kevin was suddenly hit with a blast and sent flying off his feet to crash into another building. The blast was strong but not enough to make him crash through it. With rage now surfacing on his face, he looked up to face his attacker. It was one of the girls that was standing alongside the boy Axel just a while ago. With sweat dripping down her face, the young black haired girl stood with her palms leaking smoke.


    ¡°You¡­¡­You leave him alone!!!!¡±


    Part 3


    Axel could not believe his blurry eyes. He couldn¡¯t talk, he couldn¡¯t move, but he saw his sister jump to his rescue and slap the man named Kevin with a powerful explosion. Stacey raised her palms once more and raised her guard. Though he wanted to, Axel could not tell her to get away, his mouth and vocal cords weren¡¯t responding! Instead, he saw Kevin come at her with stunning speed. Stacey¡¯s palms exploded with colorful and powerful explosions and caused a huge amount of smoke to block her field of vision. Because of this, Stacey was unable to react to the arm that suddenly came at her from the smoke and grabbed her neck. She started to flail as she was lifted off her feet. As the smoke finally cleared, the man was made visible with little to no scratches on him. Fear engulfed both Stacey¡¯s and his own heart. This scene was familiar, far too fucking familiar and it was gnawing at his insides. He needed to help her, this time for real he needed to get the fuck up!!!!1 but his body was unresponsive!!! He could see her body start to lose strength as she kicked and kicked and her palms continued to pop explosions one after another but none were as powerful as the first or even second blast. Kevin began to laugh maniacally due to the scene before him.


    Axel felt tears leak from his eyes from the anger as he grit his teeth and used everything he could to stand. He had to stand!!! He had to help!!!!! He had to save her!!!!!!


    [Then save her. Get up. I will help you, and in turn you will help me]


    He heard the familiar angelic voice in his head speak once again but he could not afford to waste another second worrying about that. In this one moment, he could only think of the excrutiating amount of pain he wanted to cause the bastard that was hurting his sister before his very eyes!


    The ground around him shook and cracked and his hair began to stand on end. With a slight flicker, his hair and eyes glowed a deep dark night blue color as his canine teeth sharpened. Kevin threw him a glance but did not waiver from strangling Stacey. Axel roared from the depths of his being and sat up while only thinking of pure and absolute destruction. Power overflowed him and it was so intense he thought he¡¯d burst. He couldn¡¯t control himself!


    ¡°Oh? So the rumors are true, eh?....!?¡± Kevin said that when seconds after he swung his head back and saw what he could only assume was a palm swipe at him followed by a blast of heat which forced him to let go of Stacey. He jumped back and widened his eyes. It seemed that his time was up. Before him stood a young man with golden spiky hair and gleaming blue eyes, though it was not the boy from before. With an aura of flames and a look of a killer, the guy snarled devilishly and had his palms at the ready on either side of him. If his memory served, this was none other that the boy known as Kyle, also known as Incinerator and ranked number 1 of all savants.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, a group of random girls suddenly appeared and began to aide the boy named Axel. A brown haired girl, a blonde one, a pink haired one, and the former dark haired one who was breathing profusely. The brown haired girl carefully held onto the boy who was at last losing consciousness. The glow in his hair was gone and he laid back. Though, before he could say something, The devil before him moved. Kevin raised his guard and felt a fist land on his arms once again followed by flames.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got some nasty reflexes! but a bug is still a bug!!¡­¡±


    When the demon of the earth spoke those words, Kevin began to feel the skin on his arms singe and sizzle by the heat that was being produced. Kevin moved away and jumped up. When he looked down, Kyle was nowhere to be found. Immediately realizing it, Kevin spun around but was too late and was shot by a powerful explosion of fire and slammed back down to earth.


    Kyle landed on the ground and waited for his opponent to make themselves visible again. As the smoke from the ground rose, Kevin peaked out and looked over at the girls who were still aiding Axel. All except for one. A certain blonde haired girl who gave him the coldest glare ever. Standing tall, back straight, fists balled but lowered, eyes scowling and lifeless. There was not a sign of light, only darkness as her frown seemed to deepen with every passing second. She was furious, and he knew that look all too well.


    ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll leave.¡± he said sighing.


    After all, with the demon here there was no way he could keep on going. Besides, their time would come soon enough. And so, the smoke began to twirl around him eventually swallowing him whole. When Kyle jumped at him and used his flames to swipe the smoke away the man was already gone. Nothing remained but the damage he had caused, and a terrifying stamp of fear planted in the heart of Axel¡­..


    Part 4


    Some time after, Axel raised his head from whatever soft object he was on this time and slowly looked around. It was dark and cool so he could only assume that it was night time. That or the sun had exploded but he felt way better going with the former. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. It was then that he noticed that the room he was in was actually rather large. That along with the fact that he was fully changed and bathed. He actually smelled like flowers which wasn¡¯t too much of a bad thing at all. Plus, the soft object he was on was actually just a bed so that was a good thing. In fact, there was a large pile of blankets right next to him which were placed presumably to keep him from rolling off. But then it hit him, how in the world was he able to just sit up like this? He had just gotten a massive smack down and he was sure he¡¯d be in bed for a long time!


    ¡°You¡¯re up?¡±


    He heard a voice in the room say. When he looked around he found a girl with two long and smooth looking pig tails wrapped in the natural color pink. Her eyes gleamed in the night as she hugged her knees and looked over at him from where she was sitting at.


    ¡°Huh? Olivia right? Yeah, I¡¯m good it looks like.¡±


    He got up out of bed easier than he thought he¡¯d be able to and walked over to her. Next to her, there was a balcony entrance so he walked through there in order to get some much needed fresh air. Once out, he found himself up way above ground. He was on the top floor of what he could only assume was a hotel. Also, just as he thought, it was night time. There was a small glass table there with a chair so he pulled one up and sat on it. Turning to look at the city, he could see the large and beautiful sandy beach glistening under the moonlight. He leaned on the table and sighed as the cool breeze ruffled his hair. A little while after, Olivia came out to join him but only by standing at the door frame.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask so soon after you¡¯ve woken up but, do you think you can tell me what exactly happened yesterday night?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday night!? You¡¯re telling me it¡¯s been an entire day!? Man, that¡¯s nuts¡­¡­..but well, No, I don¡¯t really mind telling you but I honestly don¡¯t know if I should¡­.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to start from the beginning or anything like that. Your blonde haired friend, Lucy?, told me the gist of your situation. She said that it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal to tell me since I went through all the effort of finding you. Besides, I had apparently seen too much so, after many threats and making me swear on my life or be killed on the spot not to tell anyone, I was told everything that she could tell¡­...haha¡­¡± she said as she began to sweat uncomfortably and look right past him.


    (Was Lucy that tough on her?)


    ¡°Well anyway! There¡¯s no going back now¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sorry about that¡­¡­.but as for the other day, that guy was a part of the shadow hunters. What¡¯s more, he was far stronger than the last guy that came and attacked sonic city by the looks of it. The last guy was called Ryan the 6th from what Ella told me, and this guy called himself Kevin the 3rd. If we¡¯re going from largest to smallest in terms of power then that definitely means that this guy Kevin was 3 times stronger than the last guy. That¡¯s all I really know since the rest was just a one sided beat down¡­...What about Kyle? How in the world did he get there? And my sister! Where¡¯s my sister!?¡±


    Having so many questions in his mind made his head hurt and it caused him to get frustrated. In contrast, Olivia shook her head and took a seat directly in front of him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about the Kyle guy, but your sister is fine. She was shaken up but otherwise fine. Her and the others went back to some ship. Well, except for two of them..¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­.but, who do you mean stayed?¡±


    Looking at her, he saw her raise her hand and point over her shoulder. Axel turned his head and looked at the bed that she was pointing at. At first, he couldn¡¯t see what she was talking about until he looked closer and immediately giggled for not realizing it sooner. The pile of blankets that was next to him was actually a human being. A human being that went by the name of Maria. She was snuggled up and wrapped in a large blanket sleeping soundly. He chuckled and turned back to Olivia.


    ¡°Ah, okay, you meant Maria.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that one didn¡¯t want to leave your side and so she didn¡¯t. In fact, she was the one that helped give you a shower since you were starting to stink.¡±


    ¡°One of the ones? Oh my God, all of a sudden I feel a strange sense of violation¡­..¡± he said as he began to hug himself in slight embarrassment.


    ¡°If it makes you feel any better we kept your boxers on. So, you can clean that yourself.¡±


    ¡°So you were one of the ones that showered me too!?¡±


    After some time of trying to cool himself down, Olivia began to play with her phone as she continued to talk with him.


    ¡°That girl there, Maria, she¡¯s your girlfriend, right? You guys are expecting a child soon?¡±


    ¡°Hm? No, She¡¯s not my girlfriend. But I guess you can say we are expecting a child¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Like a one night stand gone wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the father dude!¡± he yelled after seeing her disgusted facial expression. But after collecting his thoughts, he sighed.


    ¡°Look, she has a pretty messed up past and I prefer you¡¯d warm up to her and have her tell you. But as of right now I¡¯m only helping her out, Looking after her.¡±


    Olivia paused from what she was doing on her phone and looked up at him. She focused on him for a couple seconds before turning her attention back to her phone.


    ¡°So then, I¡¯ve noticed, why does it seem like she has two sides to her? I get the feeling she¡¯s hiding something¡­¡±


    Axel widened his eyes and froze for a moment. Could it be that in just the short amount of time she had spent near Maria she had figured it out? He took a deep breath and thought up his next words carefully.


    ¡°Listen, don¡¯t think badly of her. Don¡¯t look at her like some weirdo. Hear me out here, please don¡¯t ever look down on her,¡±


    ¡°What are you talking-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious.¡± he said to her with a very intense glare. Being on the receiving end of that, Olivia had no choice but to quiet down and listen.


    ¡°She went through some deep stuff almost 3 months ago. She was kicked out of her home for a mistake made in the heat of the moment. I didn¡¯t hear about the details, but I read them. Even before she was kicked out she was dating a very manipulative bastard who I suspect was using her from the very beginning. I don¡¯t know about what happened or how it came about, but the fact of the matter is that they did it and it changed her entire life. Her parents shamed and disowned her, the true father denied and put his hands on her, her own friends ridiculed her and showed their true colors. she was torn, shattered,and lost with no one to go to but herself. She wandered the streets and dealt with a lot of shady people. More and more she was sure that the people of the world were all cold and heartless, no one was real, nothing was real. Nothing but coal disguised as diamonds, and she was starting to believe it. Her mind was on the brink of rupture but by some miracle I managed to put a stop to it. I saved her that day. I thought nothing of it, but she thought everything about it. Then, when I took her in and showed her true kindness her mind stopped its change. I thought she was going to be alright, I thought she was going to be a fine mother, but I was wrong in one aspect, she was not alright. It¡¯s true, she does have what you can just call a split personality. But, it¡¯s not her fault. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s even conscious of it, but I know this has to be the case. One day while I was cleaning up in my living room, I found what I thought was an empty torn up journal, but it was so much more. It was basically a diary that summed up almost every day of her life. I didn¡¯t read much, but I skimmed through most. What supports my theory even more is that she once used to love a strange combination of pizza and coffee. That was something that her entire family enjoyed from what I could tell, but now she absolutely hates the thought of them both but she doesn¡¯t really understand why. Every Time we¡¯d try eating one of the two she¡¯d reflexively gag. I could only think that because pizza and coffee are tied in with happy memories of her family who she has come to hate now she in turn hates the same foods they once enjoyed together. But she isn¡¯t aware of it! Also, in almost every case of split personalities the person forgets their former self and the memories they make when in different personas. However, with Maria, I seemed to have stopped her mind from splitting apart midway and thus caused her to keep her former memories while also having two sides of herself, plus remembering what happens in each side but not taking notice to her change of attitude. For her first side, whenever she is around someone she is comfortable with I have come to the conclusion that I am engaging with the new Maria. The girl who does not know proper social etiquette,is demanding, and a bit too straightforward. So far she has only been this way with me. The second side is the side I call ¡®Dark Maria¡¯. The one who now prefers to stay quiet and avoid anyone and everyone. If at all possible, she prefers not to go out at all. This Maria is the Maria that still feels the same way she did when she roamed the streets alone. If you notice carefully, whenever I leave her side or join it, Her eyebrows and ears will both twitch. This usually means she has either gone into the New or Dark Maria persona. But she has gotten better in both roles and slowly but surely they will eventually both become one and she will be all better. I¡¯m just glad I wasn¡¯t too late. So now you know! So that¡¯s why I¡¯m saying, Please don¡¯t ever make her feel anyway you wouldn¡¯t want to feel!¡± He finished his explanation with a sigh. Olivia paid close attention to every word he was saying and thought them through carefully. She wasn¡¯t sure how everything went about still but she couldn¡¯t deny the truth in his words. After all, the girl named Maria did show no sign or interest in interacting with her, and when she was in the presence of Axel she would visibly make a 180 in mood. Since that was what she had seen up to now, she could only believe in what he was saying was true. Plus, he seemed so earnest¡­


    ¡°I get it. I won¡¯t.¡± she told him. Axel smiled and blew air out of his nose. He was glad he could trust her¡­


    ¡°Man, I only just met you a while ago and I already feel like I know you well. Why is it that you fit in more than me?¡±


    From the very start, Olivia was told most of what was going while he was left in the dark for a while. It was not fair that she was making herself comfortable already, was she not fearing for her life at all??


    ¡°I¡¯m not to sure but from what I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re one of the star players in this game. But anyway, It looks like I¡¯m going to be sticking with you guys whether I want to or not, I think.¡±


    ¡°That so? Man, well whatever, the more the merrier I guess¡­¡­. By the way, what time is it?¡±


    ¡°Around 4ish in the morning.¡±


    ¡°4!!!!!???¡±


    ________


    Now walking outside of the hotel he slept in, Axel looked up to the slowly descending moon and watched the twinkling stars glisten in the night. From what Olivia told him he now knew that the hotel he was staying at was the suite of Olivia herself. Since he was unconscious she was the one that offered to lend him her place. That large bed was her own and she had been sleeping on the ground. However, this one night she could not sleep and had stayed up to think about a lot of things. Though he wasn¡¯t really sure what, he didn¡¯t want to pry and instead excused himself as he was starting to feel hungry. So, he grabbed his wallet and started to head out. She offered to come along but really he just wanted to go alone to the nearest open restaurant.


    While walking down one of the main roads, he came across a really large and beautiful looking church. It seemed almost brand new. The very air around the place seemed so nice and relaxing that he stopped walking and changed his course to walk to it. To his surprise, the large black gate was already opened. Without really thinking, he walked in and took a good look around the place. The building itself was massive and it appeared to be made out of marble. There were a good number of trees surrounding the place and the walls were lined with rows of gorgeous flowers. The grass was soft and damp and the smell was almost divine. He really admired how well taken care of this place was. After staying silent for a couple seconds, he could hear the faint sound of a fountain.


    (there¡¯s one behind this place? Man, I think it¡¯d look much better up here..)


    Thinking that, he walked along the wall of the church and followed it to the back. After about 20 steps or so, he reached the back of the church and was once again in awe. It looked practically the same as the front but as he thought the fountain really made the place stand out! It was a standard round fountain with water spurting out from the top and collected at the bottom. In the night the water reflected the moonlight and it almost seemed like it was sparkling.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    But then it was at that moment he noticed that someone else was there. A girl who was wearing a bright yellow dress with black leggings. She had gorgeous blonde hair and was presumably holding her face. He couldn¡¯t tell since he could only see her back through the water. On top of that, he could hear the faint sound of what he thought were sobs. They were silent, enough to the point where he could¡¯ve easily overlooked them and turned around. Being as curious as he was, he walked toward the girl with wary steps. As he got closer, the louder and more clearer he could hear her sobs. When he was within her hearing range, he finally realized who was the one sitting there. In turn, he himself grew worried as he saw tears leaking from the side of her palms as she held her face in her hands. Worried enough to want to make her stop at all costs, and so he called out to her.


    ¡°Lucy?¡± He said into the night. Like a snap in reality, Lucy stopped her soft trembling and raised her quivering eyes. Looking to her side, she saw Axel standing there with caring eyes. Wiping away her warm tears, she responded back to him in slight wonder.


    ¡°Axel?....¡± she said with a shaky voice.


    She sat up straight and sniffed. Axel walked over to her and sat right next to her.


    ¡°What are you doing here? Why are you crying?¡± he started saying with growing worry. Lucy wiped away more tears that continued to leak through her eyes and sighed. She managed to control herself for a couple seconds and responded to him.


    ¡°I was just¡­..I was just¡­...Promise you won¡¯t laugh when I tell you tell this¡­¡­.I was just feeling super frustrated¡­.about a lot of things!....¡± she started to say. Gradually, her voice graduated from shaky to stable. Axel prepared his ears and decided that it would be best to hear her out and let her vent. If he interrupted her she could get more upset and he didn¡¯t want that.


    ¡°When me and Maria were waiting for you on that bench where you told us to stay, I was wondering why you were taking so long¡­..then I noticed that Maria was probably wondering the same thing¡­..Then I got to talking with Maria and I got to really know why she likes you so much¡­..and in turn I noticed what a likeable person she is¡­.she¡¯s so pretty and smart and¡­.perfect! And I thought,wow¡­.I could never compete with someone like this¡­...and then after a longer time passed I started to really worry about you¡­..there wasn¡¯t any sign of you anywhere and you weren¡¯t answering your phone¡­..Then out of nowhere we see a giant flash in the sky and immediately knew something was up and I was right. When I saw you lying on the floor knocking on death''s door I could only think Oh my God, why!? Why can¡¯t I be more useful? Why can¡¯t I be there to protect those I care about!!! Why did things have to end up like this!?........the first night you were here I stayed up all night so that I could help you in whatever you needed when you got up. I mean, you were practically a pile of bones! Two broken ribs, fractured shoulder blades, broken wrists, dislocated knee joints, a ton of bruises and cuts¡­...Seeing you like that made me feel awful¡­¡­..And then¡­¡­¡­.well, here I am¡­..¡±


    As she finished her small vent she released a breath of air and seemed to calm down some. Axel took in every word she said and processed them in his mind. With what she had said now, he was positive he knew what she was feeling. Or at least, the feelings she harbored. But unfortunately, he¡¯d have to set that aside for now. What was really important was getting her to feel better.


    ¡°I hear you, and I¡¯m sorry that I made you worry...but don¡¯t beat yourself up or compare yourself to others. For starters, you are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever had the honor to lay my eyes on so I seriously think that there is no reason for you to feel like you are no competition. Hell, you blow it out of the water! Secondly, just you being around and helping Ella is already a lot more than you give yourself credit for. Finally, It¡¯s not like I blame you for what happened. I mean, even I with this powerful ability could do nothing, and I wouldn¡¯t want you getting in harm''s way either. So cheer up, thanks to this godforsaken ability of mine I was able to make a full recovery in no time at all. I mean, I¡¯m sore but that¡¯s about it!¡±


    Standing up and doing multiple leg stretches in front of her in attempt to show her how fine he was actually made her giggle instead. Accepting his words as true, she thanked him with the warmest smile that he finally felt was genuine enough to make his insides tremble in awe. Then, while he was captivated by her, she pulled him close and hugged him. Digging her face in his stomach, she mumbled something that he was not able to fully comprehend.


    ¡°~~~~Maybe, your wish to be with someone like me will come true after all~~~~¡±


    ¡°What was that? If you stop hugging me maybe I''d hear you better!!¡±


    Lucy laughed and pulled herself away. She shook her head and, no matter how much he asked, she would not repeat herself. Axel knew she''d be a hard nut to crack so he just ignored it and helped her up on her feet. He was hungry at the moment and the only thing he wanted was to eat. Now that he knew that it was Lucy who also stayed behind with Maria, there was no need to ponder about that any longer. So, Axel invited Lucy to go eat with him, A request that Lucy happily accepted. When all was said and done, Lucy and Axel found themselves heading back to the hotel where Olivia and Maria were waiting.


    ¡°Hey, I didn''t wanna say anything before but, is it just me or are your eyes turning blue?¡±


    ¡°What? You''re kidding!?¡±


    ¡°I''m not! I mean, it''s not all too noticeable but it''s definitely there. Almost like a blue glaze laid over your usual brown eyes. It''s extremely light but if you look closely you can see it¡­.¡±


    Axel scratched his head and looked up at the sky. He didn''t know what was going on but he was definitely feeling more than just a change in eye color. There was a deep and dark heat near the center of his torso that he just couldn¡¯t understand. It wasn¡¯t bothering him or anything physically but it was definitely a cause for concern since he didn''t know what it was.


    ¡°Now that you mention it, I have been feeling pretty strange ever since I woke up but in a good way¡­¡­..the only bad thing is that I have an uneasy feeling about something. Like I shouldn¡¯t be taking it so easy¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Well maybe it¡¯s just a side effect from that fight. Just try and ignore for now and let¡¯s get back to the sweet.¡±


    Since there was nothing he could do about it for now he agreed with Lucy and returned to the hotel room. Once there, he laid in bed and once again fell asleep without even saying a word to Olivia. Regular fatigue coupled with a full belly was more than enough to knock him out, and since Maria was already there he didn¡¯t have to worry about her well being. It was such a good feeling to be able to rest that it even rubbed off on Lucy and she too huddled up on the edge of the bed. Times like this were nice¡­


    For him, his next battle would be the following week, and the time flew by before he even knew what hit him. In that time he reunited with Ella and the others and told them everything that happened. Everything from the tournament and his issues to the fight with the shadow hunter. Although things were starting to get risky all of a sudden, they all decided to still keep Axel in the games in order to continue their search for the ramoji girl. The sooner they found her the better. Now, Axel was sitting in his very own prep room only a step away from the arena where the next event would be announced. The room was made up of one locker and 3 sets of sofas and a small fridge filled with water. Inside were all of his friends preparing him for his next fight.


    ¡°Man, back into the fray once again. I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll ever be a moment of silence in my life again.¡± Axel said sitting on the ground against the wall. This time around he was allowed to come dressed in his own clothes so he decided to wear a pair of special type of black sweats. The type that had a tight ankle brace so that they wouldn¡¯t trip him up. These reached the top of his shins and around his waist and were held up with a fighting belt he received when he was little. It was just a standard color white. Then a standard white T-shirt that was tucked in and some lightweight running shoes. Whatever was next, he was ready.


    ¡°Don¡¯t start complaining now, bud. You gotta remember why you¡¯re here. To get stronger and find the ramoji¡± Michael said to him while sipping on a bottle of water. Next to him, Tony nodded and released a pitiful smile.


    ¡°Man, I don¡¯t think I remember you being such a little wuss when we were kids.¡±


    ¡°Pretty bold words from someone I don¡¯t remember. You looking for a fight?¡±


    As both of them stood up and bumped heads, he couldn¡¯t help but feel an odd sense of nostalgia, but before they could begin their tussle Lucy raised her voice and asked for them to quiet down.


    ¡°Listen, we know that the ramoji girl named Elizabeth made it to the next round. You already saw what she looked like from the picture you were provided. If you can find her in the arena or during the event it¡¯s imperative that you approach her and try and get her on our side. If you can get her to meet us then we can handle the rest.¡±


    Axel backed away from Tony while frowning and nodded. He walked over to where Maria was sitting and plopped down next to her.


    ¡°So then, Ella and the others are really out there?¡± he said to Lucy who brought her eyebrows together.


    ¡°Yes, they should be on the outskirts of the island now. If anything happens, they¡¯ll be ready to fight.¡±


    Axel grunted and leaned over his lap. Since the shadow hunter, Kevin, told him that ¡°this place was as good as done anyway¡± he had reason to believe that they would be attacking Miami soon. Because of that, Ella and the other S.O.S users under her command regularly patrolled the city to make sure that nothing would happen without them knowing. Ella did mention that she was a Captain, but he never got to meet the unit she supervised so he didn¡¯t know how strong they were. He just hoped nothing would actually happen. While they were out there, Saphire took the job of staying up with the ship and making sure everything was in order on both sides. Down on the island with him were everyone else he knew, Including the two participants who were with him the last go around, Casey and Katie.


    He ran into Katie just before entering his prep room. Apparently, she had been looking for him ever since the first event had ended. She said she was here to cheer him on since she could no longer participate herself. He considered her a friend now so there was no way he could say no. Unfortunately for her, It meant that she also had to keep quiet about whatever they talked about in there. Lucy made sure that she wouldn¡¯t speak without letting her know of the circumstances they were involved in.


    ¡°Hey Katie, just what did you do that other day with Casey. You know, the whole geyser thing where Casey managed to accumulate four flags?¡± Jennifer asked. When they got separated in the forest, Axel instructed Casey to go on to plan B. It was a super risky move but one that was worth it in the end. Katie fixed her glasses and lit up, presumably because she was finally getting noticed in the room.


    ¡°Oh yes! Before we emerged from the underground, Axel took a look at the holes that were on the ceiling. Somewhere above we noticed reserves of more water and it was then that we realized that those holes were actually geysers. The only problem was that it had no heat source. So, Axel had Casey heat up the water as much as she could and eventually it started boiling and ready to burst. Then, Axel told me to freeze the time around certain points of the boiling water moments before it shot up. I didn¡¯t understand it then but it turned out to be a plan of pure genius. So, once Casey shot up a ball of flame into the sky I released that time and the rest is history.¡±


    ¡°Wow Axel, You can actually plan ahead like that? And here I was thinking that you were just an idiot.¡± Jennifer said holding up her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing. Axel clenched his fist and furrowed his brow.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re all feeling feisty today, eh?¡±


    ¡°Cool down now kitties, Now I¡¯ve got a question.¡± Jessica said raising her hand.


    ¡°What I¡¯ve been dying to ask is why you decided to help Katie here make it over the finish line knowing that you wouldn¡¯t pass¡±


    Axel raised his eyebrows and looked over at Katie as if asking for permission. Reading his intentions clearly, she softly nodded and allowed him to continue.


    ¡°Kay then. While we were underground and eating breakfast, We asked each other what our reasons were to win. When it got to Katie, she went on to tell us that ever since she was little she was made fun of by her classmates because of her weak ability. Apparently, some of her tough classmates were participating in this tournament and in order to prove them wrong she entered in hopes of beating them. She was really determined so of course I wanted to help her see that through to the end. That¡¯s why.¡± Axel smiled at Katie who also smiled back. The room acknowledged Axel¡¯s explanation and in turn respected both Axel and Katie even more. When they were about to ask a couple more questions, they heard the sound of trumpets playing outside. Hearing their cue, Axel and Casey stood up and got themselves ready to walk through the door leading into the wide open plains of the thunder dome.


    ¡°That¡¯s us.¡± Casey said.


    ¡°Yeah¡± Axel replied.


    ¡°Axel, I¡¯ve also been meaning to say this but, you seem extremely different right now¡­¡± Natsumi said while looking at him from head to toe. The surprise guest who was Olivia, joining them for some reason, also shook her head in agreement and added on.


    ¡°I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me but I guess I was right!¡±


    ¡°What? Seriously? Well, what¡¯s different?¡± he asked while examining himself. Lucy stood up and walked up to him. She grabbed his sleeve and made him face the other way making his profile visible.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s safe to say we¡¯ve all noticed. Before, you¡¯re posture was slightly slouched but now it¡¯s straightened. As well as your body tone, it seems to be more¡­...muscular.¡± She said as she spun him to face her again.


    ¡°Your eyes are now a strange mixture of brown and blue and I daresay you got a tad bit taller. Also, smile for me¡± She commanded. He did as she asked and then made him say Ah. She then nodded as if confirming something and allowed him to close his mouth.


    ¡°Well, I was right. You didn¡¯t brush your teeth today¡± She said covering her nose.


    ¡°I was in a rush and I couldn¡¯t find my toothbrush!!¡± he yelled blushing.


    ¡°Haha, In all seriousness, your canine teeth have sharpened a considerable amount and the tone of your voice has deepened if only a little. It seems rougher. Now, this doesn¡¯t seem to be the work of puberty, no, it happened much too quickly for that to be the case. You seem to have gone under some type of transformation but I have no idea why¡­.Do you feel any different?¡± she asked him.


    He wasn¡¯t really understanding why he was going through this but he definitely was feeling a whole lot different. More ¡°Aware¡± of his surroundings. For example, the color of everything around him had almost sharpened. Like watching TV on 4k resolution but even better. Sounds that he would¡¯ve missed just weeks before were now slightly more audible to him. Like the sound of rustling hair, or a sniff, or even someone tapping their fingers together, he could hear it. It was as if all of his senses had received a spike but he couldn¡¯t fathom why.


    ¡°Actually yeah, I feel like everything about me has been increased by a couple fold. Even my attitude has changed a bit. I swear I feel like I could stop a train with my bare hands. I hope all this feeling of power doesn¡¯t get to my head¡­.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can work out the details later. For now, focus on finishing this event and getting close to Elizabeth, okay?¡±


    Axel agreed and followed Casey out the door. As he walked out, he heard his friends root for them which made him smile. As he followed the sounds of cheering down the hall, he thought back to a certain incident. There was one possibility he was thinking of that might¡¯ve caused him to change. Just moments before Kyle had come to his rescue, he had felt an intense feeling of power surge from his body which caused him to slightly lose control. It felt like he wasn¡¯t himself, there was no real way to explain it. He wondered, was that the cause of his change? He held his shoulder and bit his lip. Walking side by side with Casey in silence, they eventually made it to the end of the tunnel leading them into the thunderdome. Once there, they were hit with waves of cheers as well as many lights that shone down and lit up the arena.


    ¡°Well Ladies and Gents! I hope you had your rest this week because things are really about to heat up this time around with our final 50 contestants! As those participants gather at the center of the field, please ready yourself for one grand surprise!¡± They heard the announcer speak to the crowd. The crowd continued to cheer and whistle as Axel and Casey reached the crowd that had formed at the center of the field. Once there, Garold, commander in chief of the savant police force, greeted them with a solid salute. Keeping that pose, he began to talk right after the final contestants had arrived.


    ¡°I want to start off by saying congratulations to all of you for making it this far. This proves that you¡¯re not just livestock ready for slaughter. May you continue to reach for success and be blessed with the best. Now then, for your next challenge you will be facing something quite simple. I want you maggots to form a two man team and get ready for combat. Once you¡¯ve done that you will meet me here. I¡¯ll give you 5 minutes.¡±


    For Axel and Casey, such a command was simple. They simply looked at each other and nodded. Once again, they were going to fight together. After 5 minutes had passed, Garold once again resumed his speech.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve chosen your brother in arms? Good, now then, the task you will be facing is a Battle Royal.¡±


    ¡°An all out battle between all of us?!. Oh no, suddenly I¡¯m starting to feel sick¡­.¡± Casey said next to him. Even with his sudden confidence, he couldn¡¯t help but agree.


    ¡°In our special arena the rules will be simple. 25 teams will fight until there are only 5 of you left. That¡¯s 10 people in total. Knock one person out of bounds and their entire team is out. Knocking people off the battle stage is the only way to eliminate a player. Even if they are out cold as long as they are still in the arena they are still in the game. Of course, no killing is allowed and you have an unlimited amount of time until 5 teams are left. Lastly, no weapons or items of any kind can be used unless made of your own power. Other than that everything else is fair game. Be strong, Be smart, and have fun cadets. That is all, now gear up for battle.¡± Saying so with a salute, the commander stepped aside and gave the announcer the okay to continue.


    ¡°You heard it folks! A battle royal where the finalists will be decided! I hope you¡¯re all as ready as I am!!! Let¡¯s get this party started!!! It¡¯s all yours, Pixelator! Take it away!¡± the announcer yelled out. Axel slightly fidgeted but this time the one known as Pixelator was in his sights. He was a blonde kid who nodded and raised his arms.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± he responded. Next, multiple cubes of light began to circle the entire field and began to take shape. It grew and grew until finally it towered over the entire dome itself. When all the particles of light settled into place, the light died down and materialized into multiple floating platforms all hovering over them. One down on the ground in the center followed by one on either side of it hovering over it and so on. In total, about 20 platforms spun in one huge ferris wheel circle. With a swish of his hands, the platforms came together and formed one strange and giant sphere. It spun like the earth itself. Satisfied with his work, pixelator looked over at Axel with a grin as if asking if he was ready. He knew he was mocking him for last time so he just shrugged it off. Laughing, pixelator once again caused their bodies to pixelize and shoot up toward the giant sphere. It was a surreal feeling but before he knew it when he opened his eyes, he was in a completely different zone. Countless pipes the size of tree barks hovered over and crossed one another. There was no solid ground. If they wanted to maneuver through here they would have to jump from pipe to pipe. Just like it looked outside, it was really big on the inside. The out of bounds zone was also clear as day. All around them they could see the outside world. If one were to jump out or fall out they would lose, That¡¯s how it¡¯d go down. It was a simple thing to say, but not easy to do. As Axel and Casey once again readied themselves for battle, they heard the announcer outside give them the green light to begin.


    ¡°Okay guys! May the best 5 teams win! Go!!¡±


    With the horn signaling them that they could start ringing, something on the battlefield changed almost immediately. His sense of balance was thrown off and his colorful vision almost brightened. His clothes seemed baggier and he suddenly fell on his stomach. The strange change made him gasp and push himself up on all fours.


    ¡°What the hell?Casey are you all-........right?¡± he said in a voice that didn¡¯t sound like his own.


    ¡°Huh, what¡¯s the matter? Why are you-........HUH?¡±


    As the crowd began to quiet down and begin to break out into confused whispers, the bunch of Axel¡¯s friends sat among the stands and stared up into the many giant screens floating and revolving around the stadium. With this they would be able to keep track on everything that was going on, but already they didn¡¯t like what they were seeing. Maria, who hadn¡¯t said much of anything this entire time gawked at the screen and was about ready to scream¡­..but not in horror no¡­.


    ¡°A-Axel¡­..¡±


    In pure joy.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute!!!!¡± She got up and yelled as her ears and eyes twitched. Her one yell sparked an uproar of cheers agreeing with her.


    ¡°Casey!!! Why are you tiny??!!!¡± Axel said in the voice of a 9 year old.


    ¡°I could say the same about you!!!¡± she said in a squeaky voice while trying to hold her clothes together. Luckily for her, she was wearing a similar get up as him, but in a orange and black combination, so it was easier to hold together by tying knots. They staggered to their feet and looked at each other. Eventually, kid Casey came to terms with the situation and held him in a tight embrace.


    ¡°You look so cute!!! Like when we were kids!!!¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get too comfortable you two, the real fight is only just about to begin.¡± said a voice above them. When Axel and Casey looked up, they saw the one sole man who had not turned into a child. He was the only one, along with his teammate, who were still in their regular age. As the two looked down on them with cocky smiles ensuring their victory, Axel felt his stomach turn. The games had only just begun and he was already in a stalemate. Just what would he do? Just what could anyone do like this? How could he possibly hope to fight as a kid without any powers!?


    ¡°You¡¯ve handled some tough situations before Axel, but honestly, I¡¯m gonna love to see how you make it out of this one.¡± Lucy said as she crossed her legs. The girls around her stared at the screen in awe. The next few moments they knew would be action packed, and they could only hope that Axel would somehow manage to make it through this. With anxiety turning them sick, they bit their lips and watched as Axel gritted his teeth in horror¡­..

 Chapter Ten: Childs play; Tragedy!

    Part 1


    As his eyes darted all over the place, he confirmed the status of everyone within view. Just as he thought, they had all been turned into children. He watched as the the team responsible for their transformation pushed out other kids who were all in the middle of holding their clothes together. It was all too easy for them. Axel acted quickly and grabbed Casey¡¯s hand to run away. He jumped from one pipe to another and made sure he got some distance away.


    ¡°What do we do now!?¡± Yelled Casey who was jumping right behind him.


    ¡°Everyone is either too busy running away or trying to keep their baggy clothes from falling. While we can, I think it¡¯s best we try and hide and catch them by surprise whenever we can!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a real solid plan but at the moment it was all he could do to cope with the situation. He had hoped that he would get enough time to think things over but things didn¡¯t go his way. Before he could jump over to another pipe a giant stream of water rushed in front of him, cutting off his escape. He quickly turned around and found one of the guys that had not been turned into a child. He was tall and had spiked up blonde hair. He was thin and had a mean and cocky looking smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s over kiddos! Time for bed!¡± He said as he grabbed him and Casey with the current of water. Casey screamed and flailed around as Axel kicked in an attempt to get rid of the water but it was no use. Try as he might the water holding him was just too strong. He was suddenly thrown against Casey and the two of them struggled to break free together.


    ¡°It looks like we¡¯re off to a shocking start! It would seem that Team Harry has used their trump card right off the bat! Harry, although in the 2nd category, has the ability to turn people into children so long as they are in between the ages of 10 and 50! According to his skill summary, he can only turn people into 7 year olds! Then his partner in crime,Terry, has the ability to control the moisture in the air and convert it to water! He is using this as an opportunity to knock off other kids with a flow of water! Such a devious tactic is proving to be quite effective! What will the little tikes do now!!?¡±


    As Axel and Casey were forcefully taken to the edge of the battlefield, Axel tried his best to think of something quick but no matter how he looked at it there was just no way he could get out of this one. It looked like it was the end of the line for him...or so it did until a patch of brilliant flames suddenly made the water holding him and Casey evaporate into thin air. Axel grimaced as his skin burned but Casey seemed unphased by the heat. Axel looked over at Casey thinking that she had done it but she simply raised her shoulders saying that it was not her.


    ¡°What?¡± Cried out the guy named Terry as he looked around for the cause of the flames. He didn¡¯t look long since the cause of it soon planted his fist into his face and sent him crashing into a pipe.


    ¡°What the hell do you think you idiots are doing? I mean, do your brains even function? Why are you running around like children and not using your skills? Well, shithead?¡± Said the surprise 7 year old. He was short and blonde and had a pair of brilliant blue eyes. His fists were on fire and so was his soul. These two knew him all too well, It was Kyle who had once again come to their rescue. However, this time around he was in the body belonging to that of a child.


    ¡°You¡¯re calling us children but have you taken a good look at yourself..¡± Casey whispered to herself.


    ¡°Wait a moment¡­.We can!? I just assumed that we couldn¡¯t since I never had any powers as a kid¡­¡± Axel replied to Kyle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. Your bodies shrunk but your powers should still be up and running like normal.¡±


    As he said that, Kyle engulfed his body in flames and flew in circles around them. He targeted nearby kids who were not paying attention and knocked them out one by one. Soon,however, kids starting noticing that they too could still use their powers and started to retaliate. Casey lifted her hands and ignited them to make sure that she too could use her abilities. Axel sighed and looked up at Kyle who was still in the middle of beating up other players.


    ¡°He was right, I can still conjure up some flames! But why is he helping us? We¡¯re on different teams.¡± Casey asked Axel. Axel wondered the same thing but knowing Kyle it was probably for one reason.


    ¡°Because he wants to fight me without anyone getting in the way. Can¡¯t say I¡¯m fond of the idea but I¡¯m glad he¡¯s helping¡­¡±


    In the end, Axel did not want to fight Kyle, but if it won him a chance at surviving this round then he¡¯d have to do it. Axel thought so and felt his back tingle due to incoming danger. He quickly hit the deck and rolled sideways. He looked behind him and found the same guy who had captured him before holding his face and standing up. He had one of his hands outstretched which he had used to fire an attack at him.


    ¡°Damn that asshole¡­...that freaking hurt!.....I¡¯ll get him back for this¡­.right after I take care of you first!¡±


    Axel would¡¯ve been really afraid right now were it not for Kyle. So this time, Axel rose up to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. Since he could still use his powers he now knew that he had a fighting chance. Casey, who was still near him, saw that he was about to be engaged in a fight and decided to go try and help him. However, she got stopped halfway by a serpent made entirely of water. Casey jumped back and flipped once for extra distance. At first she thought it was Terry, the guy confronting Axel, but it turned out to be someone else entirely. When she looked to her side, she found the one¡¯s that were looking to fight her.


    ¡°We meet again, gorgeous.¡± one of the two said to her.


    ¡°I thought that serpent just now looked familiar.¡±


    The two who challenged her were none other than Trent and Cesar, guys who she had run into during the event before. The last time she saw them, they were supposed to ambush these two along with their buddies but their plans were thwarted when Axel accidentally discharged and broke his own fingers. She didn¡¯t get to see them very long because she ran off and took on the other two people with them but she knew that one of them had the ability to control water. That would be the black spiky haired boy that was clearly trying to hit on her. Then there was the other guy with black straight hair who was still frowning. She had no idea what his power was but she could still clearly remember when he put out her flames with little to no issue. He had to be powerful,even as a kid.


    ¡°Axel! Can you take him on by yourself?¡± she yelled over to him. Axel laughed and rose his thumb in the air.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll manage just fine thanks.¡±


    Casey smiled and looked back at the two who were still standing before her.


    ¡°Alright, first I¡¯ll defeat you then go help him.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really confident! I like that in a woman! and I couldn¡¯t see it before but now it¡¯s clear as day, you¡¯re so cute! A beautiful woman destined to be my wife!¡± Trent said to her while holding his own cheeks. Casey changed her facial expression showing clear disgust and shook her head. She hoped he''d take the hint and turn around but things wouldn¡¯t be so easy.


    ¡°Hate to break it to ya pal but I¡¯m only 7. That and I don¡¯t like pipsqueaks like you.¡±


    ¡°You realize that we''ve all shortened, right? I''m actually much taller¡± Trent said as a couple drops of sweat surfaced on his forehead. Casey and even the frowning Cesar raised their eyebrows knowing that in all actuality Trent was at best a couple inches taller in his regular form.


    ¡°keep dreaming short stuff, but right now you better focus on beating me!¡±


    Casey whipped her arms around and fired off waves of flames meant to strike him down but they wore torn right through by that same stream of water he had at his disposal. Next, Trent jumped up from where he was and made that same serpent give him a ride. It dashed rapidly in the air and aimed for her. Before it hit her, Casey fell backwards and flipped over to another pipe just down below. Trent focused in on her again and instead used the serpent as a catapult to launch himself. Though reckless, he was still able to close the gap between them at a much faster rate, so Casey had no choice but to raise her guard and block whatever it was he was planning to do. It could be a blast of water, or a barrage of water droplets? Bullets? Who knew. Whatever it would be she was at a disadvantage. Water trumped fire in the elemental charts, depending on the amounts of course. In this case, they were both fairly weak and not high up on the savant ranks so their skills had to be fairly even. She knew that for a fact since she hadn¡¯t ever heard his name once up until now. Everyone in categories 5 and above were well known, so it would be impossible to miss them or not recognize their powers.


    However, Trent caught her off guard by throwing a regular punch at her with his bare fist. She had been ready to counter with a volley of flames and had her arms slightly spread out so his fist slipped into the spot in between and hit her square in her cheek. The force of the punch had most of his weight behind it so it threw her back a good feet and dazed her heavily. Her head started to ache and she held it tightly.


    ¡°Ouch¡­.you got me good, damn it. I wasn¡¯t expecting that at all¡­.¡± Tiny Casey said as she picked herself up. She reached for her back to see if her hair had gotten tangled up but to her surprise she didn¡¯t feel any of it. it took her a solid minute before she realized that it had also shortened and now reached a little below her shoulders. Though she was not upset, at least this way she could fight more freely.


    ¡°All¡¯s fair in love and war they say, and we¡¯re in the middle of both right now.¡± He said as he smirked triumphantly, the serpent of water wrapping around his body.


    ¡°What are you even talking about?¡± Casey said as she felt herself start to get annoyed.


    ¡°You heard me! Let¡¯s make a deal. If you lose to me right here and now, you¡¯ll go out on a date with me.¡±


    Casey suddenly felt herself get a bit flustered. It wasn¡¯t that she was interested but rather because back home no regular person was so straightforward. This was something entirely new to her. So, how was she supposed to handle something like this?


    ¡°And if I win?¡± She responded not really thinking about it.


    ¡°You can decide that later. It won¡¯t matter, because I know I¡¯m going to win!¡±


    Trent charged at her again which made Casey raise her arms. She started to sweat as she watched his moves closely the more he neared her. She needed to figure out how his power worked. In the world of skills and abilities, there were no two of the same snowflake. In other words, although there were multiple skills which appeared similar,every single one was diverse and unique in its own way. Take Kyle and Casey for instance. Kyle¡¯s flames were said to be second only to the flames of hell, while Casey¡¯s flames were probably no more hotter than your average fire. Kyle was just on his own level.


    Trent raised one arm in front of him and the snake around him lunged at her aiming for her small torso. Up until now, he had only controlled this one puddle of water no more bigger than her full grown self, she didn¡¯t understand why. Did he think that would be all that he needed to defeat her? Insulted, Casey took in a deep breath and bent slightly backwards.


    (I¡¯ll teach you not to underestimate me¡­.Take this Dragon Roar!)


    Thinking so, Casey let out a mighty breath of fire huge enough to light up the entire arena. Trent saw this and made a quick and rash decision while skidding to a stop and raising his own arms to shield him from the coming wave of fire. It was spreading out too far for him to be able to dodge in time,he had no choice.


    When her breath attack hit, there was a huge explosion and smoke started to rise from where it had made contact with Trent.From the other side of the blow, Casey could not see what exactly had transpired. She stood straight once again and wiped her now dry mouth. Dragon Roar was a new ability she had made up while in the shower one night. Since she could breathe fire now, it seemed fitting to give it a proper name. Also, she had discovered that the fire that came straight from her belly was a lot hotter than her regular fire that she made, so it was a lot stronger. Though as she was now it was probably a little weaker, what with being a kid and all.


    When the smoke finally cleared she was able to see Trent still standing with most of his clothes charred black. His hair was now even more of a mess and his face was hidden behind his crossed arms. Though he was annoying he was indeed strong. He managed to tank her Roar and still remain standing for this long. But his strength would soon run dry, of this she was certain. Dragon Roar was not just hotter, it was also very dangerous to inhale the very air around it as it would start to burn away anything it came in contact with. Also, the fire itself would consume almost all of the available oxygen making it much more powerful, leaving him with temporary thin air and smoke to inhale. Casey blew out smoke from her mouth and placed her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Wow, can¡¯t believe you made it out of that one! Not like it¡¯d kill you or anything but I was expecting you to be passed out or something!¡±


    Trent seemed unresponsive until he lifted his ash covered face revealing a stunned expression. From the looks of it, he was hanging by a thread. He fell back on his behind and held himself up with his arms. While shaking, he struggled to focus on her and began to cough immensely.


    ¡°Idiot, just admit defeat and let me help you.¡± Cesar said who was still just watching from afar. Casey looked over at Cesar and began to wonder why he hadn¡¯t stepped in. Up until now, no one had even messed with him. It was then that she finally began to notice, he seemed awfully familiar. Though, she couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on it right now.


    ¡°You kidding me?¡± Trent said wiping the drool from his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve got her right where I want her¡±


    Right as he said that, Casey suddenly felt herself get grabbed by a fresh pool of water from under her.


    ¡°What!?¡± She said as she once again struggled to break free. She kicked and kicked but the water wasn''t moving. Cesar watched and raised an eyebrow. It seemed that not even he saw this one coming.


    ¡°You dumb girl, you¡¯re done now! And I¡¯m not wasting another moment to get you and your buddy out of this tournament!¡± He said as he aimed his arm for the outside world.


    ¡°No! Wait! Let¡­...Go!!!¡± she said as she punched and kicked the nothing that was water.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I want you ready tomorrow night by 8 for our date, alright? We¡¯ll be in touch, but for now this is goodbye.¡± He said as he laughed and coughed. Casey continued to listen to his laugh that mocked her weakness as she struggled to break free, but the more she squirmed the more it seemed to make him laugh.


    ¡°Casey!¡± Axel yelled seeing her in trouble. He tried to run after her but was stopped by Terry who jumped in front of him and punched his stomach. Axel fell back a considerable amount mostly due to how small he was now compared to Terry who was still in his normal size. Axel cursed and clenched his fist and watched as Casey¡¯s entire body was submerged by that one sphere of water. Inside, she had her eyes closed and held her breath, unmoving.


    ¡°Casey¡­.¡± Natsumi said as she watched her from the stands. Her heart was racing as she thought that she had finally been bested. Even though up until now she was doing great. Around her, everyone shared in her worry as they continued to watch in silence.


    Trent let out some air and said, ¡°Oh?¡± as he watched Casey presumably admit defeat. ¡°Finally, now get out of my sight for now, gorgeous.¡± He said as he gave the final wave to throw her out of bounds. Axel could only watch from afar with his hands trembling¡­.he honestly thought he was going to lose.


    Until,


    ¡°Ah, I knew it¡± Trent heard a gurgle come from her. He widened his eyes as he saw Casey do the unthinkable. With what little breath she had left, she let out the loudest screech with everything she had enough to be heard even from under water. Immediately as she did so, the small sphere of water holding her was completely evaporated by a patch of brilliant red flames escaping from her mouth. She felt the weight around her lift and spun to land on stable ground. She laughed as she twisted her damp clothes to get rid of the water.


    ¡°Hahaha, wow! I almost messed that one up, huh?¡± She said with a breath of fresh air. Trent let his arms drop as he kept himself from falling.


    ¡°You¡¯re nothing special at all. I thought that you being able to control water meant that you could create your own, but you can literally only control water around you. Before that Terry guy ran off to fight Axel, you stole some of his water didn¡¯t you? With what little you had you thought you¡¯d make do?¡± She said as she walked over to him with flames spurting out from her arms. Trent watched and continued to cough frantically.


    ¡°I was wondering why you weren¡¯t making more but it all makes sense now! The reason you took that breath attack instead of dodging was because you wanted to save that little bit of water you had! So you moved it away and sacrificed yourself instead. Only reason I know this is because both dirt and your sweat were still in that water I was trapped in, a lot of it. Your sweat probably got on it after you wrapped it around yourself. So I used everything I had and burned it away, and now that it¡¯s gone, you¡¯re helpless.¡±


    Casey made it to where she was standing prior to being lifted by the pool of water and extended her hands engulfed in flames.


    ¡°W-wait¡± Trent said as he awkwardly smiled. But there was no helping it, Casey shook her head to let him know this and mercilessly readied her next blow which would decide the match.


    ¡°Special Move!Blazing Dance of the Fire Snake!¡± While spinning herself elegantly and waving her arms, both ends of her hands shot out two straight streams of fire that rose above her and met in the center to form one, doing one twist around her, and then shooting straight for Trent with a head that resembled that of a snake with its mouth opened and fangs bared. Trent exclaimed and turned on his belly to scramble away but was unable to dodge. He was hit by a powerful wave of fire that slammed him back down on his stomach. The pipe itself was damaged and soon broke apart. The pipes below were also unable to hold together and also completely tore apart eventually hitting rock bottom which was the thunderdome field. As soon as the flames died out, Trent alone was left completely unconscious and unmoving. The grass around him was burned to a crisp.


    ¡°Un.Be.Lievable!!!!! Ladies and gentlemen, In an amazing show of power, Casey managed to defeat Team Cesar by defeating Trent and throwing him outside the fighting ground!¡± The announcer said to the crowd with clear enthusiasm. The crowd erupted into cheers as Natsumi and Jeniffer stood and hugged each other joyfully celebrating Casey¡¯s victory.


    ¡°Close one¡­.¡± Axel said as he watched Casey happily jump around in triumph. Everyone who was fighting had no choice but to stop after that tremendous explosion was heard. It was amazing and it once again reminded Axel never to anger her.


    Casey herself was overjoyed at her first real win and raised her arms in the air.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to say that!!!! All those hours in front of the mirror finally paid off!!¡± She said as she spun in joy and delight. Some pipes above her, Cesar looked down at Trent with his same old expression, a frown.


    ¡°Idiot, I told him this would happen.¡± He jumped down from where he was and landed somewhat in front of Casey. Casey slightly exclaimed since she was startled and jumped.


    ¡°Uhhhh, what¡¯s wrong? Here to claim revenge?.....¡± she said slightly shaking and nervous. She said this but she knew that he could no longer fight since his partner was out. Still, he gave her this cold and bone chilling look. Almost as if he was¡­..angry? But not because he lost, no¡­.she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it¡­.


    ¡°Quit looking so happy. Fight ain¡¯t over. That kid down there was no more powerful than a category 2. You¡¯re a category 5 at best. That was nothing but a small fry. You¡¯ve got much tougher opponents to deal with. Hurry up and quit celebrating so early.¡± He said before giving her one final look and jumping down to his friend who was already getting help by the paramedics. Sure, her spirit had been smashed but that¡¯s not what she was focusing on. She had finally recognized it. His voice, his face, his appearance, she knew who he was and only then did she notice what kind of bullet she had just dodged. That man Cesar was none other than the number 1 ranked among those in the 5th category, also placed in the top 5 on the Miami charts. His skill from what she had heard was the power to break down anything he came into contact with. Anything. Even living beings. Which meant the reason he swiped away her flames so easily that day was because he broke them down to nothing in the blink of an eye. But that wasn¡¯t all, she heard that his skill in hand to hand combat was top notch. A skilled fighter with a powerful ability and sharp intellect. If she or Axel had foughten him, they would¡¯ve lost hands down. There was no arguing. It was to the point that there was no reason to even try.


    Just knowing this made her skin crawl in fear. She felt a chill go down her spine and she started to feel a little embarrassed. Why? Because she felt that the only reason she won was because he allowed her to do so. Nonetheless, a win was a win¡­..And Cesar was right, she could not celebrate just yet. Not until it was all over! Wiping away her sweat, she located Axel and rushed to his side. All while wondering, What would¡¯ve happened if she had faced Cesar instead?.....


    Part 2


    The skies were bright and the sun was shining. It seemed like just a regular day for an ordinary person, but all that could change in the blink of an eye. Ella knew this but hoped that tragedy would not strike them all. Currently she stood atop one of the tallest buildings she could find and tried her best to condition the air around her. Standing right under the sun like this would make anyone sweat.


    After the fight that broke out a few days ago with Axel, she decided that it would be best to remain in the area until further notice. It was highly possible that the Shadow Hunters would target the Miami area in hopes of acquiring the white stoned ramoji, Elizabeth, who was last located here. Knowing them, she was sure that they¡¯d destroy everything here in order to lure her out. Last time they only barely managed to win but even then that was because of dumb luck. They were unprepared, could not contact anyone, and had no way of being able to protect the entire city. She blamed her carelessness for that, but it wouldn¡¯t happen again.


    ¡°We¡¯ve searched the area numerous times today Cap¡¯, it seems like nothing''s happening yet again.¡±


    From behind her came a man that had seemingly dropped out of the sky. Saying this to her, he approached and stood next to her. He was tall, bulky,blonde, and had a scar spreading from his left bicep up to his left eye. He wore a simple black tank top tucked into some camouflage cargo pants. As he tapped the heels of his boots together, he yawned and leaned over the rail on the edge of the roof.


    ¡°I say we head back, I doubt anything¡¯s gonna happen.¡± He said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush, Hex. Axel had a really bad feeling for today and I second it. Everything seems too regular, a perfect time to strike and I know they will.¡± she said with an air of confidence. Hex raised his eyebrows and rested his chin on his palm.


    ¡°Yeah? Well, whoever it is that makes a move today is in for a real scare. They really think they¡¯ll get far? Well, not when the entire E-Force is here.¡± He replied while looking over the large city. Ella agreed with him and smiled. The E-Force was short for the ¡°Ella Force¡±. It was a small group of 10 soldiers that she commanded, each with SOS at their disposal. As of right now, they all should¡¯ve been somewhere around the city looking for any suspicious signs. She trusted her little force more than anyone could understand because their relationship was more than just Captain and Soldier, they were like family.


    ¡°Yeah well, let¡¯s not get too cocky Hex. Go ahead and get the others gathered and meet back up here. Pretty soon, Axel¡¯s event will be over and he¡¯ll hopefully have more information on the girl, Elizabeth. When that happens, I¡¯d like for us to all meet up in Thor so you guys can properly meet him too.¡±


    ¡°Axel Ison, huh? What¡¯s your impression of him so far?¡± Hex asked Ella as he turned around and rested his back on the rail. Ella looked up at him and responded with a soft tone.


    ¡°Well, at first I thought that he was a good for nothing, not fit for the role of this generation¡¯s Power Magnet holder. But then, as some time went on, I realized that he¡¯s actually quite talented. He¡¯s smart and a quick thinker, able to make quick judgments on the spot. He was once enrolled in a Mixed martial arts class and has some experience with combat so he¡¯s fairly strong. However, he¡¯s a crybaby who gets intimidated fairly easy and seems to want nothing to do with the world of the supernatural. And yet, he sticks around and made some sort of promise to himself to help those in need. He¡¯s very strange to say the least. Overall, with some training, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be a fine and powerful man. He just needs¡­..a push to get him to work harder, but I don¡¯t know what or how I should go about doing that. So, I¡¯ll let him find that drive on his own.¡±


    Saying so, Ella thought about all of the trials Axel would likely face in the time to come. How would he handle the reality of the world? The government was corrupt and lying to its people and he knew this but it was almost like he hadn¡¯t fully come to terms with that. When finally he sees the world for what it really was, how would he truly react?..... Then the shadowhunters, how would he feel knowing that one day he would have to face more of them?....The time was nearing, the time when he¡¯d feel fed up and frustrated and once again want to abandon his place¡­.but would it be right to stop him?...... She didn¡¯t know.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Really? Well, sounds like a human being to me. Best not to rush anything with the kid. The pressure is already high, it wouldn¡¯t be smart to add on to that.¡± Hex said while getting off the rail and walking away. Ella watched him as he went and thought that she agreed with him. In truth, she was also scared. She was scared everyday but she had to put on a brave face¡­..for¡­..


    BZZT


    When she felt her phone vibrate, she reached into her pocket and took it out to see who it was. It was a message from Lucy letting her know that Axel had so far been turned into a child but was still successfully holding his own. Teams were winding down quick so the finalists would be decided soon. Ella replied thanking her and that so far she had seen nothing out of the ordinary.


    With that, she put her phone away and looked up at the beautiful bright blue sky. If nothing really went down today, she hoped she¡¯d be able to have a good time introducing Axel to her comrades. Family to Family.


    Part 3


    At the moment, he was down to nine. Nine fingers that had not been damaged. During his fight with Terry, he had been driven to a corner and surrounded with water so in a final attempt to get away he discharged super strength with a flick his pointing finger and blasted a path through the water. Thanks to his fingers discharging last time, he had gotten the idea to use his fingers in this way in order to keep the damage to himself to a minimum. To his surprise, his finger was more resistant to the blast this time around than last time. They were broken but he could still slightly feel and move around his finger. Other than that, he was okay. A child, but okay.


    As for his opponent, he had also taken some damage to his left shoulder which Axel had accidentally dislocated. When he discharged his finger flick, the wind pressure moved back Terry¡¯s arm in a wrong way which caused the joint to be placed out of its socket. Other than that, he was just fatigued and starting to slow down. While grinding his teeth together, he began to yell at Axel through exhausted breaths.


    ¡°Just¡­..Give it up already kid!.......You¡¯ve¡­..given me...enough trouble already¡­.¡±


    ¡°I think the one that needs to give up here is you, man. It looks like you¡¯re starting to reach your limit. And I could be wrong here but, I daresay I¡¯ve found your weakness.¡± Axel said with a smile filled with confidence, a smile hiding the pain he felt on his throbbing finger. However, what Axel had said was true. This entire time, he had been looking closely for whatever weakness that Terry might¡¯ve shown and after careful deduction Axel was sure he had figured it out. After every amount of water that he conjured up the more fatigued he looked. At the very beginning of the battle, Terry was more calm and collected and was able to make Axel feel like he had a real problem on his hands. However, the longer they fought the more his fighting style changed, he began to get rash and flustered, almost as if he was in a hurry.


    ¡°You¡¯re delusional¡­..Just like your hopes of beating me!¡± Terry said as he again conjured up water out of thin air and shot them at Axel. Axel bent down low and jumped up as high as he could using the wind below his feet to give him a boost. Soon after, the stream of water rapidly flew under him. But instead of letting it pass, Axel let himself fall directly on top of the waves of water. As soon as he made contact with the water, he concentrated everything he had into the power within him and thought of a very particular power belonging to a very particular person. It was not easy but it almost felt like just feeling what he wanted to do was enough for his ability to take over. After feeling his hands release a cool breath of air, he smiled and added the finishing touches. Almost instantly, the entire patch of water under him froze into a giant iceberg that shattered once it touched down on the ground. Axel jumped off and looked at Terry who had his mouth wide open in shock.


    ¡°What!? Man, just use one ability already!! This isn¡¯t fair!!!¡± He yelled as his eyelids threatened to shut on him.


    Up on the stands of the arena, Jeniffer smiled as she recognized the brilliant blue ice. If she was thinking correctly, it belonged to Saphire and Axel had successfully ¡°borrowed¡± it. She slightly chuckled and sat back and watched as Lucy and Maria both shook with suspense.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been using those attacks seemingly without any drawbacks but it looks like the more you use it the more you waste either your stamina or hydration. A double edged sword in other words.¡± He said to him. When he did, Terry¡¯s eye twitched and his face slightly reddened. That could only mean that Axel was right on the money. Axel sneered confidently and continued.


    ¡°In your case, a drawn out battle wouldn¡¯t be in your favor. That last attack clearly took a toll on you so I know you¡¯re just about through. I mean, you can throw another one but you¡¯ll likely fall asleep. Or you can just walk off the stage, admit defeat, or something. It¡¯s your choice really.¡±


    Axel¡¯s words grinded through Terry''s ears as he started to see the real gravity of the situation. Axel was completely right, another attack and he¡¯d be done for regardless. But even so, he had to keep on fighting¡­.He couldn¡¯t give up just yet!!!


    ¡°Damn you¡­..damn it¡­..Damn you!!!!!!¡± Terry said as he raised his one arm and made water spin around his fist. In one final charge, he ran up as close as he could and launched that small bullet of water at Axel. Seeing him charge in bravely like that, it made him realize just how cool he was being. And with that, he admired him that much more. So, he couldn¡¯t just disrespect him and hold back. He had to give it his all and show him that Axel acknowledged him! Axel raised a finger to his lips and ignited a small flame. Leaving it floating there, Axel took in a deep breath and bent slightly backwards.


    (I¡¯m glad I was able to see her use it first hand. That makes it all the more easier for me to recreate it!)


    ¡°Dragon Roooooooaaaaaaaaaar!!!!!!¡±


    Suddenly, thanks to his breath, the small flame blew out and extended into a large wall of flames that completely incinerated the small bullet of water that Terry had sent at him. Watching his final stand literally go up in flames, Terry accepted his fate and finally let his eyes close as he fell backwards and let the flames eat him up. With a huge blast, Terry was flung out of the ring and back down to the regular thunderdome.


    ¡°And finally! Terry was at last knocked out of bounds by Ison himself unleashing a similar technique to the one his partner showed us earlier!¡± the announcer yelled over the loud rumbling cheers of the crowd.


    ¡°Damn it, guess I¡¯m out¡­¡± Axel heard Harry say from somewhere behind him. Axel turned to see him climbing out of a hole in one of the pipes. With a strange smile, he began to curse his luck and jump down from the stage. As Axel watched him go wondering why he was there in the first place, he felt his confidence boost. He wanted to keep on going, he wanted his adrenaline to run farther!


    ¡°Alright!!!1 I¡¯m pumped up now!!! Who¡¯s neeeeeeextt!!!???¡± He said as he turned around. However, his excitement was short lived as he turned to see something that he was not expecting to see at all. There was no one around the arena. Well, to clarify, there was no one left standing. All he could see dangling around the pipes were small bodies of the contestants he was supposed to be fighting. All of them were knocked unconscious. And when he looked up, the one person he saw, standing directly in front of the sun from where Axel stood, was none other than Kyle himself with his eyes gleaming in the shadows and his hands emitting smoke. In this one scene, the one thing Axel had trouble comprehending was why Kyle was the only one he could see standing. But then that cold realization hit him, Kyle had defeated everyone there. No one was left standing. No one...At this point, his rush of adrenaline quickly disappeared and he felt so shocked that he didn¡¯t even notice Casey nervously taking her place behind him.


    ¡°Axel¡­.¡± She said pulling on his sleeve. But he could not pay attention. Kyle looked down on him from his rightful position way up above him and gave him a daring look. With one jump, he landed directly in front of him and started to release a thick and powerful pressure. A pressure so intimidating that Axel couldn¡¯t even hear anything outside anymore. It was all muffled, and at this point the only thing he could see was Kyle himself slowly approaching him. Axel, as much as he tried, could not move. He was frozen in place. Cold sweat flowed down from his forehead as his breathing grew ragged. His arms shook and his heart began to jump seemingly in an effort to try and make a run for it. These people here were worthy and strong enough to survive the last trial, so the fact that Kyle took them all down could only mean that he was far stronger than all of them¡­...wasn¡¯t that right? So what on earth could possibly make him think that he even stood a remote chance against Kyle?. And with that face, that same face he feared to see when he was young. It was happening all over again. Was the world shaking or was he being shaken!? What would he do? Kyle was now mere feet! What could he-


    *Tap*


    ¡°If you make your fear visible for all to see like that, you¡¯ll make it known just how much of a pushover you really are.¡± Kyle softly said to him with a mocking tone just moments after placing a hand on Axel¡¯s shoulder. Then, he lifted it and took a few steps back. When he did so, sound and time finally began to run normally. When he snapped out of it, Axel finally noticed Casey shaking him around trying to wake him up.


    ¡°Axel!!! Snap out of it!! We made it!!!!¡± She delightfully yelled.


    ¡°W-What?¡± he said dazed. When he looked around, he noticed that confetti was dropping from the skies and trumpets were playing music celebrating their victory. Then, taking a complete 360, he noticed other people emerging from different spots. All contestants who had made it to the next round. Axel hadn¡¯t comprehended it, but he and Casey were one of the winning teams! Since he was so scared by Kyle, he didn¡¯t hear the announcer end the game. When that realization came to him, he felt tears fill his eyes and fell backwards onto the ground. He let out a wail and wished to just lay there and sleep. However Casey did not let him do so since the stage lit up and began to fade away. All of the winning teams were suddenly dropped and brought back down onto the regular field. Casey carried Axel as they fell down and landed softly on the ground. Then, when all was clear, she too began to cry in relief. They hugged each other and wished to just get some time to relax.


    ¡°Quit crying you babies¡± Kyle said next to them with an annoyed face. Following that, the announcer soon started to speak once again.


    ¡°Congratulations to the teams who successfully made it to the final round! You all fought hard and put on quite the show! And thanks to their valiant efforts ladies and gentlemen, the following five teams will move on to the finals! Team Sherry and Candy! Team Jose and Kenneth! Team Axel and Casey! Team Rose and Violet! And finally, Team Kyle and Elizabeth!!-¡±


    ¡°And there she is.¡± Lucy said to herself while her friends around her celebrated Axel and Casey¡¯s victory.


    ¡°Hold up, did she say Elizabeth?!¡± Axel said suddenly stopping his tears. He pushed himself off Casey and looked around to look for someone whose appearance would fit the picture he was shown of Elizabeth. He looked hard but he just couldn''t find her. Finally, from behind, a single person took a step toward them. When both Axel and Casey turned, they immediately recognized her. A small girl with short pigtails and bright blue eyes, smooth pale skin and black hair, there was no doubt about it.


    ¡°Ah, Elizabeth. You somehow managed to survive just like you said. Great work.¡± Kyle said speaking to her indifferently.


    The small girl, who had also been turned into a child just like them, nodded and approached Kyle with a straight face. She looked over at Axel who she noticed had been gawking at her and quickly turned away with slight anger. Suddenly feeling a faraway gaze press up on him, he staggered and realized it must¡¯ve been Lucy. So, he quickly walked up to her and tried to introduce himself.


    ¡°Um, Excuse me! I¡¯m-¡±


    ¡°I know who you are Ison. And just to let you know, tell your ¡°friends¡± to get lost before I start fighting back.¡± Elizabeth said to him in a cold tone. To everyone else, she was probably just being stubborn, but to Axel her words had an entirely different meaning. She knew why he was approaching her. She knew what she was holding and she knew about the peacekeepers, there was no doubt about it, his instincts told him so.


    ¡°Tch, wow. And here I was thinking you were too much of a scaredy cat, doll face. Well, your jobs done too so get lost.¡± Kyle said as he smirked and walked off. Elizabeth nodded to him and watched him off. Then, she gave Axel one last stare before also turning heel and walking way.


    There was nothing he could do, nothing he could do but look back at Lucy who had already read the situation perfectly, Axel had failed before he even had a chance to start.


    Part 4


    ¡°Okay, I get that you weren¡¯t able to say anything to her, but honestly the real thing bothering me here is why you two are still kids!¡± Lucy said.


    ¡°I¡­.can¡­..probably tell you¡­...if you stop¡­..squeezing us!!!!¡± Axel said as he struggled to breathe. Ever since he had returned from the last match, all of his friends,the girls, had taken turns hugging the life out of both Casey and Axel.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take it!! You¡¯re just so adorable!!¡± Lucy yelled squeezing him harder which evidently caused Axel to accidentally discharge a bolt of electricity, electrifying even himself. After finally releasing them, Lucy fixed her now frizzy hair and sat in the living room of Casey¡¯s house where they had gone right after the event. In the house were himself, Casey, Lucy,Jennifer,Olivia,Michael,Tony,Jessica, and Natsumi. Katie had returned home after congratulating them.


    ¡°Well,we spoke to Harry and asked him to turn us back into our regular size but he said that he couldn¡¯t. The effect would last for another 3 hours¡­..¡± Casey said also trying to calm her frizzy hair.


    ¡°And it¡¯s been 1 since we left. Just another 2 hours to go¡­¡± Axel said while Maria wrapped his tiny broken finger in bandages. He wished that was the extent of his damages but it wasn¡¯t. His entire right arm suffered a powerful backlash from using both super strength and ice so it was also entirely wrapped in bandages. Andrew and Saphire were away so healing was all up to him.


    ¡°You did great out there though. Even though you only fought one guy. Casey here was the real star of the game. After finishing off that Trent guy she went and took out about 2 or 3 other teams!¡± Tony said to Axel while laughing. Axel sighed and looked over at Casey who was blushing. It didn¡¯t surprise Axel, he always knew she was strong, a lot stronger than him.


    When Maria finished covering up his finger, he stood up and walked over to her. He was really happy with the way things turned out, it was because she was at his side this far into the game that he even made it to the finals. Extending his hand out to her, he unleashed a smile causing a bandage on his left cheek to move out of place.


    ¡°Real great work out there, partner. I really owe you a lot.¡± He said as she stared back up at him.


    ¡°Haha, you saved my neck just as many times, I think we¡¯re even.¡± she said in her child squeaky voice. She took his hand and shook it. Feeling happy, he let go of her hand and walked over to sit back next Maria who had been watching him intently.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Casey said when she noticed something hanging out of his pocket. It was small, circular and was the color red. It caught her attention because it was something that resembled a certain dessert that she had been saving in her fridge¡­¡­. It...couldn¡¯t be..could it?


    ¡°Axel, what¡¯s that in your pocket?¡± she said to him causing everyone to also look. Suddenly stiffening and freezing in place, Axel kept his back to her and chose his next words wisely.


    ¡°I, uh,....it¡¯s just something I picked up on our way back-¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± Casey said cutting him off with a straight tone. Axel winced and began to sweat. The jig was up. Then, seeing that he was cornered, he gave the door one look and made a beeline for it. But before he could get anywhere, he was tackled against the wall by a small but brute force.


    ¡°You dirty thief! You dare try and lie to me to my face!? I know you took that gelatin from my fridge!! I¡¯ve been saving that for a special occasion, it was my favorite so give it back!!!¡± she said as she forcefully twisted his arm behind his back. Axel struggled to break free with his face against the wall and cried uncle several times.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even reach for it!!! Just let me go!!!¡± He yelled. He walked up the wall with his feet and pushed out causing Casey to fall back. They both fell and rolled some time before coming to a stop. When Casey looked up, she noticed the now empty cup of gelatin on the ground. It was too late, Axel had eaten it and he was clearly trying to hide it from her. So,since he was hiding it, he knew exactly how much it meant to her and he chose to eat it anyway.


    ¡°Uh, I swear I can explain!¡± he said as he watched her slowly stand with her back to him. Axel began to shake and quickly looked around for cover, but for some reason everyone was gone. The one person that had not left was Maria who watched them with curious eyes. He contemplated taking cover behind her but, knowing Casey, she¡¯d get hurt¡­.So, he had no choice but to sit and patiently wait for death.


    ¡°On your feet¡± He heard Casey growl from behind. He squealed like a scorned puppy as Casey stood over him.


    ¡°Die with dignity.¡±


    ¡°Nooooooo!!!!!!¡± was the last thing he was able to yell before getting a face full of fire.


    ____________


    At the time, I had forgotten all about the bad feeling I had gotten a couple days earlier. I was too busy feeling really happy for absolutely no reason. What I mean is, I should¡¯ve had no reason to be so at ease and yet I was. Before it happened, I was busy trying to heal the burns that I had received from Casey. I had just gotten out of the shower and the next one in was Casey. Maria as usual was at my side asleep on the living room couch. No one was home, everyone had left just one hour earlier to go sightseeing. The sun was starting to set and the room was starting to dim. I remember feeling bad for Casey, bad because I had eaten her favorite dessert so I thought ¡°Man, I should go buy her another one.¡± So, I did. I grabbed a blanket from her closet,wrapped Maria in it, and then walked out the front door. Never did I think that that would be a huge mistake. If I had just been there when it happened¡­...Maybe she wouldn¡¯t of had to go through any of that¡­.. Damn it, if I were just there¡­..she wouldn¡¯t of had to relive the trauma¡­¡­.It was hell for all of us!...


    If I recall, everyone was split up and that was what kept us from knowing. That¡¯s why we were completely off guard and so many lives were lost while we tried to make sense of it all. Tony and Michael both were out away from the girls getting something to eat, the girls were out visiting the mall that savant island had, Casey was in the shower, Maria was in the living room, I was out at a liquor store approximately 10 minutes from where Casey lived. Lucy, however, was MIA from what I understand when that first call came to me, she had apparently gone to use the restroom while the girls continued to look around the mall and they hadn¡¯t seen her until much much later. I will never forget how it all went down. Never forget what I saw, never forget what I learned. We were isolated in that island, completely cut off from the rest of the world. Were it not for my little sister¡¯s quick thinking, I wouldn¡¯t of have known¡­¡­..Miami was under attack, and savant island was next.


    _______________


    Part 5


    In only about 40 minutes, Axel would finally return to his regular size. That fact felt like a huge relief to him and in turn he was feeling really relaxed. At the moment he was looking through a freezer inside a liquor store that he had found. He was looking for a very particular dessert. It was the red gelatin that he had eaten that belonged to Casey. It was a special limited strawberry flavor that she enjoyed but he had been selfish and ate it anyway when she wasn¡¯t looking. Rookie mistake for him though as she made him pay with burning his skin as a sacrifice. He rather not talk about it much¡­. Luckily for him, there was one gelatin left in stock. It was practically begging for him to take it to Casey. He picked it up and took it to the cash register where he would pay for it. When he did, he walked outside and admired the setting sun in the distance. It made him think, how nice would it be if everyday were this peaceful? Man, no worries over anything? That would be nice¡­


    Next to the liquor store, there was a bench with a tall tree slowly rustling its leaves in the slight breeze. He walked over to it and sat down. The vibes he was getting right now were enough to put him to sleep right then¡­..and¡­¡­.there¡­


    -------------


    ¡°Axel, my boy. Listen to me, I want you to have this keychain, and I want you to have it on you at all times, okay?¡±


    ¡°But grandpa, I don¡¯t understand, Is it like a good luck charm or something?¡± The small boy said to his elderly grandpa who was sitting on a recliner. The old man laughed and held his belly while extending his hand holding the small test tube shaped keychain out to him.


    ¡°It¡¯s much more than just that my boy. Trust me, right now you won¡¯t understand but there will be a time where everything will change and the world will be completely different. The fate of the universe will rest in the hands of one and I daresay that it will turn to you to handle it. However, I wish for nothing more than for you to be far away from the supernatural, and this invention of mine here will make my wish come true.¡± he said with a tone filled with wisdom. The boy didn¡¯t know why, but he understood. The ¡°Supernatural¡± scared his grandfather? Then it scared him too. If that was the case, he wanted nothing to do with it, he¡¯d respect his grandfather''s wishes. So, he took that keychain in his tiny little palm and swore to never mess with anything involving the supernatural. But there was one thing he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°But grandpa, why would the universe choose me? What did I do?¡± He asked his grandfather.


    ¡°Call it a hunch, but I just feel it. You are kind and very noble. You have great courage and want nothing more than to help others, and with our family background I feel you are a suitable vessel. That is why. But, that is simply too much for a young boy like you. I want you to live your life safe and sound and out of harm''s way, promise me you¡¯ll do that, lad?¡± the old man sincerely asked of his grandson. And, to his great pleasure, the boy accepted without question.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    And so it did, when he needed it most to help protect a young girl, that keychain protected them both. Just like his grandfather said it would. It was raining and she had been surrounded by strange men. She was crying and helpless but he stepped in. The rest was a blur but he knew that his keychain protected them both. And so, he had made a new friend because of that.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked the young girl when they woke up the next morning.


    ¡°C-casey¡­..¡± she responded.


    ¡°Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Axel!¡± and just like that they were friends. And so she also got to meet his grandfather who he also treated like one of her own. They spent many good times together and grew as a family, but those times were short lived. When the time came and that old man departed from this world, the boy and girl stood at his grave with rain pouring on them. Crying and wishing that he was still there, he held onto that keychain harder than ever. There was no one else that had made him laugh like he did, no one that made him feel special¡­. He loved and missed his grandpa¡­.While sobbing and wiping his tears, he made a vow, a vow that would make his grandfather proud.


    ¡°I¡­.I swear! I¡¯ll live a normal life! For you! We¡¯ll be safe and sound! Like you wanted!¡±


    And so he did, until fate once again proved who was the one in charge. One moment left without the protection of that key chain, and he was thrown into the world his grandfather feared he¡¯d go. The supernatural¡­. Eventually, these times were all but forgotten to the young boy, but the time was coming when he¡¯d once again recall everything.


    ------------------------


    As his body began to go limp, Axel felt his grip on the bag he was carrying slip and the bag fell to the ground. When he heard the thud, he jolted awake and looked around. He wiped the drool off his mouth and looked at the sun, it was a lot lower than the last time he looked at it. He looked at his phone and realized that he had fallen asleep for a good 20 minutes. He yawned and stood up trying to stretch his sore arms. When he did, he felt his phone vibrate and looked at it. But, it wasn¡¯t a regular phone call, it was something he hadn¡¯t seen on his phone before but he knew it was a call of some sorts, which was weird since he got no service here. In any case, he answered. Immediately, he heard the sounds of screaming and fire burning, then a familiar voice spoke to him.


    ¡°Axel!!! Finally you answered!!¡± she said.


    ¡°Stacey?¡± he responded.


    ¡°Yes, yes! It¡¯s me! Quickly, you have to do something!¡± she said sounding scared. Following her, he too began to feel on edge.


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s the matter!?¡±


    ¡°The city! Those guys you were telling me about? They¡¯re back and they¡¯re destroying everything!!!¡± she said through distressed sobs.


    He didn¡¯t know what to think. His blood ran cold and he got a chill down his spine. Immediately as he felt that, he heard a loud explosion come from somewhere behind him. It was bright and caused him to turn around. It was a bolt of lightning that had struck down a good ways away from him and soon disappeared. Then it got quiet but he knew that things were about to get crazy. Quickly, he responded to Stacey.


    ¡°Where are you!?¡± he asked


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know!somewhere in Miami! I was out with grandma at the laundy mat when they attacked!! Please! You have to come quick, I¡¯m so scared!!!¡± Even through the phone, he could feel her shaking. He grit his teeth and felt tears leak out of his eyes.


    ¡°Please, Stacey! Hide! Hide, I¡¯m coming to get you guys!!¡±


    ¡°O-okay! But hurry! We need y-¡± Was all he heard before the call suddenly cut off. When he looked, he saw that his phone had died. He cursed and slammed it to the ground. Quickly, he looked up and saw many lights flashing in the distance where that bolt of lightning had struck. Feeling hasty, he felt his veins burn and surge with power. When his body lit up with bolts of electricity, he jumped up and began to make his way over there, He was still a kid of all things but he was otherwise in top shape.


    (Casey should be safe back home, I hope she takes care of Maria..) he thought along the way.


    When he finally got close to the lights, he saw multiple giant metal objects he hoped to never lay eyes on again. There was no doubt about it, it was the same mechs from the day that Sonic City was attacked. But this time, there were more than just one kind. He saw metal serpents, birds, dinosaurs, etc.! they were all rampaging around but that wasn¡¯t it, there were multiple men dressed in black that were running around blowing up anything that they saw. It was chaos. No one around knew what to do but run away. It was just him that was at a complete loss for words just standing there. It was happening again. Again he was thrown into a life and death situation! what could he do? How would he fight? Who should he go to and who should he try and protect? Go back for Maria? Search for Lucy and the others? He didn''t know! his eyes widened as far as they could and his tiny fists began to shake as he once again started to wonder if he was going to die. He was completely frozen with fear. It wasn¡¯t until someone came and picked him up that he snapped out of it.


    ¡°No time to keep daydreaming! We gotta move!¡±


    When he looked up, he saw Lucy who had water marks on the side of her cheeks. It appeared that she had been crying. When he realized that it was her, he felt relief wash over him. Was it because she was safe? Or because she took him away from the hell that was unleashing? He couldn''t tell... Originally, he had hoped to find one of them so that they could take him to Miami anyway so this worked out perfectly. But,


    ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else!?¡± he yelled to her noticing that she was by herself.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure! But they can all take care of themselves. Right now, we have to get back to the ship!¡± she said with an uncertain voice. He clenched his teeth and knew that she was right, but the farther they got away the more he could see the entire streets start lighting up with flames and chaos. Was it truthfully humane to just run like this? He shut his eyes and endured it, this had to be the right thing for now¡­


    When Lucy reached a certain spot, she lifted her wrist high into the air and was soon teleported away with him in her arms. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was back on Thor where Saphire was working away on one of the computers. She turned around and, while still holding a straight face, welcomed them.


    ¡°I am glad you¡¯re finally here, I¡¯m trying to get everyone else but I can¡¯t locate them.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be here soon enough. But right now, what¡¯s the situation? Where¡¯s Ella?¡± Lucy asked while still holding onto the small Axel. Up against her chest like this, being held like some stuffed animal, he could feel her breathing get erratic and her arms shaking. This was fear and yet she was trying her best to calm down.


    ¡°Ella is on board currently getting ready for battle. With two attacks side by side like this, even she is unsure what to do.¡± Saphire said while showing them something on her screen. It was the map of both savant island and Miami. There were multiple red dots and waves on every part of it, which only proved his fears were correct, both Miami and Savant Island were under attack.


    Despite not wanting to, Lucy fell to her knees and shook. ¡°Just¡­...what do we do?....¡± she asked in desperation.


    ¡°We fight.¡± they heard Ella say when she came out from one of the hallways. She was wearing nothing special in particular, just the same outfit she wore when she introduced him to the general of the peacekeepers, only this time she was wearing pants and steel toe boots instead of a skirt and some slippers.


    ¡°Fight?¡± Axel said.


    ¡°Yes. I will go to Savant Island and bring my expertise to the battlefield. Something tells me that a formidable foe awaits me there. As for Miami, Axel I want you to go there and assist Andrew in defending it at all costs.¡± she said while typing something on a strange device shaped like a phone.


    ¡°Just me and him?! What are we supposed to do?!¡± he said starting to feel scared.


    ¡°Relax, remember the small force I told you that I commanded? They are also there and will provide you with back up. Just please, lend them a hand.¡± she said finally looking at him and tossing the device over.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll help us keep in touch in an emergency, now quickly! Make haste! People are dying!!! Innocent people!¡± She said as she started to glow and fade away, presumably teleporting onto savant island.¡°I will pray for your safe return Axel. Please, be strong and fight for the right cause¡­.¡±


    When she finally disappeared, Axel was left with an odd sense of duty springing up from the depths of his being. She was completely right. People were dying, defensless people were in need of help and this damned ability of his would help him do just that Axel broke out of Lucy¡¯s hold and ran for the hallway as soon as his nerves were finally worked up. He bursted through the door and noticed a large hole in the wall. He ignored it and jumped straight through it. Commanding the winds, he glided toward a familiar patch of land that was now engulfed in smoke and explosions in the distance. He had no time to waste, he had to go help and fast!


    ¡°Axel wait!!!!¡± Lucy yelled after him but he was far from her already. Seeing that it was useless, she turned heel and quickly ran to her desk where her computer was. She knew she had to be with him at all times. She knew that if she wasn¡¯t¡­..something bad could happen!


    When Axel neared land, he felt his whole body heat up and expand as his clothes suddenly fit perfectly. When the steam cleared, he was at last brought back to his normal size, but joy was the last thing he felt. While clenching his fist so hard that his nail dug into his palm, he prayed. He prayed that everyone would be safe.


    (hang on everyone¡­.I¡¯m coming!)

 Chapter Eleven: Fear

    Part 1


    ¡°That¡¯s it! My super hot flames will fix you for good!!!¡± Yelled a small little girl in her home as she boiled a pot of coffee with her hands.


    ¡°Why are you yelling like you¡¯re fighting for your life?....¡± Whispered another young woman who was sitting in the living room holding her knees.


    The small girl in question was Casey, while the other timid looking girl was Maria. Currently, they were trying to enjoy their time and relax while they still had a chance. What with all the stuff they were involved in, a moments rest was to die for. With a towel wrapped around her head, Casey inspected her now boiling pot of java. Satisfied, she smiled and nodded and poured it into one of her favorite mugs. She picked it up, slightly blew on it, and then took a nice long sip with her eyes closed simply taking in the aroma of brewed coffee through her small nostrils. Saying ¡°Ahhh¡± as she parted her lips away from her mug, she opened her eyes and noticed Maria sitting alone in the dark living room.


    It got her thinking, Maria was a very odd girl. When she was with Axel she was so clingy and bright but when she was alone she was so dark and distant. She was literally two faced. Though it sounded rude it was the truth. Casey turned and rummaged through her cupboards looking for another mug and eventually found the perfect plain white one. She grabbed it, poured some coffee in it and was halfway to her when she suddenly remembered something. She flashbacked to when she reunited with Axel and how he burned his lips due to the hot liquid. She looked down at the mug she was holding and saw steam rapidly rising from it. Though it hardly affected her, it was sure to affect Maria. So, she darted back to her kitchen and placed the cup inside of her freezer. She sat back for a solid 5 minutes before taking it out and taking a sip herself to test the waters. It was perfect. Now, she grabbed her own mug along with Maria¡¯s and walked over to the living room where Maria sat.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve got a nice cup of joe with your name on it! Here you go!¡± She said sitting next to Maria. Maria looked at the coffee and wrinkled her nose uncomfortably when she caught the scent of it. Casey tilted her head in confusion and handed it to her.


    ¡°Hey, do you not like coffee or something?¡± she said sounding sad. Maria shook her head and let go of her feet. She took the cup of coffee and held it close to her mouth. She stared at it for a couple seconds before shutting her eyes and chugging it down.


    ¡°W-wait a minute, why are you drinking it so fast?...¡± she said as Maria kept her eyes shut and took one big gulp after another. When she finally finished, she quickly gave the cup back to Casey and held her stomach. Suddenly, she held her mouth and puffed her cheeks out, it was as if she was holding something in. She then decided that she could not hold it in any longer and made a break for her restroom where Casey heard her throw something back up. Bewildered, Casey put the cups down and followed her to the restroom where she found Maria kneeling next to the toilet which was flushing something down. Casey knelt next to her and rubbed her back as Maria wiped something off her face.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it you should¡¯ve just told me. I would¡¯ve understanded.¡± she said with a soft tone. However, Maria shook her head as if telling her that that wasn¡¯t it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just, I have no idea why that happens. I remember being able to drink coffee normally. In fact, I loved it. But now, everytime I do I gag and spit it back up.. It frustrates me¡­.It¡¯s the same thing with pizza. Who doesn¡¯t love some pizza?.....And yet I can¡¯t eat it because I¡¯ll spit it back out¡­...I just don¡¯t understand what¡¯s wrong¡­...I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She said as she stood up and washed her hands. As Casey watched her, she marvelled at the fact that Maria had finally said something sincere to her. She then stood up and took the towel off her head to hand to her.


    ¡°So you tried to see if you could drink it just now? Well silly, we can¡¯t control how our body reacts. Some people just grow to hate certain things, we just have to learn to live with it, you know? Here, dry your hands.¡± she said to Maria handing her the towel when she turned off the sink. Maria thanked her and took it.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess I sort of have to¡­¡± She said somewhat softly. Casey smiled and looked slightly down. Maria was wearing a plain white T shirt with a black skirt on. Since it was kind of tight on her, she was able to notice the small bump that was forming on her stomach. Casey felt her face light up as she realized that this odd girl was on her way to becoming a mother.


    ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t do anything like that again, okay? You need to make sure that nothing bad  happens to the package you¡¯re carrying.¡± Casey said as she walked out of the restroom. Maria followed her out and nodded her head.


    ¡°Yes, Okay. I¡¯ll try and be safe from here on out¡­¡±


    As Casey picked up her mug and sat back down on the sofa, she looked at the time and wondered where Axel might¡¯ve gone. She adjusted her oversized shirt and crossed her small legs.


    ¡°Where do you think Axel went?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I was asleep when he left so I wasn¡¯t able to see...If I was I would¡¯ve gone with him¡­.¡±


    They both sat in silence for a couple of moments wondering where everyone had gone as the curtains blew back and forth due to the wind coming in through her open window. Since the window was right next to her, the curtains smacked her in the face a few times before she finally felt fed up and stood up. The window was pretty tall so now she had trouble reaching the part that slid down. She hopped a few times before snapping her fingers and turning heel. Maria watched as she trotted over to her room and later came back with a stepping stool. She set it a few feet away from the window and took a couple steps back herself. It seemed like she wanted to run up and jump off the stepping stool to reach the window. Though, she could¡¯ve just asked Maria to do it¡­


    ¡°I-I can close it if you want.¡¯ She offered, but Casey shook her head.


    ¡°Thanks but no thanks. This curtain and I officially have beef which I must settle at once.¡± She said before taking off in a sprint and jumping off the stepping stool. For a moment there, everything was going smoothly until her body suddenly heated up and expanded. The sudden change threw her off and she ended up jumping straight through the window and landed outside on a bush. Maria closed her eyes as she heard the now full grown Casey fall. She rushed outside and found her on her back with a pair of furious eyes.


    ¡°That damned window was waiting for it too¡­..¡± she said as she wiped the dirt of her clothes. Maria giggled as she watched Casey stand up. It was at that moment where she caught sight of something truly terrifying. Her jaw dropped as she waved at Casey to quickly stand up. Casey took one good look at her and quickly jumped to her feet. When she did, she looked in the direction that Maria was looking and also widened her eyes. From where they were, off into the distance they could see a sea of explosions dancing in the sunset. Mechanical animals rampaged the city as distant screams were heard by them. Casey felt her heart jolt as she came back to her senses and acted quickly. She grabbed Maria¡¯s hand and pulled her inside as as fast as she could.


    ¡°W-what are you doing!? W-w-w-w-what¡¯s going on!?¡± she asked with her lips quivering.


    ¡°Clearly something super dangerous is going down and we¡¯re about to be caught up in the middle of it. It¡¯s no wonder Axel isn¡¯t here right now.¡± She said to her while approaching the large container looking object otherwise known as her teleporter.


    Maria widened her eyes when she realized that Axel might¡¯ve been in danger, and not just him¡­. Without even thinking, she tried to break free and run but Casey¡¯s grip was too strong.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± she told her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a fighter, you can¡¯t fight!¡± She yelled as she began to type something into the small device on the teleporter.


    ¡°B-but Axel might-!¡± She started but Casey shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him! For now worry about yourself!¡± Casey yelled as she thrusted Maria inside the machine. Maria showed confusion as Casey closed the door on her. Since the container was see through, she was still able to see Casey who finally started to slightly shake in what she could only assume was fear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be fine. When you get to my house, no one will probably be home. You can either find my room and wait for me there or go back home. Anywhere but here is fine, Okay?¡±  she said as she pressed her palms up against the glass. Maria stood watching her with worried eyes as she wondered why this was happening, and what even was happening.


    ¡°But, what about you?¡± she said as she wiped sweat from her brow. Casey smiled and pressed a button on the device which caused Maria to glow and soon fade away.


    ¡°I can fight. I can go and help, unfortunately. If I couldn¡¯t, I swear I¡¯d be the first one in here, but not while Axel and the others are out there¡­.I wouldn¡¯t live it down¡­.¡± She said with chattering teeth as Maria completely faded away. When she was gone, Casey locked their location and made it unavailable to teleport back here. It was just a safety precaution in case Maria tried to fiddle with the other teleporter and come back. When that was done, she pressed a button on the machine which caused it to hide and transform into a regular pillar which appeared to be supporting her house. It looked really random there but it hid well nonetheless during house inspections.


    Casey put her back up against it and slid to the ground as sweat flowed down her arms and forehead. Her breaths shook as she raised her hand to her face. She could clearly seeing it shaking.


    ¡°D-damn it¡­...it¡¯s happening again¡­¡± She said feeling terror embrace her in its hold. She felt her pockets for her found and took it out. She had no missed calls that she could see which seemed odd. Regardless, she scrolled for Axel¡¯s phone number and called it. She heard it ring multiple times but he didn¡¯t answer. She dropped her phone on the ground and cursed her fate. If he would¡¯ve answered, she would¡¯ve known that he was safe and in turn she¡¯d feed off his encouraging voice and gather the strength to get up. It wasn¡¯t fair, ever since that day, situations like these were her absolute worst nightmare. Like when Sonic City was attacked, she had a huge panic attack but Natsumi was there to calm her wits¡­


    (Damn¡­.even if no one¡¯s here, I have to go find them¡­..) she thought to herself standing up before she got second thoughts. She ran outside and made her way so as to not go directly into the chaos. After about 10 minutes, she felt something extremely familiar. It was a sign of body heat that she had felt often. When she stopped in her tracks and carefully followed it, she was led to a bench under a large tree. Once there, she found the remains of a broken phone and a grocery bag. She picked up the phone and recognized it to be Axel¡¯s. She also looked at the bag and guessed that it must¡¯ve belonged to him. She picked it up and looked inside. It held a familiar and delicious looking dessert that Casey was quite fond of.


    ¡°He was here¡­.the trail¡¯s still warm so he shouldn¡¯t be too far¡­...and then there¡¯s this gelatin¡­..was he planning to bring it to me?.....aww, sounds like something he used to do when we were kids¡­..¡±


    Saying so to herself, she opened the package of gelatin and emptied its contents in her mouth. She then properly threw away the trash and held onto the broken phone. Though it wasn¡¯t much to go off, she knew that he was definitely safe¡­ somewhere out there and she would definitely find him and the others! With this new found strength filling her, Casey looked over at the sea of flames and cracked her knuckles before finally running straight for it.


    Part 2


    It was total chaos like he had never seen before. Buildings were on fire and multiple screams were heard left and right. It was like something out of an end of the world type movie. He wasn¡¯t even in the city yet but he could already smell the smoke. At the moment, he was making his way down a hill that he had landed on and was doing his best not to accidentally run into a tree or trip. Surprisingly, his sense of balance was now distorted due to his back to back changes in size.


    ¡°Grandma lives near a laundromat, I remember that much¡­.and it was somewhere in the middle of the city¡­..Damn it, I¡¯m gonna have to start playing trial and error to find them.¡± He said as he started to run out of breath. At first he felt pumped and ready to roll but now that his sides were about to explode he wasn¡¯t so sure. The last time he had visited his grandmother was a long time ago so he was still practically new to the city. Somehow, he¡¯d have to avoid trouble and get to them safely¡­


    ¡°Help andrew defend the city¡­.¡±


    When Ella¡¯s words replayed in his mind he stopped in his tracks and placed his hands on his knees. He started to catch his breath and felt sweat roll down his back. Was it right to be selfish and roll safely under the radar? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if he fought alongside Andrew as best he could? But,in the end, weren¡¯t these people¡­...strangers anyway?


    (No no no¡­.It¡¯s not that I¡¯m being an asshole here¡­.I¡¯m just trying to look out for my family is all¡­..surely anyone would do the same, yeah?) He thought trying to comfort himself. When he was ready to start gunning again, he quickly stretched his legs and went for it. Eventually, the city of Miami was mere feet away from him. When he hid behind a tree, he surveyed the area and confirmed the situation. Sure enough, it was practically just how it was in Savant island, only this time there were far more men in black than there were mechanical animals. People were running like crazy as he watched the men in black destroy everything they saw in sight with these strange swords they had.  Axel started to shake nervously as he looked around for a chance to slip through into the alley¡¯s. After about 30 seconds, he saw a perfect opportunity and he made a run for it. Never had he ran so fast in his life, it felt like he put Usain Bolt to shame in that one sprint.


    He looked behind him and made sure that no one had actually spotted him before taking off again. He probably spent another good 5 minutes simply trying to navigate his way through the maze like alleys. At some point, he stopped and realized that he didn¡¯t even know which way he was heading for anymore.


    He slammed his fist against the brick wall next to him and started to regret the fact that he didn¡¯t ever think of buying a compass for times like these. Though, who would actually anticipate running for their lives like this? In any case, going anywhere and getting out of here was now his main priority. He started running again and turned into another alleyway that amazingly led him to a fork in the road. To his grand fortune, the path on the right clearly led him to the outside as he could see the street from where he was. The one on the left,however, was covered in a thick layer of black smoke due to the building next to it burning. So, the clear choice in this situation was to get out of here as soon as possible.


    Nodding his head, he turned heel and bolted down the right alleyway when he suddenly heard a blood curtling scream. It was enough to stop him in his tracks and receive a chill down his spine. It had come from where the left alley was.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t do it¡­.¡± he said to himself as he watched the bright exit just a few feet away. If he just kept going and ignored it he¡¯d be out of here in no time¡­...but, the screaming was getting louder and louder and eventually even he started to feel the agonizing pain the person must¡¯ve been in. He picked up his shaking hands and covered his face. Try as he might, he could not stop shaking them¡­


    (I¡­...really hate myself¡­) he thought to himself as he did a 180 and headed for the burning alleyway. He crossed his arms in front of his face and went head first into the smoke. Since he could not really see 5 feet ahead of him, he used the screams of pain to lead him in the right direction. When the yell sounded like it was directly above him, Axel squinted his eyes and looked up. He could see nothing but a building that had multiple windows spitting fire out of them. However, there was one that was still in tact with what he could only assume was a person hanging their head outside, a female who was yelling at the top of their lungs.


    ¡°Hold on! I¡¯m going to get you!¡± he yelled at her hoping to catch her attention. Though she caught sight of him, she did not stop yelling. From where he was, he saw that she was an african american woman probably in her 30s. Axel felt his throat itch and he covered his mouth with his shirt. He could blow the smoke away with a blast of wind but that would only make the fire worse. If he used ice and cooled the air down to fast that would cause the molecules in the building to shrink and in turn cause it to collapse. It was like how cool air that was rapidly heated caused it to expand and almost explode. Besides, he wasn¡¯t sure he could use much of it, or if it would even work! But he had to do something and fast. He bent down low and covered his body in bolts of electricity and jumped up as far as he could until he reached the window where the lady was still screaming. He managed to grab onto the edge of the window and jumped inside. When he made it in, the woman stopped screaming and watched him in slight terror mixed with awe. She then forgot about the specifics and grabbed onto him and quickly pointed toward a door that was leaking black smoke. She couldn¡¯t talk, she only gurgled up random syllables before finally losing the strength to talk and falling limp in his arms, she was out of oxygen! She had to be since even his lungs were starting to burn. He quickly held her tight and jumped out of the window with her. When he landed on the ground, he didn¡¯t wait another second to bring her over to the right lane where the air was clean and laying her against the wall.


    ¡°Are you okay? What¡¯s your name?¡± he started to say as calmly as possible but the woman was not responding to his questions. The one thing she was saying was not making sense to him.


    ¡°Mygh¡­..my¡­..bay¡­..beeggg¡­.¡± She said as her eyes started to leak water. Axel started to cough profusely when finally something clicked in his head, she was saying ¡°my baby!¡± If that was the case then he had to go back pronto.


    ¡°Oh my goodness! Your baby? Don¡¯t worry miss! I¡¯m going to try and get him, okay? Just please wait right here!¡± He said as he ran back into the fray. He made the jump back into the building and once again covered his mouth. He gave one look at the door and already knew he was going to regret this, he got in a running stance and charged at the door like a football player. When he broke through, the door flew off its hinges and fell to the ground with him. Axel quickly got up and looked around the hallway that was colored red due to the fire. To his right, there was no way he could get through since it was completely engulfed in flames. To his left,though, was still manageable. He ran over and touched the handle of the first door he saw but immediately regretted it as it burned him. That could only mean that the room was already completely burned up. Further down, however, there was another room where he attempted to freeze the handle but failed.


    ¡°Fuck this¡± he said as he choked on more smoke and coughed. He bent his leg back and busted the door open with his foot. When he ran inside, he found a sight which would forever be engraved in his memory.


    Two young boys, probably around the age of 3 and the other one 9, were holding onto each other, both sitting on the one bed in the room, with lifeless eyes. Even before Axel ran up to them, he had already known that it was too late, The room wasn¡¯t even on fire, it was just filled with a thick cloud of smoke, so they must¡¯ve died due to asphyxiation. Axel felt his heart ache when he made the terrible decision of just leaving them there, because it was already too late, they had no pulse. So he closed their eyes with his fingers and gently laid them down. It was then when he heard kicking from the other side of the wall. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he realized that someone must¡¯ve been inside. Without even thinking, he cocked his fist back and punched a hole straight through the wall using super strength, a move which he instantly regretted,but not because it damaged him.


    The situation in the other room was just as bad as he thought it was, then he saw something that completely topped everything that he had seen up to now. To his left, he saw what he could only assume was human still rolling in flames. It was small, thin, and had skin that was charred black. It wasn¡¯t even recognizable anymore,like a zombie from a video game. And the smell, it was horrible. But clearly, it was the smell of flesh burning. Its skull had bits and remnants of hair attached to it and its jaw was still moving.


    Axel felt his stomach turn as he felt like screaming and throwing up at the same time. Tears filled his eyes but didn¡¯t stay long as they were quickly dried up by the heat. He held his mouth to keep his inside from coming up and made a run back through from where he came from and jumped out of the window from the boy¡¯s room. He didn¡¯t even bother trying to land and let himself fall on a pile of trash bags. With his eyes wide open, he rolled over and immediately threw up on the ground with fresh tears now running free. He crawled like a baby away from the scene and struggled to keep calm as his nerves threatened to burst. His head was spinning and his stomach ached. He held his pain filled head and got to his knees before releasing a long and terror filled scream.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAAHA!!!!!!!???¡±


    He was completely mortified. Completely stunned and terrified and he had no idea what to do. He was so scared that he didn¡¯t even notice himself pass out from getting too lightheaded.


    When he rose his head, he had trouble figuring out where he was and what he was doing before it all suddenly washed back over him like a bullet. When it did, he threw up again but was able to keep himself from going nuts. He turned around and noticed that the building in question was now burning rubble. It had probably fallen while he was out cold.


    (The lady!) he suddenly remembered. He staggered to his feet and walked over to where he had last left her. Thankfully, she was still there when he got there. He staggered to her and knelt down near her. Up until then, he had a smile on his face until he grabbed her hand. It was cold and he felt no pulse. He grabbed it with both hands and noticed that this woman was not african american at all, she was just covered in so much ash. And for some reason, the palm of her hands had already been wiped clean and were somewhat moist. Though, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. He placed her on her back and quickly tried to bring her back by performing CPR but once again it was far too late. When he looked down at her face, he noticed a drop of water fall on her cheek. It took him a while to get that it was his own tears which were no falling non stop.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry¡­..I failed¡­.I couldn¡¯t¡­..save them¡­..¡± He said to her through sobs. He punched the ground and continued to sob for so long that he lost track of time. After some time, he laid her body against the wall and peacefully folded her hands on her stomach. If he had the time, he¡¯d bury her, but he was running dangerously low on it. So, he promised to come back once this was all over. Giving her body one final look, he comforted himself by looking at her face which seemed to be at peace in her final moments. It must¡¯ve comforted her to know that someone would be able to rescue her children. At the very least, he had managed to do that, give her a false sense of peace¡­


    When he saw something sticking out of her coat pocket, he reached for it and took it out. It was a picture which had a family of four. There was the woman he had saved, dressed beautifully in an all white wedding dress smiling looking like the happiest person alive, and a bald happy looking man dressed in a tuxedo. In between them were three young children also dressed for the occasion. Two young handsome boys, and one young and thin beautiful little girl. Though he tried to help it, he couldn¡¯t keep himself from crying again.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­..I¡¯m too fucking weak¡­¡­¡± He said with a cracking voice.


    Biting down on his jaw so hard he thought his teeth would burst, He folded the picture and put it in his pocket and paid his final respects to the woman before painfully running out of the alley and into the streets. Never would he ever regret making a decision as much as he did tonight¡­.


    Part 3


    ¡°Damn it, Lucy¡­..you¡¯ve really done it now¡­.¡± Lucy said to herself as she ran through a disaster filled city. However, it was not the city of Savant Island. In the heat of the moment, seconds after Axel left Thor, Lucy made a very quick and rash decision which in hindsight was really stupid of her. Without thinking, she ran to her computer and teleported to the city of Miami with nothing but the clothes on her back and a small bag purse. Saphire did try to stop her but Lucy did not listen and went anyway. Though she successfully made it to the shores of Miami, she had no way of knowing where Axel would land. She cursed her ignorance and ran to a place of safety. She stayed in safe place where she could see the entire shore but after 30 minutes of waiting she decided that it would be best to run into the city and search for him. Thor was definitely not a 30 minute trip for Axel, he had to of have made it to the city already. In which case, she was sure she¡¯d run into him one way or another.


    If she were to pick a movie to describe the situation in Miami, she would have to go with the old Avengers movie scene where New York City was being attacked by an army of robots and Loki being the primary villain. It was something like that. Miraculously,however, Lucy had not run into much danger. She had to evade a few falling debris and avoid the gaze of the shadow hunters but other than that she was still running like a champ. At one point, she made a run down an empty street and went past the entrance of an alleyway but not before catching something from the corner of her eye. She stopped mid sprint and traced her steps backwards. When she was in front of the alleyway entrance, she saw a woman covered in black lying up against the wall. Even from where Lucy was standing, she could hear her wheezing and desperately trying to catch her breath.


    It was true that Lucy was in a hurry, but there was no way she could just run off like this. She quickly turned to her and ran into the alleyway. She quickly knelt in front of her and started to ask what was the matter.


    ¡°F-fire¡­..I was just¡­..save¡­.fire¡­¡­¡± She struggled to say through coughs. Lucy caught the word fire and quickly looked around for one. She didn''t look long, right down the lane where the road split she could see large amounts of smoke spitting out from one of the paths. She figured that she must¡¯ve come from there. Just from the looks of it, it was unlikely that there were any more survivors. This woman had to of have been lucky to escape. And yet, she couldn¡¯t explain why she suddenly got the urge to go around that corner and check it out, as if she¡¯d find something valuable¡­..


    ¡°*cough**cough*!!!¡± She heard the lady spit out large amounts of saliva and blood. Lucy exclaimed and quickly turned her attention back to her. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a couple of baby wipes to wipe the ash and dust off her hands.


    ¡°Oh! Here, don¡¯t touch your mouth yet! Let me clean off your hands for you!!¡± She said while grabbing her wrists and wiping the dirt off her palms. However, the woman simply shook her head and slowly started to talk more clearly, and it was then that Lucy looked up with wide eyes as she understood just what that had to mean.


    ¡°Listen here, missy¡­¡­.I am so happy to know¡­..that there are still young and bright people in this world like you and that boy¡­.¡±


    ¡°H-hold on! Don¡¯t talk like that! You¡¯re going to be okay!¡± Lucy started to say with a shaky smile. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Right now, Evil and Malice is something that appears to be overshadowing the Good. It almost seems like we¡¯re living in a hopeless world where everyone only looks out for themselves, but today I finally get to see with my own two eyes that that isn¡¯t the case¡± The woman said with a clear and straight tone, something that Lucy had not heard her done before. Lucy finished wiping off her palms and held them with her own as she felt her lips quiver and her eyes fill with water.


    ¡°Before you came, I saw countless people run by this alley, and most saw me in here, but not one person came to see if I was alright. It was just you my dear girl. But even before that, that angel sent from the heavens managed to save me just as I had begun to lose what little hope I had. Saved me just in time for me to realize that good still existed¡­¡±


    As she said this to her, Lucy felt more and more guilt enter her being and weigh over her like a bunch of books on a desk. Her heart was tugged at and the cold embrace of sadness gripped her to the very core of her being. It was not fair, why had things escalated this far? She never wanted any of this to happen¡­..who would ever want this to happen?...


    ¡°By now, I figure that the boy has failed to save my children...but that¡¯s okay, because pretty soon I will be joining them and I wouldn¡¯t want it any other way¡­.¡± She said as her chest started to slowly raise and fall with every breath she took.


    ¡°P-please¡­.don¡¯t die here¡­¡± she said to her with tears running down her cheeks and onto her lap. And yet, the woman watched her with twinkling eyes and a smile, as if saying that it was alright.


    ¡°Before I go, tell me your name¡­¡± she said while whispering. Lucy heart began to ache even harder than ever but there was just no way she could refuse, and so she told her¡­


    ¡°L-lucy¡­..Lucy Renford of the Peace Keepers¡­..and I promise you, they are not evil like they make them out to seem, it¡¯s a different organization named the Shadow Hunters who has been sullying their name! But I swear! Me and my team will put a stop to all of this!!¡±


    It was a final attempt to give her peace, to let her know that good was definitely something that still existed in this world..  It was not overshadowed by darkness, it was merely hiding in the shadows waiting for the moment to strike and once and for all rid the world of evil! And it would be done. She knew it would¡­.if anyone could¡­..he could¡­.Axel could do something to stop them¡­..with him there...she was sure¡­.. Just being near him was enough to make her forget about everything¡­.all of her sins, all of her flaws¡­..he was her escape!!


    The woman slightly widened her eyes as far as they could go before taking in one final breath and saying her last words with a very peaceful smile. ¡°I see¡­...than¡­...k,you¡­..¡± Then her hands at last went limp in Lucy¡¯s palm, and the faint pulse she felt soon disappeared. Lucy slowly released her hands and placed them next to her body. In the very end, she was able to die with peace of mind. It comforted her to know that much. Lucy stood up and wiped her tears away but they did not stop flowing. She shook her head and turned to run away while releasing a few sobs. At the same time, she thought she heard a building collapse behind her but it was drowned out by the sound of her own heart beat.


    Lucy continued to run for as long as she could completely forgetting the entire reason that she had come in the first place. Never had she had to experience something like that, even with all the pain that she had been through she never knew that she could feel this much pain from a stranger¡¯s death. It was such a¡­..surreal feeling. Her heart rattled against her rib cage and threatened to break free as her veins pumped out hot blood. It did not even occur to her to hide or avoid the shadow hunters, she just ran while her thoughts ran wild.


    Eventually,however, she was literally blown off course by a huge explosion that erupted in the building that was next to her. She screamed and covered her face to protect herself but she knew she was about to feel a world of pain.


    When she crashed against some rubble, her entire backside screamed in pain by the impact. She gasped and felt her breath leave her as she felt warm liquid spray out of her mouth. She reached for her aching back as she slowly squirmed on the ground. Dust rose around her and covered her entire body causing her to cough as she accidentally inhaled some.


    ¡°What¡­...the hell¡­¡­.¡± She slowly quivered. When she managed to wipe the dirt off her eyes and lips, she discovered what appeared to be a mechanical T-rex the size of a 4 story building stomping around and swinging its tail. Its red mechanical eyes had no actual target in sight but was simply attacking indiscriminately. When she saw its large foot hover over to where she was standing, she quickly ignored all of her pain and rolled away. Once she had completed a full 3 cycles, she extended her arms and pushed out to jump to her feet and used that same momentum to flip backwards once more. Seconds later, another crash caused by the T rex¡¯s foot slamming down where she once was blew her back a couple of feet but she managed to keep her stance and land on her feet.


    (A simple beast like this isn¡¯t gonna stir up a conversation so I better make like a hockey player and get the puc out of here!)


    Thinking so, Lucy successfully managed to make herself giggle and wiped away her remaining tears. It was no time to mourn, right now she had to focus on staying alive. If she could do that then-


    ¡°Oh¡­..oh my God¡­¡­.¡± she heard her own voice say in complete and utter shock.


    She went pale the second she caught sight of the color red leaking from the place where the first explosion had blown her away, but that was not all. She saw chunks of scattered meat and what looked like rows of spilled sausages. At the very front of that mess was the upper half of a torso belonging to a middle aged man whose lightless eyes seemed to fall right on her. It had appeared that his lower half was caught under a large piece of rubble.


    Lucy¡¯s eyes immediately lost their spark when she saw this and momentarily lost the will to run. Luckily she didn¡¯t look for too long or else her lunch would¡¯ve saw the light of day again.


    She covered her mouth and ran the opposite direction right as the robo-dino started to swing its tail and stomp like a gorilla. Lucy ran around a corner and made her way towards an underground entrance she happened to spot. She quickly jogged down and started to regret it as she noticed that it was pitch black. On the bright side, metaphorically speaking, the screams and sounds of destruction were slowly getting quieter and quieter the farther she went down. Eventually, the noise was almost completely blotted out save for a few rumble and shakes from the ceiling followed by dust falling.


    ¡°M-my goodness¡­...just how far down is this place?....¡± she whispered to herself afraid to talk any louder.


    When she finally reached the ground down below, she looked around and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When it did, she was eventually able to make out small balls of light that illuminated small areas. She reached into her purse and took out her phone. She navigated it and turned on the flashlight. Though it wasn¡¯t too powerful, it at least was able to show what was a foot in front of her. Taking a couple steps forward, she passed several items that made up an underground subway. Benches, directories, customer services, ticket booths, etc. However, there was not a soul in sight from what she could tell.


    That wasn¡¯t even the worst of it. Since it was so quiet, the smallest of noise startled the life out of her. Footsteps? It had to be the enemy! Quickly! Hid- Oh, it was just the sound of water dropping¡­. A laser about to fire? Quickly! Hid- Oh wait, it was just a pack of mice squealing¡­


    (If this keeps up, I¡¯ll die of a heart attack¡­) she thought to herself as she continued forward.


    (I just can¡¯t take this pressure...I really wish Axel was¡­¡­!!!!....Axel! I can¡¯t believe I forgot I was here for him!) she said while jamming her fist on her head, softly though. She had been so distracted by¡­..death..that she forgot about the entire reason she came out here in the first place. At this point, there was no reason to continue being down there since Axel would clearly not be in a place like this so she decided to head back up top to continue her search properly. But, when she turned around, the light of day peaking from the staircase up was now but a spec. Obviously, she had been walking for quite some time and hadn¡¯t noticed. Normally, she would¡¯ve gone back with no problem, but if she were honest, she was actually quite afraid of going back. The darkness wasn¡¯t exactly buddies with her after all. Which meant, she¡¯d have to emerge from the next exit.


    ¡°What are we even doing that here, huh? Why aren¡¯t we fucking shit up from above ground?¡± She suddenly heard a voice say. This time for real she swore she just about died and came back in the matter of seconds. She froze in place as she heard a second guy respond to the first.


    ¡°I already told you, we need to head west and rendezvous with the others.¡±


    "God damn it..."


    Lucy figured out that they were coming from behind her far down the tunnel where she first entered and felt her soul leave her being as she thought that she had only just barely managed to avoid them without even knowing. She quickly turned off her flashlight and hid behind the first thing she could find, a thin directory booth. She wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d be safe but she dropped down low behind it anyway. She closed her eyes and started to listen very closely in hopes of knowing when they would pass her. After about 10 minutes, their footsteps were now clear as day and their voices echoed throughout the tunnels and sounded much louder. They were directly in front of her.


    ¡°You heard about what the boss is planning to do?¡± One of the men said with a deep voice.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fucked up¡­.Here I was thinking that we¡¯d have to simply lure out the girl, Elizabeth, but then I hear that the boss had something like that in mind¡­  Making our jobs fucking harder than they should be¡­¡± The one with a higher pitched voice replied.


    ¡°Okay, so you did hear about it¡­..But do you think it¡¯s true? Do you think they really exist?¡± The man with a deep voice said sounding somewhat spooked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure. The boss isn¡¯t one to talk to his men, he just gives us orders, you know that¡­ but that doesn¡¯t mean that we don¡¯t hear from those who serve him directly. I¡¯ve heard all kinds of crazy shit, but this more recent one I heard takes the cake.¡± The high pitched guy stopped momentarily probably hesitating to speak his next words before continuing on anyway.


    ¡°Project Armageddon¡­¡­ and if what I heard about it is true, then the six paths ain¡¯t really six as of right now. It¡¯d make sense, no one¡¯s ever even seen the other four before, but we¡¯ve heard of their power¡­. Power rivaling that of the gods in ancient folklore.¡± the man said with a shaken tone as if not wanting to believe it.


    ¡°Four of them¡­..can you believe it? I heard each has the power to conquer an entire country. Not only that, I heard their energy is enough to power said country for days! Truly works of legends¡­..but you¡¯d think they¡¯d be just that, Legends.. And that¡¯s only a small piece of the plan, the rest is just¡­..crazy to think about¡­¡± the man with a deep voice said as he crossed his arms.


    ¡°I hear ya. Fucked up shit¡­.gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it¡­..and to think it all comes down to the ¡°Lamb¡±¡­.man, almost makes me feel sorry for the poor chap.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and to think it takes an entire month-¡± The man with a higher pitched voice said until they suddenly heard the sound of dirt scraping against the ground. It was then when they quickly turned and looked around.


    ¡°The fuck was that?¡±


    ¡°Probably just a sewer rat or something, let¡¯s just get back up top. I¡¯m done wasting my time here.¡± The man with a deep voice spoke with a tone of slight annoyance. However, his partner raised his arm and shook his head.


    ¡°Nah, you were the one that wanted to come...besides, you feel that?......The feel of a heart beating rapidly....the sound of a pulse accelerating, it¡¯s as clear as day¡­..someone¡¯s been listening in¡­¡± He said as started to walk back to where he came from. The man with a deep voice stood and watched him as he too began to notice the tension in the air that someone else was emitting. It appeared that someone had indeed been nearby.


    The high pitch man was walking and listening intently as he slowly eyed the area. ¡°I know you¡¯re here..¡± He said as menacingly as possible. ¡°At this point, I can smell your fear little man¡­.¡±


    (Jokes on you buddy, I¡¯m a girl!!) Lucy thought as she tightly held her mouth shut. She refused to move even an inch and carefully tried to calm her breathing. But it just wasn¡¯t making any sense, she hadn¡¯t moved at all and yet something had made a noise similar to a shoe rubbing against dirt. She wasn¡¯t even feeling too much fear. In fact, she was relieved since they were leaving but then this happened!


    *BOOM*


    ¡°Boo!¡±


    The man quickly jumped around a small thin booth and yelled as scary as he could but it was in vain as there was no one was there. He scratched his head defeated and looked around confused.


    ¡°Congratulations, you look like an idiot. Just leave it be and let''s go up.¡± The man with a deep voice said sounding slightly amused. He turned heel and continued to walk the way he was going telling his comrade to do the same. The man with a high pitched voice shook his head in anger and anger and followed his partner with his head hung low.


    After the coast was clear, the hand holding her mouth was lifted and she was at last able to properly breathe, but not talk just yet. In the seconds that she heard one of the men approach her hiding spot, she knew that she was a goner and had shut her eyes and said her final prayers but then, to her complete shock, the small door in the booth quietly swung open and someone pulled her in without making a noise. Just as she was going to scream, the person covered her mouth and quietly told her to hush. Like her, she could feel that whoever this was was also scared because their heart was jumping like crazy against her head.


    When it was all over, the person once again swung the door open and led her out. She was practically running blindly so she let the person guide her through the darkness. After a couple of seconds, she heard the sound of a heavy door swing open and she got pulled inside. Then, after moving left and right presumably dodging tables or chairs, they reached another door and also went through it. This time, however, she was able to see clearly. She was in a room with a staircase that led to another door which allowed what could only be sunlight in, it had to be the light of day!


    She did get excited but she didn¡¯t let herself talk yet out of fear. At the very least, in this slight amount of light, she could tell that the person holding her was a man. He continued to lead her up the stairs and quickly flung open the door. He pulled her in and made sure to close the door. When it was shut, he locked it and pushed a large metal locker in front of it to cover it. Once that was done, he dusted off his hands and took in a deep breath.


    ¡°U-um¡­..Thanks but, who are you?¡± she nervously asked her savior.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry missy, I don¡¯t want to hurt you or anything like that. I¡¯m just an old man who saw you needed help is all¡± The man said finally turning to look at her with the warmest smile she had seen so far. He was a short but toned old man. His hair was gray and short and his face showed the years he had been living. His eyes were brown and warm and his hands were fragile. He must¡¯ve been at least 60. He wore a long brown coat with a hoodie and some work boots.


    ¡°I¡¯m John, pleasure to meet you. And you are?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Lucy, sir. The pleasure is all mine!¡± she said with her confidence returning.


    ¡°Well, Lucy, welcome to my shop here in Miami! It¡¯s completely safe here so far! It¡¯s somewhat hidden and really sturdy so I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have to fear from much! Go ahead and talk all you like! Make yourself comfy while the authorities sort things out!¡± the old man said as he walked out of the small room and out into another. Lucy followed him reluctantly and ended up in what appeared to be a small coffee shop. It was probably about the size of her living room back home and only had about 4 tables meant for four people.


    Outside, she could see absolutely nothing.


    ¡°We¡¯re buried, my place here was surrounded by tall buildings and they all suddenly came crashing down but my little place somehow managed to survive. Though, the ceiling is a little caved in¡­¡± he said with some awe in his tone. Lucy widened her eyes and nodded. She sat in one of the chairs and took a moment to process everything that had transpired up to now. She was pretty spooked to say the least.


    ¡°So...what were you doing down there anyway, sir?¡± she asked him.


    ¡°Well,I figured I better get out of here before it all fell down on me so I took a detour through the door in the back that led to the subway. It was dark as hell and I couldn¡¯t see a darn thing but I did hear what sounded like footsteps. So, I quickly hid in the small booth and tried to see who was coming. Turns out it was just a boy who looked lost and defeated. can''t blame him, who knows what that poor soul has seen. I was going to approach him until I saw what was giving him light. It was a freaking ball of flame just floating in the palm of his hand! I thought he was one of them peacekeepers so I continued to hide! Then I heard more footsteps and I swear he jumped higher than me,literally! He blew out the flames and I didn¡¯t see him again. That¡¯s when you came in, but then after that another pair came in! Those guys actually meant business though So I couldn¡¯t just leave ya. So I grabbed you and brought you here¡­¡± the old man had said as he poured coffee into a mug and prepared it.


    Listening to the old man¡¯s story, Lucy finally understood what had gone on. All that was left to wonder was just who it was that had also been down there with them and hid.


    ¡°Well, I thank you, sir. If it weren¡¯t for you, who knows what would¡¯ve happened..¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my dear. Here, have some coffee to ease your nerves.¡± The old man kindly offered to which Lucy happily accepted. She took the small mug and stole a sip from it. She felt the warm and sweet liquid run down her throat to her stomach and gently soothe her being. It was nice to feel so safe. It was important to feel this way in such times, and as such she should take advantage because soon she would have to head back into the fray¡­.


    Part 4


    Turning back time to just after Lucy had escaped with the old man, up on the ceiling of the same subway tunnel was a boy hanging on for dear life.


    ¡°Jesus Christ¡­...Things just keep getting worse and worse¡­.¡± He said with his teeth chattering. Axel Ison was just trying to evade the crazy streets and find some sanctuary underground. Instead, he felt even worse down here and was forced to take refuge up on the ceiling hanging on to one of the support pillars like a cat stuck on a tree.


    (that girl escaped with the old man so that¡¯s good. For a second I thought I was going to have to fight¡­) He thought as he looked at the ground down below readying himself to drop. He had seen her quickly try and hide and thought she was going to successfully avoid them until he himself started to tense up when he heard what they were talking about. Hearing them talk of extremely powerful beings made him cringe and caused his foot to slip on the pillar. Then, when he saw that they had heard him, his pulse went off the charts and he apparently made his presence known like a fool. Unfortunately, they somehow went for the girl thinking it was him. When he saw that one of them got closer and closer to where she was, he readied his fist and prepared to launch an attack. Luckily, someone swooped in and saved her out of nowhere. He felt relieved and watched as they both ran off. It was dark so he could only slightly make out their silhouettes, which should have been otherwise impossible but his eyesight was feeling brand new lately.


    Finally, he jumped down from the ceiling and controlled the wind under his feet to land softly, only he failed and crashed through a bench that broke his fall. He made light of the situation and laughed at his own failure going down the path that the other two had gone.


    Ideally, he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible but he also wanted to avoid as much trouble as possible. doing both was proving to be difficult. He thought there''d be people down here to help him find his way but that didn''t work out. For whatever reason, the subway routes were completely empty. There was nothing on or even any incoming trains. That was enough to make him wonder, why was that so? Sure, things had escalated quickly in such a short amount of time but surely the trains wouldn¡¯t of have known that quickly? And even if they did it wasn¡¯t like they could just stop and turn around so easily. So then why?


    But hold on, it got better. He had been on Miami for almost an hour now, but not once had he even heard the siren of an ambulance or police car. There was no type of professional help around but he couldn¡¯t fathom why.


    As he continued running down the subway tunnel, he eventually found a stairway that would more than likely lead him back up to high ground. He turned there and slowly crept through the door. He looked around as quietly as he could and found himself directly outside. He closed the door behind him and quickly assessed what was going on around him. People were still running for their lives and buildings were still suffering damages from all of the robot animals. Luckily, however, there was no sign of actual shadow hunters around from what he could see. He had no idea what time it was but the sun was just about getting to call it a day. He couldn¡¯t even see it anymore, the sky was just painted orange with its residue. He grit his teeth and continued to run down the street desperately keeping an eye out for anything that resembled his grandmother''s neighborhood.


    And still, just like last time, there was no sign of police anywhere. There were no law enforcement anywhere. Were his ears playing tricks with him? Or were there really no sirens anywhere? He would think that there would at least be some type of helicopters somewhere. Even media helicopters would¡¯ve been nice but there was absolutely nothing. Just the sounds of destruction and agony was all that could be heard to him. This irritated him to no end. Nothing was making sense!


    When a crash happened in front of him and blew his hair back, he had been so distracted that he only just barely managed to hold his ground and stay steady. He threw his arms up and shielded his face before a large piece of rubble hit his stomach and made him fall back. He did cough up some saliva and air in his lungs but luckily whatever was in his stomach was emptied out earlier so that was all that came. His eyes shriveled up into tiny dots that wobbled as he nervously looked up at would likely be his next foe.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s next in this hell hole, huh?....¡± he said to himself as he gathered his breath. What had crashed through the building in front of him was what appeared to be the bottom half of a gorilla type robot. Its giant leg twitched as electrical cords sticking out of its top where it was ripped in half crackled. Standing directly on top of it was a guy with brown skin, almost a darker shade than him, and slicked back greasy hair. His jaw line was straight and his eyebrows were thin, he chewed on wheat as he adjusted his leather jacket and checked his jeans for any signs of dust. Satisfied, he swiftly spun out what could only be a hair comb and gave his hair one stroke to the back. The man then put it away and simultaneously caught sight of him sitting there looking spooked. For a second there, it seemed like he was about ready to ignore him but as quick as he looked away he looked right back almost breaking his own neck. He took out a cellphone from the inside of his jacket and fiddled with it and seemed to be comparing something as he looked at him and then back at his phone multiple times. Finally, faster than he could react, that man appeared before him and showed him a very familiar picture.


    ¡°Yo!? Buddy!? Tell me why you look just like the kid here?¡± he said in what Axel thought was a strange australian accent.


    It was a photo of what looked liked Axel himself in a hospital bed wrapped in bandages. The room he was in made him remember the house where he officially met Ella. Which meant, that was more than likely right after he first used Power Magnet.


    ¡°Uhhhh, I think that is me¡­¡­¡± Axel said feeling slightly scared.


    The greaser looking man nodded a few times and then put his phone away. He stood up and placed his hands in his jacket.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say? So, then it¡¯s you then? The magnet boy?¡±


    ¡°I have a name! It¡¯s Axel Ison not magnet boy!-......W-wait? Don¡¯t tell me, are you with the peacekeepers??¡± Axel said as soon as he started thinking logically. It only made sense. This man was clearly powerful yet he wasn¡¯t wearing black or had a strange S mark symbol on him. Then, before he left Ella had told him that her team was out here helping out Andrew. Since this guy had that picture of Axel Ella must¡¯ve been the one that gave it to the him.


    ¡°Yes sir, I am. The name¡¯s Colt. Come on, kid, time terr¡¯ get up now¡± He said extending his arm to give him a hand. Axel quickly took it and felt himself get pulled to his feet. He dusted himself off and quickly forgot about the pain in his abdomen.


    ¡°Colt? It¡¯s great to meet you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to sit down and have some tea but unfortunately we have a much bigger crisis going on here.¡± Colt said as he cracked his knuckles and looked to his right. When he did, Axel did too and saw a group of men in black robes making their way toward them. Colt¡¯s arms went up in flames as particles of energy wrapped around his clenched fists. He raised them as the energy shaped and soon turned solid. It molded into two large and thick pocket knives with both metal handles shaped like brass knuckles. A killer two-in-one weapon that manifested out of thin air. There was no doubt about it now, this man possessed the ability known as the Soul of Shadows.


    ¡°Quit gawking,kid! Time to get yerr'' ass in gear and show me what you¡¯re made of!¡± Colt yelled as he charged the group of shadow hunters. He threw a punch at the first guy he saw and got him clean in the jaw. That same guy was sent flying and knocked back a few more. The other shadow hunters then pulled out swords of their own and all circled around Colt. Colt,however, kept his cool and even smiled.


    ¡°Ah, you think you have a chance ganging up on me, do ya? Well then, by all means have at it.¡±


    One by one they charged and one by one they were taken out by Colt almost effortlessly. Axel stood in the background simply watching in awe. Then, from somewhere behind him he heard a woman screaming for help. He turned to see one running away while holding her right shoulder. Axel froze in place as his blood turned cold. The woman was missing her right arm. It had been severed clean off and blood was spurting out uncontrollably. Following close behind was another shadow hunter sadistically swinging her sword around.


    ¡°Help!someone please save me!!!¡± he heard the woman scream.


    ¡°Oh come on,darlin¡¯! We ain¡¯t done yet! Come back so I can take off a leg, then you can really say your life costed and arm and a leg!¡±


    As Axel watched that exchange go down, his legs reflexively gave out and he fell back. He heard the sounds of constant chattering as his cheeks began to slowly vibrate. It seemed that his teeth were chattering against his will. Behind him, Colt yelled after him and ordered him to snap out of it.


    ¡°Kid!? Come on now!!! This is our first time meeting and this is the impression you wanna leave me with!? Hurry up and help her god damn it!! Before it¡¯s too late!!!¡±


    The woman fell due to tripping on some debris and ate rocks as she skidded across the ground. Normally, she would¡¯ve been able to keep her head up but her dominant arm was missing. So, the small part of her right shoulder did move as if her arm was there but it did nothing but dirty the wound. Tears rained down her cheek as the shadow hunter approached her from behind and sadistically raised her sword over her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, squeal some more for me! I love it seeing people like this! It just absolutely gets me going! And to top it all off, I¡¯m going to put you out of your misery!¡±


    The woman widened her eyes as the cold hard truth rained down into the depths of her being. The light in her eyes vanished as did the small sliver of hope in her heart. As time slowed once more for both her and Axel, she turned her head and their eyes met for just a moment as if by chance but guided by fate. One tick after the other banged in his head as once again death walked by Axel and set his scythe over his next target. One second, for that one second he could¡¯ve sworn he read her mind, and all it was that he could hear was,


    (Justine Vanks¡­¡­..my beautiful daughter, I¡¯m sorry¡­..but momma didn¡¯t find papa¡­.she failed¡­..I¡¯m so sorry¡­)


    ¡°Don¡¯t-¡± Axel began but it was too late


    Slash


    Axel inhaled as he saw her head fly clean off her body. It didn¡¯t go far,but for Axel it felt like an eternity had gone by. As it slowly rolled off into the darkness leaving behind a trail of bright red blood, the shadow hunter whipped her sword clean of blood and proceeded to lick the rest off.


    ¡°Man, oh man. It just never gets old I¡¯m telling ya.¡±


    Time returned to normal but Axel did not. His heart ached and his head finally began to throb with pain. His fingers shook and his body felt weak. His eyes felt hot and gray tears poured out.


    (I¡¯m¡­¡­.a piece of shit¡­¡­) his inner voice quivered.


    ¡°Kid! Quickly! Just get out of here!¡± he heard someone yell off into the distance, but to him it sounded blurred.


    The sun finally set and the darkness overflowed. What little warmth was left quickly faded with his spirit. Axel began to hyperventilate as his mind went a mile a second. It just kept playing over and over¡­.the kids dead, the girl burning alive, the mother cold to the touch...how many people had he passed? How many people had died while he decided to remain in the shadows? This woman, he could¡¯ve helped her, so why did he freeze in place? Her head continued to roll in place for him¡­.her death was looping in his mind...over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over!!!!!!!!!


    Was it just him or was it snowing? Snowing the purest of pitch black snow?........ And then bam,slight pain from the back of his head¡­..or was it massive? He wasn¡¯t so sure but just as he thought that the ground suddenly rose to meet his face. It was like he had been pressed up against a wall but surely he hadn¡¯t. The man, colt? He could still faintly see him standing upright trying to get to him. But why? Why did he need him? Why were all the men dressed in black holding him back? Couldn¡¯t they see he was desperately trying to reach Axel? Oh, the ground had turned again. This time, the moon was all that he could see as he felt the ground grind his entire backside painfully like cheese to a grater. Was he being dragged? He couldn¡¯t tell nor fully care, all he knew was that little by little the world was closing up,the pain was fading, and the darkness was completely covering up the silver moon.


    _____________


    ¡°Erm¡­¡­..eh¡­...w-what¡­...is this?......¡± Was the first thing he said as he slowly opened his eyes.


    It was strange, the room he was in was almost pitch black save for a few shining buttons he could see amidst the shadows. He heard the whistling wind outside but he couldn¡¯t see anything outside of the windows. It looked like a storm of black snow. He continued to look around and eventually stopped when he saw a giant incubator in the middle of the room containing one person inside. The person was floating there wearing only a pair of shorts with many tubes and wires connected to his body. He was a frail looking person with no real muscle or any particular look, he seemed normal. Your everyday joe but with odd night colored hair. It was¡­¡­..him? Himself completely unconscious floating in an incubator filled with green liquid! But that was impossible. He was looking right at himself!!


    ¡°Behold, Axel Ison. You are not dreaming, this is actually happening.¡± Said someone emerging from behind the incubator. Axel took some steps back as he gasped. It was a girl who seemed young but also old. In a sense that she had lived a long time. She had pure silver hair and her bangs had black highlights. Her hair waved around her as if floating in water. She wore a white dress that also floated outward and had on no shoes. However, what was most interesting about her were her odd eyes. Her pupils appeared to be shaped strangely, a dot with five lines stretching out of it and the ends curling up into swirls. It was mesmerizing.


    ¡°Who are you? What¡¯s going on!?¡± he desperately asked amid the awe he was feeling.


    ¡°You need to calm down, okay? Listen to me very carefully.¡± her silky smooth voice told him.


    ¡°That is you. You can say you¡¯re having what they call an ¡°out of body experience¡±. You¡¯re not dead or anything yet. I am merely part of your hallucinations and I must tell you, ¡°Power Magnet¡± is in the middle of being extracted from your body. if it fully seperates from you by force, you will die here.¡±

 Chapter Twelve: Two Sides of the Same Coin

    ¡°I''m¡­¡­.going to die?¡± Axel said not able to fully grasp the situation.


    The floating silver haired girl closed her eyes and nodded once. When she opened her strange yet dazzling eyes, she rested her crystal like pupils on his person and focused on him intently. Axel stood completely still and didn¡¯t say a word as he was not really sure what to do.


    ¡°Axel Ison, I¡¯m going to be very straightforward here. In short, you¡¯re an utter disappointment.¡± she finally said after many moments. Axel shifted his face from confusion to disappointment, as he had been called by this angel. He lowered his gaze and did not retort.


    ¡°You see? There you go! Raise your head boy! You¡¯re just going to let a complete stranger put you down?! It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re in this mess!¡± the angel yelled at him causing Axel to raise his head.


    ¡°But it¡¯s true! I can¡¯t do much of anything right!¡± Axel said as he held his head and sat cross legged on the ground. Seeing him cower pitifully like that, the angel showed clear anger and ordered him to stand.


    ¡®I¡¯m sick and tired of seeing you act like some pushover, kid. Come here.¡± The angel instructed. When she saw that Axel wasn¡¯t going to move, she placed her barefeet on the ground and walked over to him. When she reached him, she gave him a roundhouse kick straight to the jaw while keeping her dress from revealing anything. Axel rolled on the ground multiple times and held his aching cheek.


    ¡°How does that even make sense!!!?! Figments of my own imagination shouldn¡¯t be able to hurt me!!!!¡± He yelled in pain.


    ¡°I won¡¯t say it again, come here¡± She said. This time, Axel quickly jumped up and went to stand in front of her with a red mark on his chin. The angel smiled in satisfaction and once more got serious.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wanting to know how all of this came about and what exactly you can do. Well, to be honest, there¡¯s nothing you can do. Even if you somehow manage to break free, you will die here in Miami one way or another¡± She told him in a cold voice. Axel once again went to lower his head in anguish but was stopped by the soft but firm hand of the angel floating before him.


    ¡°At least, that¡¯s what will happen if you continue how you are now.¡±


    ¡°W-what? What are you saying?...¡± Axel asked in a defeated voice.


    The angel released his cheeks and allowed him to stand up straight. Axel did so but continued to point his gaze to her feet.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you since the day you received this power, and right from the get go I knew that you were going to be an issue. Do you want to know why?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± Axel replied without even thinking about it. The angel smiled and turned in mid air. She floated over to where Axel¡¯s actual body was in the incubator and spun around it once. ¡°Then we must first visit your origins. We must learn who you are, what you are, and what has molded you into what you are today. In order to do that, we must start from the very beginning. If you are not afraid, if you are truly seeking to understand yourself, then come here, follow me and together we will find the answer.¡± She said as she jumped into the incubator and disappeared the moment she came in contact with Axel¡¯s real body. For a moment there, he was skeptical. Visiting his origins meant going going back in time through his memories, reliving past moments. Was he truly ready to do that? Was he willing to make a change for the better? Was the angel even legit? At this point, the only way to know would be to follow her.


    (Okay¡­...let¡¯s do this) he thought to himself with confidence. He slowly approached the container that held himself and slowly reached out. His hand slipped right through and he was able to place his hand on his own abdomen. Immediately as he did so, he was pulled in by an external force and flushed away. He was pulled into a portal of memories quickly flashing by. They were so fast that they appeared to be shooting stars soaring the heavens as he seemingly fell down the bottomless abyss that was memory lane. Then, all of a sudden he was able to see ground and face planted on the cold hard concrete. Or, so he thought. Instead, he floated mere inches above it, stopped by an unseen force.


    ¡°W-wow¡­.¡± He softly said with his eye spread wide. The angel like being soon appeared next to him and lightly tapped his feet which caused him to float upright.


    ¡°Are you amazed that I stopped you from falling?¡± she said, Axel shook his head.


    ¡°No¡­.I literally just saw my life flash before my eyes, I don¡¯t know how to feel about that.¡±


    When Axel said that, the angel released a slight beautiful sound which was what humans called a giggle. It made Axel feel somewhat happy.


    ¡°Mhaha, looks like you do have some redeeming features¡­¡± She said which made Axel feel a bit more comfortable with himself. He then took a full look around at his surroundings. He was in the backyard of a very familiar looking house, and for some reason everything was colored in black and gray.


    ¡°Is this place ringing a bell?¡± She said.


    ¡°That tree over there, I broke my arm there once trying to climb it¡­..that little sandbox, I used to pretend it was a beach¡­¡­.This is Casey¡¯s backyard, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct. Interestingly enough, this is the farthest back in your memories that I can go.¡± The angel said as she floated high above the house in search of something.


    ¡°Why is that? What day is it today?¡± He asked with and idea of what day it was already.


    ¡°April 17th, 2015, it would seem.¡± The angel said as she spotted something on the front side of the house. She floated down and rejoined with the boy who now had his eyes wide with awe.


    ¡°It¡¯s today! It¡¯s my 6th birthday and also the same day I met Casey!!¡±


    WHOOM.


    Time exploded and the scenario changed, the night set in and rain poured down on Sonic City. Thunder and lightning ravaged the heavens as he was teleported to a different position. He was in the middle of the street directly in front of a couple of stores that were now closing for the night. Out of one of them ran out a small young boy in a raincoat desperately trying to not get swept up by the wind.


    {In real time, Axel¡¯s real body suddenly gurgled and his heart rate accelerated.}


    ¡°Th-this is¡­..¡± he started.


    ¡°Be honest with yourself. The day you fear the most, the day you hated. You say that you rather not remember, but the reality is that you cannot even if you tried. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± The angel said from behind him with words filled to the brim.


    {Despite already soaked, sweat released from his glans and his body temperature rose.}


    Axel felt his heart try and make a break for it and uncomfortably staggered.


    ¡°I¡­.that¡¯s not tru-¡±


    ¡°Do not lie to me.¡± She struck with a tone that made him wince.


    ¡°I¡­...I don¡¯t remember¡­..I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going on¡­..but I know that¡¯s me¡± He said as he followed the small young boy running away. They followed him and watched as he took a detour into a building that was still under construction. If memory served, this would¡¯ve been the fastest way to get back home. However, the building was still a whole lot bigger than he originally anticipated.


    ¡°A fateful encounter, the main reason, among many others, of why you want nothing to do with the blessing bestowed upon you.¡± She said behind him as Axel continued to follow the boy.


    The boy ran and ran through the maze like building until he had to stop. It wasn¡¯t that he was tired, it was because he had realized that he wasn¡¯t alone. He quickly hid behind a large crate as he observed the many men dressed in black that were gathered around something.


    ¡°Little lady, you have given us plenty of trouble. Tracking you down wasn¡¯t easy¡­.but now that we¡¯ve got you right where we want you, it¡¯s time you come with us¡± One of the men said. It was then that a squeal of a young child was heard from the center of the group.


    ¡°N-no1 pwease! I¡­.I wanna go with mommy!!!¡± He heard a desperate cry.


    ¡°Oh no¡­.¡±


    ¡°Oh no¡­.¡±


    Both young and old Axel¡¯s said that simultaneously as they both continued to watch in fear. When they looked through the gap in between the legs of the men, they were able to see a small young girl the age of Axel sitting and holding her knees while tears flowed out the sides of her eyes.


    ¡°Shut the fuck up, kid. I¡¯ve worked way too damn hard for you to start crying, now get your ass over here!¡±


    ¡°W-w-w-w-w-wait!!! Pwease let me goah!!!!! You¡¯re hurling me!!!!!¡± The young girl squealed as she desperately tried to break free of the powerful grip holding her. However it seemed that her efforts would be in vain.


    ¡°Stop it!!!!¡± Full grown Axel yelled as he raised his fist and charged at the men holding her. He threw a punch at the man but only to have it slip right through him. The realization that this had already happened poured over him and he looked back with eyes filled with horror. It seemed bad until boards of large plywood suddenly started toppling over each other like dominoes and eventually they fell over the men. The men exclaimed and threw the girl down and attempted to save themselves.


    ¡°What the?¡± One of them yelled. However, when they looked back at the girl, they noticed that she was gone.


    ¡°Fuck! After her!¡± The man that dropped her in the first place yelled to his men. They all quickly looked at each other as they wondered where on earth they were supposed to head toward.


    ¡°It has magical traces you buffoons! Follow that!¡± The man yelled. The group quickly took out a small device from their pockets and then immediately took off in the same direction. Elsewhere, Axel and the small young girl were in the middle of sprinting as fast as their little legs could carry them.


    ¡°Who awe you? You came to help?¡± She said to the boy dragging her away.


    ¡°Yah!! Those men were goin to hurt you!¡± He responded.


    Mere feet in front of them, the wall off to the side exploded and dust blew their small frames back.


    ¡°Wah!¡±


    ¡°Aaah!¡± they yelped.


    The small boy Axel fell back but quickly rose to his feet and grabbed the closest thing at hand which was a large metal pole. It was heavy but not heavy enough for him not to be able to swing it around. The girl also fell back and quickly scurried away behind a pile of sand bags.


    ¡°Kid, you could¡¯ve walked away and we would¡¯ve never noticed you. So, what in the world do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± one of the men from before told the boy.


    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you! You¡¯ll all just big meanies!!!!¡± He yelled while tightly holding onto the metal pole. He looked back at the girl to make sure she was okay, he saw her staring back at him with large fearful eyes and tears welling up. It was the face of a girl wanting to go home. So, the boy confidently smiled and tried to put her at ease.


    ¡°You want to go home, so do I¡­..but we gotta fight¡­.If we want to win¡­.we have to fight!¡± The small boy yelled before charging head first into the fray. He swung the staff back and threw it forward but it was stopped with little to no issue by one of the men.


    ¡°You asked for it kid.¡± He said seconds before he ripped the pole from the boy¡¯s hands and kicked him in the stomach.


    ¡°!?¡± The small boy felt his lungs forcefully eject some air as he flew back a couple feet.


    ¡°No!¡± The girl yelled in fear.


    ¡°Go get her, I¡¯ll put out the kid¡± The man in black that kicked Axel said to the others. Those men nodded and surrounded the girl in no time. The girl quickly hugged herself and started crying frantically.


    Meanwhile, the man in front of the boy approached him. He was face down and didn¡¯t appear to be moving. He reached down and easily scooped him up. He held him by his collar and dangled him there. He thought he was knocked out until,


    *Ptooo*


    ¡°My eyes!!!!¡±


    A sudden wave of dirt that came out of the boy''s mouth was sprayed over his eyes.


    ¡°Boss!?¡± the men yelled.


    ¡°Just grab the fucking kid already!!¡± the man yelled not letting go of Axel.


    ¡°R-right!¡± they said as they grabbed the small screaming girl.


    ¡°Nooooo!!¡± She fought.


    Axel watched as they grabbed her and held her in their arms. He bit on the hand of the man holding him and tried to run to her. However, the man was not budging. He wiped away the dirt on his face and looked back at Axel with furious eyes.


    ¡°Alright you little shit, you wanna play? Here¡¯s a fucking treat!¡± He said as he punched Axel in his face. The small boy felt his nose break under the sudden pressure and fresh warm liquid filled his mouth. And yet, the boy did not release even a whimper.


    ¡°Let go of him!¡± The girl yelled as she squirmed.


    ¡°FIGHT¡± a soft yell echoed over her own voice. It took seconds before she acknowledged it as the small boy¡¯s voice. Her eyes widened into perfect circles as she alone gave him her ears.


    ¡°You wanna go home!???So do I!!! You want candy? You have to buy it!!¡± The small boy yelled as the man sinisterly laughed and held began to choke him. Axel, however, did not falter and continued to yell to her alone.


    ¡°Same thing here! You want to go home? Fight for it!!! Earn it!!! If we want to go home, you have to fight!!!!!¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up kid!!!¡± the man said slamming Axel against the wall causing him to fade in and out of reality. He slowly lost his grip and let his body go loose. He was dropped to the ground moments after.


    ¡°F-fight¡­.¡± He slowly whispered as he knocked out. Once he was, silence returned to the building and the man grinned.


    ¡°Stupid brat, just what did he think this was?¡± As he and his man laughed, the small girl lowered her head and quietly sniffed.


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha! You¡¯re damn right boss!.....Eh?¡± One of the men quickly reacted the moment he felt his clothes release an intense heat. Soon after, he along with the rest erupted into flames.


    ¡°What the hell!?¡± The boss yelled as he witnessed that phenomenon.


    The little girl stood at the very center of the flames and slowly raised her head with a sharp and powerful glow in her eye. Tears of fire slowly fell to the floor as the small girl clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. On her small head, a crown of fire formed and a brilliant robe of flames manifested on her small body.


    The small boy managed to witness the whole thing and raised his eyebrows as far as he could.


    ¡°F-....Flame princess?....¡± He muttered in both pain and fear. Moments after, the small girl released a powerful yell and her army of fire quickly spread out as far as the eye could see.


    ¡°Dear god¡­¡­.so the power of the stones are just as powerful as they say they are¡­...Incredible.¡± Was the last thing the man said before he was swallowed by the sea of lava.


    ¡°Boss!!¡± His men yelled in shock. Now filled with anger, they foolishly charged the queen of fire. The goddess raised her small palms and commanded her lake of flames and pierced two men straight through. She threw them to the side and spun her flames around the room, she grabbed the remaining men with an arm of blazing flames and brought them close to her. The men cowered in fear as they realized the grave mistake they had done. They all begged for their lives with some even crying. However, the girl looked over at the small young boy who was still watching her but was not moving. His body lay sideways and his head on the ground. The girl growled in anger and turned back to the men with a scowl.


    ¡°I hate you¡± She said with a look of pure disgust mixed with fury. The men squealed as they all realized what was sure to happen next.


    The small girl had flames enter her mouth as she inhaled deeply. After many moments, she puffed out her cheeks and blew as hard as she could, which caused a volley of flames to come pouring out.


    ¡°Dragon Rawwwww!!!!¡± She yelled


    The men yelled as they felt their skin burn right off but their screams were cut short as did their lives. When all was said and done, the room was brightly lit with the power of her flames and a pile of black corpses laid before her. The girl stood their for a while staring down what was left of her foes with a wrinkled brow and then closed her eyes. After looking satisfied, she opened them and dusted off her arms. She then happily ran over to the boy and picked him up.


    ¡°I won! I earned it like ya said! We can go home nowah,white?¡± She said as she placed his arm around her shoulder.


    ¡°Y-yeah! I think we can! But, won¡¯t yo fire burn me?¡± Axel skeptically asked as he was held up by her.


    ¡°It won¡¯t burn who I don¡¯t want it to¡­..i think!¡±


    ¡°Really? Well, yeah¡­...we can go¡­...home¡± He said before passing completely out. When she saw that, the girl completely freaked and ran for help. However, she didn¡¯t even make it out of the building when her flames died out and she too fell unconscious.


    When they both woke up, they were greeted by the rising sun. Not only that, they had no real recollection of what had happened after Axel was slammed against the wall. Though, they did not care.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked.


    ¡°C-casey¡­..¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Axel¡± the boy said as he helped her to her feet. Or at least tried, he ended up tripping with her and the girl landed on top of him.


    ¡°I hope this doesn¡¯t happen often¡­..¡± Axel said which sparked up laughter in the small girl named Casey. Soon after, they both walked away from that spot together overjoyed in their new found friendship.


    Watching them go off was the current Axel with sorrowful eyes. Now fully remembering exactly what had gone down, he struggled to do much but watch.


    ¡°It would seem that you had much more strength back then compared to now. Also, it would seem that you both had forgotten the form that Casey had taken and the absolute massacre that she committed, do you have any idea why?¡± The angel said to him.


    ¡°I¡­.don¡¯t know¡­.I, called her the flame princess¡­...even after I forgot about it I always jokingly called her the goddess of fire, flame princess, Fire queen¡­..anything not realizing what it actually meant¡­¡± Axel said as the world around him slowly began to fade away.


    ¡°Though you don¡¯t want to admit it, you feared her in that one moment. You feared that in her fit of anger she would kill you accidentally. You had the right to feel that. Then there were the men in black, you also greatly feared them and in the moment regretted all of your actions and had desperately wished you hadn¡¯t intervened. Because of this, you developed a wrongful fear of the supernatural connecting it to this very memory that was buried deep within your mind. Along with that, you grew to fear those men in black, though these days you didn¡¯t know why. That¡¯s why you¡¯re knees buckle at the sight of one, why you¡¯re courage dries up and you revert back into the child who was crying inside of you that day. Normally, it would¡¯ve been simple to try and deal with this on your own but your memory was hidden, though I can¡¯t say for the other girl, I do know why yours did.¡± She told him without an ounce of doubt. She was completely sure of all she was saying, seeing right through him like a window. Axel did not respond, he merely kept his back to her and faced down.


    ¡°It was in your pocket¡±


    ¡°!?¡± Axel gasped when he realized what she was implying.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that small keychain your dear old grandfather gave you worked its ¡°magic¡± and slowly altered your memories in hopes that it would do you some good to forget, however it did the very opposite and unconsciously developed these fears. At first they were small but over time they grew and grew and completely changed you.¡±


    {Sweat continued to flow as his body reflexively twitched}


    Axel continued to stay silent and soaked it all in. He wanted to call her a liar, to tell her that she was wrong¡­..but he couldn¡¯t. he couldn¡¯t because deep down inside something told him that she was completely right. There was no denying it. His silence told her that he knew that, and so there was no reason to argue.


    ¡°Moving along my dear boy, you had a wonderful friend now at least and spent plenty of time playing,fighting,crying, and laughing, a beautiful friendship was born and you met two more happy campers along the way! Well, sort of. As I recall one of them was a bit of a short fuse. Your meeting with them wasn¡¯t anything special, however to the both of you it was, yes?¡±


    The scene once again changed to that of a park. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. Many people could be seen walking their dogs or playing with their children. The grass was green and the sky was blue. It was a beautiful day and one that Axel had little problem recalling.


    ¡°This is the park near Hazard Boulevard, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is. What meaning does this place hold to you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I went here all the time with my parents. They¡¯d always sit down on a bench and I¡¯d run off to play with myself or Casey if she was there, which most of the time she was. Then one day I met those two and this place suddenly became our meeting grounds.¡±


    Right beside him suddenly darted a small young boy, he had gone by so fast that he startled Axel. When he looked back up at the kid, he had realized that it was once again himself running with a toy plane in his hand. He was waving it around as if it was actually flying. It seemed dumb now but to that child he was sure he was beginning to reach mach 3 with that plane.


    Without saying a word, Axel once again followed¡­¡­.himself?......all throughout the park. The boy was running with the wind at that point and it seemed like nothing could stop him. It seemed that way until he made one wrong turn and bumped into another boy.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°H-hey! That hurt, kid!!¡±


    The boy he had run into was also a child his own age. He had bright blue eyes and spiky blonde hair. His face was mean looking but his expression was the complete opposite. His eyes were squeezing out droplets of tears and his brow was furrowed. Child Axel, who was on the ground, had a similar look.


    ¡°Well you hurt me to! Say sorry!¡± Axel yelled out.


    ¡°Huh? Did I? Well¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­¡± The other boy said now looking timid. When he saw this, small Axel now seemed to feel bad and returned the apology.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry to¡­...I know! What¡¯s your name! Let¡¯s be friends?¡±


    The small blonde boy tilted his head and started to think for a second. After a couple of seconds, he smiled and helped Axel up.


    ¡°Okay! I¡¯m Kyle! What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Axel!¡±


    And just like that, they were friends. It had happened so naturally, something that happened everyday among other kids all around the world.


    ¡°A-axel! Why¡¯d you start running fast all of a sudden like that! I completely lost you!¡± Suddenly said a small brown haired girl that was gasping for air. She approached Axel and noticed the blonde haired kid there. She quickly grew timid and hid behind Axel.


    ¡°Ah! Casey, check it out! This is Kyle! Kyle, this is Casey! You guys can be friends to!¡± Axel said. Casey peaked her head out from behind him and eyed Kyle closely who also did the same. After another brief silence, they approached each other and their timid sense of emotion soon evaporated.


    ¡°W-well I think I¡¯d like that! Hi there!¡± Casey said with her usual cheery attitude.


    ¡°Same here!¡± Kyle said shaking her hand. The three laughed and soon began to play in the park together. Watching them play from a certain distance was current Axel with a soft smile that just spelled nostalgia.


    ¡°Kyle seemed a lot nicer when I first met him¡­..too bad his personality changed for some reason.¡± he said.


    ¡°And to think, just days later you would meet another very special child¡± The angel woman said floating above him and resting her head and palms on his head. When she said that, the scene once again changed and he was momentarily brought to a very special time in his life once again. He was in the city during the night time while pure white snow fell. He could see himself approaching a small young girl who seemed lost. She had soft and elegant brown hair that seemed puffy. At the time, she was crying, she was lost. Axel watched as he helped her find her way and eventually she reunited with her mother. He watched as her mother carried her away. The young girl called out to him from over her mother¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Cindy!What¡¯s your name?!¡± She yelled.


    ¡°Axel Ison!¡± he yelled back.


    And that was how it had happened. Axel could still also vividly remember that with stunning detail. Eventually, he¡¯d reunite with her in that same park he met Kyle in. They¡¯d become great friends and would all learn that they were going to the same school and had the same class.


    ¡°Would you look at that? How sweet and innocent you seem there.¡± The angel again said as the scene changed to the first day of school for the four. Currently, Axel was with both Casey and Cindy. Axel was marching down the halls with a cape around his neck and a very vibrant smile on his face.


    ¡°We¡¯re here again? But why?¡± He asked the angel up above him.


    ¡°Again? You mean you played this memory in your head again recently? Well, what¡¯s important here is the small young girl you run into right over there.¡± She said as she pointed at the small Axel who had just ran into a small young blonde girl who appeared to look sad.


    ¡°That¡¯s when I unknowingly ran into Lucy, right? This is when she tried to approach me to see if I would remember them, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct, however I want you to look closer at that girl, Lucy, do you notice anything different?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Different?...well¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    Axel looked over at the small young girl who he was familiar with today and inspected her closely from head to toe. Her hair was still blonde and curly, her cheeks were puffy and cute, her voice sounded soft, her skin was still just as lush as it was today, her brown eyes were still round and beauti-


    When he noticed it, his heart leapt in confusion. He had no idea why, but something was definitely off. The reason? Well, apparently it was blatantly obvious!


    ¡°So you¡¯ve noticed?¡± The angel said now floating down next to him. When she said so, Lucy reached the point where she turned heel and ran. Current Axel quickly followed after her but once she turned the corner she along with the whole world was gone.


    ¡°You cannot see what you did not encounter at the time. Remember, these are your memories, we¡¯re not time traveling or anything. But what did you notice?¡±


    ¡°Her¡­..her eyes¡­..they were brown...but the Lucy I know has green eyes. What does this mean?¡± He quickly asked the angel that sat on the ground with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Relax, that Lucy is the Lucy you know today. However, what I want you to know is that her eyes do often change color. Have you not heard of it before? There are some people whose irises change color when their pupil size changes. The pigments in their eyes spread apart or compress causing the color to change. Then there are some people whose eye color change depending on their emotions as well, do you see where I¡¯m getting at?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying her eye color changed because she was sad? Then why haven¡¯t I seen them do it again?¡± He asked now watching the entire scenery around him evaporate.


    ¡°You did, you just didn¡¯t pay close enough attention.¡±


    Once again he was brought to another point in time, and this go around was to a very recent point. The night sky was bright overhead and the moon shone the perfect light down on a certain pair of people. One was sitting on a beautiful fountain and the other was approaching her slowly from behind. There was no doubt about it, this was when he had visited the church and stumbled upon Lucy crying. Without even thinking, he quickly went around and kneeled in front of Lucy. Just like he thought, her eyes had changed to the color blue. When he came to that realization, the scene once again evaporated.


    ¡°Her eyes were blue that time. wow¡­...I¡¯m such a fool¡­.¡±


    ¡°Though, that¡¯s not my point here. What I¡¯m trying to tell you is that this girl has been sad in front of you plenty of times, however not once have her eyes truly gone blue. They¡¯ve been green for the most part. However, that one day you were attacked by that shadow hunter it appeared that her eyes had gone to a very dark shade of gray, almost appearing to be black. This likely meant she was feeling a very deep sense of fury. Other than that, in moments of joy, sadness, or relief her eyes stay the same.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, are you trying to say that Lucy isn¡¯t being genuine?¡± Axel said suddenly feeling angry.


    ¡°Hey now, no need to get worked up, I¡¯m only saying that you can tell a lot from a girl''s eyes, and you can do that even better with her. Though, I imagine her eye color doesn¡¯t change instantly unless her emotions are intense. The first day she bumped into you her eyes were brown, probably because she felt comfortable around you or is that just her regular color? she usually has light green eyes, joy or is she lying? Clearly when she¡¯s sad her eyes turn blue. When she¡¯s really pissed off it goes to a dark gray. There¡¯s clearly a lot you can learn from her. Friendly incentive to get you to talk to her more, you know?¡± the angel said while nudging him.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying all that, but isn¡¯t that just what they call ¡°Gray eyes¡±, the type that change color depending on mood, lighting, and setting? They go from gray to blue to green, right?¡±


    ¡°She most definitely has that eye type, but it makes me wonder where the brown comes from¡­¡­¡± The angel said as she laid back in mid air looking up at the blank world. Axel started to sweat for a second and scratched his head. Before he really started to actually talk to Lucy, he hadn¡¯t noticed her probable frequent change in eye color. Was he being that ignorant? Clearly her eyes could tell him a lot, and it was time for him to really get to know what Lucy was feeling.


    ¡°Yes, yes it is time for you to do that¡±


    ¡°What? You can read my mind now?!¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, we¡¯re inside it right now, what do you expect?¡± The angel said as she once again stood straight and changed the scene.


    ¡°Okay, but what was the point of that? Why show me how her eyes change color? Are you trying to mess with my mind more than it already is?¡± Axel said completely confused.


    The Angel, however, was completely calm and replied to him softly.


    ¡°Not at all, I just know exactly what that girl means to you. We¡¯re in your mind, I can feel it, I can hear it. And I thought I¡¯d shoot you that pointer. There¡¯s that and I have a very powerful feeling that says that girl is going to be very important in the future and my advice just may come in handy. I suggest you keep a close eye on her. But we can talk more about her a little later. In the meantime, Please have a look over there.¡±


    She pointed over to a now brand scene which was showcasing what appeared to be a small young boy surrounded by a bunch of other kids. The small young boy was wearing a cape and the other kids surrounding him were in the middle of laughing at him. Axel slightly raised his eyebrows again as he clearly remembered this day as well.


    ¡°I see it, this is like the 4th grade, what of it?¡±


    ¡°Go on, tell me more about what¡¯s going on here¡± the angel said giving him  slight push forward. For a slight second, Axel wondered whether or not this angel was trying to help him or just poke in his business. In the end,though, he gave in and took in a breath of air.


    ¡°Well, as a kid I¡¯d always act like I was a superhero. You know, the type that would be in comic books or in movies, or even in japanese anime, It didn¡¯t matter. I was just infatuated with the thought of being heroic and as a kid I believed that if I ¡­¡­..¡±Believed¡± hard enough I would eventually be able to become a hero. So I¡¯d walk down the halls acting like I owned the place and always tried to help anyone and everyone. I thought I was being cool, but in the eyes of everyone else, I was being weird. So, I got picked on and called stupid. Typical elementary days. Even though I acted tough, I was scared to fight back.¡±


    The kids continued to laugh in the face of the small Axel but he still continued to hold his head up high.


    ¡°Stop laughing! You''ll see! You¡¯ll all see! I¡¯ll be able to be a superhero someday and save you all!!!¡± tiny Axel said.


    ¡°Yeah,yeah! And then right after that pigs will start flying, right?¡± Said a tall and brown haired boy from the group. Axel remembered him vividly as this kid picked on him a lot over the years. His name was Charlie. The others laughed and Axel retreated slightly back.


    ¡°Hey! Get away from him you jerks!!!¡± Suddenly yelled out a young girl with brown curly hair followed by another young girl. They were Cindy and Casey.


    ¡°Oh no! quickly , run! Casey and Cindy are coming!!¡±


    Faster than Casey had arrived the other group had left with their tails between their legs. Casey ran after them and Cindy ran up to Axel asking him if he was alright.


    ¡°If your memory serves, this was around the time that Kyle had first left to who knows where, right?¡± the angel asked.


    ¡°Yeah, usually Kyle would be accompanying Cindy and Casey and would beat up those guys, then come back and beat me for being so weak. Though, now that he was gone those days were also gone. Now, Casey and Cindy were left to hang out. Of course, Tony was always around but he didn¡¯t really talk with Cindy and Casey.¡±


    ¡°Yes, as the years went by you ended up always being in different classes from Cindy and Casey but Tony was always in your classes. As such, you talked with him during class and hung out with Cindy and Casey during recess, correct?¡±


    When Axel nodded his head, the scene eroded and multiple scenes rolled past him at a rate slow enough for him to see, all showcasing his years from 4th to 8th grade. Axel watched as he saw himself go from wanting to be a hero to wanting to just be left alone.


    ¡°You see, I see a very different side of you here in your past than I see in you now. You were always so bold and energetic, you constantly ignored those who tried to bring you down, yet as time went by you slowly started to believe what those around you said¡±


    In 5th grade, ¡°I don¡¯t care! I can do it you guys!¡±


    6th grade, ¡°I¡¯m not giving up yet!¡±


    7th grade, ¡°I¡­...I like the idea of being a hero, yeah¡­.¡±


    8th grade, ¡°I know it¡¯s impossible guys, just leave me alone already¡±


    Axel watched as his past grade selves quickly evolved from being energetic to pessimistic, it was a very odd feeling but who wouldn¡¯t be so discouraged after so many years of being made fun of?


    ¡°all leading up to the day you entered 8th grade, do you remember?¡± The angel continued.


    ¡°I think I know what you¡¯re talking about, you mean how that damned shooting star?¡±


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d know what I meant, you are correct.¡±


    The scene once again changed to show Axel looking out of his window watching the stars and suddenly catching a shooting one in his line of sight. With glowing eyes, he carefully watched that star as it slowly ran across the fields of stars in the night sky.


    ¡°I made the stupid choice of making a wish¡­¡­.I wished for the power to do incredible things¡­¡­.I wanted for it to be possible for someone like me to be a hero¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You did, and you even felt motivated enough to enter a Mixed Martial arts class with both Cindy and Casey. And to all of your shock, Kyle was there too, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes he was, but he wouldn¡¯t talk to any of us for some reason, he just seemed even meaner than before. But he was a total natural when it came to fighting, he graduated an entire year early and left again before we even had a chance to congratulate him.¡±


    Before their eyes was a 12 year old Axel inside of a boxing area struggling to do push ups while the two girls next to him did them with slight ease.


    ¡°You lot seemed happy despite losing Kyle once again. However, Cindy also left that same school year and you started to feel just a tad more depressed than usual.¡±


    As she said this, the image of Cindy doing push ups disappeared and Axel and Casey were left alone. It all came back to him and Axel, despite really not wanting to, began to feel tears fall out of his eyes. It was a very rough time for him. Cindy was a really great friend, she was always at his house whenever Tony or Casey weren¡¯t. She was so kind and helpful and not having her around when he needed her most was awfully painful.


    ¡°I¡­¡­..I missed her so much. I always wondered why she had to leave¡­¡± he struggled to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, those emotions are normal to have, but right now what I want you to focus on is what happened after Cindy had left.¡±


    White smoke blew around them as the scene changed to that of a very emotional one. He was inside of his own house as rain heavily poured outside. The lights had gone out and candles were set dimly lighting up the room. He was in his room and watched as his past self watched his grandfather pace back in forth in the living room.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to happen¡­¡­...damn it, it¡¯s going to happen¡­¡­¡± His grandfather muttered to himself.


    ¡°Damn it, why¡¯d you have to bring me here¡­.¡± Axel said to the angel who merely shook her shoulders.


    ¡°I¡¯m only going by specific and emotional events in your life that led you to what you are today, you set the trail,I just hopped on the train.¡±


    Axel bit his lip and continued to watch even though he knew exactly what was going on and what would happen next.


    ¡°If those damn shadow hunters find her again¡­...I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll kill her for sure! If they do that¡­.they¡¯ll be a step closer to God¡¯s scepter¡­.No! I can¡¯t let that happen!!¡± His grandfather continued to mutter furiously. His frustrating walk around the living room was suddenly cut short and he reached for a coat from the coat rack. He grabbed a set of keys and prepared to walk outside.


    ¡°Grandpa? Where are you going?¡±


    The sound of Axel¡¯s voice made his grandfather stop dead in his tracks. Leaving the door open, he stared at his grandson with shocked and fearful eyes. He took quick steps and knelt in front of him while grabbing his shoulders.


    ¡°My boy, surely you remember what I told you when you were young, right? Just before you turned 6?¡± he said with a hint of desperation in his voice. Younger Axel slowly nodded without totally remembering.


    ¡°I think I do¡­.¡±


    ¡°Great! You still have that keychain, don¡¯t ya?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°Never let go of that! Always have it on you! Your eyes are bright and brimming with confidence, you have a huge heart and damn it I think it¡¯s possible that you care more for others than yourself! I¡¯ve seen you do it! I¡¯ve seen it inside you and I still can¡¯t believe it! You have it! god damn it, you have it!!¡± He yelled. He picked up his grandson and hugged him while laughing wholeheartedly.


    ¡°Have what?!¡± Axel asked as he was being carried.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about it because you aren¡¯t going to put it to use! This old man swears it! You¡¯re going to grow up,get married,have kids, and live a wonderful life away from the supernatural! You will, right?¡± he said sounding happy and yet distinctly sad. However, young Axel did not notice.


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m going to be completely normal like everyone else!¡±


    ¡°That a boy!¡± he said while spinning with Axel still in his arms. After some time, his grandfather put him down once more and looked directly into his eyes.


    ¡°Axel, you¡¯re an out of this world blessing to this family to say the absolute very least. You¡¯ll do big things one day, I know it.¡± He said as he put on his coat and headed for the door.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Axel asked left with smile.


    ¡°That friend of yours is like a granddaughter to me as well. I¡¯m¡­...gonna go meet her father for a drink. Take care of your sisters while I¡¯m gone¡± he said without looking back. He walked out into the rainy world and closed the door behind him. Axel heard the engine of his car start and he soon left. After a couple brief seconds of silence, the scene shifted to that of his funeral. Casey and Axel stood over his grave crying as rain once again poured down on them. Yet again, Axel heard himself recite a promise through strained sobs and powerful tears. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I¡­...I swear! I¡¯ll live a normal life! For you! We¡¯ll be safe and sound! Like you wanted!¡±


    As he watched that scene again, Axel felt a knot form in his throat. It felt like the rain really was pouring down on him again. For a moment, a tear did pour out of his right eye, but he grit his teeth and stopped the others. It was in this moment that he had wished for Cindy and Kyle to be there for the tough times. Tony was always busy for the most part and he didn¡¯t really have anyone but Casey and his sisters. Even so, it just felt like it wasn¡¯t enough. The white angel softly floated over to him and embraced him from behind. After seconds of silence, she spoke in quiet whispers.


    ¡®Your friends weren¡¯t there to support you, all except Casey, it must¡¯ve been hard.¡¯ he heard her say next to his right ear.


    ¡°It¡­.was¡­.¡±


    ¡®However¡¯ she said changing her tone but not her voice level.


    ¡®Your old man, with all due respect, was a fool¡¯


    When he heard her say that, Axel quickly threw her off and backed up with heat filling his veins.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± He said with growing unease.


    ¡°You heard me loud and clear, he tried to rip away what so many would¡¯ve died to achieve. Do you even realize that? It¡¯s the very reason this power chose you¡± she said now sounding like an authority figure.


    ¡°So what?? Who cares!? He was just trying to protect me!¡±


    ¡°He was being selfish and nothing more.¡±


    Axel grinded his teeth together as he stuttered and looked for the words to say. He was unsure as to why she was disrespecting his grandfather like this, but it was not right for her to do so.


    ¡°You! You don¡¯t know anything! Look what the supernatural has brought me! The only thing any of this has done is prove him right! I should¡¯ve looked the other way when Ella came to me! This was never supposed to be my prob-¡±


    When he was about to finish his sentence, the Angel backhanded him in his cheek which made him fall back. He didn¡¯t know what made him angrier anymore, the fact that she thought she could put her hands on him and get away with it, or the fact that she continued to look down on him. With his cheek stinging, he held it and looked back at her with glowing eyes filled with anger.


    ¡°You see, this is your problem whether you like it or not. This entire time we have gone back and seen your most impactful moments, what did you get out of it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not about to answer you! You¡¯re evil!!¡±


    ¡°Answer me¡±


    The world suddenly went black and everything disappeared. A strange chill entered his being and he felt a huge pressure intimidating him. It came from the angel who he felt was starting to lose her patience. Suddenly shaking, he started to answer.


    ¡°I¡­¡­.I saw that I was a lot different as a kid, I seemed more bright¡­.is that it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re half right, but you¡¯re missing some points. First of all, your grandfather completely messed with your beliefs and you slowly started to distance yourself from what made you you. At first, you wanted to get rid of all evil by becoming a superhero, but when that old fool died you thought that you had disrespected his life and didn¡¯t want to be a hero anymore. Do you even know why you wanted to be a hero, what made you worthy of being one?¡±


    Axel slowly shifted his head from left to right.


    {Axel¡¯s real body began to slightly fidget and furrowed its brow. As this happened, a short man in a white lab coat entered the room where Axel was observed him. He was small, had a long dark grey beard, thinning hair, and a stogy in his mouth. With black brown eyes, he smiled and blew out a puff of smoke. He walked over to a dashboard filled with screens and buttons and started to type something in. After a couple of seconds, he raised his body and walked over to the incubator tapping the glass.


    ¡°Just a little bit more buddy, you¡¯re almost there¡± he said blowing out another cloud of smoke.}


    (Damn, running out of time) The angel thought in her mind as she continued to talk to Axel.


    (Anymore and he really will die¡­)


    ¡°N-no¡­...I just thought it was cool¡­..¡± He said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember, even that old man said he saw it in you. I mean ¡°Origin¡±, the essence and core that every person that has ever held this power had. It¡¯s what lights up the feeling of wanting to be heroic. You are born with it! Granted to those who are kind at heart, a gem among the silver, a diamond among the coal, it¡¯s what lets you hold this power!¡±


    Suddenly, a bright patch of light lit up in the air above him. It was large and bright with the color blue. However, it was surrounded by a thick set of chains that felt like it was restricting it from lighting up the entire room.


    ¡°Ori¡­..gin?


    ¡°Yes, Origin says it all by itself. It proves that you are destined to be a great hero, don¡¯t you see? And that fool of yours did his best to keep you away from that knowledge! But he was an idiot to think that he could get in the way of destiny! One way or another, it was going to come to you! You were going to inherit this power passed down from generation to generation! You and the other Humanoids will be able to end this war once and for all!¡±


    As she spoke, her silver hair brightly lit up and her eyes invoked all of her feelings into him.


    ¡°Humanoids?¡±


    ¡°I can let those two tell you about that whenever they decide to see you, but for the time being listen to me. When you were small, you had all of these great friends, a loving family with two adorable little sisters and had a wonderful support system, but as that slowly started to fade and they all went their separate ways, Origin slowly started to get locked up by the chains of humanity. In other words, you began to limit yourself by believing that as a human you can do nothing more but watch, this reigned especially true when Casey finally left you too. You were alone and there it happened, you at last stayed as the weakling you believed yourself to be, small in the face of a large and powerful world, unaware of your true potential! Then, when this power came to you, all of a sudden a lot of people started to gather around you once again,even the old ones. To this day, you think that they are burden on you, right? A constant reminder of the battles you must face.¡±


    ¡°Stop¡­.¡± He muttered.


    ¡°But do not lie to yourself,¡± she continued.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t say it, just stop¡±


    ¡°You say you want nothing to do with the supernatural but you know damn well that you have grown to love and care for those around you in the short time that you have been with them, you know that you can protect them and never let them go! You know that you never want this support system to disappear like it did back then!You don¡¯t want to be alone¡±


    Around him, many different scenes started to play. Times he¡¯d fight with Casey, times he¡¯d laugh with Jessica, times he¡¯d share with Lucy, arguments with Ella, times with Natsumi,Stacey,Michael,Jennifer,Kyle,Cindy,Andrew,Tony,and especially the short but lovable times with Maria. All of his friends were indeed important to him. He knew that he hadn¡¯t truly spent a lot of times with some of them, but he already felt like he had a powerful connection with all of them. It was a sign that their friendship was real and true to the bone. But still,


    ¡°STOP IT¡±


    Immediately, the images around him broke into many pieces and the once smiling angel stopped her moment of confidence to look at him.


    ¡°I¡­..still don¡¯t understand why me¡­...why any of this is going on¡­...you don¡¯t understand me¡­..I wish that none of this had come down on me, it¡¯s not fair! I hate that I¡¯m such a softie! I hate that I¡¯ve openly and readily treated everything as if it was alright when it¡¯s really not! All of these people have gathered around me because they think I can do something. They believe that I can make a difference, that I am some type of hero but the reality is that I¡¯m not! Countless time I¡¯ve let them down and yet they still come to me, I just don¡¯t understand it! Why Won¡¯t they see that I just can¡¯t do anything! Why won¡¯t they see that I¡¯m just not cut out for this type of thing! And don¡¯t you fucking dare to hit me again because I swear to god I will lose my shit!!! I¡¯m.Not.The.Guy. I¡¯m not the hero that you¡¯re saying, I¡¯m just a regular guy who was once what every single kid in this damn world wanted to be, COOL. You act like wanting to be kind is something that is grand and amazing when really it should be a prerequisite to even be alive! Anybody can be kind, anybody can lend a helping hand, so why is it that I¡¯m the only one chosen by some stupid fucking power out of millions¡­.no, billions of people that would¡¯ve been a much better choice?!! Chance or just fucking bullshit!? You say that my grandfather was being selfish but right now I think you¡¯re the one being selfish! We¡¯re in my mind aren¡¯t we? So why can¡¯t you listen to me desperately crying out for you to just put me out of my misery! I¡¯m done with this life! I was wrongfully put into a position that is just too grand for me to bare! You keep on telling me that I have the power to make a difference, you told me that I have a special attribute that no one else in this world has managed to get their hands on, so why am I fucking failure!!!??? So many people I saw die today¡­..So many people I refused to help today because I wanted to save my own ass and just get my sister to safety first! I really thought that I was doing the right thing leaving everything up to Andrew and the others. That woman died because I failed to tend to her! Those kids died because I failed to make it there on time, That poor mute girl died because I was too scared to face her, that woman lost her life because I was too fucking weak and terrified to stop her from having her head cut off! Her daughter will never forgive me! What would she do if she saw me now? She¡¯d want me dead! Every damn time I actually think for just a second ¡°maybe I can do it! Maybe I can redeem myself!¡± I end up failing! Nothings changed! I¡¯m a loser! I¡¯m not fit to be surrounded by anyone! Don¡¯t you see? There¡¯s probably people still dying right now as we speak, there were people dying as I tried to avoid the madness and slip under the shadows when I clearly could¡¯ve done something, but I did nothing because I am a pile of trash! I¡¯m a worthless human being who in the end wants to look out for himself! There is no hope for me! I understand and accept that and I know that I¡¯m going to die! And you know what? I¡¯m relieved. I¡¯m relieved that at last I¡¯m going to be put out of this hell¡­and yet I also hate that that¡¯s all I can think! I want to take the easy way out! It hurts so much to think that every time I saw someone die the only thing going through my head was better you than me!!!! I¡¯m Awful!!!!!..I¡­...I just¡­¡­..Don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡­I WANT THE ANSWER¡±


    He screamed his heart out and felt his tears burst out with every mixed emotion he felt. He fell to his knees and began to cry his soul out. It wasn¡¯t fair that all of this had fallen on the absolute worst possible candidate. But, then something unexpected happened. The giant thick chain surrounding the brilliant blue light suddenly cracked loud enough for them both to hear. He,startled. Looked up with confused eyes. A chip of the chain rained down and he followed it with his eyes until he locked eyes with the angel who was softly smiling at him. Confused, he was about to ask why but she raised her small palm to stop him.


    ¡°You accept that. Up to now, you have been harboring these emotions inside you and they have been building up for years, not just since you received this power. But you accepting and expressing that is the first step for you to stand up and come back from all of your failures. That is only the first step for you to rid yourself from the chains of humanity. I understand loud and clear exactly what you feel, and I do hear you screaming for the pain to stop. However, rather than make me wanna let you die, it makes me sad to see you like that and I wanna help change that. And to do that, I know you need an answer, but even now you haven¡¯t realized that you yourself had that answer a long time ago¡±


    ¡°W-what?.....¡± he slowly said. However, from a great distance, he heard a small echo. A small but powerful voice that called out to him, only him. He quickly looked around the darkness but saw nothing. He continued to desperately look as eventually the sound and call grew louder.


    ¡°Fight¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°W-what is that?! Who is that!?¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Fight¡­¡­.Fight¡­...fight¡­¡­..fight¡­¡­.fight!!!!!!¡±


    The world once again exploded and he felt himself fall in mid air but yet he could see nothing, not even the angel. However, from all around, he could now loudly hear the voice of his younger self talking.


    ¡°FIGHT. YOU WANT CANDY!!?? BUY IT!! YOU WANT TO GO HOME!!?? FIGHT FOR IT!!!!!EARN ITTTTT!!!!!!¡±


    His eyes widened and his skin got goosebumps. Before he knew it, he stopped falling and he was somehow face to face to with his 7 year old safe. Contrary to him, his eyes and aura were glowing a dazzling color blue. He was smiling whereas Axel still had tears in his eyes. Small Axel reached out with his hand and wiped the tears from his eyes. With a large smile, he said something.


    ¡°Hey now, this isn¡¯t me! You gotta be super cool if you wanna be a hero!¡±


    His voice was tiny but his spirit was large. And at that point, Axel understood completely. What he had to do was clear, what he was supposed to do was clear, but of course there were still some doubts. However.


    Young Axel raised his small fist and extended it. With fearless eyes, he smiled from ear to ear as if telling him that he had this.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡­...Together!¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­¡­.You got it.¡±


    *Tap*


    When their fists collided, the world was suddenly purged of the darkness by the brilliant blue light that now grew stronger than ever. It was so immensely powerful that the chain around it could not hold up. It cracked and cracked until finally it burst into many pieces all washing over the world. The world was rid of the darkness and the area turned completely blue. As that happened, the small Axel soon began to fade and was absorbed into the current Axel. When it happened, his eyes were rid of a certain glaze of blue.


    ¡°You see it now? You managed to skip everything else and just get straight to the point, accepting yourself. Yes, the truth is hard but I know in your heart that you now know that it¡¯s what you were born to do.¡± The angel said suddenly making herself visible to him. She floated up in front of him and smiled with her now spinning pupils. Axel, with brand new faith, felt like everything was clear to him. Both sides became one and he knew what he had to do.


    ¡°So that was it¡­.There were two version of me inside of me both clawing at each other. One filled with Origin and the other absolutely sure that he was stuck being human and that that was the way it was meant to be with the latter having most of the authority. I get it now¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yes, every time you tried to use this power it mostly failed because you still did not accept it as yours. And when you used it, it damaged you because you rejected it while still having a need for it. Such a contradiction is going to hurt. Does that make sense?¡±


    Axel nodded and fell to the ground, no out of sadness but exhaustion. The angel approached him closer and also sat next to him.


    ¡°I do have a very prime example for you. Since you did not want to tame this power, it attempted to tame you and often lost control. I happen to recall that your fingers once discharged on their own recently, right? And once during the capture the flag game your body filled up with power against your will, right? Well, now you know why! Just be glad that nothing more happened!¡±


    Axel nodded and adjusted himself on the ground now having an understanding of what had happened those days, just knowing what went down felt like a weight off his shoulders. The angel moved her arms back and leaned on them to support her body.


    ¡°This world is vast and contradicting. There is so much to learn. So much to do...there are people who aren¡¯t aware of the true evil there is and the grave peril the world is actually in. That¡¯s why this power was created. Because it has the power to take on everything, it doesn¡¯t just absorb, you know?¡±


    ¡°What? What else does it do?¡±


    ¡°One with no Origin can use this power albeit only a fraction of a fraction of its true potential. One with Origin but who has lost his way can use this power but only a fraction of it. However, one who fully embraces their Origin can use it to its max potential! Congratulations Axel Ison, You are now one of the many who have had that privilege!¡± She said as she shook his left shoulder. Axel did of course feel somewhat happy but he was curious as to what else he could be able to do now.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re curious are you? Well, there¡¯s not really much I can say, that job is supposed to be your mentors! But not to worry, they¡¯ll be seeing you very soon! What I can say is that you lot have known this power as ¡°Power Magnet¡±, but that¡¯s not what it was originally called.¡±


    ¡°What? Then what in the world is it supposed to be called?¡±


    The angel giggled and spread both of her arms wide. With a dazzling expression, she spoke to him.


    ¡°The power to fight everything, every bit of power whether it be Prana,Spiritual Energy, or even Mana! Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s divine either! This ability was designed to face all of that if it had to, it was created with the idea of its wielder being able to be omnipotent. So of course it made sense to name this ability, ¡°Omni¡±.¡±


    ¡°Omni, huh? Meaning All? Amazing, sounds way better than power magnet¡­ It fits perfectly.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it?¡± The angel said to him. He understood that now he could do what he was originally supposed to do, but he didn¡¯t know what exactly was available to him right now. After all, the sun wasn¡¯t shining and birds weren¡¯t chirping outside. He needed something that would give him the upper hand, something to help end this madness.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure why you keep thinking to yourself, I can still hear you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry...I forget¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Well, at this very moment you can now use the mythical and legendary power of the¡­.¡±


    She raised her small palm to her face and created a ball of flames that slowly extended out. It moved and shaped into something that he had little trouble in figuring out.


    ¡°Dragons¡±


    The small fire dragon let out a noiseless roar and disappeared the moment she closed her palm.


    ¡°................WHAT? DRAGONS!???¡± he said jumping up as fast as his heart racing.


    ¡°That is correct, you are now considered a Dragon Turner.¡± The angel said looking up at him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that dragons existed¡­..wow, a dragon¡­¡­.and such a cool name too¡­..¡±


    ¡°Yes, dragons did exist once upon a time. Along with fairies, dwarves,elves,and even angels and demons. However, that history does not pertain to this world, that much I know.¡± She said with her voice now turning into that of a teacher.


    ¡°What do you mean? Not of this world?¡±


    ¡°Well, again, that is something that I¡¯m not allowed to tell you. Well, actually, I can¡¯t even if I wanted to because it pertains to magic. And as you know, the history of it has been long extinct and cursed, forgotten to everyone who knew of it. But, I know that the dragons were once one of the top magical beings of the world! Second only to the angels! Humans were of course powerless but stood a chance once they created Humanoid Magic which allowed them to imitate certain types of magic. One of them was the power of the dragons, a power very few were actually able to use. Obviously in today¡¯s time, being able to achieve the power of the dragons is impossible but luckily it was salvaged and now you have it.¡±


    As Axel took this new information in, so many questions popped up in his head. However. Before he could ask the angel once again stopped him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but we¡¯re out of time. When the time comes those two will come to you and you¡¯ll be able to ask so much more. But right now, you¡¯re about to die!¡±


    When he remembered it, his blood ran cold. It was true that power Mag-....  ¡°Omni¡± was in the middle of being extracted. He wasn¡¯t sure how, but if it separated from him he¡¯d die.


    ¡°W-w-w-w-what can I do? It¡¯s not like I can move!¡± He said waving his arms. However, the angel smiled and stood up. When she did so, the world once again went black and Axel alone was left surrounded by a blue light.


    ¡°Axel Ison, we have heard your origin and experienced first hand that you indeed do possess it.¡±


    {outside in the real world,


    ¡°Just a couple more seconds and that damned nuisance will at last be out of our way. I bet the master will be so proud! I wish I could get in contact with him though...no matter¡± The small man said to himself. He pointed his gaze at a small pool filled with dozens of tiny looking fish. However, they were no ordinary fish, they were electric eels that were supposed to be undergoing experimentation at once. Since he had to set up shop here in such short notice, he put them there in order for him to work. He was a good ways away from the incubator where the magnet boy was being held so that the sounds of him gurgling wouldn¡¯t bother him as much. After all, he was a dead man already.}


    ¡°Omni has begun its process and is still merging with you and your soul, if pulled out your soul will suffer damage and you will die. You cannot move, however, there is still a chance.¡± She said as if speaking to an auditorium.


    ¡°We realize that you have your doubts, but we are confident that this will help¡­...right, guys?¡± she said smiling and raising her arms high. Suddenly, it was as if lights the lights came on and the audience was at last revealed. Thousands of silhouettes and tiny balls of yellow lights surrounded both him and the angel. Right next to the angel stood two figures completely covered with the darkness. Even from up close he could not see them. However, something did begin to happen. Something that he would never forget.


    {Power Magnet was now slowly slipping away from its wielder and his life force was now draining according to the dashboard in front of him. He chuckled and continued to write on his clipboard as four gauges steadily decreased. Energy, Body heat, Mana, and Life force.}


    Like a phone syncing to another using bluetooth, a stream of thoughts,ideas,hopes,,doubts,fears,loves,wishes,dreams,nightmares,prayers,and goals washed over him before he knew what to do with them. So many lives flashed before his eyes and in every single one of them he found one thing that they had in common.


    Peace. The desire for peace was the one thing that kept them all going.


    ¡°We know that one day you will appreciate all that we¡¯ve done. And we know that day may not be now, but we want you to know that you were not the only one lost and afraid, but we all had to fight through it, all with the idea of this war ending once and for all!¡± she said as the darkness suddenly started to swallow her too.


    {2 of the four gauges had at last reached zero. The only two remaining were Life force and Mana. The man chuckled and continued to lay back in his chair.}


    ¡°Right here, right now! We want you to show us one last time! Just how far you are going to go to see this through all the way to the end! You either sink or swim! The choice is all yours! Only once will this miracle be granted to you! Fight with the hands of a human only once more! And take back the power that has been stolen from you! Or watch as you slowly die a pitiful death!¡± The darkness covered her up to her neck as the second figure of darkness started to slowly approach him. He looked over that figures shoulder and watched as the angel slowly was swallowed up.


    ¡°Wait!!!Please don¡¯t leave!!!¡± he yelled. However, the angel smiled softly and for the first time ever showed him quite a sight. She began to cry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll never be alone. After all, Omni does have a mind of its own,remember?............Now go Axel Ison! Show us the embodiment of all of our efforts! FIGHT!¡± Was the last thing she said as the crowd around her erupted into cheers and she was swallowed by the night. Then, the figure in front of him suddenly reached out its hand to him.


    {All 4 gauges were now seemingly empty, Power Magnet had successfully been extracted and was now a bright ball of rainbow colors inside of the incubator. It glowed powerfully as the man viewed it from afar.


    ¡°Incredible¡± He said not realizing that one gauge still had a line of power left.


    Life Force.}


    Axel, now feeling moved, reached out for the figure and took its hand. When he did, the darkness completely jumped off the figure to uncover the body belonging to a girl. She looked similar to the angel only instead of pure silver hair and black and silver bangs she had silver hair with black highlights. She wore a long dress akin to the angel¡¯s only this one had a large black bow wrapped around her waist which made the bottom half frilly. Finally, her eyes were the same as the angel¡¯s only that her pupils were shaped regularly. As he exclaimed within himself, the second angel spoke in the voice that he had been dying to know who it had belonged to for quite some time. The same angelic voice that spoke to him the day he had first used Omni. It was her, she was the one. And in that moment, there was only one thing she said.


    {His body slowly filled with the last bit of energy it had left and prepared to discharge. Meanwhile, the man slowly started to approach the body who he thought was lifeless}


    ¡°Hi, I look forward to working with you, partner!¡±


    BANG


    His body blew out and the incubator was suddenly destroyed. Wind blew glass in all directions as the man quickly hit the deck and covered his head. He heard the sound of water falling all over the place as wind continued to blow. When it finally stopped, the man quickly lifted his head to see what had just happened.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± he said in shock.


    A thick set of steam quickly formed around the area the incubator was once at when a head suddenly poked out and started gasping for air. While panting and sitting on the ground, the night haired boy widened his eyes as he himself seemed to not know what had just happened.


    (Im-......Impossible!!! How the hell did he do that??! He was supposed to be dead! He was completely out cold from our anesthetics, he shouldn¡¯t of have been up for another week!!) the man thought. And yet, when the boy had finally come to realize the state he was in, he raised his head while still gasping. He had his back to the man. When the steam made enough room for the man to see that, the boy slowly turned his head to look back at the man with one wide and shocked eye. With his body covered from head to toe with a strange rainbow aura, he continued to eye him but did not take real notice when the man quickly jumped up and ran into another room.


    (what just¡­...what just happened¡­..) he thought feeling a strange sense of of disorientation. It almost felt like his body wasn¡¯t his own. One second he was out with Colt and the next he was-


    {Fight!}


    In one fluid motion it had all come back to him, the brief moment in time that he had spent with the angel who had once again awakened his Origin. When he remembered, he felt his skin get goosebumps as a chill went down his spine. He wiped drool off his lips as he looked above him. There was a ball of colorful light floating there. It was vibrant,warm,powerful,and¡­¡­..Alive? It was like a heart that steadily beat in mid air. He felt its vibration through the air and he suddenly realized what it was.


    ¡°Omni¡­.?¡±


    It had to be Omni, there was no other explanation as to why he felt like that was his. And since it was outside of his body, it was his understanding that he had to be dead. If he wasn¡¯t,it meant that it was still somehow keeping him alive. That would explain the rainbow like aura that was surrounding him,it was that that was sustaining his life force. It almost felt like he was floating in water, a very surreal feeling to say the absolute very least.


    As much as he wanted to really take in the moment, time was not going to let him. Something was telling him, something was letting him know that in just a short amount of time the weak link that was keeping him alive would drain and he would in fact die. He had to take Omni back inside him. However, there was one thing he inevitably had to do.


    ¡°So you somehow managed to break free, eh magnet boy? You cost us precious equipment just now, only way the boss will forgive me is if I come back with your corpse¡±


    From behind him, he heard the same man from before speak to him. Axel slowly rose to his feet and turned to face him. The once defenseless scientist now was covered from head to toe with weapons and armor. He had two long batons in his hands which emitted shocking sounds from the tips. His chest,arms,legs, and head were protected with paddings similar to the type athletes used to play sports. He had a gun strapped to his left hip and another baton on his back. Axel had his work cut out for him. He could¡¯ve just jumped up and reunited with Omni,however, it didn¡¯t let him do that. It quickly moved out of his way and landed a ways behind the armored man.


    ¡°So you want me to fight for you, eh? Well, you got it¡± He said with a grin. Axel bent his knees slightly and tried to reach out for some power. However, as expected, he didn¡¯t have any. As of right now, he was fighting as a human. He had to show his worth once more or die trying. For a split second, fear tried to caress him but just as soon as it came he brushed it away and stopped his leg from shaking. Then, with slow steps at first, he began to jog toward his obstacle.


    ¡°So, you coming at me head first, huh? I¡¯ll show you! I¡¯ll show you that I can fuck you up even if I can¡¯t use Soul of Shadows!¡±


    (She was right¡­..)


    The first swing went to the man, he swung his right baton at him aiming for his torso which Axel narrowly dodged. As he got ready to swing it back, Axel stopped his elbow and karate chopped his wrist making him drop the baton. Just as he broke free and swung the left one, Axel bent down low and grabbed the baton he had dropped.


    (My grandfather was being slightly selfish¡­)


    He quickly swung the back of the baton up toward his chin and landed a clean blow knocking the man back a few steps. The man angrily wiped the saliva off his mouth and ran back at him with bloodshot eyes. He swung the baton at him which Axel instinctively tried to dodge. By some miracle, he was able to dodge almost all of them. However, a shock did suddenly hit him from his right side. It took him a while to realize that the man had used his spare baton on him while he was focusing on the other one in his hand.


    (Nothing in this world is meant to be free)


    However, this pain, he found, was nothing compared to the excruciating amount of pain he had received when using super strength. In fact, it almost felt he had anticipated too much pain from the shock and was now disappointed! With a huge grin, he grabbed the extra baton from the man¡¯s hand and twisted out of his grip. It was surprisingly easy to get. This man must¡¯ve not been too accustomed to fighting. He then threw both of them to the side and bared his fists.


    (My grandfather should¡¯ve known that, so he should¡¯ve never tried to sugarcoat things to me. If he somehow knew that I was going to receive this¡­..¡±gift¡±, than he should¡¯ve embraced that fact! Not hide me from it!)


    The man angrily grit his teeth and pulled out the handgun. One,two,three,four, shots was all that he managed to fire before Axel managed to get close enough to counter.


    (If I want something, I have to fight for it)


    Dodging the bullets was fairly simple. The man aimed exactly where he wanted to shoot so all Axel had to do was not panic and move out of the way. Keeping a level head was key.


    (He told me to live a peaceful life, but he should¡¯ve known that if it were that simple, everybody would do it!)


    Once he was close enough, he quickly grabbed his wrist and smacked the pistol away from his weak grip. Fear entered the man¡¯s eyes when he came into direct contact with Axel¡¯s. All he could see was the pure and solid resolve that Axel had now acquired.


    (Peace is something I have to work for, we all have to work for!)


    Without really knowing what to do next, Axel began to wrestle the man back with everything he had.


    ¡°Damn you!!!! Just let yourself be captured, this power of yours can help us reach our goal much quicker, a world where peace is at hand!!! So just drop it already!!!¡± The man yelled as he began furiously punching Axel in the face. Regardless, Axel still pushed back where a few feet away waited a dark pool which emanated slight sparks.


    (So it is selfish, to keep me from realizing what I was born to do! What I have to do!!)


    Axel continued to work his aching muscles and pushed back with everything he had. Punches continued to land on his now aching head and the man continued to yell. But, it did not matter. What Axel had to do was clear. The road would not be simple, the road was going to be hard, of that much he was certain, but his mind was clear now. He knew that he once had the resolve, but he never thought of trying to bring it back, He knew, somewhere deep down inside that this power was supposed to be his. The power to actually make a difference in this world, it was now completely possible, and he was sure he could do it!


    (But don¡¯t worry, I am going to live a peaceful life, and so is everyone else. As soon as we get done fighting for it,earning it!!!!)


    The electrical pool was now mere meters away when the man suddenly turned and grabbed Axel¡¯s hand forcing him to be directly in front of the pool. Inside he could see what could only be eels slithering inside the 5 foot pool. Normally, this would have spooked him, but this wasn¡¯t normal anymore¡­.


    (I¡¯m going to fight!!!!! This is-!!!!!)


    Axel grabbed the hand that was holding him from behind and used it as a pedestal to do a horizontal spin in the air. Then, still in the air, he made sure that his back was to the ground before adjusting his legs. One to the ground and one to the chest of the man. In that one moment, their eyes met and that man knew exactly what was going to happen. His face spread with fear once more and seemed to be about to say something but Axel did not give him the chance. Axel used his leg facing the ground to jump up with all he had and kick off the chest of the man with the other leg he had. Getting help from his arm holding the man, he was able to knock him straight into the pool as originally planned.


    (My Ability!!!!!)


    He heard one last scream before he fell to the ground. The water was violently swishing as Axel heard the man gurgling in pain. Shock after shock occurred before the man finally stopped moving..


    ¡°Looks like those eels were experimental¡­..who knows how much they were mutated to be powerful like that.....¡± Axel said as he stood up and looked inside the pool to see the man floating upside down in the water. Some eels wrapped around his legs as they nibbled on him. Feeling queasy, Axel looked away and noticed Omni now hovering over him. He stared at its dazzling rainbow lights before scratching his head and wondering. If he wanted to, he could just leave here. Sure, without it he¡¯d now die but he would be basically dodging a major bullet.


    When he thought that, Anger started to boil up inside him¡­¡­..only, it wasn¡¯t his. He thought for a second and realized that it must¡¯ve been Omni who was feeling that way. Which was actually pretty neat, it must¡¯ve heard him since he was still attached to it by its rainbow aura.


    ¡°I¡¯m only joking, I wouldn¡¯t do that. Now come on you, we¡¯ve got work to do.¡± He said as he extended his hand out to touch it. When he did, he quickly absorbed it and watched as it entered his body. All of a sudden, he felt whole again when a chill entered his chest. He shivered and rubbed his thumb and middle finger together. When he slowly separated them, sparks of electricity appeared there.


    ¡°Just as I thought, it¡¯s much easier now¡± He said.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get you out¡± He said to the faced down man. He reached into the pool and pulled on his leg. One of the eels saw this and attempted to bite him only to receive an even more powerful shock causing it to swim away in fear. Axel giggled as he noticed that. He grabbed the man¡¯s torso and threw him out of the water. He checked his pulse and was happy to see that it was still there. He grabbed a nearby towel that was conveniently around and placed it over the man. Feeling pumped, he smiled and stood up.


    {That¡¯s nice of you. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not a murderer} An extremely familiar voice played from somewhere nearby. He raised his eyebrows and looked around to see where the voice was coming from. However, he didn¡¯t see anyone.


    {Obviously, I¡¯m speaking from inside of your mind}


    ¡°Woah, woah,woah! Who in the world are you? Are you the same angel from before??¡±


    {I am not. I don¡¯t know if you remember but when you awakened origin again I was finally able to talk to you formally. Before, since you didn¡¯t have origin and wanted, and I quote, ¡°nothing to do with this power¡±, I wasn¡¯t able to talk to you since your mind and body were shutting me out. However, that¡¯s all water under the bridge now it looks like!}


    Axel heard her say that but wasn¡¯t really paying attention as he was currently walking around trying to look for either his clothes or something he could wear. Sure, her finally talking to him instead of being mysterious was a grand thing but he wasn¡¯t all that surprised. He expected this to happen sooner or later actually.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say? Well, I guess it¡¯s a real pleasure to meet you¡­...but uh, you wouldn¡¯t happen to know where all my clothes went do ya?¡± he asked making a full 360 spin.


    {I don¡¯t. But, I think I may have something a little better for you. Would you like to see?}


    ¡°Oh yeah? It depends, am I going to get hurt in the process?¡± he jokingly said managing to make the girl inside his head laugh.


    {Haha, no no no, the last thing I would like to do is hurt you.} She said sincerely, a feeling which he was able to feel, interestingly enough.


    ¡°Well then, in that case I accept.¡± Axel said standing in one place and crossing his arms.


    {Well, it looks like the ¡°angel¡± from before left me with some notes for you.} She said sounding like she was looking for something. Axel shifted his eyebrows and furrowed his brow in confusion.


    ¡°What do you mean? Like a list a parent leaves the babysitter with telling them what to do when their baby does certain things?¡± He asked.


    {Precisely. The first one here is telling me that you should be able to use Omni with little to no problem now. Your power capacity should have also increased but she emphasizes for you not to overdo it.}


    ¡°Fair enough, what else?¡±


    {This one says that she has prepared a change of clothes for you that should be durable enough for it not to rip in combat. There are many battles ahead and she stresses for you to be careful out there since there''s still a chance for you to die. Here is what she had prepared for you..}


    A bright light enveloped Axel and his body started to feel an odd chill surround him. His hair ruffled up as he felt something tighten his head. The next moment, he suddenly felt warm and comfy and the light around him started to faintly disappear. He inspected himself and now noticed that he was wearing different clothes. These were definitely not his own. He had on a black hoodie with a white T shirt under. Dark blue half baggy sweats that were tight around his ankles and a thin set of dark blue slip on shoes that fit him perfectly. Around his waist was a white belt that reminded him of the ones people received while practicing karate. When it was all said and done, Axel was left to look at himself with a strange sense of confusion yet excitement.


    ¡°Wow, you made clothes appear out of thin air¡­.that¡¯s magical...thanks for the getup! So, what¡¯s next?¡±


    {Yes, she has also informed me of something quite dangerous. Please have a look outside.}


    Hearing her sound concerned, Axel looked for the closest window and walked over to it with quick and swift steps. At first, he thought that it had been painted black but he soon realized that he was wrong. There was just a thick black substance that was sticking to the front of the window. Since he couldn¡¯t clean it from the inside, he decided to just open it up.


    ¡°What in the¡­..¡±


    When he did, he felt a very cold chill slap his being. He covered his face on reflex and shut his eyes as he felt tiny pieces of something hit him from the outside. When he deemed it safe, he lowered his hands slowly and opened his eyes. What he saw was¡­..confusing, to say the very least. A thick sheet of pitch black snow covered the land for as far as the eye could see and it still continued to fall slowly and deadly. There was no wind, there was no noise, everything was now completely silent. The now silver looking rays of sunlight tore through the white clouds and washed upon the dark land as fires and smoke continued to rise from the battlefield. Axel¡¯s hairs stood on end as he watched from afar.


    {Quickly, take 3 deep breaths and tell me how you feel} The voice told him. As she requested, Axel did as such.


    1¡­¡­.2¡­¡­.3¡­¡­


    ¡°I feel fine, but the air kind of feels like it could stick to my lungs, kind of like smoking...What¡¯s that mean?¡±


    Axel could feel the voice in his head relax as he told her this.


    {What she told me was true. It appears that this black substance that you are seeing is called ¡°Nieve Negra¡±. It appears to be snow like, in a sense that it is cold and fluffy like snow, but it¡¯s actually extremely deadly. It¡¯s all extremely poisonous. It can be breathed in and cause major burns to the inside of your body or if you come in contact with it it can burn straight through your skin. That¡¯s how cold it is.}


    ¡°Really? So how come I just breathed it in just fine?¡± He asked as he walked out onto the edge of the window. He had to be at least 15 stories up.


    {I¡¯m not really sure why as she didn¡¯t tell me, but it seems that you are slightly immune to it. Otherwise you would have felt your throat burning up.}


    ¡°You don¡¯t say?.......My God, my main character armor is really piling up on me¡­..¡±


    Axel walked further out on the ledge of the building and extended his bare hand to catch a black snowflake. He watched as one gently landed on his palm and felt it sting. It almost felt like touching a hot stove¡­¡­...or Casey. He flinched and waved his hand. This ¡°Nieve Negra¡± would be a huge problem for him to move around¡­. There had to be something he could do to make it not hurt him¡­..


    Then, it occurred to him. Ella once told him that super humans have something called Aura. it is basically a sheet of energy that one must have in order to produce the powers that exist today. Aura is invisible unless you make it visible. That much he knew as he remembered the Aura the enveloped Ella as she fought back in Sonic City. This Aura is always surrounding a superhuman, so what if it could be used as a shield of sorts?


    He jumped back inside the building as to avoid any further burns and sat down cross legged. He could feel the presence inside of him watching him carefully to see just what he had in mind.


    He took in a soft and soothing breath of fresh air and concentrated. Humans didn¡¯t have Aura, he was a regular human with no Aura. However, now with Omni at his side, he had been given his own Aura. Up to now, however, he hadn¡¯t felt anything around him. Why? Because he didn¡¯t want anything like that around him, or at least before he didn¡¯t. The only times he felt any Aura build up were when he used Omni, but it damaged him. Why again? Take a door for example. Try and make a wave of water pass through a closed door without damaging it. It would be impossible. However, if you open the door, the water can pass right through. It was like that. All he had to do was open the door, and so he did. So now, Aura should be easy to control¡­.


    He concentrated deeply and grabbed the energy with him like sheets of blankets. Then, in one fluid motion he threw it out over him and made it cover his entire body. The room lit up as Axel erupted into grey flames. At first, it seemed like it¡¯d go out of control. However, with immense concentration and will power, the energy started to calm and eventually it looked like water rising up from around him. He then opened his eyes and calmly stood up so as to not lose his concentration. Sweat beads popped up around his forehead as he kept his focus. He then slowly walked outside again and extended his hand out to catch another flake of the black snow. Another one fell on his palm and burned it but he kept it there. Defense, defense, defense, that was on his mind as he gritted his teeth and poured his heart and soul into it. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes felt like hours but Axel continued at it until what he wanted happened. His eyebrows shook as the water surrounding him struggled to keep its tranquility. It sometimes threatened to break loose but Axel brought in the reigns and kept it at bay. All the while, the voice inside his head kept quiet, eagerly anticipating the end results.


    Finally, finally after what seemed like forever, a change started to happen. The flakes that were still burning his skin started to slowly float. They floated and floated until finally they went outside of his barrier and gently fell to the ground. The flakes around him also started to hit his barrier and fall around him. Though he was excited, he wasn¡¯t done just yet. He had to give this the final touch. He kicked it into full throttle and attempted to make the Aura disappear so it wouldn¡¯t be visible but still kept its effect in place. However, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t at that level just yet as he couldn¡¯t get it to disappear without taking down the barrier completely. So, instead he shrunk it down to where it was almost like wearing a skin tight suit. It wasn¡¯t completely visible but it was still protecting him. Satisfied with that, he smacked his palms together and went back inside.


    {That took a lot of effort, you know? It was quite impressive considering you have no experience with Aura at all. You needed to not only control your Aura and keep it from exploding, you needed to make it do what you wanted. Best part is, you¡¯re not exhausting your supply of energy as it is sticking to your body and not being sent out. You really are smart, aren¡¯t you?} The voice in his head told him with a proud feeling.


    ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s something to be proud of, I bet others can do this too¡­¡­ but anyways, what do we do about this black snow? How did it even get here?¡±


    ¡°The boss¡­.did it¡­..¡± He heard a familiar voice tell him. Knowing exactly who it was, he turned to look at the man who had trapped him in here in the first place. He was sitting up against the wall and had an exhausted look on his face.


    ¡°You? Glad to see you¡¯re up and talking but uh, why...are you?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no real reason to hide it. That stuff is called Nieve Negra. I don¡¯t know too much about it except that it¡¯s deadly. You were right to cover yourself with your aura. Though, you have to cover your face and make sure you don¡¯t breathe it in. The boss must¡¯ve summoned the snow in order to kill off the rest of the humans running around. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so quiet¡­¡±


    Axel felt his heart flip as he realized that innocent people could be dying even as they speak due to this substance. And that fact alone made his blood boil.


    ¡°Damn it¡­..What do you mean must¡¯ve?! You mean to tell me that his own men don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going on!?¡± He yelled.


    ¡°The boss is a secretive man, we just do as he says.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the endgame here!? Why is he doing this!?¡±


    Axel said that, but it was then that something surfaced in his mind that gave him all the answers he needed. When down in the vacant subway tunnels while he hid from the two shadow hunters, he heard them talking. They had said something about the Six paths not being complete, and that a total of four of them with monstrous energy were set to appear somehow¡­¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Project Armageddon..¡± he said unconsciously. The man widened his eyes and started to stagger to talk.


    ¡°How in the world do you know about that? I thought only the higher ups knew about it!¡±


    ¡°I overheard some of your buddies talking, but they didn¡¯t say much¡­...Look, how can I make that snow stop?¡±


    ¡°There is no way that I know of, you¡¯d have to ask the one who caused it but I doubt he¡¯ll budge. Listen, I¡¯d just suggest you hightail it out of here. You¡¯re one special kid, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to stand up to them. If and when they appear, it¡¯ll be too late for you all. You won¡¯t survive¡± The man said as he wiped some drool from his lips.


    Axel heard him say that and found truth in his words. Sure, he was scared, but there was no way he could stop¡­..not now¡­


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. How would I know if I don¡¯t try? There really is no point in stopping just as much as there is no point in trying just as you say. I might as well try and see what I can do when I get there. If I die, I die. But I¡¯ll die knowing I tried. If it¡¯s for peace, I can fight¡± Axel said as he turned back out to the window.


    ¡°I see¡­. Well, you¡¯re crazy, you know that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s thanks to me going to school that day. Though now I wonder if I would¡¯ve ended up like this anyway¡­..¡±


    The man watched as Axel shook his head and sighed then walked toward the open window. For a moment, the man was unsure of what to do. But then, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out something belonging to the boy.


    ¡°Here, pretty sure this belongs to you¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh hey! My keychain! Thanks for giving it back!¡± Axel said as he grabbed the small blue tube. He placed it in his pocket and was going to turn around again but ended up deciding against it. There was just something he wanted to do¡­.or ask rather.


    ¡°You¡¯re not so bad for a bad guy, eh? Why¡¯d you end up with these guys anyway?¡±


    ¡°We all have our ups and downs in life kid, some of us end up straying away from what¡¯s really good¡­.¡±


    ¡°So then, would you consider this your down?¡± Axel asked leaning against a wall.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even sure anymore¡­..I thought this was my height, working here¡­..or at least I thought so until you showed up. You stood up to me even though I was armed to the toe and won. Then you showed me some mercy and saved my life. Then you go on to say that you want to fight despite knowing that you stand no chance. It makes me wonder, is what I¡¯m doing really¡­...the right thing?¡± He said as he slowly dropped his gaze to the ground. Axel stayed silent and simply listened to the rest of what he had to say.


    ¡°My family¡­..lived in peace¡­..we lived in peace¡­..We weren¡¯t doing anything wrong to anyone¡­..I went to work in a laboratory, like any other regular day and suddenly I come home and they¡¯re gone¡­..I went crazy looking for them¡­..I asked anyone and everyone until a man came up to me saying that he knew where my family was. Said that the bastard peacekeeper organization had abducted them in order to conduct sick experiments on them. I was so¡­.angry¡­..I felt so much hatred boil up from inside me and I was so blinded by my rage that I didn¡¯t even stop to think if he was being legit or not. But then he offered to help me get my family back in exchange for my skills in the lab. And so, I joined the shadow hunters not actually knowing what the fuck I was getting myself into. But here I am two whole fucking years later not knowing what the fuck is going on or where my family is¡­¡­..I¡¯m honestly just¡­...so done¡­..¡± The man said as he covered his face with his palms and softly cried. Axel was no cold hearted brute, so he actually felt for the man. He walked over and kneeled in front of him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. I really am, but I have to tell you that I¡¯ve been to where the peacekeepers stay and I have never ever seen anyone get experimented on. Trust me, if your family were with them, they¡¯d be completely safe. Of that you can be sure of. Though, I¡¯m starting to wonder, what if it were really the shadow hunters who abducted them in order to get you to use your intellect for them letting you think that they would help you find your family in return?¡±


    When he said that, the man lifted his face and looked at him, but not at him, with wide eyes. It had seemed like the thought had never occurred to him. But now, it made perfect sense. After all, why would a shadow hunter approach someone like him or even know of his family¡¯s disappearance? An anger so hot boiled up inside him and made him feel like a huge fool. A mouse running blindly into a trap¡­.that was him¡­.


    ¡°I¡­..never thought of that!!¡± He said through gritted teeth as he slammed his fists on the ground.


    Axel watched as the man cried in agony completely distraught and confused. Axel couldn¡¯t just do nothing seeing him like this, and it was obvious that there was only one thing to do.


    ¡°We all make mistakes, right? So if this was your down, come on, let¡¯s go up¡± Axel said as he stood up and offered the man a hand. The man stopped crying and slowly raised his head. Bewildered, he looked up at Axel.


    ¡°How¡­...how would I know if this is the right thing?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know! You have to decide that on your own, but I can guarantee you two things, you won¡¯t be alone, and I can definitely help you get your family back. So come on you, let¡¯s get out of here, as friends.¡± Axel said with a huge smile.


    For many moments, the man wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Was this boy telling the truth? Would he really be a better option? Say his family really were with the shadow hunters, wouldn¡¯t they be in even more danger if he just up and left?.....then again, there was no reason to not believe this kid. After all, he seemed so kind. And those back at the base were so¡­...not.


    ¡°You can really promise me to help? You swear it?¡±


    ¡°Cross my heart and hope to die¡± he said with a firm look. The man continued to hesitate but before long there was no longer anything that he could doubt.


    ¡°Ah, what the hell?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    The man that was sitting before him suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand. However, when he did so, the man glowed and began to fade away. For a moment, he freaked out, but then he felt something warm land on his palm. When the light dimmed down, he was stunned to find a gerbil sitting there. A brown and black gerbil with dark eyes who just stared up at him.


    ¡°What in the world!? A gerbil!?¡±


    ¡°No you idiot! I¡¯m a hamster!¡±


    ¡°The gerbil talks!!!!¡± Axel said completely spooked.


    ¡°A hamster kid, A hamster!!!¡±


    After a couple of seconds of pure shock, the hamster finally got Axel to relax and listen. As it turned out, the man did have one slightly useless ability to turn into a hamster.


    ¡°Ohhhhhh, okay! Why didn¡¯t you just say so? That¡¯s actually really convenient! So, guess you¡¯re apart of the team¡­...uh, what''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Ricardo. Just call me Ricardo.¡± He said as he scurried inside his sweater and up to his shoulder.


    ¡°Ah, well I¡¯m Axel Ison.¡±


    ¡°Yup, I know that.¡±


    {Great job on making friends, Axel. I¡¯m proud of you!}


    (You sound like my mother¡­..but hey, speaking of names, what¡¯s yours?)


    {well, I don¡¯t have one.} the voice inside his head said somewhat sadly.


    (Well, looks like I have to give you one¡­¡­¡­.something sweet and beautiful, like you sound¡­...how about Sophia?)


    {Sophia?.......I love it! Sophia it is!}


    (Well, Glad you like it Sophia! But do me a favor and loosen up a bit, okay? You don¡¯t have to speak formally.)


    {Oh thank goodness, wasn¡¯t sure if I could keep it up long myself!) Sophia said slightly giggling in his mind. Feeling happy, Axel walked out onto the ledge of the window with a strong and firm confidence so high that he felt like nothing could beat him. With Ricardo and Sophia at his side, things were starting to look up.


    {Oh, about one of the notes the angel left me, one specifically says ¡°Confess to that Lucy girl already! There¡¯s no point in hiding it anymore, we all know!!!¡±}


    ¡°Only everyone inside my head does you hag!!!!!!!!¡± Axel said as he started to blush profusely. Ricardo at his shoulder watched him talk to himself and wondered if he was really going to be safe at all.


    ¡°Sooooo, what now kid?¡± Ricardo asked.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not really sure what comes first. So, I have to go to someone who does and for that I need to reunite with the other peacekeepers. I¡¯m sure my sister¡¯s fine and I¡¯ll find her eventually. But for now, I gotta focus on stopping this shit storm..¡± Axel said as he told Ricardo to hold on tight. When he did, Axel jumped down from the tall building and landed on the ground below by using the wind to slow his fall. This time, he completely nailed it.


    He was strong, he could get stronger! This madness was going to end, and he would make sure he would be able to do it!!! And it all started, with one step!!!


    *slip*


    ¡°Eh?¡± he said as his face turned blank. He had taken one step when suddenly the frozen ground under him caused him to slip. Not only that, but a black hooded figure quickly approached him from behind and raised a sword to attack. For a second, Axel thought that he was a goner already, however, it didn¡¯t happen like that. When a sudden intense and cold chill grazed his back and blew him forward, he knew that he was going to be okay, though he couldn¡¯t explain why just yet. He quickly stood up and turned around.


    ¡°Hey!? Who did that!!?¡± He said when at the same time he saw the brilliant blue wall of ice that trapped the black hooded figure. Confused, he followed the ice to its source until finally he found it¡­¡­.her. She was a girl of his age. An hourglass figure and a dazzling shade of blue colored hair. She had on a plaid blue winter jacket and blue jeans with high top black boots. She was so familiar¡­..Familiar enough that it made his heart shake.


    {I don¡¯t believe it¡­...That¡¯s¡­.} Sophia said in his mind.


    The girl was looking over at him with soft eyes. She eyed him up and down until finally her gaze caught his. And the second she said his name, he knew exactly who she was.


    ¡°Axel?...¡±


    ¡°Cindy¡­.¡±


    There was no doubt about it. Cindy, the last of the three childhood friends he had yet to reunite with was standing right before him. Feelings and emotions were so high that in these tear jerking moments, only one sentence came to mind as he softly smiled at her, as if reuniting on a regular day.


    ¡°Hey, How have you been?¡±


    But that was not all to it just yet. Staring at him from a good distance, completely hiding their presence even though the boy was too stupid to notice anyway, was a small person. While adjusting her large golden ringlet curled hair, she received a voice message from seemingly out of thin air.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s he doing on your end?¡± the female voice said. Then, responding to her with a similar voice, the person responded.


    ¡°He¡¯s got a better look in his eye, looks like I can finally step in.¡± Saying so, the person stood up and crossed her arms. In her view, the boy who was just now thinking that things couldn¡¯t possibly get any worse.

 Chapter Thirteen: Gates of Rebellion

    Part 1


    Turning back the clock, a little after Axel had arrived to Miami, the sun was setting yet the day was far from over. Nothing was making sense as Ella jumped from building to building knocking out anyone she deemed an enemy with ease. However, instead of feeling like she was making progress she felt the opposite.


    (This isn¡¯t making any sense¡­) She said as she spotted two students struggling with a shadowhunter. She swooped down and knocked the man out with the hilt of her sword. She then ordered the two to tie him up before leaving once again. The two students were dumbfounded for a moment but very much obliged.


    (all of the enemy¡¯s I¡¯ve seen so far are nothing but small fry¡­..even my 6 year old self would have no problem taking these guys out¡­..so why? What in the world is the meaning of this?)


    Her worry was clear, the pieces just did not add up. In almost every instance of situations like this there is always someone who¡¯s pulling the strings, and said person is always loud enough to be tracked down. This time around,though, she could see no such person. It was impossible, all of this was happening for some reason. She was sure it had to be due to Elizabeth, but now she wasn¡¯t so sure¡­. Otherwise, they¡¯d be making it clear that they want to lure her out.


    Although it would appear that this is exactly what they are doing, their is one sole reason that she believes that they are plotting something else¡­


    The attack on Miami.


    What was the reason behind that? If they knew that the girl was here in savant island, why attack the city? Why terrorize the people? There had to be something else going on but for the life of her she just couldn¡¯t figure out what.


    When a vibration inside her pants went off, she was too busy moving to feel it. It wasn¡¯t until she stopped for a second that she finally felt it.


    ¡°Hello?¡± she said when she answered her ringing phone.


    ¡°Ah, Lady Ella, I¡¯ve located the other crew members¡± she heard the robotic sounding Saphire say to her from the other side.


    ¡°Have you? Great work! Can you tell me where they are?¡±


    ¡°Yes, directly below you¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    When Ella looked down from where she was standing, which was the top of a 25 story building, she focused down on the people who were running and fighting. Among those people, she recognized her own. Specifically, a black haired girl using a white substance to protect a blonde haired girl who seemed to be terrified. After recognizing them, Ella smiled in relief and jumped down from where she was. She took her still sheathed sword and sliced downward, causing a massive eruption of wind to blow away the surrounding enemies. When the wind died down, Ella landed right next to Jeniffer who had been hiding as well behind a trash can. At first, she shileded her face to protect her eyes from the wind. When she noticed her, she jumped out and leapt into her arms.


    ¡°Ella!! I¡¯m so happy to see you!!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was so late but I guess it¡¯s better late than never,eh?¡±


    As Ella said this, she noticed that the fallen men were now once again standing and charging them once again. So, Ella deemed it best to leave.


    ¡°Okay! Where is Olivia?¡± Ella asked hurriedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m in here¡­¡± The trash can suddenly spoke, or rather, Olivia said from inside the trash can. She poked her pink head out and looked up at her with eyes filled with a mixture of embarrassment and fear. A strange mix but not strange at the same time given the situation.


    ¡°Okay grab on!¡± Ella said even though she grabbed them instead. Then, she felt Natsumi who was hiding behind Jessica also grab onto her. Since Jessica was busy fighting, she used her wind to forcefully reel her in.


    ¡°Woah, I¡¯ve got a big one!¡± Ella said as if she were fishing. Once she made contact with her, Ella quickly disappeared from the spot. When they came to, they were on top of the building Ella was originally at.


    ¡°That¡­¡­.I can never get used to that¡­..¡± Jeniffer said. Ella giggled and allowed everyone to let her go. They all took the time to catch their breath and process what was going on. In the meantime, Ella raised her phone to her ear to talk to Saphire who should¡¯ve still been on the line.


    ¡°Okay, I got the girls, any word on the boys?¡±


    ¡°The boys have already teleported here using their emergency passes.¡± Saphire responded. Ella felt relief fill her and she relaxed her shoulders. But, this was not just a rescue mission, there was still much work to be done, and pronto!


    ¡°Great¡­..but now on to the hard stuff. You got any read on the situation?¡±


    ¡°It appears that the bosses have not shown up as all signs of Aura are relatively weak. I am not sure what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve come to the same conclusion as I have, huh?Well, What about Miami? How is it over there?¡±


    ¡°From what I can tell, it is the same over there as it is over where you are. Axel still has not made contact with Andrew yet either. In fact, they are pretty far apart.¡±


    Ella stopped for a moment and watched as the savants held back most of the weaklings, she thought of what Axel might be up to and hoped that he¡¯d be okay. Then it occurred to her, a certain blonde haired girl had gone after her boyfriend in a fit of desperation. However, she knew that the others would worry for Lucy so she made sure they were away from earshot before asking Saphire about her.


    ¡°Lucy has also not made contact with Axel and due to the distance I can¡¯t contact her. However, all her vital signs are okay, she just seems stressed which is natural in her current state.¡±


    ¡°Okay that¡¯s good¡­..hmm¡­..¡±


    Lucy not finding Axel was enough to make her worry, but she had to trust in her, she was a tough girl after all. Besides, there was something much more bigger cooking in the oven. Ella bit her lip as she struggled to make sense of everything. Her mind was going blank, there was just no way she could think of to advance from this¡­.


    (Well, looks like I have to take it one step at a time¡­)


    ¡°Saphire, are we in range to teleport back?¡±


    ¡°Erm¡­..yes, yes you are.¡±


    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll see you there.¡± Ella said and hung up the phone. She then gathered the girls and instructed them to hold onto each other once more. When they did, Ella instructed Jeniffer to use her emergency pass.


    ¡°Wait a second! What about Lucy? I don¡¯t know where she is! She could still be down there!¡± Jeniffer told her.


    ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t worry about Lucy. She¡¯s with who she wants to be with.¡± Ella told her in a calm and hinting voice. Immediately, she along with everyone else knew exactly who she was talking about. After thinking it over, they didn¡¯t ask about her anymore and continued.


    Up on their mobile headquarters, Thor, Saphire and the guys were watching their screens intently when Ella and the rest suddenly popped in.


    ¡°Captain! You¡¯re back so soon?¡± Tony said.


    ¡°The foes are weak, the savants can handle their own for now, especially with that monster running around. This is the perfect time for me to collect my thoughts and work out what to do next¡­¡±


    When they landed, Jeniffer took some time to collect herself and then stood up to go to her desk where she began to type on her computer. Natsumi, due to fear and anxiety, ran straight for the halls where her room was. Jessica took a seat on one of the benches while Olivia was in the middle of taking deep breaths kneeling on the ground.


    Ella worked out that for the time being defense was the only option, there was nothing else they could do but wipe the enemy out. Then, there was Elizabeth, the key to this all. She had to locate the girl and bring her to where it was safe. Once she¡¯s under their protection, they¡¯ll leave this place in hopes of driving away the enemy with them. She expressed this thought to Saphire who agreed without any question.


    ¡°Ah, you left this here before you left. You should take it with you while you¡¯re on the clock.¡± Saphire said to her pulling out a white silky roll. Ella knew what it was and grabbed it from her.


    ¡°Oh yeah, how could I forget my pride and joy?¡±


    She unrolled the soft and smooth cloth and threw it over her person. It was revealed to be a robe. It was pure white other than for the fact that it had a strange symbol on the back. It was that of a silver dove layered over a black and white sphere. Layered over that was a large number 9. On the edges of the robe and even on the sleeves were embroidered images of small winds, the nature of her ability. Once she had it on, she smiled and got ready to leave once again.


    ¡°As the 9th captain of the Peacekeeper force, The Silver Doves, you have to make sure you¡¯re dressed for the job¡± Saphire told her with no change of expression.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I got it already thanks.¡± Ella responded.


    ¡°Jessica, I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m going to need you to stay here.¡± Ella told Jessica.


    Jessica, who had been admiring her up until then, exclaimed.


    ¡°Wait what?? But I can be a big help out there!¡±


    ¡°I know you will, but as things stand now you¡¯re in danger of being taken away again. If one of the main bosses came out and overwhelmed you what would you do then? You musn¡¯t forget that you hold a stone that they want. Just please, stay put for now.¡±


    Jessica was of course reluctant, but what Ella had said was very much true. It looked like what was safe to do was sit tight and grit her teeth¡­


    ¡°Thank you for understanding¡­.Now then, I¡¯m off.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second! Where are the girls Casey and Maria? Shouldn¡¯t they be here too?¡± Olivia asked as she began to calm down, though her voice was slightly shaking.


    For a moment, Ella had completely forgotten about them. But, there was no need to worry.


    ¡°I checked the status of the teleporter Casey has, it recently made a trip back to Sonic City. It only held one person so I¡¯m assuming that was Maria.¡± Saphire said to Olivia.


    ¡°There you have it. It¡¯s safe to say Casey sent her off as soon as she noticed there was danger, then went off to help fight.¡± Ella hypothesized. Though, there was still no guarantee but, it helped calm Olivia. Once again, Ella excused herself and teleported back into the fray. Once there, she sincerely thought about Casey, hopefully that girl was as tough as she looked, because out in the battlefield she¡¯s bound to need all the guts that she could get¡­


    Part 2


    For whatever reason, things were seriously out of whack. Nothing was making sense and she seriously wanted some answers. Yet, the people that could possibly give her those answers were nowhere to be found. As she thought this, Casey continued to sneak her way around the ravaged Savant Island trying to avoid as much trouble as possible. For the past couple of hours, she had done her best not to get caught up in a fight. Here and there, she gave a helping hand to some people who were being outnumbered but her help was little.


    There was just this feeling inside of her, she felt confident in her new abilities but these men in black terrified her. She just couldn¡¯t bring herself to look at them more than she had to.


    ¡°Relax, Casey¡­...you have to relax¡­.¡±


    Right, now was not the time to be hesitant. For quite some time now it had seemed like mostly everyone here was able to fight for themselves. Most higher category students had excellent combat type powers so they were able to hold their own in a fight like this. As for the lower category people, they should¡¯ve evacuated and gone to the underground emergency bunker located near the east side of the island. That thought was comforting.


    However, it was still not enough to keep her sane. In situations like this, everyone here was supposed to be guided by the orders of one of the higher ups, usually the chairman of the Savant Island administration, but up until now she still had not heard one peep from him or anyone of relevance. Just what was the cause? What had it been already? Three to four hours? They were far beyond the ¡°running late¡± point at this stage! Something was definitely wrong!


    Since no one had said nothing yet, is it possible that the gates leading to the underground bunkers were locked? Unless instructed to, the gate operators don¡¯t open those doors to anyone, no exceptions. So what if there are tons of people waiting there now, desperately trying to get in before they were killed?


    (I can¡¯t allow that¡­¡­.I haven¡¯t found anyone I know yet, I haven¡¯t even seen Kyle..But first things first, I ought to help those people get underground safely, maybe then I can learn something there about what¡¯s going on)


    Casey started to turn heel and ran down an alleyway still trying to lay low. However, she eventually found that trying to lay low was too much of a hassle and was time consuming. So, she quickly abandoned the plan and walked out into the chaos. The noises of battle soon grew louder the more she ran and the more anxious she began to feel.


    Suddenly, as she feared, she felt an attack come from behind and she jumped off to the side only avoiding it by a graze. She felt a sting on her right arm and reached to cover it. Luckily, it was only a scratch and was not enough to draw blood. Still, it hurt. When she looked at her attacker, she saw a hooded man wearing the Shadow Hunter clothing raising his arm at her. She couldn¡¯t see his face but it didn¡¯t matter. An uncontrollable amount of fear plagued her mind and she felt her focus slip. In that one moment, a series of knives were launched at her from all angles. Had it not been for her strange instincts, she would¡¯ve surely been a goner. She quickly used her flames to spin around and make the knives lose their momentum,eventually flying off in other directions. However, that proved to be a dumb decision as she then lost sight of her target the second she stopped spinning, but that wasn¡¯t long as a foot was firmly planted on the side of her jaw which sent her flying. She slammed onto the ground and rolled a couple time before she came to a stop by hitting some falling debris. Her head ached and rung as her vision blurred.


    ¡°What the hell¡­..¡± she said to herself as she tried to pick herself up. In the end, her arms failed her and she fell back down.


    ¡°I see¡­...so this is how it feels to get hit by such a tremendous force¡­¡­.I really am just human¡­¡­.¡±


    She said this to herself as she felt her head rumble. No matter how powerful her ability was, without the proper training to her body, she was still weak and vulnerable to attacks. Which sucked, as much as she didn¡¯t want to look like some frail and helpless girl, that¡¯s exactly what she was. Even that day, and even now, nothing had changed.


    Feeling bummed out, she watched as four of the the same shadow hunter approached her while juggling many knives, presumably stuck on choosing which one to kill her with. In the end, he went with a silver dagger, grabbing it and throwing it like a dart directly at her. Meanwhile, Casey just lay there thinking what her life would have been like if she had just been¡­¡­. ¡°Normal¡±


    She closed her eyes and awaited the fate that never came. A strange electronic sound that mimicked the sound of cards being rapidly shuffled played in the air and a sudden pair of feet landed right in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar figure of Caesar standing right there in front of her. With his hands outstretched, particles of energy flied by his person as he kept his back to her.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the impression you gave me before, what¡¯s going on all of a sudden?¡± He said to her with an air of indifference. As he said that, Casey felt slight embarrassment fill her face. She got up to her knees and sat there releasing a soft laugh as her head stopped spinning.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long day, man¡± she responded.


    When she said that, the black hooded person quickly charged at Caesar just as he had just started turning his head toward her. He raised a series of knives and launched all of them at Caesar. Caesar quickly raised his hand and the knives that were sent his way were turned into small particles of energy, just as before. However, the shadow hunter once more vanished from sight before quickly appearing next to him, ready to land another critical blow. Casey was about ready to warn him but then something happened that will forever stick with her. The man was raising his leg to land a devastating blow on the temple of Caesar''s head but it never landed despite Caesar still not noticing the man. Just as his leg entered a certain range, it began to disappear starting from the toes up. It almost looked like his legs were turning into tiny blocks of matter. Before long, the man¡¯s face turned into that of pure horror as he released a roar of fear. Dropping all of his knives, he attempted to run but it was no use. Casey gasped and covered her mouth as she realized that the man was dying. Eventually, the disintegration reached the nape of his neck and the man still somehow continued to scream up until there was nothing left. Only after he had completely gone did Caesar look back. He clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow as he lowered his guard.


    ¡°Damn, forgot to lower my barrier before the battle. Bastard went and died before I could actually do anything to him.¡± He said.


    Casey was a little shocked as he did not seem to care that he had just taken a life but in the end she decided not to focus on that. She got up on her feet and started to thank Caesar until he stopped her with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. We need all the help we can get. Now then, got any idea on what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Well, alright¡­..No, I don¡¯t. Though I figured that by now there should¡¯ve been someone from the higher ups telling us what to do but so far I¡¯ve heard nothing. Then it hit me that the lower ranked savants must¡¯ve gone to the underground shelter but it¡¯s possible that the doors haven¡¯t been opened¡±


    ¡°because the higher ups have been silent, right?¡± he said as he looked around the area for anymore enemies.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If they haven¡¯t given the word it¡¯s possible that there are dozens of students standing out there right now possibly in danger. So, I thought I¡¯d head there and help those people to safety.¡±


    ¡°And what then?¡±


    ¡°Well, hopefully I learn something along the way relating to this mess. Wanna come with me? I could use your skills.¡± She said as she dusted her clothes off and fixed her hair.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really know what else I can do. Sure, why not? I¡¯ll come along.¡± He said still sounding calm.


    ¡°Great! Come on! The place is over to the east so we better get a move on!¡± Casey said as she began jogging. Soon after, she heard the footsteps of Caesar following close behind her.


    ¡°So, where¡¯s the group of friends you had with you before?¡± Casey asked referring to the group she had seen with him during the capture the flag event.


    ¡°I¡¯ve no idea. After the last game I just called it a day and went home. Though, I¡¯m sure they''re all alright, they¡¯re tough¡±


    Casey took his word for it and kept her pace toward her destination. Then, while still keeping a sharp eye on her surroundings, she decided that it would be best to try and collect her thoughts. From what she could see, there was no sign of Axel or his presence anywhere. She wasn¡¯t sure why but it was still too early to know anyway. The only possible reason for that though was that he was up on the ship they called Thor, which is where everyone else is likely at. Knowing them, they likely had a plan already laid out and in motion. If she were to go off that, then they¡¯d likely fill her in the moment they are able to. With any luck, that¡¯d be soon.


    Next, trying to figure out what the enemy might be trying to go for. From what she has been told, the two likely reasons for an attack from a shadow hunter would be to get a stone or Axel himself. If she thought about it, though, even if they were out for either of the two what would the reason be behind attacking everyone in sight? If she recalled, the last time this happened in Sonic City was because they wanted to get their hands on Axel. They thought that if they destroyed his home town, the despair would be enough to make him surrender. However, that was just a theory ,but this time around, Savant Island was not the hometown of anyone so, what was going on?


    Someone had to be in charged of this, but where was said person? Usually, they¡¯d appear and spell out their entire plan for them but none of that was happening. This was one big tangle and she had no idea how to straighten it out.


    Unless, did the enemy know? Was her secret out? So, was it possible that this whole thing was her fault? No, there was no way anybody could have known since not even Ella had brought it up to her, so why would the enemy know? Then again, in instances like these, in stories at least, the enemy always had some kind of upper hand in figuring stuff out. Who was to say that wasn¡¯t the case right now? If it was, then maybe she¡¯d be better off turning herself in? Maybe then everyone would be okay? Maybe-


    ¡°Hey kid, quit zoning out, we¡¯re almost there¡±


    The voice of Caesar talking to her made her snap out her trance. She had been running on autopilot for so long and lost in thought that she didn¡¯t even notice that the underground emergency shelter was just up ahead. When she looked at him, it was evident that her thoughts were written all over her face since Caesar appeared to want to say something.


    ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re right thanks.¡± she said as she started to slow down. Eventually, when she was a couple of feet away, she made a complete stop and looked for higher ground. When she saw a certain building that she thought was high enough, she told Caesar her idea to go up there to which he revealed that he shared in her motives. Caesar then placed his hand on the side of the building and broke down some of the matter on the building. Using some of the broken down components, he constructed a stairway of sorts which allowed them to swiftly climb up the ten story building. He allowed Casey to go up first and then he went. Once they were up, the broken down parts of the building returned to their places.


    Casey made her way to the edge of the building and looked over to the direction where the underground facility was. However, her view was partly covered by hundreds of people who were crowding the entrance all speaking over one another. Regardless, those large steel gates leading to safety were visible to them all. They stood high above almost every nearby building and were so shiny and silver that she could see the refelction of the people standing in front of them if she looked hard enough. The funny thing about them were that they were simply two large doors that led straight down. The backside of it was shaped just like so: |\. One could get on the top of it and slide straightdown its backside, which was something she admittedly always wanted to do.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s just as you said, the doors haven¡¯t been opened to anyone.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, I was kinda hoping I¡¯d be wrong on this one.¡± Casey responded. She then looked over the crowd and noticed a familiar looking girl. When she looked closer, she recognized her to be Katie, the glasses wearing girl Axel and her had befriended.


    Wanting to talk to her, Casey jumped down from where she was at and landed next to her with ease. Since she had appeared out of nowhere, the girl along with others around her suddenly jumped out of shock and stared at her with confused and irritated eyes, all except for Katie who was just confused.


    ¡°Yo!¡± Casey said ignoring the others.


    ¡°Ah, Casey?? Hey! I¡¯m so glad to see you¡¯re all right!¡± she said after she recognized her. She then fully embraced Casey. Casey, with her cheek up against hers, laughed and returned the warm gesture.


    ¡°Ditto Amiga!(Note:Amiga means friend in spanish) So, any idea what¡¯s going on?¡± she said sounding like it was any ordinary day. However, Katie shook her head no.


    ¡°No, the whole city wants to know. We lower levels came here but no one working the doors have said anything. Some of us even tried banging on the doors but nothing.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Damn, it¡¯s only a matter of time too¡­..¡± Casey said scratching her head. Although Kate did not understand her, Casey did not bother explaining just yet.


    What she was thinking was that it was only a matter of time before the enemy attacked here. If she recalled, she first saw a lot of action coming from the north side, the underground bunker was far out in the south. In just a short amount of time, she was sure that the enemy would make their way here. When that happens, there¡¯s no telling just how much chaos will break out.


    (no matter what, I have to make sure that gate opens!)


    ¡°Kate, if we don¡¯t do something now we¡¯re all going to die here, do you understand that?¡± She suddenly said.


    ¡°W-what?......Well, uh, I don¡¯t know!¡± Katie responded with growing unease.


    ¡°We will, but not unless I have something to do with it! Wait here!¡± Casey said as she quickly patted Katie¡¯s back. She turned heel and signaled over to Caesar who was looking down at her. He quickly jumped down and asked if she had learned anything.


    ¡°No, but it looks like no one controlling these walls have said anything. So! It¡¯s time we do something here!¡± Casey said.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°How long do you think it will be before the enemy finds our location?¡± She said as she knelt down and tied her shoes tighter.


    ¡°From the looks of it, I think about 15 minutes max¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ve got 15 minutes to get those doors open and get everybody inside.¡± She said standing up and flexing her left arm.


    ¡°Are you serious? How do you plan to do that?¡± Caesar asked know sounding a tad overwhelmed.


    ¡°Kate! Come over here for a second.¡±


    Since she was called over, Katie made her way over to Casey while looking timid. ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Those doors, you know the specs on them?¡± she suddenly asked.


    ¡°Y-yes, actually I do. They are thick steel gates infused with a special material which causes savant skills to be ineffective. Rumor has it it was done by the ability of another savant. So, attacking it would be meaningless as our abilities would be negated. The gates stand at around 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide. The only thing beyond them is a stairway leading to the underground bunker said to be able to withstand even a nuclear bomb without much damage. There are only two ways to open those gates, by shutting off its power source or by pulling the lever to open it. Otherwise, its defense is impregnable.¡± Kate said while looking up at the huge gate.


    ¡°So, we can¡¯t open it by force without first locating the one keeping that ability that negates our ability up and running and taking him out? That would take too long. So, we have to get those doors open by pulling that lever. And, if I¡¯m not mistaken, the control panel is up there on top of the gates where the workers are at.¡± Casey stated.


    ¡°Are you suggesting we go up there and pull it ourselves?¡± Caesar asked crossing his arms.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other choice. It¡¯s that or we just kill ourselves and get it over with.¡± Casey said while starting to stretch. As she did so, Katie started to nervously fidget.


    ¡°Well, I guess you have a point.¡± Caesar said without changing his expression. It looked like he was on board with what Casey was suggesting.


    ¡°And you don¡¯t think it will be easy, do you?¡± Caesar said since he saw her stretching as if preparing for battle.


    ¡°You¡¯re exactly right. You coming? Or are you chicken?¡±


    ¡°Says the girl who was just cowering in fear a while ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you can roast? I like that attitude! Let¡¯s go then!¡± She said as she stood up and cracked her knuckles. Caesar closed his eyes and smiled. Casey then turned to Katie who was about ready to drop in fear.


    ¡°Kate, I''m sorry to ask but we might need your expertise up there, do you think you can tough it out and take one for the team?¡± Casey said trying to sound encouraging. At first, Katie looked like she wanted to say hell no, but after careful consideration, she understood the situation called for her and firmly nodded.


    ¡°Great!¡± Casey said slapping her palms on both of Katie¡¯s shoulders. Then, nodding at Caesar, she let him know that they were ready to go. Then, they both looked up at the great wall before them and readied their hearts. In just a short while, the fate of hundreds of people would come down to the pull of a lever. Whether or not they succeeded would depend on what awaited them climbing that wall¡­.. The fight started now!


    Part 3


    ¡°It¡¯s real convenient that someone had grappling hooks, eh?¡± Casey said as she walked up the wall while holding on to two guns holding her up with a rope.


    ¡°I think it was a little too convenient. We could¡¯ve just used the elevator¡­¡± Katie, who was shaking in fear, said in response to Casey as she to climbed up the wall with shaking feet.


    ¡°You know they¡¯d never make it that easy, Kate!¡± Casey said with a hearty tone.


    When the trio had first made it to the front of the crowd, Casey had expressed her wishes to everyone to climb and open the gates herself. In response to that, many people fiercely agreed. That¡¯s how a certain gang of nerdy looking students crowded them offering them grappling hook guns to aide in their climb. Apparently, they had built it themselves in order to allow for better mobility in emergency situations. They ended up taking two for each of them and thanked them. However, they were warned that aside from a simple hand harness to keep them from slipping, that was all they had to hold on to. If they somehow let go of the gun holding them, they¡¯d fall. Even so, they accepted these terms and continued onward. Kate, however, took a while before she got up on the wall. In the end, it worked out somehow.


    Once they were finally nearing the top of the gates, Casey noticed a line of people waiting for them out on the rail in front of where the control room was. A total of six students were there with one older woman standing in the middle of them. However that wasn¡¯t what made Casey stop in her tracks, it was the fact that each of their hooks holding them up had a foot of one of the people up there on them. One kick, and they¡¯d fall for sure. Casey first thought of Katie. From this height, she¡¯d die for sure, even with a super human body. With no guarantee of what would happen next, they all stopped in their tracks. Katie¡¯s hands shook as she used everything she had to keep herself up.


    ¡°Can we help you?¡± The tall woman in the middle dressed in a blue uniform said to them. She looked to be pretty old, about her late 50s. She also had dirty blonde hair that was held up in a bun.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯d like to have a word with the ones in charge of this here gate please.¡± Casey said in a hard tone. The woman raised her eyebrows ever so slightly as if shocked that anyone would dare even speak to her.


    ¡°I was afraid of that. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to go any further than this. You must go, or we will make you leave¡± She said with silent anger.


    ¡°Well, unfortunately for you, we can¡¯t leave without first opening these gates. Whether you do it or I do it is up to you¡± Casey said holding her ground. However, not entirely to what Casey was expecting, the woman softly laughed and shook her head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing kid, do you? Listen, you are to turn around and wait until we give you orders, are we clear?¡±


    ¡°And when is that!? Until we are all dead or close to?!! If these doors don¡¯t open now all of these students here will die! Are you not listening to their screams of terror down there? They''re desperately crying out to get to safety because they can¡¯t defend themselves!!¡± Casey began to yell in desperation.


    ¡°Just look out there! In just 12 minutes the enemy will get here and when they do they are not going to just turn a blind eye to us! They will attack and a lot of us will die!! Open these gates damn you!¡± Casey continued while stomping her feet and baring her fangs. The woman looked at her and then slowly raised her head to the battlefield in the horizon. Distant explosions and sounds of chaos were waving in the distance as dozens of mechanical robots seemed to ravage the city. Indeed, it seemed awful, but it did not matter¡­.


    ¡°I am sorry, but for the sake of millions¡­.no... billions, I cannot allow you to interfere..¡± She said finally showing some hint of sympathy, but not in the way that Casey would have wanted. Before she could say something, Caesar next to her blurted out something.


    ¡°Hey, what are you trying to say? That the power to let us through is beyond yours?¡± He said. Stunned, Casey turned to him and so did Katie. The woman did not reply and stayed silent, but Caesar continued.


    ¡°From the looks of it, you had guards here already lined up. It¡¯s almost as if you were already expecting one of us to attack. What¡¯s worse, those guys are students just like us. You think they¡¯re disposable don¡¯t you? Just some mutants with no real value other than for combat? That¡¯s why none of the actual top dogs are here, right?¡± He said as his eyebrows rose and his pupils dilated. It appeared as if Caesar was actually getting angry. Just as she thought that, a gray coat of energy suddenly rose from his feet and covered his being. His aura was leaking out.


    ¡°You know what I think? I think you bastards are hiding all of the higher ups in there, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s probably the reason why none of them have showed up to give us orders!¡±


    ¡°You? Just what are you saying!?¡± The woman blurted out suddenly looking flustered.


    ¡°Just look at your face! It¡¯s saying it all! Not only that, I have a hunch that you bastards were hiding in there before this mess even began! You lot knew this would happen, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The significance of his words were enough to shaken up even the guards protecting the gate. Basically, it was almost as if the government knew this attack was happening and hid all of its officials. But why? Why abandon the savants? Why would they do this? Casey pondered this and Katie even appeared to want to cry as she too desperately wanted to believe that what Caesar was saying was not true. The woman lowered her face so that they could not see her expression. She stayed like that in silence as her guards awaited her orders despite their growing doubt. Then, after many moments, the woman once again spoke up, but this time in a tone barely audible to any of them.


    ¡°You¡­..have no idea of the grave danger that opposes us should we disobey¡­...We have no choice¡­.¡±


    As she said that, Casey instinctively got closer to Katie and then inspected her surroundings.


    ¡°I hope that in the future, you can forgive me, for I only do what is best for mankind, I am sorry,...¡±


    The grip on her hands changed and she readied to reel in her hooks at any moment. Her footing changed and her heart danced as it readied for the coming symphony of battle.


    ¡°But, you must stop here! Drop them!¡±


    Many things happened at once when she said that, the sudden feeling of weightlessness over took them as their hooks were kicked off simultaneously. But, she was prepared for that. She quickly grabbed onto Katie and fired her hook in a new direction, the edge of the rail on the right side. Once it hooked, she used her falling momentum to swing to the left and scoop upward like a vine. At that moment, Caesar had also done something similar to her, only he charged straight for the woman. He once again launched a hook near the same position it was in before only this time it lodged itself into the wall which would make it harder to get out. Then, he did something quite amazing. He spun around and reeled himself in at a rapid speed, he almost looked like a frisbee. The sudden change in movement momentarily shocked the group and they left him enough time to cut the distance between them to nothing.


    By the time they thought about kicking his hook off, it was too late. Caesar had already brought it back and reeled it back into the gun. Then, using his powerful momentum, he aimed a kick at the window of the control panel. However, he was stopped by a sticky black substance that covered his legs from behind him. He turned to find one of the six body guards attacking him with the substance around his legs. It seemed like he¡¯d be in trouble but, soon the substance broke away like glass to a hammer in an instant as it was broken down. Caesar landed on the rail calmly and examined his enemies closely. Four boys, two girls. The woman nearly had a heart attack as she reached her hands up for her head.


    ¡°You little shits! You have no idea what you¡¯re doing! Capture them! Kill them! I don¡¯t care so long as they do not open those gates!!!¡± The woman yelled as she ran through the door leading to the control panel. When she did, the six nodded their head in unison and charged at Caesar.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be fighting amongst each other in times like these, but it seems there¡¯s no choice, come.¡± Caesar said putting away the two guns in the waistband of his pants.


    Just a few feet behind all that, Casey landed on the rail with Katie still in her arms. Once they were down, Katie let go of Casey and dropped to her knees. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°W-w-w-what now? Is what Caesar said true?? Then what¡¯s going to happen to us?!!¡± She asked sounding terrified.


    ¡°Okay girly, Now¡¯s not the time to ask questions, I don¡¯t know much about it anyway, right now we¡¯re going to fend off those students however we can. What I need you to do is enter the control panel and get this thing open by any means necessary alright? We don¡¯t have that much time! You can do this girl!¡± Casey said hurriedly as she quickly put away the two two guns behind her back in the waistband of her skirt. After giving her another push on her back, Casey left Katie and went after the group who were all ganging up on Caesar. While clenching her fists, she made them burst into flames. She then rotated both her arms clockwise like fans. Eventually, they looked like gorgeous blazing rings of fire.


    ¡°Fire dance, Rain of Flames!¡± The words flowed right out of her mouth somehow as she swung both hands forward causing both rings of flames to burst out into a shower of fireballs. Caesar jumped out of the way and watched as the six were hit by the oncoming volley of fire. Most were knocked off their feet and three managed to block her attacks by parring with their own abilities. Those same three turned back to check on their teammates and then charged after her. Two guys, one girl.


    (Perfect) She thought.


    She readided her footing by placing one leg slightly forward and slightly kneeling back with the other. She raised her left arm but did not clench her fist to give her a chance to catch a punch. She pointed out her left side and kept her right arm back keeping her fingers slightly away from her palm, almost a fist but not completely.


    The rail was narrow so any misuse of a power and they¡¯d all fall, this was a hand to hand combat thing now. Right up her alley¡­


    The first guy came up and threw a punch at her aiming for her face but Casey pivoted to her left and let him swing out. Once she saw that opening, she punched upward right on the center of his stomach, putting just the right amount of sudden pressure on the solar plexus causing the wind to be knocked right out of him. Now, she didn¡¯t want to brag or anything but she was pretty strong, so that had to of have hurt. She didn¡¯t see but she did hear the kid fall right to the ground with a gasp. That was all she heard before she moved on to her next targets. The two others, guy and girl, were shocked for a moment but realized that they had to continue going. They charged at her from both sides but Casey knew what she had to do. She jumped off the rail and out into the open air. For a moment, the two were once again baffled, and Casey took advantage of that 5 second reaction as she pulled out the two guns from behind her back and shot the hooks onto the wall of the control room. She then quickly reeled herself in using the button on the gun and suddenly shot out like a slingshot toward the two. She extended both of her feet and planted them right on each of their cheeks. She felt her feet come in contact with the soft texture of skin and even felt them crash against the wall despite bringing her feet back so as to not damage their skulls by using their heads as cushions. They were still students after all. Nonetheless, it was enough to knock them right out.


    ¡°It¡¯s a real good thing I have leggings on under¡­¡± She said as she dusted of her skirt. She put the two guns away again and quickly raised her arm to parry a blow that was meant for her temple. A glowing leg had struck her out of nowhere but her senses had helped her in the last moment. She threw it to the side and quickly jumped and turned in mid air to gain some distance between her and the enemy. Sure enough, it was the kid who she had initially punched. He was up again and his body glowed as sudden cracks and bursts of electricity revolved around his fists and legs.


    ¡°You¡¯re still up buddy? Well, you made your choice way before this didn¡¯t you?!¡± Casey said as the kid ignored her and kept throwing punches at her face. For the most part, Casey managed to dodge most of them. However, they just seemed to get faster and faster. Before long, her vision suddenly blurred as a sharp pain tore her apart from her chin. She jumped a few feet back faster than she had even realized that the kid had given her an uppercut straight to the chin.


    (He¡¯s getting faster?) she thought. The kid kept his pose and moved from side to side as he gritted his teeth at her. Even through that, she could swear that the kids eyes were desperately calling for help. But, she couldn¡¯t place her finger on it just yet. The kid had once again made his move.


    One, two, three, four swings coming from the left and the right but Casey did her best to avoid them. Eventually, another powerful blast from her right side caused her to momentarily lose focus. Then again when another powerful hit attacked her right cheek. She was knocked back some as she felt tears well up in her eyes.


    ¡°Damn asshole, you have no mercy when it comes to hitting women don''t you?¡±


    As Casey said this, she thought that she had figured him out. As the time went by, she noticed that the kid was always in motion, and in turn he was getting faster. Could it be?.....Could he get faster the more his body was warmed up?


    (If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s simple! Take him out now!!)


    This time, Casey ran after him. The kid raised his leg and kicked at her face but Casey dodged and made him fall back. However, his other leg suddenly rose to meet her too. For a split second, the victor seemed to be the kid but, Casey quickly leaned back and narrowly avoided the blow. The kid widened his eyes and fell back to his lost momentum. Casey used this chance to pick him up with her flames, she used everything she had to toss him up in the air where now she was in control of him. She then let him fall. She cocked back her fist and covered it with flames. The kid knew what was coming and covered his face, but it would be futile.


    ¡°Dragons Claw, Iron Fist!¡± She once again said subconsciously as she swung her fist forward. At the same time, the kid came into her range. Her fist came in contact with the boys arms but they were like butter as it got sliced by a knife. She felt his bones rupture as the blow carried on and reached his face. He flew a few ways back and eventually slammed against what was presumably the elevator door and dented it. After a couple of fidgets, the boy went limp, the battle was over.


    Case felt exhaustion wash over her as she fell to her knees.


    (it¡¯s just as I thought, I can¡¯t use it too much¡­) she thought. Even so, she clenched her fists and got to her feet. The battle was far from over. Just 8 minutes left¡­.


    Part 4


    Just after Casey had left her, Katie was in the middle of trying to calm herself down as she walked down the wobbly rail leading to the control room. The sounds of battle danced in her ears as she frantically tried to collect her out of control thoughts. Her hands shook and small beads of sweat popped up on the surface of her palms like hippos in a swamp. Grabbing on to the rail, she felt her heart leap in fear every time she thought she would fall off due to the violent shaking.


    (I don¡¯t understand it¡­.I just don¡¯t know why this is happening¡­..) she thought to herself. Currently, Casey and Caesar were in the middle of fighting hard in order to give her a chance to get into the control room. That thought alone was enough to place an immense amount of pressure on her, time was of the essence and not one mistake was to be allowed. Still, with thoughts rattling around in her head like bees in a hive there was little she could do to concentrate fully. Regardless, she had to get a move on.


    (I better ask questions later, nothing has ever made sense since I was four anyway¡­)


    With that in mind, she quickly located the door to the control room and made a beeline for it. The platform she was walking on was fairly large, probably around 12 feet wide. Because of that, she felt a little comfortable running at this height. That and the rail was fairly tough looking. After a couple steps, she made it to the door without bothering either Casey or Caesar. Quickly wanting to get indoors, she tackled the door open and ran in. However, she immediately froze when she saw what was inside. Rather, who was inside. A cold chill attacked her nervous body as her lips slightly parted in awe.


    The room was about 8 feet wide. 11 feet long. There was one long dashboard filled with many buttons and small screens, a couple chairs for the operators, and even a mini kitchen with coffee supplies. Above the dashboard were 5 small tv screens all showing the chaos that was going on outside and even the fight Casey and Caesar were having. In the center of the room was a boy. He was older than her, just by one year. She was 16. He had soft blonde hair that cupped around his head. It wasn¡¯t too long but it wasn¡¯t too short. His bangs covered most of his forehead and his left ear. He had crystal clear blue eyes and soft white skin. With a taunting smirk on his face, he adjusted the grip on the handle he was holding on to the second he laid eyes on her. That¡¯s what set her off especially. That handle had a very distinct label on it. It had red lettering and was embroidered with black and yellow lines. She was sure that was the lever to open the gates, and the one who was holding on to it was none other than Pixelator himself.


    ¡°So, you finally came in here?¡± He said with an air of nobility. Katie, although extremely nervous, felt her adrenaline reach its peak and she suddenly transformed. It was like a switch had been flipped on inside her and she was completely focused.


    ¡°Pixelator, don¡¯t tell me they also have you guarding the gates.¡± She said with no shaking in her words. The air tensed as she weighed herself against her probable opponent. Pixelator, not only a guy known worldwide by all savants, but ranked in a high position. He was the one who had constructed most of the battle grounds for the tournament every year and was loved by most of the higher ups. His real name remained unknown as to his wishes,except those who knew him well. He was ranked number two and placed in the sixth category¡­.He was far beyond her power. He even outranked Caesar who was in the fifth category and plenty strong. She¡¯d get utterly destroyed here, a lily in the face of a steel toed boot.


    ¡°Perhaps they do, or perhaps I¡¯m here to help you.¡± He said. For a second, she felt relief and hope falsely lead her into a sense of security, but she was foolish enough to let it show on her face. The second she did that, he mockingly chuckled and placed a hand on his forehead. Irritation surfaced then replaced her before calm face as she saw this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s so funny about being a jerk.¡± She said to him.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry! It¡¯s just, you¡¯re so gullible despite already knowing the way I am.¡± He said to her.


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d change in the short amount of time we haven¡¯t seen each other. Guess I¡¯ve got to drop my expectations into the negatives.¡± She sharply said.


    ¡°Whoa there! What¡¯s with the sudden change in attitude? Is that anyway to talk to an old friend?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t consider bullies friends of mine¡± She said while clenching her fist. Pixelator brushed his hair with his free hand and shook his head once more while smiling coldly.


    ¡°While I have you here, I gotta say, I didn¡¯t expect you, a useless low level, to participate in a tournament meant for the best of the best. What were you thinking? That you¡¯d actually win?¡± He said as his lips twisted in a mocking smiled that clawed at her pride.


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your concern, it doesn¡¯t matter anyway now, I lost.¡±


    ¡°That you did.¡±


    ¡°Is that all you wanted? Get out of the way, I don¡¯t have time to be messing around with you¡± Katie spoke up starting to feel time slap against her back. She started to wallk toward Pixelator actually expecting him to raise his guard but, to her shock, he just gave her one look, closed his eyes, raised his shoulders, and stepped aside. At first, she hesitantly stopped, but she kept on going just as soon as she did. There was no time to hesitate anymore.


    Reaching for the long lever, she gripped her small fingers around the cold handle and quickly pulled down. However, instead of hearing the sounds of large metal gates opening and a crowd cheering, she heard nothing. Nothing at all. Thinking that maybe she had done it wrong, she pulled the lever back into its original position and then back down again. She repeated this multiple times before confirming that nothing was truly happening. Flustered, she spun on the spot to face Pixelator who had been smirking.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± He said with a devilish smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t act stupid! What on earth did you do?!¡± She said while baring her teeth at him in a fit of anger.


    ¡°Relax there princess, I wasn¡¯t the one who did that¡±


    ¡°Then who!?¡±


    ¡°It was the executive lady. She was just in here. Deactivated the entire control room with the turn of a single key and went to hide before telling me to go out there and kick your asses.¡±


    Katie, feeling frustrated, ruffled her hair and slammed her fist against the now useless control panel. She dragged her eyes across the entire dashboard and found the place where a key could be inserted to activate and deactivate it. Without it, nothing could be done. Then what now? There had to be something of importance in there, some key to it all. But, she just had to think harder.


    ¡°Why are you all doing this? You¡¯re one of us aren¡¯t you?¡± She said not really paying attention to her words.


    ¡°Haha, the world is a pretty messed up place.¡± she heard him say.


    ¡°Answer me¡± she firmly asked. After a moments silence, Pixelator began to speak.


    ¡°Those guys out there, they aren¡¯t doing this because they want to. They¡¯re being forced to.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± she said turning around to face him.


    ¡°Now, I don¡¯t mean they were blackmailed or anything, I mean they are physically being forced to do this. What do you think I mean by that?¡±


    As he said this, Katie darted through many thoughts and assumptions so fast that time seemed to slow down. What was he saying? Physically being forced? From what she could see, no one was holding a gun to their head, and they weren¡¯t blackmailed as far as she knew, so what? When she first saw the group of savants, something did seem off about them. It was almost like their eyes weren¡¯t connected with their facial expressions. It was almost as if they were¡­


    When she snapped her head up and looked at Pixelator to confirm her thoughts, he nodded at her. And so, that settled it.


    ¡°They¡¯re being mind controlled?¡±


    ¡°Bingo¡± He said snapping his fingers and pointinig at her.


    ¡°But, I never heard of mind control being an ability that anyone could control to the point of being able to control more than one person at a time! With that kind of power, you¡¯d be up with the big dogs! The sixth if not the seventh category!! You¡¯re telling me they have someone with that kind of power working for them?¡±


    ¡°You catch on quick¡±


    ¡°So then, if they have someone like that, why aren¡¯t you under their spell?¡± She asked wondering why he was allowed to do as he pleased. Pixelator simply shook his head and grunted as if insulted.


    ¡°Simple, I set up a security system in my brain using my ability. It¡¯s like a firewall of sorts. That person can¡¯t control me¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­..that explains that, but what do I do with that information? Even if those guys are being controlled, all Casey and Caesar have to do is defeat them and they¡¯ll drop, won¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°If only it were that easy¡± Pixelator said as he crossed his arms and let out a soft but heavy breath.


    ¡°Those guys aren¡¯t that high leveled. Probably around category four. Even so, I¡¯m sure this person is a lot stronger and in the position they''re in for a reason¡­..Now, the look on your face is asking what I mean. Ha, all I¡¯m saying is, if I had that power and I desperately wanted to hold someone back, I¡¯d make my pawns fight till they died of exhaustion¡±


    When he said that, a hundred fears sprayed all over her body in the form of a chill causing the hair on her neck to raise on end.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying, they were commanded to fight to the death?....¡± she whispered while her eyes darted all over the ground.


    ¡°Perhaps. You know, ignoring broken bones, concussions, even lack of consciousness, things of that like.¡±


    Katie felt her blood run cold as yet another chilly chill attacked her up until then warm skin.


    ¡°But relax, there is still hope for you lot. I mean, a machine can¡¯t get orders if the one sending them is out right?¡±


    There it was, a way out. If they just took out the one in control of the savants, they¡¯d be able to put them out and focus on quickly opening the gates. But how? There was no way they could do that with the little time they already had! But¡­¡­


    The only other way was to kill them or get killed¡­.There was no way she could make such a choice¡­...Then what she had to do was crystal clear.


    ¡°Damn it¡­..High leveled skill able to control the minds of multiple people at once. With a skill like that, you¡¯d be ranked extremely high up. My best bet? The infamous locked category. I don¡¯t remember much about them but some names. I¡¯ve got to think here¡­...Everyone in the top of the leaderboard is given a name corresponding to their skill, it¡¯s a new tradition with us first generation savants. So, their name has to be a dead giveaway. On this island, only two in the locked category reside here, Frostbite and Incinerator. We all know what their abilities are so that rules them out. But it¡¯s possible someone was brought in from elsewhere.. Ah! I think I got it!¡± She suddenly yelled while clapping her hands. Pixelator blinked his eyes as he watched her think using every brain cell she had.


    ¡°Queen!! The Queen also known as the Mental Breakdowner!! Ranked number eight in the locked seventh category! It¡¯s her isn¡¯t it!?¡± she yelled once again as her eyes twinkled in accomplishment. Taking her gaze head on, Pixelator confirmed her thoughts simply by looking away. That was all she needed. Now, her job wasn¡¯t done yet. Her ability was powerful yes, but if the golden rule for all savants was true, her weakness shouldn¡¯t be too hard to figure out. They say the stronger you are, the easier your weakness is to spot. So, in Queen¡¯s case, she could control people by using their minds. Logic said that she shouldn¡¯t have much trouble if it were just one person, but if it were multiple even she should have to keep an eye on each one. If it were like that, then the less people she controlled, the longer the distance that she could put between her and her brain washee! So then, she had to be close by! Thinking that, she quickly bolted out the door in search of the one who could help her. Once she was out there, she immediately found Casey who was on her knees and breathing heavily.


    ¡°Huh? Katie? Did ya get those doors opened?¡± She said.


    ¡°No, but we can focus on that later! First I need your help finding someone!¡±


    ¡°Eh?what do you mean we can focus on that later? That¡¯s the entire reason we¡¯re up here for!¡±


    ¡°But look!¡± She said as she pointed behind her. When Casey turned back, her eyes widened as she saw the boy who had been lying limp a few moments ago rise to his feet. Shocked, she quickly stood up and readied herself.


    ¡°No Casey, We have to quickly find this person!¡± Katie yelled as she tugged on Casey¡¯s shirt. However, Casey was keeping a firm eye on her opponent. Just then, they felt warning signals come from behind them as Katie suddenly felt herself get lifted off her feet. Rather, the ground below her had fallen apart and she was thrown into freefall. But, before she could utter a cry, she was grabbed by a sudden pile of cubes and lead to the edge of the rail to hang on to. The small pixels danced around her as they soon returned to their original owner that she could not see. Even so, she knew who they belonged to.


    ¡°Katie!? You good? Hang on! I got you!¡± She heard Casey yell as she peeked her head over the hole in the platform. She saw Casey make a dash in the opposite direction and suddenly jumped off like a diver starting a swimming competition. With a fluid motion rivaled only by professionals, she used the grappling hook gun to grab onto the platform and swing toward her. When she grabbed hold of her, Casey used the rest of her momentum to shoot her other hook and reel in the first. While swinging, Casey spoke to her sounding stunned.


    ¡°Okay,the two I knocked out before somehow got up and broke the floor you were standing on. I¡¯ve bought us some time while we¡¯re in the air like this, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Okay so, I just learned that those savants are being controlled by a mind control user. They¡¯ve presumably been given the order of fighting until they die, even if they take on heavy injuries. Going off the power needed to sustain these guys, I¡¯ve narrowed it down to the Queen, the one in the seventh category. I don¡¯t know why she is here but she is. So, in order to stop these guys without killing them, we have to find and take her down, that should stop them!¡±


    ¡°Okay, and how do we find her? We don¡¯t have time to look everywhere!¡±


    ¡°In order to control this many people, even she would have to be at a point where she could watch this all go down easily. So, that¡¯s where you come in, I recall Axel once asking you to check nearby for any enemies and you were able to pinpoint a few. I want you to do the same thing here, except search for the most powerful signs of energy, it has to be the one that is by itself!¡± Katie ordered as Casey once again helped them land on the platform. With a bead of sweat running down her face, Casey now understood what was going on and nodded her head.


    ¡°I gotcha, I¡¯ll try¡± She said once again kneeling down and closing her eyes to concentrate. As she did that, Katie noticed the three from earlier quickly charge at her. Katie knew she stood no chance without a weapon, but the one who did was a few feet away.


    ¡°Caesar! I¡¯m sorry to bother you but we need your help!¡±


    ¡°No need to explain, I managed to hear it all thanks to your frantic screams. I¡¯ve got this¡± Caesar said as he jumped in front of her and raised his guard. Now, she knew Caesar was powerful, but she was about to see first hand just how powerful he was. It was a six on one now. Savants from all sides suddenly attacked him as Katie struggled to believe that Caesar could hold his own alright.


    First a punch from the left, a swift dodge just to counter a punch from the right with his own palm and slightly moving his head to the side to dodge a kick that was coming from his other left. While still there, he jumped up and extended his leg out to kick the boy that was lit up with sparks of energy. Jumping into that now empty spot, He threw a haymaker straight to the kid directly next to him and bent down to dodge another punch from his front. Extending his left foot out and swiping it to his right with a powerful force, he managed to trip two of his opponents. Then, he shot forward and used his arms to hold himself up. Mid flip up, he kicked his right leg out and his left leg back, directly landing a blow to two of his opponents temples.


    It was critical blow after blow, and all from Caesar. As she watched in awe, she quickly realized the difference in power they had, the gap was immeasurable. It was then that she was thankful that these people were on her side.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got her!¡± Casey suddenly blurted out as she snapped open her eyes. Quickly, Katie knelt next to her and grabbed her shoulder.


    ¡°Really? Where is she??¡±


    ¡°Directly in front of us! Among all of these weak heat signatures, there is an extremely radiating heat and power source coming from that building directly in front of this gate. It¡¯s the only one there and seems to be on edge! It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever looked for energy instead of just heat so it took me a couple extra seconds¡­.¡± Casey said standing up and looking over at the building an entire football field away.


    (So we were standing directly on top of her, eh?)


    ¡°No! You were great! But we have to get over there quickly! Caesar won¡¯t be able to hold them off for long like that!¡±


    As quickly as she understood that, Casey nodded and extended her hand out so that Katie could grab on. Katie obliged and closed her eyes as Casey once again took off with her in her arms.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I lost my grappling hooks in the chaos¡­¡± She said.


    ¡°No need to apologize! If this works out, I¡¯d actually end up owning you one!¡± She said as she reeled in her hook and shot the next. They got so close to the crowd down below that Kate was able to recognize a couple faces down there that were staring up at them and cheering them on. It appeared as if they were watching the fight that was going on. Also, it had occurred to her that Casey resembled spiderman as she switched from gun to gun. Eventually, they made it to their destination and roughly landed. Katie scraped her knee on the ground and slid some but she ignored it and got up. Casey apologized for the rough landing but Katie assured her that it was alright. Then, Both of them pointed their gazes due north and noticed the growing calamity getting closer and closer, time was running out! With this in mind, Casey blew a hole straight through roof of the building with her fist of flames. Once the debris and smoke had cleared, they both jumped into the room. The Queen, was but a simple hide and seek game away¡­


    Part 5


    Dust quietly floated in the air due to Casey¡¯s earlier blow from the ceiling. For awhile, they weren¡¯t really sure what they were looking at. It wasn¡¯t until their eyes adjusted to the darkness that they could finally see what was around. The entire floor was barron, either this place was just abondoned or just constructed. The floor was made out of concrete and a couple of shelves covered up with white covers surrounded them. The room was extremely wide and open, it was almost as if this room made up the entire floor. In fact, it was possible that was just it. Feeling nervous, Katie stepped down from the debris she was standing on and got closer to Casey who was twirling around seemingly lost and confused.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She asked making sure to keep her voice down.


    Casey, with her eyes darting around, made sure to answer as quickly as possible. ¡°Something¡¯s not right. I thought I knew exactly where she was, but the second I entered the building it was almost as if she split herself into multiple people. There are energy signals everywhere and I can¡¯t pinpoint which one is her¡­..So stay low, there are a couple nearby. She still is in the 7th category so her combat abilities have to be superb, stay on your toes..¡±


    Katie nervously shook her head and felt her hands shake. For what seemed like forever, Katie and Casey were softly walking around making sure not make too much noise. Katie wasn¡¯t sure what Casey was doing but since she didn¡¯t have any better ideas she decided to keep quiet. But still, the fact that they had less than 7 minutes left completely plagued her mind. If they didn¡¯t stop the Queen now, they¡¯d all likely die!


    Then, just as she thought it would be best to just focus on the gate, Katie felt two things happen simultaneously. First, a prickly feeling caused by the hairs on the back of her neck followed by the sounds of something slicing through the air made her unconsciously hit the deck. Next, she felt something zoom by and graze the back of her head. Before she knew it, she quickly looked up to see what had happened to Casey, but it turned out she had hit the deck with her. Not only that, she had her hands on Katie¡¯s shoulder s which made her realize that Casey was the one that had forced Katie down.


    ¡°C-casey?!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re being attacked! Quickly! On your feet!¡± Casey said as she popped herself up with just her hands. Seeing her do that made Katie fill with anxiety and jump to her feet as well.


    Casey raised her hands and prepared to defend herself as her rapid thoughts pulled her from the battlefield.


    (That energy signal, that thing that flew at us had a hint of her energy signal. It¡¯s no wonder I can¡¯t pinpoint where she¡¯s at, she¡¯s controlling the damn thing and hiding her own energy. Still, if I hadn¡¯t sensed it moving our heads would¡¯ve been rolling down the hall by now¡­)


    When she felt two rapid objects once again fly toward her. Casey covered her hands with fire and spun to meet them. One flew directly toward her throat but she timed her fist and uppercutted it. A dull thud was heard as Casey quickly brought her fist back and jumped up to dodge the other aimed at her leg. She thought she had dodge them all until¡­.


    Swish


    In mid air, she heard the sound of another object slicing straight for her! In mid air, and with little to no time to react, she could do nothing but close her eyes as she prepared for a sharp pain to attack her. However, a high pitched clank caused by metal on metal ringed in her ears followed by something crashing down. Casey opened her eyes shocked and landed back on the ground nearly losing her balance. She looked at her saviour and felt her jaw slightly drop. Swinging a long metal pole around her like it was no big deal was Katie who now had a determined look on her face.


    ¡°This much I can do! I got your back girl!!¡± Katie said as she faced her back to her. Casey was left with no time to react once again and blew out a chuckle as she clashed her own back to Katie¡¯s.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re talking!! Let¡¯s do this then!¡±


    With each other back to back, Casey and Katie readied themselves and spun in a circle slowly together in sync. Casey felt three more come from multiple directions but only focused on the two coming directly at her, she trusted the other to Katie. Casey lit her flames and blew out a mighty breath of fire which stopped the oncoming weapons as she heard Katie once again twirl her pole and deflect the coming attack, but they couldn¡¯t stop yet. Suddenly, they heard multiple attacks coming from all sides and quickly focused in on all directions. Katie spun as she spun her pole and deflect two attacks coming from her left. She then quickly flipped and narrowly avoided two coming from her rear. Then, with the same momentum, she spun her pole around and deflected three coming from Casey¡¯s right. Casey slightly jumped as if avoiding a rope in a game of jump rope but instead avoided an attack to her feet. It was then that she managed to finally uncover what these weapons were, they were shurikens. But, the information was a tad useless. When she landed, she quickly spun her flaming fist and deflected another shuriken which she intentionally ricocheted to stop two others in their tracks. She high kicked her left leg and stopped another shuriken form the bottom making sure to avoid its blades which would surely do damage. Then, when it seemed like that was the last of them, she felt multiple shurikens suddenly coming from all different directions. Even she could not deflect all of them without hurting Katie, so she quickly did the first thing that came to mind to ensure both their safety.


    ¡°Katie, Double long flip!!!¡± casey yelled. She heard Katie gasp for a second but went on with her actions anyway.


    She threw her arms back in between Katie¡¯s and bent her elbows, their arms were now locked on to each other. Quickly and without a second thought, Casey used all of her upper and lower body strength to flip back and onto Katie¡¯s back as Katie bent forward to allow her to do so. Casey then unbent her elbows and her momentum carried her up. When she was completely upside down and high in the air, She opened the palms of her hands which were extended so that Katie could quickly hold on.Katie jumped up and grabbed hold of Casey and allowed both of their momentum to carry her out.


    Multiple clanks rung out and attacked their frail ears as Casey landed and held out her arms. In the next moment, Katie landed in them.


    ¡°Hey!! You did great out there girly!¡± Casey said excitedly as she put Katie down who frantically cleaned her glasses.


    ¡°I¡¯m just glad I remembered how to do it¡­...The double long flip was hard to do in p.e¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, you did great! But for now, hand me one of those shurikens will ya?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Uh, yeah sure, but why?¡±


    ¡°I got an idea as I was thinking about the energy controlling the shuriken.¡± Casey said as she grabbed the shuriken Katie handed her. It was sharp and had a shape resembling a star. Still, she didn¡¯t just want to know what it looked like. Without much thought, she stabbed herself in the arm with one of the ends and winced as a sharp pain ran up her arm like a jolt of electricity. Katie exclaimed as she saw fresh blood leak out of her soft skin.


    ¡°Casey!? What in the world are you doing??¡± she asked as Casey ignored her for a moment and concentrated deeply. After many moments of silence, and pain, Casey snapped her eyes open and threw the shuriken to the side.


    ¡°I found you!!!¡± She suddenly yelled before turning heel and yelling into the darkness. However, before Kaite could ask what, her ears suddenly exploded and she was then thrown into the air along with Casey. The floor below them had blown and so had the floors below. Multiple sounds of explosions went off around them as debris and dust suddenly attacked them from all sides. Despite this, what they had to was crystal clear. Casey and Katie located each other and nodded. Katie immediately understood that Casey had to get back up there. The floors had collapsed, but the walls around them remained intact. Katie quickly located a large piece of debris enough for Casey to stand on and touched it with her fingers. Immediately, it froze in place and did not move. Casey then landed on it and bent down and shot herself up with an explosion of flames, but not before throwing both of her grappling hook guns at Katie. Katie smiled as she felt herself fall victim to gravity. She caught the guns and quickly took action by shooting them onto to the still in tact walls.


    Up above, Casey had no idea how it had happened but a super large boulder suddenly came crashing down toward her, but her resolve did not waiver. She straightened her body out and clapped her hands over her head, as if diving.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired of playing games with you!!¡± She roared as her body erupted into flames. The flames spun and spun until she was nothing but a blazing upside down tornado.


    ¡°Special Move, Hell¡¯s Hidden Fire Daaaaaaaaance!!!¡± She once again unconsciously roared as she pierced straight through the large boulder with almost no trouble. Once she blasted out of the other side and had completely shattered the boulder, Casey spread her arms wide and stopped her flames from spinning. However, a roaring cloak of fire still hung over her. With a slight angry expression, Casey landed on the edge of the roof. She then looked down at what had once been the floors of the building. The entire building had fallen apart from the inside including the roof but the outside remained in tact. But, that¡¯s not what she was up there for. In one of the corners of the building high up where she was at was a cabinet that had about 6 feet of floor still remaining under it and completely unharmed. She jumped over to it and felt it slightly shake under her weight. At the same time, something or someone nervously fidgeted from the inside of the cabinet. With adrenaline still pumping in her veins, Casey threw open the doors of the cabinet and watched as a girl fell right out.


    She was not entirely what Casey was expecting to be. She had long and shiny baby blue colored hair. Her skin was as pale and smooth as a baby¡¯s bottom, her crystal clear blue eyes were sparkly and nervous, and her body was one that even Casey could admire. She had an hourglass figure which was not to big nor small, just right for her age. She had on a red orange skirt which showed off her thighs which were protected by gray leggings. Tucked into her skirt was a long sleeve white fluffy shirt which Casey thought was actually cute. The girl seemed completely frail. But, this was definitely her, and her looks definetly lived up to her name, ¡°The Queen¡±.


    The blue haired queen quietly sat up as her rosy pink lips began to move nervously. ¡°Ah, Um! s-sorry¡­.I, uh, I....¡± She stuttered in the face of a mighty Casey who still had her flames up on display. Casey ignored that and knelt down close to the queen.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the deal, if you even think about trying to control my or my friend¡¯s mind, I will make sure that I do everything in my power to completely burn you to a crisp, and even if I don¡¯t, there are people on their way ten times stronger than you are that will make sure you are never able to so much as even think about controlling anyone ever again, do I make myself clear?¡± She threw down asserting her dominance. The girl quickly sat up straight as she seemingly begged for her life.


    ¡°Y-yes mam!!!¡±


    ¡°Good girl, now then, release the guys you¡¯re controlling¡± She said pointing over at Caesar who was still in the middle of combat. The blue haired girl was skeptical at first, but after catching a powerful gaze from Casey, she quickly obliged by closing her eyes. Casey looked over at Caesar again and watched as the students he was fighting suddenly stopped and dropped. Then, the Queen lifted her face and suddenly started to cry.


    ¡°I never even wanted to be here! It¡¯s that stupid Lady¡¯s fault!!! Now who knows what¡¯s going to happen to my family!!!!!¡± She said as she bawled her eyes out. It was then that something occurred to her, and only the Queen¡¯s reaction just now could lead her to this conclusion.


    (I knew it was impossible for us to turn on each other¡­..) she thought as she let her flames die down to nothing. With a soft and caring hand, she grabbed on to the Queen¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Did that lady blackmail you?¡± She asked. The Queen, with a sea of water out of her eyes, shook her head yes.


    ¡°She said she''d hunt down me and my family if I didn¡¯t come with her and do as she says¡­...I¡­¡­. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without them¡­..so I had no choice!!!! But I just am not strong enough!! Both physically and emotionally! I was powerless against you and your friends! Waaaaaaahhh!!!¡±she wailed. Casey felt tears fly up at her and she instinctively raised her arms for cover.


    ¡°Hey hey hey!, Look at me, I know a guy that is great with things like this and has many powerful connections, you let him know what is going on, and I guarantee that the only thing that will fall upon you and your family is happiness, okay? But you have to come with me, there¡¯s not much time princess, we have to hurry¡± Casey said with a soft tone.


    As the Queen sniffed and rubbed her eyes, she continued to look down and hiccup.


    ¡°It¡¯s Queen *hic*, not princess¡­.¡± She said.


    ¡°Oh trust me sweetheart, after what just happened here it¡¯s clear I¡¯m the only Queen around here!¡± Casey happily said as she stood up and placed her hands on her hips.


    The Queen giggled and wiped away the last of her tears. Casey saw this and extender out her hand to help her up. After careful consideration on her part, The Queen took her hand and stood up.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Casey¡± she said.


    ¡°Nice to meet you Casey¡­¡­.¡± Queen replied. After exchanging a handshake, Casey couldn¡¯t help but smile. Even in the most toughest times, friendships could still be made, and the thought was somewhat comforting.


    "Casey!!!! I''m glad you made friends with her but please help me up!" She suddenly heard from behind. Casey felt her hair stand as she realized that Katie had fallen with the rubble. When she ran to the edge of the floor that was left, she looked over and found Katie clinging to a rope for dear life.


    "Ah! Katie! hang on a sec!" Casey yelled. Casey quickly summoned up her flames and shot them at Katie in order to catch her. As the Queen watched this go on, she thought to herself, how strange? How could someone flip a switch from kill to bestill with such ease. She wondered, was everyone out there like this? She wouldn''t know. After all, the only people around her were those she controlled. What could she possibly know about friendship. So, what did it matter then? What if she......What if she took over Casey''s mind right here and now? Kick her off and have her turn on her friend who was in the middle of fighting a patch of fire that did not burn her. Her back was to her, so why not? If it were a stranger, it''d be better than having her own family die!.... Once she was under her control, he''d never know!!!


    As she watched the girl named Casey gently reel in her friend, The Queen got rid of all her emotions and cleared her mind. With a sense of savagery, she quickly plauged Casey''s mind. Before she knew it, before anyone knew it, She was in.


    Casey suddenly tensed up and her mind went blank, her eyes greyed out and seemed to space off. Katie was suddenly stopped in mid air and held there. She looked up at Casey and asked what was the matter, but Casey did not respond.


    (I have her!! Great!! Now! All I have to do is--!!)


    {Hey! Casey! Let''s go out and play!}


    From completely out of nowhere, she heard the voice of a child.


    {huh? Axel? What are you doing in my room?!} She heard a young girl respond in her mind.


    (W-what is this??) the Queen gasped as she thought. Somehow, Casey''s memories were being brought into her own mind and they were playing in her mind like a video. Not only that, every emotion she had ever felt in those moments also washed over her like a warm sea of honey.


    Two children spoke to each other, one was a girl in the middle of coloring in her room. She recognized her to be Casey when she was a little girl. The other was a young boy she had never seen before. He was climbing into her room from her window.


    {Forget that! I''m here to play! Kyle and Cindy are outside too!!}


    The second she heard those words, such a warm feeling dance in the inside of her belly, she felt like she could cry from happiness. It was unreal how happy a child could get simply from having friends. She quickly got up and exclaimed in joy as she agreed and jumped right out the window, tackling the boy. After that, many more memories came flooding in. Moments outiside with the boy, moments with her parents, moments with her friends, moments with her family. In one, the boy and Casey were all grown up and fighting side by side in the middle of a raining forest, in another they were fighting inside of a cave over a sandwich, in another, they were kids once again and fighting over a cup of desert, in another, she was a kid again and surrounded by all of her friends and laughing as they sat in a certain park. In the final one, she saw images of many people float into her mind one by one as a surreal feeling flooded over her....Love. The second she realized this strange sensation that made her heart tingle in guilt, she was brought back to her regular self who was once again sitting on the ground.


    She quickly looked over at Casey and realized that she had been looking back at her with a simple but furrowed look. The glow in her eye that should''ve been gone was back once more. It was then that the Queen felt a chill go down her spine as she realized that Casey had somehow managed to turn Queen''s own ability against her. In fact, it had seemed as though Queen had played right into her hands.


    Despite this, the Queen was fine with it and no longer had any intention to harm her. Why? because she finally understood, even if from another person, what it meant to truly fight for others. Casey had shown her this.


    "Why''d you stop all of a sudden?" Katie asked once she was back up with Casey.


    "Sorry about that! I suddenly remembered something and lost you for a bit there, but I''m good now." Casey said hugging Katie. For a moment there, Katie was skeptical, but brushed it off.


    "Okay......but what was up with that earlier stunt? you suddenly stabbed yourself!" Katie said looking at Casey''s wound which was somehow already sealed up.


    "Ah, that. I knew those tiny shuriken were receiving orders from princess over here so I thought that if I stabbed myself with one I''d be able to feel where the energy was coming from, and so my gamble paid off!" Casey answered. Katie thought over it and deemed it a risky and stupid idea but didn''t voice it since it worked out well in the end anyway.


    "About those shuriken, how were you able to control them?" Casey asked Queen.


    "well, I can''t fully utilize it, but I can control matter and electronics with some effort. It''s sort of hard to explain..."


    Casey nodded and lifted her eyebrows. At the same time, she thought about how strong Queen really was. Not only did she control a total of six people, but she also controlled those shuriken with such fluency. It was outstanding. In the end, the only reason that Casey was able to flush some of her memories into Queen was because her mind was waivering. As a result, her skill waivered too and Casey was able to take slight control, although that was also a gamble. If she had been fully determined, Casey would''ve been a doll right now.


    "Actually,while we''re on the subject, where did you get that huge boulder from?" Casey asked turning back to Queen who was up on her feet again.


    "Pixelator gave it to me. I don''t kow how but he gave me a small ball and said to crush it and throw it at someone for it to activate and to be far away from it. Didn''t think that would come out.....As for this building and it''s explosions, they were set up for me like that in case anyone intruded while I controlled those students....Which failed anyway, so yeah" Queen replied.


    "Pixelator? the guy from the tournament that constructed the platforms?" Casey asked as Queen raised her shoulders.


    "There''s no time for that! come on! we''ve gotta get going!" Katie said as she pushed Casey and handed her the two guns.


    "Oh right! Alright, Let''s go!" Casey said as she readied her two grappling hooks.


    Part 6


    He was always a strange kid, always entertained by the thrill of action and as a result, was always kicked out of class for being the most rowdy and picking fights, which also caused him to develop a taste for powerful skills and a distaste for weak ones. This was the reason why he¡¯d pick on the lower category people almost daily, he just saw no use to them and wondered why they were even gifted with a skill at all.


    Still, as time passed by, his life changed and his path altered. Somehow, he ended up here. He knew that the world of savants would hate him, he knew he could get killed for this, but at the end of the day, he was just looking to have some fun¡­.That was all that mattered


    ____________


    After regrouping with Caesar, Casey Katie and the Queen were down on the ground below directly in front of the gates now thinking of what to do next. As many kids tried to tend to the six wounded students, others still frantically cried out for help that wouldn¡¯t come.


    ¡°So, the levers jammed and completely useless to us now so what else can we do?¡± Caesar asked as he wrapped a bandage around a slash on his arm.


    ¡°I figured it out as we made our way here. When the gates are placed in an automatic mode like this they have a powerful engine that forces the gates shut whenever they are opened by force. That engine gets its power by solar panels, all we have to do is destroy those panels and the engine shouldn¡¯t have any energy to keep going unless it already has some stored. Even then all we have to do is fry it¡¯s mainframe. That¡¯s where the Queen comes in, she can control minds but also has the power to hack technology!¡± Katie said.


    ¡°I do have that power but it¡¯s still a work in progress. I can get to the motor but the main lever is out of my reach as it is protected by far too many firewalls for me to handle at my current level of power.¡± Queen confirmed.


    ¡°After that, all we have to do is force this puppy open with something other than our skills. Like all of us pushing at once! Anything so long as it is not powered by our energy! We can do this!¡± Katie yelled. Hearing this. Caesar thought for a monet and in the end seemed okay with the plan. He agreed with her and was ready for the green light. Casey clapped her hands together and cheered. She loved the fact that Katie was extremely smart in these matters so long as she kept her cool. There was hope! Everyone was going to be okay but they had only four minutes to work with!!


    ¡°Okay quickly everyone!!! Let¡¯s go!!¡± Casey said getting ready to climb the wall again.


    ¡°Not so fast!¡± They heard someone yell from up above. Everyone froze as they quickly looked up to see who was inevitably trying to get in their way. Blonde hair and a perky but evil smile, blue eyes and a slightly toned body, the silhouette of Pixelator was visible for all to see.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± Casey asked sounding confused at the sight of Pixelator. Katie had completely failed to mention that he had been present there. She didn¡¯t think it¡¯d matter.


    ¡°It seems your plans fail to mention that I¡¯m here, you¡¯re one true obstacle. The one standing in between your safety!¡± Pixelator yelled for all to hear.


    ¡°Pixelator?! You wouldn¡¯t!¡± Katie yelled as shock filled her being. Caesar felt sweat drip down from his forehead as he realized who Pixelator was. Powerwise, Pixelator had the upper hand.


    ¡°Katie, you should be the last one asking me that, you ought to know me by now¡­..Despite what you may think, I was still brought here to defend these walls at all costs, and yes, even from you lot.¡±


    Casey furiously clenched her fist as she yelled back at Pixelator. ¡°What the hell are you saying!? Get out of the way before you get beat up!! We don¡¯t have time for this!¡±


    ¡°Wait Casey! That¡¯s Pixelator! Number two in the sixth category!¡± Queen suddenly yelped.


    Casey widened her eyes a bit and finally seemed to recognize his ability. She looked at Queen with wide eyes and the furrowed her brow back at Pixelator.


    ¡°Unfortunately, It has to be this way. And since you don¡¯t have much time, I suggest you start acting quickly." Pixelator said with a cold tone.


    Casey struggled with her words as once again she was thrown into a state of panic. There was no time for a fight.....They just couldn''t afford to fight!


    "We......We won''t fight you! Please! just let us pass!!!!'' Casey desperately yelled. However, Pixelator, under the moonlight, lowered his head as he released a wicked smile.


    "You''re not understanding, I didn''t allow you to get through everyone else for no reason.....and I simply can''t let a good fight like this go. So, if you truly won''t come to me, fine......I''LL COME TO YOU"


    A sudden pressure of wind assaulted them from all sides as a huge energy signal flooded Casey¡¯s mind, it was unreal! People from all over were suddenly thrown on their backs as pixels from all over grabbed onto Casey and Caesar. Casey used her flames to break out of them and jumped back as far as she could. Caesar broke apart the pixels and also jumped back. Without missing a beat, Casey jumped for the Queen and quickly tried to make her way up the gate only to be stopped by Pixelator who had used his pixels to construct a cannon which fired at her. She narrowly avoided it but failed to see the fist that appeared out of thin air and got her right in the jaw. A tremendous force assaulted her head as she flew back and let go of the Queen.


    "Casey!?" Qeen exclaimed in fear as she saw her crash into another building with a loud bang.


    Queen yelled as she suddenly started to fall but was caught by Caesar who acted quickly in a short amount of time. Still in the air, he shot his grappling hook up but as he was pulled up by it the rope suddenly turned into many small particles of light and he was dropped back down below. Pixelator suddenly appeared before him in mid air and his reaction was to attack him by swinging his leg at him but to his shock his leg flew right through Pixelator as his stomach somehow opened up and made a hole for his leg to pass through. In that same instance, Pixelator punched Caesar in his stomach and forced him to let go of Queen. Caesar felt the wind leave him as he instinctively let go of Queen and reached for his abdomen. Catching her himself, Pixelator blasted Caesar with dozens of cubes of light and made Caesar rip straight through the ground causing students to jump away from his body crashing through the concrete. After he finally stopped, Caesar ceased moving. Smiling, Pixelator held onto the squirming Queen and floated back down.


    Katie, who had watched it all go down, felt the reality of the situation dawn on her. Her two top players had been taken out in an instant and now the final boss was standing right in front of her. Fear and terror attacked her body and panic quickly overtook everyone in sight. Pixelator had finally made his move¡­¡­


    3 minutes left¡­.

 Chapter 14: Hegemony of the Queen

    Part 1


    A swirl of sensations filled her mind both physically and emotionally as she struggled to stand up or even pick up her head. While trying to bring her thoughts together, she softly sat up and reached out for her thumping head. For a second there, she had completely forgotten where she was. It took a good ten seconds before she finally realized who she was and what she was doing. When she did, she immediately clenched her fist and growled in anger.


    ¡°Damn that bastard, can¡¯t take it easy on a lady, can he?¡± She said wiping the dust off her now torn clothes. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t enough to be too revealing. Despite that, she was still pissed since this particular outfit was very cute to her. Now she¡¯d be forced to buy another. Casey quickly jumped to her feet but quickly regretted it as her head suddenly spun and the ground came up to meet her bottom. She reflexively threw her hands back with the little strength she had left and caught her upper body from falling back.


    ¡°M-.......maybe I should get up slowly¡­.¡± She said after nearly passing out from a head rush. She rubbed her spinning head and felt her blood gently pump through her veins. She softly got to her feet and started to walk over to where she had crashed through. By the time she got there, she started to feel much better as adrenaline once again started to take over. She hung on to the broken wall next to her and looked down at the now dark ground. She could see next to nothing, the only thing she was able to do was hear the screams of dozens, no, hundreds of kids as fear plagued them.


    It took her to squint in order to finally adjust to the darkness. When she did, she saw the figure of Pixelator holding on to the struggling Queen. In front of him, Katie who was biting her lip in frustration as she seemingly struggled with what to do next.


    (Don¡¯t worry, Katie, I¡¯m coming!.............!?)


    Her enthusiastic thoughts were suddenly thrown into disarray when she spotted the body of Caesar completely out cold on the ground. It looked like he had torn straight through the concrete ground. What¡¯s more, she wasn¡¯t sure how long she was out, but surely it wasn¡¯t long enough for Caesar to go down so soon¡­¡­...,was it!?


    (damn it!!! It doesn¡¯t matter!!!! He has to go down!!!)


    That¡¯s right, no matter how strong he was, he needed to go down. If they wanted even the smallest amount of hope, taking Pixelator down was the first step toward it!!!


    As she thought this, a sudden burst of power tore through her body in the form of crimson flames. Her twinkling eyes set their sights on Pixelator and immediately took action. She knelt down and blasted through the air emitting a powerful sonic boom as she flew straight toward Pixelator. By the time Pixelator looked up, Casey was already on his other side. She swiftly landed and ricocheted herself back toward Pixelator. She placed all of that momentum behind her fist and launched it at his abdomen. A clear and gut wrenching sound played in the air as she made contact with his skin. As he spit out a wad of blood, Casey threw her next punch in the same place as the last. And then another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another!


    She continued to throw one punch after the other with each one gaining even more speed and strength causing Pixelator to be lifted off his feet. Eventually, her arms were but blurs to the naked eye. When the final gut blasting punch landed, it had seemed as if time had slowed down for everyone as they witnessed Pixelator suspended in mid air, eyes wide as he gawked in pain and agony. His grip on the Queen was now loose and she was left to slowly fall as she too watched Casey in awe. Casey had a powerful glint in her eye as she stared at Pixelator with her brow furrowed. Within the next second, she spun on her feet and brought in her right leg. Using her left to jump up, she extended the right one out and firmly planted it on Pixelator¡¯s shocked face.


    ¡°How do you like my Dragon Rush!???!¡± She unconsciuosly roared as Pixelator was the next to be sent crashing a good ways away. Casey landed back on her feet and watched as Pixelator was suddenly lost in the darkness. Time was not entirely on her time so she quickly spun on her feet and made a dash toward Caesar who was a good distance away. The Queen, who had just finished falling, remained on her bottom as she quickly realized the raw strength that the girl named Casey somehow possessed. Katie, who was also thinking that, watched as Casey ran past her and knelt next to Caesar.


    ¡°Caesar! Quickly!! You gotta get up!!¡± She yelled as she shook him as hard as she could. Eventually, she got signs of ife as he flickered his eyes open. When she saw this, she stopped shaking him and held him gently in her arms.


    ¡°You good, buddy? I need you to get up for me.¡± She demanded rather than asking if he was okay. It was harsh maybe but there was no time for resting anymore, the battlefield forced this on them. Caesar seemed to understand this as he quickly came to and sat up on his own.


    ¡°Argh¡­.sorry, I¡¯ve gotten rusty¡­¡± He said as he held one eye shut and rubbed his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just come on!¡± She said helping him up to his feet. Although, she made sure he got up slowly as she didn¡¯t want him to take another nap due to a head rush like she had. When he was finally up and able to move, she let him quickly assess the situation with his own eyes before speaking to him.


    ¡°Damn it, where¡¯d that asshole go?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it for now, I managed to get the drop on him and landed a direct hit. He may be strong but he can still feel pain. Now, I need you to focus on getting princess over there up to the top of this puppy,  I¡¯ll hold back Pixelator¡± She ordered. When she did, Caesar widened his eyes in disbelief. He just couldn¡¯t imagine her actually taking on Pixelator and somehow managing to hold him back. Especially after he had seen her in battle earlier. She was useless!


    ¡°Are you kidding me? There¡¯s no way you can hold him back! It¡¯s suicide! Let me handle it! I can do it better!¡±


    ¡°No, trust me, I can do better.¡± She confidently said. Caesar felt his jaw slightly drop as he listened to her speak. However, he wasn¡¯t angry. Just¡­..shocked. Why? Because there wasn¡¯t a hint of a bluff in her words. She was completely and utterly SERIOUS. Her face said it all, not even a pinch of worry in her eyes, she was confident, but this wasn¡¯t what she exhibited earlier...Was it all just a farce? Regardless, there was no time to waste in pointless squabble since time was running low and she was clearly dead set on fulfilling her duty.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you fail me¡± He said before running past her and toward where the Queen was sitting. Casey giggled and clenched her fist as she turned back toward where Pixelator was last at.


    ¡°Ha, that¡¯s my line.¡±


    As she said this, she noticed a patch of white smoke oddly swirling in the distance, someone was in the middle of swiping away the dust in the air. She took this time to wipe away some dust she caught sight of on her skirt and even took a moment to check for any hard rips or tears. Luckily, the damage done to her clothes wasn¡¯t all that bad. Thus far at least¡­


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up with you? Why does it feel like you are hiding a ton of power?¡± Pixelator suddenly said as he appeared from the cloud of smoke a good distance away. As he laid her eyes on him, she clearly saw that he had taken a substantial amount of damage. His lip was bleeding and his body was covered in scratches. There was a hole in his shirt and a tear in his pants. This made her relax a bit since she could see for herself that he indeed was not invincible. However,Since he was pretty far, her immediate thought process was why she could hear him so well. It was like one of those moments in a movie where the main character is suddenly somehow able to blurt out all sound except for the person talking to them, regardless of the countless explosions or battles going on around them. It was¡­...very bizarre.


    ¡°I wish I could fuck with you and say that I am hiding my true power, but this girl has no secrets like that. I¡¯ve shown you all I got.¡± She said as she adjusted her footing.


    ¡°Really? Could¡¯ve sworn your fists were holding back something. Either way, you managed to break a couple ribs and even ruptured one of my intestines. It was pretty fucking painful I¡¯ll tell you that. If I wasn¡¯t me I¡¯d probably still be writhing around in agony but well, as fate would have it, I am me so there¡¯s not really much I can complain about. But now, I¡¯m gonna make sure you experience the same pain you stupid bitch!!!!¡±


    Pixelator¡¯s face turned into something cold as he immediately broke apart into thousands of tiny pixels. They scattered into the air and flew all over the place, making it hard for her to attack as she did not know if she could actually cause damage like this.


    (His body is seemingly made out of pixels, that probably explains how he was able to heal himself. But he has to have a limit, there is a limit to him! I just have to find out what¡­.)


    As she thought this, Casey jumped up into the air in an attempt to get some higher ground. She was very weak, and her muscles weren¡¯t properly trained, but with the help of her powers she was able to boost her strength 10 fold. As a result, jumping up to about six feet was within her realm of possibilities. As she was in mid air, she gave a quick glance up and was able to see that Caesar had made it up to the top of the gates. Seeing this made her tension simmer down just a tad as she crossed her arms in front of her face and braced for impact. Just a second later, a small cloud of the pixels materialized into that of an entire arm. It smacked against her crossed arms and she felt the sharp vibrations travel to the core of her being. After taking that hit, she threw her hands upward and caused the floating arm to fling upward. After that, she swung her leg at the mass of pixels in front of her and felt herself make contact with multiple tiny blocks. Other than making them move a couple feet around her leg, her kick seemed to do nothing to the pixels.


    Though, this was halfway expected. Using the last bit of her momentum, she threw her body backwards and flipped back down to the ground. Once there, she immediately jumped back as she noticed the large pool of pixels dive back down for her. While sliding on the heels of her feet, she raised both arms and launched a massive ball of fire at the small cubes. However, they moved out of its way and the large ball proceeded to ram the large steel gates. She bit her lip and snapped her fingers as she saw her attack slip by. Pixelator then attacked Casey once more but this time by materializing once again and launching a volley of punches aimed at her upper body. Casey was forced to go on the defensive as she tried to block the incoming punches. However, due to the pressure of the situation, she slipped up multiple times and caused many punches to land. As a result, she was starting to take heavy damage and was not sure how much longer she could last. To make things worse, it was getting dark to the point where she was starting to struggle to see.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Come on now! You gotta beat me remember? Hurry up and do it!!!!¡± Pixelator started to yell as he saw her slowly lose focus.


    ¡°Grrr¡­.!!!!!¡± Casey growled as she pushed forward and swung her foot up again, only to have it completely hit nothing. Pixelator suddenly appeared behind her and laughed as he planted his foot right in between her shoulder blades. She was forced to meet the ground as she began to slide for several feet. She felt her skin burn due to the friction and let out a yell of pain. Her back eventually crashed against something smooth and cold. She slowly picked her upper body up with her hands and felt for burns. Just as she thought, she had received a very nasty burn all over her left arm and her left leg. The pain was sharp and intense, so much so that she just felt like lying down and calling it quits. So much so that, she did just that and rested her head on the ground. Her energy was reaching its limits and so was her stamina. She wasn¡¯t sure what she could do, Pixelator was far above her level¡­.it would take a lot more than just a couple minutes to take him down¡­..then there was the door...How would they get it open in time? How? There was no way they could do it with physical force¡­..And with such a short amount of time? No, it couldn¡¯t be done¡­.


    Casey watched as Pixelator slowly crept up on her as his dark eyes glistened under the moonlight. Behind him, multiple figures stood in shock as they watched the battle go on. The weak ones with no combat ability¡­..all counting on them¡­...But¡­


    (we¡­..we can¡¯t do it like this¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.) She regretfully said in her head as she turned to look at the large steel wall. To think, just beyond that wall was there ticket to safety. To think, just beyond that wall were possibly all of their teachers hiding like cowards. The same teachers that had treated them like one of their own¡­...It was true, you really could not trust anyone.


    (It¡¯d be your own people¡­..) She thought as she tried to get a glimpse of herself through the reflection of the steel gates. Only, she couldn¡¯t. For some reason, a certain portion of the supposed invincible wall was charred black. Not only that, but it seemed like it had been slightly damaged! Her confusion was audible as she let out a slight ¡°wha?¡±.


    There was no way this could¡¯ve happened. After all, whatever ability touched the wall was negated. So then¡­.what? What caused this?... Surely it wasn¡¯t her. She wasn¡¯t hit that hard to damage this wall,  nor was she on fire¡­..


    Then it hit her. Earlier, she had used a fireball to attack Pixelator but it missed and hit that exact same spot. Could it be? Did her ability¡­¡­..work? Quickly, she placed her palm on the surface of the wall and lit it up with fire. After a couple of seconds, her answer was evident. It was just as she thought, her palm was not going out! The flames were still burning bright! Which meant, her powers were not getting negated!


    As quickly as she realized this, Casey got up and felt hope give her the strength to continue.


    She could do this, they could do this! But she couldn¡¯t do anything just yet. No, first Caesar had to do his part¡­


    ¡°Hey? Did you just do that? Did your powers somehow make that burn earlier? No fucking way¡­.that¡¯s insane! Now I definitely can¡¯t let you defeat me so easily! The fun would end abruptly if you manage to open the gates!!¡±


    Then, bam, her worst fear realized. Pixelator saw the damage on the wall too and came to the same conclusion. Fate just loved to challenge her.....So now he knew her intentions¡­.Even so, there was still a chance. It was a huge gamble, but with any luck, it¡¯d work. Casey began to spark her flames and jumpstarted her aching muscles. Anytime now, it¡¯d all begin just as soon as the Queen hacked the mainframe..


    Part 2


    Up on the roof of the giant steel gates, Caesar had just landed with the Queen and only barely making their way to the control panel. The entire way there, they hadn¡¯t said a word to each other. Likely because of the circumstances, but it felt like there was no time to say anything. Their minds were completely focused on the task at hand. It wasn¡¯t until they made it to the control room that Caesar finally said something.


    ¡°Okay so, how do we do this?¡± He asked looking around.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure to be honest, but if this is the control room then it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to figure it out with my ability¡­.¡± The Queen said as she ran up to the control panel and placed her hands on the surface of it. She began moving them around as if trying to soothe the machine before stopping and keeping them in a single position directly across from each other.


    ¡°Okay so, she wanted me to shut down the engines of the machine right? Okay, time to get to work then¡­¡­¡± She said closing her eyes and beginning to concentrate. When the room got silent, Caesar decided to go outside and search for the solar panels that gave the machines holding the doors shut energy. He walked outside and had a good look around. If he recalled, he did see something on the top of the control room resembling solar panels. He jumped up there and immediately found what he was looking for. There were three of them there. Letting out a small puff of air, he shook his head and slightly kicked one of them. That was all it took. Immediately as he did so, the machines started to break down and disappear into millions of tiny particles. The sight was as beautiful as always, the glow of the disappearing machines almost resembled pixie dust told in a children''s story. It was truly something magical, but, it was also deadly. The man who was unfortunate enough to strike him while his guard was up served as a grim reminder of that. It didn¡¯t matter what it was, his skill could break down anything.


    When the machines were finally gone, he shook his head and jumped backed down to where the Queen was still with her eyes closed. He softly approached the open doors and leaned against the wall as a bead of sweat appeared on his left temple and slowly slid down like a drop of rain on a car window. At this point, there had to be less than two minutes left. Not only that, there was no telling how Casey was doing with Pixelator. She could be dead for all he knew. Just the thought was chilling¡­.


    Tap,Tap,Tap


    Then again, there was no way that Pixelator would be that evil. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was thinking, but it seemed like the bastard was a battle loving fool. He had everyone tricked for so long, making everyone believe that he was just another teacher¡¯s pet. A pathetic liar, A damn good one at that. It was times like this where he wished that the schools would release more information regarding other savants. In that case he¡¯d know more about Pixelator and his skill. But, other than their names, high category savants were pretty much a mystery.


    Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap


    Speaking of which, there was the Queen, just who was she? Where was she from? What circumstances brought her here? Since they were low on time, he hadn¡¯t asked any questions and just grabbed her. He¡¯d have to ask Casey the next time he saw her once this was all over. But in the meantime, he could only wonder. In fact, he wondered just how hard it would be to hack the mainframe of the control panel using only her mind. That had to take a massive amount of focus and power, which was the reason that she was ranked a lot higher than him¡­¡­


    Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap!!!!


    But she was taking forever¡­¡­¡­How much longer was this going to take?.....It felt like he could make an instant ramen,eat it, take a nap, and come back and she still wouldn¡¯t be done¡­.


    Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap!!!!


    ¡°Will you shut up for a second?!!! Not only are your thoughts extremely loud, but your foot tapping is making me nervous!!! Please just calm down or go outside!!!¡± The Queen suddenly blurted out with a voice level that was borderline yelling. She actually managed to startle Caesar which caused him to slightly jump and widen his eyes. He also immediately felt his ears and face heat up as the realization that the Queen was somehow able to read his thoughts settled into his mind. Though, she was a mind controller so that shouldn¡¯t be much of a surprise¡­.


    Over on Queen¡¯s side, after she got done yelling at Caesar, who was now watching quietly, she returned to her work by once again closing her eyes and fixing her aura on the control panel.


    (Okay so, back to where I was originally at¡­..where¡¯s the system¡¯s main database? Come on now where is that bad boy?.....) She thought as her consciousness was surfing through a large and vast world filled with data and information. Doing something like this was a first for her. She¡¯d practice hacking small things like her phone or laptop numerous times but never on something this big. It was lucky that this panel didn¡¯t have internet access, or she¡¯d be stumped. Even when hacking her own phone or laptop, she always made sure to steer clear from the internet.


    See, her phone was like a very small yard while the internet was the entire solar system. There was no way she could hack all of that, it¡¯d take far too much experience and knowledge, that of which she didn¡¯t have.


    She continued flying through many routes and tunnels as data and information in the form of numbers quickly ran past her. After many moments like this, she eventually ran into a very peculiar looking wall. It was large and blocked by a wall of bold red numbers, much like the ones she once saw in the movie ¡°The Matrix¡±.


    The Queen approached the wall and touched it with her hand. However, she was greeted with a large screen that asked her to input a password.


    (I gotta do that even here?!) She thought.


    Regardless, there had to be a way in there. So, she quickly used her mind to its fullest by gathering all the information around her. Tons of number and equations and options flowed into her mind as she searched through each and every one. It was then that among that information, something happened to her. Rather, she felt something. It was like a sudden beam of pure and dark energy had momentarily passed through her. It was like evil in the form of information¡­.Once she got a chill down her spine, she immediately released that specific chunk of data.


    (What in the world was that?) She pondered for a moment.


    (Come to think of it, we can''t use our powers on these gates since they''d get negated. I heard it was the doing of another savant that granted these gates that power. Could what I just felt be some residue of that power?...)


    The thought was absolutely bone chilling. It was such a dark energy rich with evil, how could someone like that actually exist, and a savant of all things?......How teriffying... But then,


    (Ah! Bingo!) She thought excitedly when she found a very important piece of info.


    She had found the history of the letters that had been typed onto the keyboard before. She inputted the first word on the list and was shocked when it opened right up. The letters turned green and all of a sudden she was in.


    (You¡¯d think that type of thing would be protected , huh?) She thought as she got to shutting down the engines. From here on, the job was easy.


    ¡°Okie dokie! It¡¯s done!¡± She suddenly said turning to Caesar.


    ¡°Okay then let¡¯s go!! We have to get down and open those gates right now!! Our time¡¯s up!¡± Caesar said as he quickly ran outside. He got to the edge of the rail and looked for Casey. He didn''t look long, She was in the middle of talking to Katie and Pixelator was a good feet in front of them. It looked like they were planning something. The second Casey seemed to hand something over to Katie, Caesar yelled out to them.


    ¡°Heeeey! We¡¯re good to go!!!!¡± He said as the Queen pulled up next to him and waved her hands down at them in success.


    Part 3


    ¡°So we¡¯re finally doing this? Great¡± Casey said as she gave Caesar and the Queen a thumbs up. Now, finishing the job was up to her. Turning to Katie who was as pale as a ghost, Casey shook her shoulders and forced her to snap out of it.


    ¡°Listen, we¡¯ve got this...Just stick to the plan okay?¡± Casey said.


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­..¡± Katie said with her hands cupped to her chest.


    ¡°Good..¡± Casey exhaled and turned around. She began taking deep breaths and wiped the sweat from her brow as she eyed Pixelator who had been standing still up until then. He smirked and shook his head as he noticed her fatigued condition.


    ¡°Look at you, we haven¡¯t even been fighting for long! What¡¯s taking so long, huh?! Hurry up and open those doors already!!!¡± He yelled sounding pressured for some reason.


    ¡°Are you actually concerned for these people? Then get the hell out of the way!!¡±


    ¡°Now you know I can¡¯t do that, this thrill is one I have never felt before! It¡¯s amazing! Besides, I was assigned to protect it.¡±


    ¡°By some lunatic who thinks you¡¯re disposable!! Just forget about her!!!¡±


    ¡°Damn it, I said I can''t!!!!¡± Pixelator said suddenly dashing forward. Casey raised her hands and prepared to block whatever he threw at her. He swung his fist but Casey flipped over him and prepared to launch an attack at the gate.


    ¡°Not so fast!¡± Pixelator said as he kicked her side and interrupted her.


    ¡°You gotta be quicker if you want to open those bad boys, first you gotta take me down!!¡± He yelled as he continued to throw punch after punch. Casey parried most of the blows and tried to throw a couple of her own but her exhaustion was starting to catch up to her. She started to breathe more and more heavily with every second that passed by.


    ¡°Come on now hurry!!!! Do something because I know for a damn fact that stupid reject isn¡¯t going to be able to do anything on her own!!!! She¡¯s completely useless!! Hahahahaha!!¡± Pixelator said as he rushed her. Casey growled as she heard him insult Katie and bent down to kick his feet which he narrowly avoided by flipping back. Casey took the time to try and launch another blast at the gate but was once again stopped by Pixelator who had launched a barrage of pixels at her.


    ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± He said laughing. Casey blew the pixels away and jumped away again. This time, she was farther from the gates. Again, Pixelator attacked and began to push Casey back. Casey tried her best to dodge punches but she just couldn¡¯t get them all. She squinted and winced as a punch landed on her face, stomach, and chest. It was so bad and irritating that in the end she was infuriated and ended up scratching Pixelator. All by swiping up her hand to his cheek. Of all the blows she had thrown, that was by far the cleanest. A gnarly gash appeared on his face as fresh blood began to flow from the three cuts on him. They stopped fighting for a second as Pixelator reached up and touched his wound. Casey smirked at him as he seemed genuinely shocked.


    ¡°You filthy animal, I can¡¯t believe you scratched me¡­¡±


    ¡°What does that make you then? Surely something worse¡± She retorted. Soon after, they returned to fighting.


    It kept going like this for what felt like forever but was only a couple seconds. He attacked, she pushed him back and tried to attack the gates only to have him stop her and push her even further back. Eventually, she was pushed all the way back to the building that the Queen was hiding in not even two minutes ago. She was fatigued, injured, and out of juice. With her back pressed up against the wall, she held her now bleeding arm as she struggled to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Pixelator had only a couple scratches on him. He got close to the point where he could pick her up by the neck if he wanted to. He looked down on her and she looked up at him. He had to admit, he admired her feistiness and her will to not look away. She was brave.


    ¡°I like that you¡¯re not intimidated by me. Great power, great determination and great looks? If we survive this, we should definitely hang out sometime.¡± He said.


    ¡°Sorry buddy but this gal has her sights on someone else. Besides, You¡¯re not my type.¡± She replied without changing the smirk on her face.


    ¡°Really? So what¡¯s your ideal type then?¡±


    ¡°Not you, so forget it you creep, you¡¯re not even remotely attractive.¡±


    ¡°Ooouuu that one stung! But it doesn¡¯t matter because you¡¯re dead anyway. And in the end, none of you could do anything. How sad.¡± Pixelator said as he raised his fist. He cocked it back and threw it at her stomach. But, it was stopped by something just before it made contact. More specifically, Casey had stopped it with the palm of her hand. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Huh?¡± He said.


    ¡°Let me tell you what is actually sad.¡± She said with a new glow in her eye. A fierce explosion of her aura bursted out in the form of flames as she squeezed his fist.


    ¡°The fact that you would put other people¡¯s lives in danger just to fulfill your stupid fight fetish! Not only that, but you put others down just because they¡¯re not as strong as you! As far as I¡¯m concerned, you¡¯re the ugliest person I have ever met and I hate everything about you! You don¡¯t deserve to be a savant!!!¡± She yelled at him as she furrowed her brow in anger. Pixelator tried to pull away but was suddenly unable to move. As he looked around him, he found himself  covered in flames that held him in place. For some reason, they didn¡¯t burn but he couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Hahahaha! So what? I don¡¯t care what you say! It¡¯s not going to change the fact that those rejects back there can¡¯t do anything to get those doors open, and the only one who can is faaaar away from there and all out of power, so go ahead and keep me here all you want! But in the end I win!!¡± He said releasing a maniacal laugh. However, contrary to his expectations, Casey began to giggle.


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get beat up and bring you here for no reason. It¡¯s true that I am reaching my limit but, my friends still have a chance!!¡±


    ¡°!?¡± Pixelator exclaimed as he struggled to believe that she was only bluffing.


    ¡°Can you guess who¡¯s going to be today¡¯s hero? That¡¯s right! The Person you called a loser, the one you thought was unfit to do anything!!!¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be!?¡± Pixelator questioned to himself suddenly starting to sweat.


    ¡°DO IT NOW KATIE!!!!¡± Casey yelled at the top of her lungs.


    Pixelator quickly turned his head and scanned the area for her. He found her in no time, she was standing in front of the giant steel gates holding something in the palm of her hands. She looked back at both Casey and Pixelator and nodded. Then, looking at Pixelator alone, she frowned. In this moment, Pixelator felt a strange feeling fill his being. Could it be? Was this¡­.


    Failure?


    ¡°It¡¯s over you bastard you lose!!!!!!¡± Katie yelled as she threw a small flame toward the gates. For a moment, nothing was happening. Nothing did happen until Katie clapped her hands together and yelled, ¡°Release!!!¡±. Simultaneously, Pixelator Pixelated himself and broke out of Casey¡¯s trap, but it was already too late. The small ball of flame suddenly grew and expanded in both size and power as it flew toward the large gates. It grew and grew until finally it seemed to match up to the size of the gates themselves. It flew towards the large gates at a rapid pace as everyone began to hit the deck. Casey lost the strength in her legs and fell forward as she looked at her grand creation.


    ¡°The Legendary Move, Planet X¡­¡­.an attack with every last drop of energy I could muster without leaving me completely empty...The fruits of my labor¡­.¡± As the name unconsciously came to her, she watched as Pixelator stopped in his tracks and realize that it was game over. Then, he shielded his eyes as he watched the grand ball of flames hit the gates. It was barely even a struggle, the massive sphere completely plowed through the large steel gates with little to no issue. An explosion blew dust all over the place and made them all momentarily lose sight of everything. The blast of wind blew their hair back for a while before finally letting up. After some time, the dust at last began to settle down. When it did, the onlookers came out of hiding and inspected themselves and their surroundings. They then turned their attention to the large steel gates. Only, it was now a large tunnel. The gates had been completely pushed in and a large stairway leading down had been exposed. The gates had at last been opened. The second they reached that conclusion, everyone burst into cheers.


    ¡°She did it!!! The gates are open!!!¡± People yelled as one after the other they stared at the large entrance in awe. Some even cried as others hugged each other. For the first time in quite some time, joy had finally reached the battlefield, even if for just a moment. Among those celebrating were Caesar and the Queen who had been standing back watching it all go down.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that small little thing somehow generated all that power¡­.such a huge gamble though, who would¡¯ve guessed that her skill out of all of our¡¯s would somehow work?¡± he said as he covered his mouth from the smoke still in the air.


    ¡°I¡­..I didn¡¯t think I could be even more scared of her! I didn¡¯t know she had that kind of power!¡± The Queen responded as she ruffled her hair in fear.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t either, but she couldn¡¯t of have done it without her over there¡± Caesar said pointing his gaze at a very particular girl who had fallen on the ground.


    Katie was breathing heavily as she struggled to properly regulate her thoughts. She turned on her back and as slow as she could and took off her glasses to clean them as they were covered in dust.


    ¡°C-casey¡­..Please don¡¯t ever put me in such a grand scheme ever again¡­.¡± Katie said as she tried to keep her heart in check.


    A good ways away, Casey, who had also fallen down on the ground due to exhaustion, laughed as she lifted her head from the ground and looked at Katie.


    ¡°Great work as always girl, you¡¯ve saved me twice now¡­¡± She exhaled. Casey felt relief tumble over her as her now frizzled hair started to simmer its tiny flames down.


    ¡°Looks like you won this round princess. Good work.¡± She heard a despicable voice say to her. It belonged to Pixelator who was looking up at the gates some 15 feet from her. Countless kids ran past him and toward the gate as he just stood there with a distant look on his face..


    ¡°You¡­..Are you gonna try to fuck this up too?¡± Casey said clenching her fist.


    ¡°Haha, relax. If the gates are open then I¡¯m no longer obligated to keep anyone from going in. Besides, beating up weak people is no fun at all. Nah, the old hag can deal with this herself.¡± Pixelator said as he turned around and began to walk away.


    ¡°That so? Then where are you going now? Fuck somebody else¡¯s day up? Huh, Bitchelator?¡± She growled through her fatigue.


    ¡°On to see if my house is still in tact, can¡¯t have that breaking down. Good luck with whatever else you got going on by the way.¡± He said waving his hand up to signal goodbye. Then, just like that, he was gone. Casey was eager to see him out of the way and now that he was she was glad. Now, all that was left was to get everybody inside in a timely fashion.


    Or at least, it would¡¯ve been great if time had at least allowed them that. Not even ten seconds after Pixelator had left, despair had once again returned to pick them from their solitude.


    ¡°RUN!!! EVERYBODY RUN!!!!! THEY¡¯RE HERE!!!!!!¡±


    Like a siren in the night, the piercing scream of a boy echoed throughout the entire area. Everyone froze in their steps as a cold chill gripped their warm bodies. The air ran dry as they all turned to see who had pulled the alarm of desperation and fear. Up on a building next to the one Casey was at, a boy yelled at the top of his lungs in clear terror as he seemed to be out of breath. And yet, nobody could move, nobody made a sound. It was as if time had forced them and only them to stop in their tracks.


    It took the sound of flesh being pierced for all of them to even shake. Casey and co watched in horror as the boy on the roof was suddenly pierced by a blade from behind. He looked down at the sword that had pierced his abdomen as fresh blood poured out of his mouth. Before he could even utter a groan, the sword rose and sliced him clean in half for all to see. His blood burst like fireworks in the air and fell as fast and gentle as raindrops. Some even managing to land on Casey herself. The boy was thrown to the side and discarded like trash. Then, from behind him emerged not one, not two, but dozens and dozens of cloaked figures, all eyeing them down like cattle.


    Everyone was gripped in horror, no one knew what to do. The spectacle that had just happened was enough to keep them glued in their tracks. One boy just couldn¡¯t bear it and dropped to his knees to throw up. Caesar and the Queen looked up at the many hooded figures in terror as they just witnessed the murder of an innocent boy. Casey, of all people, felt tears well up in her eyes.


    Fear and trauma firmly grabbed her heart in the form of a cold and icy hand. She turned pale as she saw those black hooded people.


    But still, this wasn¡¯t over yet!


    ¡°RUUUN! GET GOING!! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!¡± She hollered with clear terror sowed into her words. Then, like an alarm on a monday morning, everyone seemed to return from their slumber and freak out. Countless screams were heard as all of them started to make a beeline for the now open gates of safety.


    Up above, the hooded figures were heard laughing as one by one they started falling to catch their prey.


    Despite being terrified and exhausted, Casey rose to her feet and clenched her fist as she wiped the blood from before off her forearms. Even with a body full of bruises and injuries, there was no way she could give up yet.


    ¡°Get back you hot head! I¡¯ll hold em off!¡± She heard Caesar yell from behind her but she didn¡¯t listen to him. With an audible ¡°grrrr¡±, Casey fired up her flames once again and focused all of her strength on her arms. She swiped her arm at the air and a large wave of fire followed.


    Some of the hooded figures managed to dodge the hit but others weren¡¯t so lucky. The one¡¯s that couldn¡¯t evade covered their faces as they were draped in flames. She would say that the sight pleased her but, it did the opposite.


    Seeing the black hooded figures burn up like that¡­...how they withered in pain as they fell from the sky¡­...why was it so¡­¡­..


    Terrifying?.....


    A flash in her mind suddenly appeared and she saw the same hooded figures get pierced by an arm of fire. Then she saw other hooded figures burn alive in front of her, their screams echoed in her brain and rattled her small being...only her rage at the time had overlooked that¡­.she had caused that distraught and pain to them.....all done by her¡­..


    When the memory was over, only the distant calls of her own name remained. It jumped in the distance like an ambulance siren in the night. She could hear it, but she couldn¡¯t tell from where¡­..


    ¡°Casey!!! Get out of there you brat!!¡±


    Those words, like a knife in her side, stabbed her back to reality almost as suddenly as she had left. When she did, she sharply turned to where Caesar was running after her. He was waving his arms at her desperate to grab her attention. She quickly looked up and noticed that some of the shadow hunters were coming straight for her.


    ¡°Ah!?......coming for revenge?? Fine then! Come and get some!!!¡± She yelled at them trying to sound tough only to have her voice crack.


    ¡°Move it!!¡± Caesar yelled as he pushed her up against the wall. She slammed against it and fell to the ground.


    ¡°No! I can still fight!!¡± She tried to say as she stood up, but midthrough, she was suddenly hit by an intense and sharp pain that ran all the way up from her lower back to her neck. Her pupils dilated as she started to leak an immense amount of steam. Following that, her flames began to slowly die out. Before long, they had completely gone out and she had once again dropped to her knees sweating profusely. Her vision flickered as she looked up to see Caesar trying to fight off the horde. Breathing heavily, she felt like she was going to pass out. Without a doubt, she had run completely out of energy due to her last attack.


    (No¡­¡­¡­.Not now¡­¡­.I know I still have more¡­¡­.more¡­..more¡­...I can keep on going¡­¡­..) She thought as the solid ground came up to meet her chin. Shortly after that had happened, rocks slowly started tumbling from the sky. Somehow, the building that was only made up of four walls behind her had been destroyed. Though, she wasn¡¯t really paying it much attention. After all, for her, it was falling as slow and gently as snowflakes. No harm could possibly be done by that¡­...right?


    In no time, she was covered all over with large boulder sized debris. She wasn¡¯t sure if a couple landed on her body, but that would explain the strange numbness surrounding her lower body, like needles pricking her.


    Though, despite what even she thought, her delusion didn¡¯t last long. Little by little, her senses started to come back to her. Darkness was at every turn she took. The only place in which she could see was through a small gap between the ground and the debris. She was able to see a pair of feet running up to her. Coming from that direction, she heard a very familiar voice presumably belonging to Katie.


    She stopped in front of where she was hidden and began to lift up the rocks holding her down. Except, she failed. Casey felt the pressure slightly get relieved from her back but then it was suddenly brought back. Nonetheless, Katie kept trying.


    ¡°Cccccaaaaasssseeeeyyyy¡­¡­¡­¡­..ppppplease¡­...bbbbeeee¡­..ookay!!!!¡± She thought she heard. Her hearing was a little distorted so she heard multiple syllables. But, she understood what was going on. What she couldn¡¯t understand was why Katie was still here. It was dangerous outside! She could get killed. Was she not hearing the screams of terror behind her?


    Then, just like that, two pairs of feet adorned in black appeared behind her like thieves in the night. Casey widened her eyes as she realized that Katie was in grave danger. A crippling fear plagued her mind as she began to wonder how all of this came to be. Why did it have to be like this? She simply could not understand.


    ¡°Is it infuriating?¡± She heard somewhere deep in the dark.


    ¡°No matter what you did differently in the past, this was still going to happen like it or not. However, that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t put a stop to it¡± The feminine voice whispered into her ears.


    The pair of feet rapidly approached Katie and pushed her down. A struggle ensued and it seemed like she was going to lose.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of your own fear that you cannot break out of these chains, because of your own fear of what everyone else will think about you that you refuse to use this power. All because of that day, am I right?¡± She heard from somewhere.


    (I¡­¡­.I¡­¡­.was so afraid¡­¡­..despite that¡­..I don¡¯t know why I smiled at him¡­¡­.I told him that it would be alright¡­...but I was terrified¡­...Even before I knew what it meant to die¡­.I had killed¡­.)


    Distant memories of a dark night came to her like an unwanted rash. It was sickening, in a fit of rage she had turned to kill¡­..She had awakened a set of powers so terrifying she thought she had gone mad at the tender age of six. Who¡¯s fault had it been? Who knows, she was just playing all by herself when she was suddenly abducted¡­..


    But, she had saved him¡­.the small boy, Axel, was going to die had it not been for her¡­.Or perhaps, was it the other way around? What had he said to her again? What were the words that pushed her over the edge?....


    She saw Katie get back up from the ground and run toward Casey again. Only this time, a pair of feet stopped her and seemed to hit her with something. Casey watched as Katie¡¯s feet tensed up and froze. Fresh blood poured onto the ground as Katie herself was thrown to the side. Eyes wide, Casey watched as the pair of feet swung a blade on the ground and rid it from the blood covering it. Then, they turned and departed for the chaos.


    ¡°I know you can remember¡­..I know you can feel it¡­..Enough is enough don¡¯t you think? Just let it consume you¡­..Let it fill you¡­¡­¡± The female said as Casey felt tears drop from her brown eyes.


    A dark and cold emotion gripped her heart like an icy hand and threw her feelings in disarray. The warmth from her body was sapped as a rich dark aura loomed over her. Her being was being molded and it felt she was going inside out. In mere moments, Casey would no longer be in control...


    ¡°Ah, but don¡¯t let it take control¡­..Grab the reins and take charge. After all,¡± The voice said.


    ¡°In order to live from this, you have to fight...¡±


    Boom, like fireworks in the sky, her mind as well as the ground erupted. Flames danced in the air as a blinding light stopped everyone in their tracks. A kingdom of fire suddenly caused the ground to lift. Debris from all over rose and cleared the ground as a figure arose from the center.


    Onlookers watched as the heavenly figure came into view. Even the shadow hunters themselves stopped as the figure adorned in light slowly opened their eyes. Two crystal clear brown eyes shone as the bright white light continued to grow toward the heavens. Little by little, they were able to identify the person as a woman. A woman who, out of thin air, was suddenly presented with a robe of fire. On her head, she was adorned with a crown of blazing flames fit for a queen.


    The people watched in awe as their Queen manifested before them. Before long, her kingdom had begun to disappear but her attire had not. A noble air of royalty filled the air as the true Queen stood tall. All jaws dropped as Casey made her long awaited return. Everyone watched as all her injuries were suddenly cleared away, as if they had never happened. The blinding light shrunk and shrunk eventually filling only her. Once it was all gone, the Queen had a good look a around.


    Her solemn eyes fell on the body belonging to her dear friend Katie. She was laying some feet away from her on the ground. However, she was not dead. No, quite the contrary. The injured girl was looking at her with slightly opened eyes. Her glasses were no longer on her eyes and her hair was frizzy. On her abdomen, Casey saw a very large patch of blood on her shirt and a tear at the center. Casey walked up to Katie with soft steps and knelt down next to her. She grabbed her hand with her own and held them tight. She was very cold. Yet, Katie could only smile and say ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±. Then, Casey visibly saw the light in her eyes flicker until her eyelids put them out of view. In her hands, Katie''s went limp.


    After a couple of seconds, Casey picked up Katie in a princess carry and turned toward the gates. With slow steps, she walked toward them. Everyone watched in both awe and confusion as they struggled to understand what was happening. Even the shadow hunters at this point did not dare to interrupt her for fear of what might happen. Or was it out of respect? The world may never know.


    Caesar watched as Casey walked past him without even glancing at him. She was completely different. She was¡­...strong. That he knew for sure.


    ¡°What¡­...happened to you?....¡± He whispered to himself.


    After a long trip, Casey made it to the entrance of the gates where the blue haired Queen was waiting for her completely stunned. Casey walked over to her and handed Katie over. The Queen took her in her hands without question and held her tight. Then, confirming that she was safe, Casey turned around. But, before she could make a move, the blue haired girl stopped her.


    ¡°What¡­..What will you do?¡± She asked.


    Casey did not face her as she stared off into the distance. Lowering her shoulders, she responded.


    ¡°Fight¡±


    That was all she said before firing off like a bullet into the battlefield. Straight toward the center faster than anyone there could see, she disappeared. A crowd of shadow hunters all exclaimed at the same time as confusion spread like wildfire. They all gathered around each other and got to a back-to-back position. Everyone watched as it seemed like there were no openings to attack them from. However, the shadow hunters all noticed something very odd from the onlookers around them. Their facial expressions did not express fear, but rather shock. Even some of their comrades had the same reaction, but why?, they wondered.


    ¡°I can never forgive you for what you¡¯ve done¡± They all heard simultaneously. Like a stab in the back, they shuttered and froze in place. Then, slowly, they all turned their heads like sheep to a herder. Standing dead in the center amongst all of them was the red hot devil herself. Looking past all of them and fists held low, she faced the heavens as her eyes glowed orange.


    Before any of them could even let out a word, an entire row of men were suddenly pierced from their abdomen by a large spear of fire. As they all looked on in fear, the spear erupted and engulfed the area in a sea of fury.


    An immense heat spread out so wide that even people many blocks away could feel it. When the fire died out, steam rose from the ground and allowed no one to get a clear view at who was left. However, the answer was already in the back of everyone¡¯s mind. The large sphere of steam seemed to last forever but after a couple of seconds a figure emerged. Coming out of her temple like a goddess, Casey stepped out into the dark night. As she did so, the wind that picked up in the area blew the steam away and finally made the scene behind her clear. Everyone watched in shock as they noticed that no one was there anymore. Not.One.Person.


    ¡°She¡­...she incinerated them¡­?....¡± Caesar said as he watched the savage Queen crack her small knuckles.


    Part 4


    ¡°Do you feel that!?¡± Jessica yelled over to the crew inside Thor. She was simply sitting and biting her nails when she picked up a strong source of energy off in the distance. She didn¡¯t even know she could sense energy, but this one had to be super strong if even she could feel it!


    Multiple sirens let off in the ship as all of their screens suddenly started to flash red. Jessica didn¡¯t know much, but she could tell that something was up as she watched them desperately try to figure out the situation.


    ¡°No I can¡¯t but I think I see what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Tony yelled as he typed on his computer.


    ¡°You think it had something to do with that bright light we saw in Savant Island??¡± Michael responded as sweat appeared on his forehead.


    ¡°You guys, quickly get Ella on the phone, we¡¯ve got trouble.¡± They heard Jeniffer tell them in a shaken voice.


    Confused and scared, Olivia asked her what was up.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is everything alright?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No ¡­..I don¡¯t know why this is happening or what brought this on, but the flame stoned ramoji has somehow magically appeared on savant island! And as if that isn¡¯t bad enough, Axel¡¯s energy and life signs are starting to go down!!¡±


    Everyone on board visibly turned to stone as they listened to Jeniffer. Tony placed his elbows on his desk as he held his face. There was no way this was happening. He looked over at Michael who seemed to also share in his worry.


    The last time a ramoji somehow magically appeared, destruction and chaos consumed the land. He could remember the day like it was yesterday. He was just about to head to bed when his cell phone went off signaling the appearance of a ramoji. What¡¯s worse, a berserk one. He remembered being utterly terrified at just what would happen to all of them since they were completely caught off guard. Luckily, Ella with the help of Axel managed to apprehend Jessica, but that was by a slim, extremely slim, stroke of luck. What could possibly help them now if the flame ramoji were to go berserk? Then there was Axel, just what was happening to him? Was he injured? Was he going to die? Were they going to lose? These thoughts made Tony collapse onto his desktop in fear.


    Meanwhile, Saphire had at last managed to come into contact with Ella and put her on speaker for all to hear.


    ¡°Hello? Lady Ella? Have you heard of the recent events?¡±She asked in her, oddly strange, usual tone.


    On the other side, Ella responded while sounding out of breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done more than just hear¡­.¡± she said.


    Ella stood atop of a building as she feasted her eyes on the sight before her. An immense amount of heat slightly blew her hair back as she watched the chaos go down live. Though, she could not identify who was the attacker. Regardless, it seemed the battle would be over by the time she¡¯d get there. And when it did, she¡¯d be there to capture the ramoji¡­


    Part 5


    No one made a move, no one knew what to do as Casey¡¯s bright orange flames lit up the night. The shadow hunters seemed confused as they looked at each other for answers. In the end, none of them knew and decided to charge at the enemy.


    Casey furrowed her brow as she saw them attack one by one like flies. Many of them swung their blades at her all at once. However, Casey was able to dodge most of them. The others she parried with a blow of her own. Spin after spin she sent most of them flying. In the next move, she squatted and spread her arms out. With a yell, her mighty cape of dazzling fire spread out in all directions like wings. They mercilessly pierced a good chunk of the shadow hunters and set their bodies ablaze. The students watched as they were charred black right before their very eyes. At this point, rather than feeling relief¡­...they were feeling horrified. Just what monstrous power was that girl hiding?


    Casey saw from the corner of her eye as the students started to huddle together in fear of getting burned. They sat as they heard the screams of agony claw at their delicate ears. Casey winced and released the poor maggots hanging in the air. When her robe of flames returned to her, Casey raised her head and stood up straight. Her bangs covered her eyes as she suddenly received the smell of burnt flesh causing her nose to wrinkle. It was awful.


    ¡°....gu...ing¡­.¡± She said at a level not even qualified to be a whisper.


    ¡°Disgusting¡­¡± She then repeated into the night.


    ¡°DISGUSTING!!!!¡± She suddenly yelled clenching her fists. The now mortified shadow hunters heard the Queen of death¡¯s mighty yell and cowered before her.


    ¡°How could any of you possibly do this and feel nothing?! How can you all live with yourselves?! Have you no shame?? No Empathy???!!!¡± She yelled into the night with no one to respond. After many moments of silence, she saw the remaining shadow hunters suddenly turn tail and run.


    This act, even though it was in her favor, infuriated her. To her, they were telling her that they did not care and wanted to live. Lowering her head to see them, Casey growled and furrowed her brow even further.


    Since they heard nothing behind them, the shadow hunters were momentarily relieved when they somehow managed to get out of sight from the demon Queen. They turned corner after corner all breathing heavily. After dozens of turns and jumps, it seemed like they had finally made it out alive. Unfortunately, they had stumbled upon a dead end in an alley, but it did not matter. A pair of shadow hunters got on their knees as they struggled to gather their breath.


    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± one of them said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I¡¯m glad we lost her¡± the other responded. The pair nodded their heads and patted each other¡¯s backs as they seemingly tried to relax. However¡­¡­.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question¡­¡­.¡±


    A cold and deadly chill ran down their spines as the voice flowed through their ears like needles. They all looked up from where the voice came from and found a girl sitting with one leg crossed over the other looking down at them like ants. The large and blissful moon shone bright behind her and caused her body and face to be covered in shadows. All but her shiny crimson colored eyes could not be seen. Like animals in the slaughterhouse, they began to beg for mercy.


    Casey watched as they dropped to their knees and begged for her to spare them. This act caused Casey¡¯s patience to reach an all time low. Silently, she revealed her canine teeth and stood up. Then, like an angel from the heavens, she descended. The shadow hunters made room and jumped back as they saw her draw closer.


    Casey softly landed on the ground and crossed her arms. After a long and agonizing silence, Casey spoke once more.


    ¡°Tell me, do snakes listen when mice beg for mercy?¡±


    Confused the crowd looked at one another and struggled to make sense of what she was trying to say. Nonetheless, the answer was logically obvious. And so, they shook their heads. Unbeknownst to them, sealing their fate.


    ¡°Then why would a hawk listen when a snake does?¡±


    That was all she said, that was all it took. Seeing the glare in her eyes spark, her magic attire of erupting flames suddenly returned to her in the blink of an eye. The shadow hunters, knowing that they were out matched, started to frantically run away. Casey, uncrossed her arms and took a deep breath. Then, with one step forward, she blew out a massive inferno wave which completely trapped the snakes in their place. She could hear them scream as they dropped to the ground and rolled, the only thing that came to their mind to save themselves. Only, that wouldn¡¯t work. So long as she wished, those flames could continue to burn for an eternity. But, they¡¯d find that out soon enough. And so, confirming that her prey was dealt with, the mighty hawk took off into the night.


    Before long, she returned to where she originally came from. Since she was up in the sky, she took the time to scout the area and search for nearby enemies. Luckily, it seemed like no one else was around for the time being. However, the students that were outside still had not moved. It was almost as if they were afraid of getting hurt by her, or worse, killed. Though, that was understandable given the situation.


    Casey softly floated down as her flames still burned bright. As she descended, she made a wave of gentle flowing fire illuminate the area giving it a soft tinge of yellow. Plus, it warmed the cold night air. Once making contact on the ground, Casey looked around with only her eyes and tried to understand the situation. There were a couple of bodies on the ground, other than a couple scum, all friendlies. Some looked injured but others were unharmed. This, even though they had suffered some casualties, was relieving. And so, Casey took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. At the same time, her roaring flames died out and her hair relaxed. Her goddess attire disappeared into the air and her muscles seemed to visibly relax. When she opened her eyes once more, they were back to their original chocolate brown color.


    ¡°Everyone, please, I¡¯m on your side! I¡¯ve made sure that no other enemies are around but that could change at any time! Please get to safety and get underground! I will stay out here and make sure that no one harms you as you go in!¡± She said sounding like her usual self. Only, her exhaustion was clearly audible. In fact, it made most doubt she could enter that form again in her current state. Despite that, the fact that she had saved them all was clear. She was indeed on their side. So, following her advice, they all began to head for the gates that would lead them underground. Some ran, some walked. Some stayed behind and attempted to pick up the wounded. Casey watched solemnly as some even found out that their classmates were dead. The sight made her clench her fist.


    ¡°You gonna be alright?¡± She heard Caesar say behind her. Though, Casey chose not to face him as she couldn¡¯t find the courage to.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be alright¡­..¡± She lied. Caesar wasn¡¯t an idiot, and he could tell that she was. So, he said one more thing before turning around and leaving.


    ¡°You did all you could, you did all you had to do, don¡¯t let it get you down.¡±


    Leaving her with that, she listened until his footsteps were no longer audible. Then, she felt a stream of fresh cool tears flow down her cheeks.


    From a distance, since it did not look like a good time, the blue haired Queen kept her distance. She could read her mood and knew that right now she was not in a suitable place to talk to. So, she left her alone to grieve on her own. After a while, Casey was left all alone in the outside world with nothing but her sins accompanying her.


    Up above where Casey could not see her was none other than Ella. She crossed her arms as she struggled with what to make of the situation. She had made it here just in time to see Casey descend with her cloak of fire surrounding her. Also, coincidentally, the signal to where the ramoji was ended there. In fact, as soon as Casey powered down, the signal disappeared.  All at once, it seemed like the answer at last came to her and she sighed. Raising her phone up, she dialed a number and lifted the phone to her ears.


    ¡°Lady Ella? I was just about to contact you! It seems as if the signal has somehow gone away. Any idea why?¡± Answered Saphire.


    ¡°.......No, whatever it was, it¡¯s gone now so you don¡¯t have to worry. What about Axel? How¡¯s he holding up?¡±


    ¡°His vital signs are still going down albeit slowly. We have no idea what¡¯s going on, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm, I think he¡¯ll be alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Ella said sounding confident.


    ¡°Ella!? Are you sure!? He could be dying!!¡± She heard Jeniffer yell through the mic sounding worried.


    ¡°Of course, there have been plenty of times where I thought this kid was going to for sure die but somehow he beat my expectations everytime, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be okay.¡± Ella said smiling. Though, she was more or less trying to convince herself more than anything. After having comforted Jeniffer, Ella hung up and rested her hands on her hips. At long last, the mystery disappearance of the flame ramoji had been answered.


    (hang in there Casey, I¡¯ll have to have a talk with you once all this is over) Thinking so, Ella jumped away to search for more enemies.


    Down below, Casey continued to stand in silence as tears softly fell on the ground.


    ¡°Say girl, why are you crying? You just defeated those grunts all by yourself, didn¡¯t ya?¡±


    As quickly as she had heard it, Casey widened her eyes and jumped back. Raising her guard, Casey spotted the very familiar voice that had spoken to her. She was in plain sight for her to see, though she was not what she was expecting. She was a small girl that probably reached her waist. She wore a long winter jacket and boots. Her golden hair was tied into a ponytail and held with a purple ribbon. She had crystal clear blue eyes and an unusual smile. Raising her hands, she took a step forward. However, she stopped when Casey¡¯s royal attire of fire suddenly returned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± She said.


    ¡°Woah!Woah!Woah! I won¡¯t harm you! I promise!!¡±


    ¡°You? You were the one that spoke to me when I was completely drained, weren¡¯t you?¡± Casey said.


    ¡°Damn, busted already?¡± The small girl replied while snapping her fingers.


    ¡°Who are you? How did you know about what Axel told me all those years ago? Answer me honestly or die...¡± Casey said raising the palm of her hand to fire.


    Despite that, the small girl did not seem shaken. In fact, she smirked and shut her eyes. Then, while leaning forward she responded to her.


    ¡°Well, that depends¡­. By any chance, have you ever heard of magic?¡±

 Chapter Fifteen: The Beginning

    Part 1


    How long had it been? Minutes? Hours?.... Immediately as she was sent out, Maria began to shake uncontrollably as she realized that danger was yet again upon them. Yet, she was safe. She didn''t know where she was, didn''t know where to go¡­.she just¡­. sat there.


    She was in a dark room and barely anything could be seen. How strange.. she thought. Though, if she recalled, Casey did say that she would end up in her room, which meant that Maria must''ve returned to Sonic City.


    (I''m scared¡­.. I don''t even wanna move¡­.) She thought as her anxiety began to kick in. She wondered if anyone was home and if they were she definitely did not want to run into them. The cold steel floor of the teleporter caressed her delicate skin as she tried to adjust herself. More and more she thought that she should get up and look for a way out but it was like trying to walk down a dark hallway on a stormy night.


    Of course, her original plan was to go straight back to Savant Island but the small screen on the teleporter informed her that teleporting was temporarily unavailable.


    And so, there was no other way but to sit there and wait. What''s worse, she forgot her phone back on Savant Island. She couldn''t even look up cute dog videos to comfort her¡­.. or any pictures of Axel¡­. What was left?.........but to cry¡­..


    After a couple of hours of silent sobbing, she began to notice the sun setting from the small cracks in the curtains. Raising her head from her hands, she wiped her tears and watched the small beaming rays of sunlight make their way inside. It somehow gave her some strength.


    She sniffed and finally comforted herself. Axel would be okay, everything was going to be okay¡­.


    Or¡­..would it? Just what exactly was going on anyway? What if the enemy was too strong?? What if¡­


    (No!! It doesn''t matter. He can do it, he''ll be okay¡­) She thought in a desperate attempt to rid herself of black and white thoughts.


    Getting up from her spot on the ground, She felt her muscles ease up and stretch. She opened the door of the teleporter and walked into the room. Since she couldn''t see much, she made her way to the curtains, only she stepped on something soft and slipped. She fell backwards and threw her hands back letting out a small ¡°oh!¡±.


    Luckily, however, she was caught by something even bigger and softer. She couldn''t see it, but she was sure she knew what it was considering that the feeling felt familiar.


    Getting back up, she carefully navigated her way toward the light and brushed open the curtains. Finally, light immediately washed in and she was suddenly able to see well.


    The room was definitely a girl''s room. It was covered in pink and filled with stuffed animals. One would think that it belonged to that of a toddler. If she hadn''t been told it was Casey''s then she would''ve definitely thought it belonged to a four year old.


    Despite that, Maria quite liked it. It gave off a feeling of ¡°home¡± and ¡°comfort¡±. Looking over at where she had fallen, she saw a small stuffed bunny and a large bean bag sized bear. Walking up to the big brown bear, Maria eyed it down with blank eyes. A deadly staring contest ensued up until Maria finally decided to drop right down on it and give it a massive¡­¡­¡±Bear¡± Hug.


    ¡°Thank you Mr.Bear, you caught me when I fell.¡± She suddenly said hugging the bear even tighter. Oddly enough, this reminded her of the big bear she had in her old room. Though, hers was a lot more snuggly. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she groomed and washed it every weekend if she had the chance.


    (Haha, guess I really was still a little girl despite being 17¡­) she thought. Then, after a few more seconds in silence, she stood up and stretched her back. Since it had come to this, it was about time that she head home. The real problem was getting there. She had never been to Casey¡¯s house so she hadn¡¯t a clue where exactly she was. She hadn¡¯t even known Casey for that long. In fact, she had rarely spoken to her up until then.


    ¡°Guess that doesn¡¯t matter, one way or another I gotta figure out how to get back home.¡±


    Putting on a tough face and squaring up her shoulders, Maria was about ready to leave and venture out into the world¡­¡­...except, it had been quite a while since she had gone out alone¡­ She didn¡¯t know how she felt about suddenly going out and walking¡­.


    She was suddenly lost on what to do and gave the massive bear on the ground a look. It almost seemed to call her back with it¡¯s large soft arms and big black eyes. Of course, like a troubled and scared little girl, she fell for it and returned to it¡¯s heavenly embrace.


    For quite some time she lay there wondering what to do. However, her frustration soon tired her out, and just like that, her eyes closed the curtains for q moment and took her out for the count.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Maria?.....¡±


    ¡°.....h-huh?....five more minutes¡­..¡± She said responding to the voice¡­..


    ¡°Maria¡­.Hey! Get up already!¡± The familiar voice said. When she finally realized who it was, she quickly sat up.


    ¡°What? Axel? You¡¯re back already?!¡± She exclaimed.


    ¡°Hm? I sure am! We got it all taken care of!¡± The dark haired boy said as he smiled and sat on Casey¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Axel?.....I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re back!!!¡± She said jumping into his arms. He sat there unmoving as his warm chest filled the hole in her aching heart. She wanted to stay there forever¡­..but, she was suddenly pushed away and fell onto the ground. Confused, she raised her eyebrows and looked up at Axel who had been staring back at her.


    ¡°Did you-? Did you just-?¡±


    ¡°Listen, I just got done going through something extremely gruesome, and it really opened my eyes. So, I¡¯ve been thinking this for a while now, but I want you to leave my side and for once look out for yourself, okay? You¡¯re about to be an adult. Not to mention that you have a bun in the oven, I can¡¯t invest my time on a girl with kids, I¡¯m sorry, but you have to look after yourself for once. I can¡¯t always have you bugging me like this as if I belong to you.¡±


    As the sharp needles that had taken the form of words entered her ears, the entire world around her seemed to collapse. As if hell itself had finally crawled up from the depths of the earth to claim her lost soul. As fear stopped her heart in one devastating blow, she began to uncontrollably shake.


    ¡°W-why?......Why this out of nowhere? Why¡­...are you doing this to me? If it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been clinging to you a lot lately, I¡¯m sorry!! I¡¯ll stop! Just please don¡¯t let me leave! I don¡¯t have anyone else¡­..if I leave now¡­.there¡¯ll be no hope for me! I¡¯ll die!!!¡± She said as she lay on the ground with tears falling out of her sorrow filled eyes.


    ¡°You see, that¡¯s the thing there. You seem to think like I¡¯m the key to life. Well, I¡¯m not. Suck it up man, it¡¯s time for you to grow up, okay? Look, from here on, just stay strong, you¡¯ll be okay. I¡¯m going to be going now, okay? I have to get home or Lucy will be upset¡­..¡± He said in the softest tone possible as he got up and walked out the door.


    And yet, there she lay with no power left in her body to stop him. Try as she might, she could not get her body to respond. The feeling was akin to sleep paralysis. There was nothing she could do. Her world was about to come tumbling down.


    As the world around her actually physically crumbled, she began to weep. As time flowed, the room had completely disappeared and a massive thunderstorm suddenly rolled in. Water quickly took over the land and Maria found herself slowly getting below the surface. Yet, she could see Axel clearly leaving and walking on solid ground toward a doorway filled with a pure and dazzling light.


    Just as the cold and dark embrace of the sea reached her neck, she suddenly found that she could move. When she did, the floor below her crumbled and nothing below remained. She could only kick in a desperate attempt to stay above sea level.


    ¡°Wait! Please! I don''t care who you choose! I don¡¯t care what you do! Just please! Please let me continue to see you everyday! Let me continue learning from you! Let me continue to heal with you! Let me be there so that I can see you succeed! I don¡¯t care if you throw me outside like a dog or keep me chained up like some animal! As long as I can still continue to be with the only one who managed to show me that there is still some hope in the world! If that one small beam of light somehow turns out to be a lie that what of my faith? My hope? My smallest of dreams of living happy? Were they all for naught? Were they all just a lie? Please Axel Ison! I don¡¯t wanna drown!!! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t wanna lose you!!!¡± She pleaded at the top of her lungs as water entered her mouth against her will. As she began to sink deeper and deeper, Axel Ison at last turned around. But, it was not what she was expecting. He did not turn around and save her, he did not say that it was all just a joke, no¡­.He simply gave her one distant and cold look, and then turned right back around and walked through the bright doorway. As Maria was thrown underwater, she flailed her arms and watched as the door Axel had gone through shut, forever sealing her fate¡­..


    Deeper and deeper Maria went, and before long, she had at last begun to accept her fate as she closed her eyes one last time¡­¡­.


    But then,


    An explosion of a piercing blue light suddenly attacked her eyelids. She quickly opened them in fear and watched as the heavens suddenly poured a bright and flashing light down upon her. There, from the dark and grey clouds emerged an angel. An angel dressed in black and white. Her hair was both silver and black, her sin was as smooth and gentle as a newborns. Extending out her heavenly arm, she grabbed onto Maria. With one soft tug, she was out. Maria was suddenly above water safe and sound. Shocked, she began to ask how this was happening. However, the angel placed one finger over her lips and told her to stay silent. Due to the blinding blue light, Maria was unable to get a clear look at her face. But, before she could get a better look, the scenery had magically changed. Just like that, she was in a meadow filled with beautiful roses all around. The sun was bright and warm and her clothes were suddenly dry.


    ¡°What?....What is this?¡± She asked, but yet again the angel did not respond. Instead, she grabbed Maria¡¯s hand with her own and raised it up to her cheek. It was soft and warm, Maria quite enjoyed the feeling. As she thought this, the angel suddenly spoke. Her voice was beautiful and heavenly, she just could not explain it.


    ¡°Believe¡± She said.


    And just like that, a sense of justice and power filled her. Not only that, she felt a clear and powerful connection between her and someone. Right before her eyes and right over the sun itself she saw a dazzling and colorful rainbow. Awestruck, she stared at it for what seemed like hours. Then, she noticed something. There were two balls of light on either end of the rainbows. It was strange. One was a radiant blue and the other was a bright white. Despite not being told what they meant, in the fiber of her being she knew exactly who those colors represented. White was herself, and blue was none other than Axel Ison himself¡­.. Could it be? Was the rainbow the power of their current relationship and bond? Was it that strong?....then, what had just transpired? Why had she seen Axel himself abandon her?


    ¡°You¡¯re too much of a silly girl. Believe in both you, and him...After all, there is always a rainbow after a storm, right?¡±


    And just like that, a sudden stream of emotions that did not belong to her filled her heart. Fear,Anguish, sorrow, regret, bravery, and justice. Many emotions like that were suddenly made clear to her and all was somehow making sense to her. Before long, Maria was whole again. As she watched the dazzling sun practically shake in joy, she watched as the angel suddenly stepped out from her cloak of blue energy. With a large smile on her beautiful face, she leaned forward and hugged Maria.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry girl! We won¡¯t let you fall into that hole of despair ever again!¡± She said.


    ¡°We??¡± Maria suddenly asked. But before she could get a response, a sensation that made her feel like she was falling suddenly made her jump in her seat. Profusely sweating and breathing heavily, she looked around. It was dark outside and she could see nothing. Looking up on the clock on the wall, she noticed that it was about three in the morning. When she realized that she had dozed off on the large bear, she felt relief fill her being. Sighing deeply, she began to relax.


    ¡°It was just a bad dream¡­.¡± She said. However, that last bit seemed every bit real. She wondered, just what did it mean? Whatever it was, she just couldn¡¯t feel sad. No really, even if she wanted to she couldn¡¯t. For some reason, her heart and soul were very relaxed...Almost as if it were touched by some mysterious power¡­.


    ---------------


    As Axel Ison walked under a destroyed building followed by a certain blue haired gal, he felt something inside him giggle in delight.


    (Hm? Did you just giggle?) He asked the being in his mind.


    {Huh? Ah! Yes I did! Why do you ask?} The being now known as Sophia responded.


    (Obviously cause I¡¯m curious, what¡¯s so funny?)


    {Oh, nothing¡¯s funny. I¡¯m just happy that I helped out a very important friend of yours. She seemed like she was on the verge of losing it there. Those pesky nightmares, I¡¯ll get rid of those for her!} Sophia said releasing vibrations into his body. It was almost as if she were attempting to move his body.


    (a friend of mine? Nightmares? What are you on about??) Axel said completely confused.


    {Don¡¯t you worry about that now! When all is said and done, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll tell you about it!}


    (??? Okay whatever¡­¡­..I¡¯m still getting used to this whole girl in my mind thing¡­.I wished it had an off switch¡­¡­)


    {uhhhh hello? I¡¯m in your mind, I can hear you even if you think I won¡¯t simply because you don¡¯t want me to}


    (Okay quit that!! Jeez, can¡¯t a man walk here??)


    {I see no men here, just a boy and a strange rat}


    (He¡¯s a gerbil!!)


    {hahaha}


    As the two continued to talk, Sophia thought to herself and felt the calm life force many many miles away. Distance was not a problem to her, she could feel it. The soothing sound of relief in the young girl¡¯s mind. Sophia felt happy. For once, she could now help.


    ---------------


    *Bong*


    The sudden sound of a door closing startled Maria enough to where she was on her feet once more. At first, she had the thought that bad guys were here to do her in, but then she immediately threw the idea way since there was no possible way that that could be true. She was far from the chaos and she had no actual value as a hostage. Then there could only be one possible explanation¡­.


    ¡°Her¡­¡­.Parents!!...¡±


    Casey¡¯s, that is. It made sense, not everyone lived by themselves. Were they just going out? Had they just come back? What was going on down stairs? Was it truly even them or somebody else? There was only one way to find out¡­


    With her small feet, she rapidly tiptoed out of the room and down the hallway where she was met with a flight of stairs leading down below. At the bottom she could see what appeared to be a door. From the door, the stairs were positioned to the right. So, whoever came in would have to look to the right in order to see her. But even then it would be difficult as the hall of stairs were practically pitch black. Just in case, however, Maria hid behind the wall and peeked her head around the corner.


    Just as she feared, she could see the silhouettes of two people that were in the middle of hanging their coats on the wall. They belonged to that of a woman and a man. Now, she couldn¡¯t tell much more than that since it was dark but she didn¡¯t really care and instead paid attention to what they were saying.


    ¡°Oh darn, I spilled coffee on my good sweater today¡­¡± The man said.


    ¡°Haha! I somehow knew you would do something like that. Ain¡¯t that funny?¡± The woman replied laughing.


    ¡°What is? The fact that I ruined my sweater?¡±


    ¡°No, not that. Just the fact that when someone tries hard not to ruin something they end up ruining it anyway!¡±


    ¡°Ohhhhh, haha, yeah I guess you¡¯re right. Ah it¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll just get Case to wash it for me¡­..Speaking of, ain¡¯t she usually up by now? She usually greets us here with some coffee¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, maybe she slept in? Then it¡¯s okay, poor thing is still growing so her beauty sleep is important. I know you miss her but just let her sleep, okay?¡± The woman, presumably the mother, said to the man.


    The man, presumably the father, looked up the dark flight of stairs and for a moment she was afraid that he had completely caught sight of her since it looked like he was staring directly at her. But, after a couple of seconds followed by a small grumble, he turned away and nodded his head.


    The moment he did, Maria was able to momentarily keep her cool. Now then, she had to get back up stairs and find a way to get out without alerting Casey¡¯s parents of her presence. She turned and lifted her leg to step onto the next stair but instead jammed her foot right on to the side of it causing an audible thud to ring out. One that wasn¡¯t going to slip away unnoticed.


    ¡°Huh? Casey? That you sweety??¡±


    Flip!


    ¡°!????¡±


    The lights in the staircase immediately turned on and Maria was completely visible. However, since she was around the corner, she was still hidden by the wall. But, that wouldn¡¯t last long¡­ No, not at all.


    Not too long after the lights went on, she heard clear and heavy footsteps slowly making their way toward her. Without a second thought, she made a beeline for the hallway as quietly as she could. It was lucky that she currently had slip on shoes, those hardly made any noise! Plus she was pretty light.


    There was just one problem, the first place they¡¯d think to look in would be her room, so she had to go in some other room to throw them off. Yes, that would be the best course of action!


    ¡°Honey? You don¡¯t have to be embarrassed if you¡¯re not ready or something! You¡¯re my little girl!¡± She heard the man say in an extremely familiar tone. As Maria turned her head and ran into the first room she saw other than Casey¡¯s, she felt an extremely familiar feeling. This rush of adrenaline, this sense of not wanting to be found by someone. The person calling after their daughter¡­. With every step she took, she was transported into another reality. The room was not dark rather brightly lit. She was young and innocent and her father had just returned home from work. In an attempt to tease her dad, little Maria would run and hide as he went out looking for her through their home¡­


    ¡°Maria! Baby girl where¡¯d ya go? Just give daddy a big hug! I wanna see ya!!¡±


    When that voice¡­..when that damned voice rang in her mind like a church bell, she stopped in her tracks and stared completely stupefied into the dark room. How dare he¡­..How dare that man enter her memories now? In a situation like this?...........Why would someone like that just abandon her so suddenly?....wasn¡¯t she¡­¡­.daddy¡¯s little girl?.....


    As cold unwanted tears flowed down her warm cheeks,she heard the footsteps of the man walk by the room she was in and into Casey¡¯s. She heard muffled voices as Maria wiped away her irritating tears and ran back out the door. She turned and went directly for the staircase leading into the living room. Her plan was to go straight out the door and run home. It didn¡¯t matter how late it was. She just¡­¡­.she just...wanted to go home!


    But then why¡­...why were her hands glued to the doorknob? Completely unmoving¡­.just what was going on here¡­..


    ¡°Hello? And who might you be?¡± She heard a woman say to her from behind.


    It had to be the mother. A chill ran up her spine as Maria realized this. Nonetheless, she tried to keep her cool and turned around. She was a young woman, maybe about mid 30s at best and was wearing a lab coat over office type attire. Much like her daughter, she had curly brown hair, only hers was about shoulder length.


    ¡°ah,h-hello¡­.I¡¯m¡­..I¡¯m sorry for the intrusion, I¡¯m an acquaintance of Casey¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? You are? I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re from¡­..that place are you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That place?¡± Maria said without thinking. But then, it hit her, she must¡¯ve been talking about savant island. Yes, of course. If she had heard correctly, Casey¡¯s father was the one who invented that machine that brought her here.


    (that goofball?) She thought remembering how he was acting earlier. Though, any father would act like that toward their daughters. She should know¡­.


    ¡°Oh I see, then you must¡¯ve met her when she went to school out here! Wonderful! I¡¯m Margaret, Casey¡¯s mom, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you!¡± she said grabbing her hand and shaking it. Uncomfortable, Maria simply returned the gesture.


    ¡°Harold, honey, come down here and meet our guest!¡± She called up stairs to the man. After a couple of seconds, the man came rushing down. Unlike his wife, this man looked much older possibly due to the bags under his eyes. The beard covering the front of his face was not too long but it wasn¡¯t short either. The hairs on it were also thin and noticeably turning from black to silver. His eyes were pure brown and his skin was bright red, presumably because of the chilly air outside. He was also wearing a lab coat.


    ¡°Huh? Why hello! You must be our surprise guest! I¡¯m Harold! Nice to meet you!¡± He said. Though, Maria just gave him a cold look and turned back to the woman named Margaret.


    ¡°Hm? Okay then¡­..Ah, I don¡¯t see Casey anywhere dear, did she come down stairs?¡±


    ¡°No, only this young girl was here..¡±


    After that small exchange, they both turned to look at her questioningly. Maria wasn¡¯t sure what to do, but it was unfair to leave them both in the dark like this¡­.


    ¡°I need you both to listen¡­.¡± she said fully turning around.


    ¡°I am not a really big friend of Casey¡¯s, but I am a close friend of Axel Ison. I¡¯m sure you guys know him, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course we know Axel! He might as well be our boy to!¡± Margaret said cheerily.


    ¡°Well, I am also sure that you guys are aware of Savant Island. That was the place you were speaking of, yes?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯re saying you¡¯re from there??¡± Harold exclaimed suddenly tensed up and reaching for his back.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I have no powers, but I was there briefly. I can¡¯t say much because I still don¡¯t know much myself, but there was a huge battle commencing over there. Casey knew trouble was about to fall on us, so she did what she thought was best and sent me back here¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­


    The set of parents stared at Maria for what seemed like forever, she was unsure of what was going through their minds but she was sure of one thing, they believed her. She didn¡¯t know why, but that much was certain. Then, out of the blue, both adults turned heel and ran off up stairs.


    ¡°W-what?..¡± Maria said as she watched them go off. However, the dad turned to her and signaled for her to follow them. She didn¡¯t really want to but, she was curious as to what they were going to do¡­


    She followed them until they went into the room that Maria had ran in before to hide from them. She just wasn¡¯t expecting it to be something like this¡­ Once the mom, Margaret, sat down, she pressed a button and she heard multiple machines turn on. And just like that, dozens of monitors flickered on all displaying different things that she didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Honey, check the status of the teleporter over at Casey¡¯s¡± Harold said as he to sat down at one of the monitors.


    ¡°I just did, it looks like it¡¯s okay but the waypoint to it has been manually locked, probably by her to prevent this girl from going back. Damn smart move on her part. Check the surrounding area and savant island itself, any physical changes?¡± Margaret responded.


    ¡°Major, it seems like the land is being torn apart by some catastrophic battle, though most of our equipment has been destroyed so I can¡¯t exactly tell from what.¡± Harold said.


    ¡°Damn, what on earth is going on over there?¡± Margaret pondered.


    ¡°Oh boy¡­..one of our drones seem to be operational¡­..mmmmmm, yes! The one near that underground safety place Casey told us about. The one where the kids are supposed to hide in case of any danger? It still safely tucked outside. Oh look look! I¡¯m getting a signal!¡± Harold exclaimed as he pointed at one of the many monitors.


    As they both turned to look at it, Maria also decided to tune in.


    The screen flickered and flickered and suddenly a scene was made visible. The clear shiny sun was barely painting the land orange as it rose and brought light onto an extremely damaged land. Buildings were destroyed and rubble remained. However, among that disastrous plane, two girls remained. One was completely unfamiliar, but the other was all too familiar. The brown haired girl remained seated with her back to the camera. There were tears and rips on her clothes and bruises on her arms and legs. Clearly, a battle had ensued.


    ¡°Baby¡­.¡± Margaret said as she looked at her daughter¡¯s damaged body. Harold remained silent. Next to her, the odd ringlet curled girl with cream colored hair stared up at Casey with questioning eyes, almost as if waiting for a response. Then, the unthinkable happened. The small girl turned and looked directly at the camera. She seemed to say something which in turn caused Casey to ever so slightly turn her head. Just enough to where they were able to see her strong chocolate colored eyes, filled with determination. Then, with one swipe of a hand, the ringlet haired girl destroyed the camera. The screen went black.


    ¡°.........Well, she seems to be okay at least¡­..all we can do is wait and see what she tells us whenever she gets a chance¡­¡± Margaret said not looking at Harold.


    ¡°Yeah, it seemed like the battle had ended¡­..¡± He said softly.


    Maria couldn¡¯t see their facial expressions, but she was sure they were worried. Yet, Maria didn¡¯t feel any sympathy. In fact, seeing them like that angered her¡­..Was it resent? She didn¡¯t know, but one thing was certain, she had seen enough for today. And so, she quietly exited the room¡­¡­.


    Part 2


    The wind softly caressed the battle field and cooled Casey¡¯s aching body. She currently sat on top of a rock with her legs crossed deep in thought. Next to her was the small girl that had approached her just a couple moments after the battle had finished.


    ¡°Well, that takes care of those peepers. You say you know them, yes? Then why have me destroy the camera?¡± She asked Casey.


    ¡°Easy, all my folks need to know is that I¡¯m okay, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Hm, okay then. Well, I¡¯m about ready to continue, what say you? Have you processed what I¡¯ve told you up until now?¡± the ringlet curled girl asked.


    ¡°........¡± From there, Casey remained silent.


    It all began immediately after her fight with Pixelator, this girl had approached her seemingly out of nowhere¡­¡­


    ¡°Magic? What do you mean Magic? I thought Ella said that stuff was extinct or something like that.¡±


    The time was night and her gruesome¡­..Slaughter had at last come to an end. However, just as she was beginning to relax, she was met with this strange child. Maria kept her from coming any closer by activating her cloak of fire.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s where things get a bit complicated. Listen closely because I¡¯m about to give you a lot to chow down on¡­. What your friend has told you is indeed correct, Magic has long been forgotten and cursed to anyone who dare try to learn it. I, however, am not affected by that curse¡± She confidently said.


    ¡°Are you saying you can use magic? Do you expect me to believe you? I only just barely learned about magic myself, but I still know that nobody could possibly learn to use it without dying due to the curse placed on it!¡± Casey fired back.


    ¡°So do you want proof? Well, listen to this. You should know that there are three types of energy¡¯s. Spiritual energy, which your peacekeeper friends know how to use, Kinetic energy, which the savants use to power their skills, and finally Magical energy. The difference in each of these energy¡¯s is the thick power behind it. Spiritual stands at the top while Kinetic lays at the bottom. So, it¡¯s only natural that Kinetic cannot match Magic,which lays at the center of both, on a 1 on 1.¡±


    ¡°What are you getting at?¡± Casey asked as her flames danced around her.


    ¡°Those large gates you destroyed, they were protected by a cloak of kinetic energy that negated whatever other kinetic energy came in contact with it, right? And yet, your power was somehow able to go straight through, Do you think that was just some mere glitch in the matrix?¡±


    When Casey heard her ask that final question, it started to dawn on her. With what she was saying, Casey widened her eyes and looked down at the palm of her left hand.


    ¡°Are you saying¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, your power is not kinetic energy, it is fueled by the long forgotten Magical energy¡±


    ¡°No way¡­...then the name of attacks that have come to me unconsciously whenever I use them aren¡¯t random! They¡¯re-!¡±


    ¡°Incantations, precisely. You catch on quick!¡± The ringlet girl said practically on her toes out of joy.


    Casey mulled over what she had just learned and placed a hand on her head as if hoping to straighten her thoughts out. There was no reason to believe her, but there was also no reason not to. In fact, it made complete sense. Why her power was able to pierce the gates, why she¡¯s had such an upper hand in battle¡­.


    But that wasn¡¯t the only factor that made her believe the small strange girl, it was also  because of a certain object that lay dormant within her¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure somewhere deep inside you you knew too, right? That you were never one of them?¡±


    Casey took some time to respond before she softly nodded her head. She was never a savant. She knew that right from the get go but she never told anyone anything because she herself didn¡¯t know what she was.


    ¡°Your speaking of the stone, right? The one I currently have?¡± Casey finally admitted.


    ¡°That is correct. You are what the peacekeepers call, a ramoji. Now tell me, how do you think that came about?¡±


    Casey brought the hand on her head down and dropped her shoulders. Finally putting the flames around her out, she found a large piece of rubble and sat on it. Now then, where to begin?


    ¡°Well, when I was smaller, maybe about 4, I remember my dad coming home from work one day completely exasperated. I had no idea what was going on but, he immediately showed me and my mom what he was currently fawning over. It was a stone. A bright red and beautiful jewel. I remember it being so sparkly I could hardly look at it. It was amazing. My dad said that when he was out mining a canyon with his coworkers, he stumbled upon that jewel. He being the selfish researcher that he is, brought it home. He was in his office studying the rock for days on end but couldn¡¯t figure out what value it had since it had no characteristics of any jewels known to man. He was sure he was on the brink of a new discovery. Until, I came along.¡± As she said this, Casey placed one of her legs over the other and rested her arms there. Her tone dropped just a tad as if regretting something.


    ¡°He had fallen asleep in his office and I being as curious as I was to see what he was doing walked in there. I found him knocked out on his chair and I decided to leave him be. Then, the stone caught my eye. I remember seeing these strange waves of light all around it and they seemed to almost¡­¡­.draw me to it. So I walked closer to it and wrapped my tiny paws around the stone. I didn¡¯t even have it for two seconds before it released a bright and powerful light, one that woke my father up just in time to see his little girl absorbing the stone. Well, he says that I put the damn thing in my mouth and was drooling all over it because it resembled a ring pop.¡± Casey said as she chuckled.


    ¡°He tried to snatch it from me and actually succeeded, but it dissolved in his hands and the remains were apparently absorbed by me. And so, I became a ¡°ramoji¡±¡±


    When she was finished recalling her story, Casey looked up at the ringlet haired girl to see if she had anything to say.


    ¡°I see. Well, I suppose that explains that. Then, you too are a magic user like I am¡±


    ¡°Hold on a moment, then how am I able to use and learn magic? Isn¡¯t it cursed?¡± Casey asked.


    ¡°The stones were around before that curse was placed. Magic users who knew magic after it was placed were allowed to use it but could not pass it down. The stones are technically a loophole to that. They are artifacts that make one a magic user by letting the wielder borrow its power. It¡¯s a little hard to explain but since the stones were made before the curse was placed anyone who uses them are technically able to bypass it.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh I think I get it¡­...Okay so, your turn, tell me who you are¡± Casey said with her usual tone gradually returning.


    ¡°Well, I suppose there¡¯s no real harm in telling you. I am Bella and from now on I am supposed to be helping out your friend by showing him how to master his power. I didn¡¯t know what island he was on so me and my sister Bellatrix split up. She found him though and well, I was intrigued by your fight here and noticed that you were a close friend of his so I decided to help you.¡± She said looking up at the sky seemingly without a care in the world.


    ¡°My friend? Omni? You mean Axel? Axel Ison?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one.¡±


    ¡°Omni, huh? Is that what his power is called? I thought it was power magnet or something like that.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things you think are one thing but are truly the other.¡±


    Being responded to like that, Casey was forced to think about what was really true and what was false. There was so much she still did not understand. So much that she wanted to know¡­.Speaking of which¡­


    ¡°Wait, how did you know I was a close friend of Axel¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Oh that! Clairvoyance! I can use magic, you know? It''s like a list of stats floating right above you. Casey Rodrick Smith, 16. Birthday is on March 21st, Likes big dogs and prefers the summer time. Long time friends with Axel Ison, Kyle, and Cindy and has recently developed intense feelings toward-¡±


    ¡°Okay! I get it! If you could tell everything about me then why did you ask about my past?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not about to sit here and read through your entire life when you can just tell me.¡± Bella said to her twirling the ends of her hair with her fingers.


    ¡°Well, okay, so what now? What happens from here?¡± Casey asked still not understanding what the point of this conversation was.


    ¡°.....¡± For a moment there, the small girl Bella remained silent, almost as if lost in her own little world. Then, her eyes focused in on her as she slowly let her shoulders drift lower.


    ¡°Before we get to that, don¡¯t you want to see how your friend is doing after your little stunt?¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you saw that¡± Casey said while adverting her eyes away.


    In the same moments that she carried Katie to safety, she had performed a rather brute form of surgery. Using her ability, well magic actually, she burned Katie¡¯s flesh together both inside and out. It was successful but she wasn¡¯t sure just how much blood she had lost or if Katie suffered any other injuries. She didn¡¯t even know if it¡¯d hold together long enough for it to heal on its own. Who knew¡­..but she just couldn¡¯t think of anything else¡­


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be okay. All she needs is to let her wounds heal. I¡¯m not sure how I did it, but the process was similar to branding skin. Her own body will take care of the rest, hopefully at least.¡±


    Bella heard her say this, but she was sure that the look on her face meant that she was merely saying that to convince herself more than anything. Regardless, it did seem like the girl would be okay more than likely.


    ¡°Very well, change of subject. How well informed are you on current circumstances?¡± Bella said clapping her hands together.


    ¡°Which, do you mean right now? Or in general? I suppose it doesn¡¯t really matter though since I¡¯m lost in both situations.¡± Casey responded while cleaning some dirt off her skin.


    ¡°Why? Has no one told you anything?¡±


    ¡°Well, here¡¯s the thing, up until a couple weeks ago, I was totally clueless about everything. I knew that Axel had somehow attained an ability after that battle in sonic city.Though, I couldn¡¯t believe what was happening was real. I mean, was something right out of an Avengers movie really happening? I kept thinking that and eventually it just settled in as truth. I still don¡¯t know the circumstances behind how he got that power but he did and got involved with the peacekeepers. A couple weeks after that happened I resumed my trips here to savant island and was eventually approached by that girl Lucy.¡± Casey paused and made a weird face as if having a foul taste in her mouth.


    ¡°You refer to her as if she weren¡¯t a friend of yours already.¡± Bella remarked.


    ¡°Any friend of Axel¡¯s is a friend of mine, but I don¡¯t personally know or like her all that much.¡± Casey said while slightly scrunching her brow together.


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Bella asked.


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t wanna single her out or anything, so I don¡¯t really like the whole lot of Axel¡¯s classmates. Tony, Michael, Lucy, or Jeniffer. Natsumi¡¯s okay, but those guys are the real definition of fake! They preach about wanting to protect him and yet they lied to him almost their entire life. Ugh, when I heard they were secretly working for the peacekeepers I was so livid but decided to let it go so as to avoid any unwanted drama. Sure, I went to school with them but aside from a couple hi and bye¡¯s I didn¡¯t really associate with them though Axel would sometimes want me to hang out with Tony but ew that guy was just the spitting image of an asshole. At least to me. I always knew something was¡­...strange about them. Especially, that Lucy girl.¡± Casey once again paused and bit her nails for a couple seconds before continuing.


    ¡°There was just something about the look in her eyes that seemed wayyyy to fake. It was almost as if she were constantly lying about something. One time, I could¡¯ve sworn I saw her eye color change for an entire day. She¡¯s definitely odd that one.¡±


    Bella listened to her speak about the small group of people she disliked and thought to herself about the nature of her instincts. She was completely right about them. They were in fact hiding something and they were lying to their friend Axel, but it¡¯s what brought Casey to that conclusion that truly intrigued Bella. It was none other than her keen insight that helped her see through their lies. This alone meant that Casey here was much brighter than the others.


    ¡°Anyway, I was on my way home from the grocery store right down the street from my house over at Sonic City when she came and asked for my help. I asked what she meant and she went on to tell me about her situation and the need for my teleporter. How she was involved in the attack on Sonic City, how the peacekeepers were good, shadow hunters were the actual bad guys, and that they were trying to recover incredibly dangerous artifacts that could destroy the world, something cliche like that. Whatever, the only reason I believed her was because she said that she knew about my trips to savant island. Since she knew about savants in the first place that had to mean that she knew something about the dark side of earth. That and she took me to meet Ella, the one who was there that night when Jessica attacked. That¡¯s also where I saw the other three of Axel¡¯s classmates. It pissed me off seeing them there¡­..but I let it go and agreed to help if it¡¯d benefit Axel. After that is history.¡±


    Casey finished her story by turning away and spitting something on the ground. She then turned back and analyzed her nails probably wondering if they were all okay.


    ¡°That makes sense, I guess they don¡¯t want too many people knowing about what they do even if those people are their allies.¡± Bella said resting her chin on the palm of her hand.


    ¡°Maybe so, but I definitely know now. Whatever crystal or stone I have is also inside Jessica and that girl Elizabeth. They are collecting those to supposedly avoid armageddon or something like that.¡± Casey said still inspecting her nails.


    ¡°Armageddon,huh? Funny you mention that. You¡¯re right about the stones. They are indeed after that and currently have three in their possession. Counting you of course.¡±


    ¡°Did you say three? But there¡¯s just me and Jessica, who could possibly be the third??¡± Casey blurted out clearly confused.


    ¡°Not who but which. The 1st stone they ever acquired did not have a host, a ramoji as they call it. It was the easiest find of their career I¡¯m sure. Though they are not yet aware of you having the Elemental stone.¡± Bella said slightly lowering her eyelids.


    ¡°Elemental? Man, and they refer to the stones by their color¡­. You¡¯re giving them much cooler names.¡± Casey admired.


    ¡°No, those are their original names I¡¯m just telling you them. But forget that for a moment, let¡¯s get back to the point here. The stones, you should know that they alone are not that much of a threat, it¡¯s what they form when they are all together that is truly the problem. When all stones are gathered, they form what is called God¡¯s Scepter.¡±


    The name alone gave Casey a really bad feeling that sent a chill down her spine. She was sure she had heard Ella mention that name once before but she didn¡¯t really pay attention to it as she didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very powerful scepter that should¡¯ve never been created. An old fool sought to create a staff so powerful he would be crowned the king of all magicians. Instead, he underestimated his own power and created an object that could rip time and space itself. It did anything you could think of at the cost of almost all of his own magic power. At first he went mad with power but did not dare mess with the fabric of time. Even he was not that much of an idiot. But the more he tried to keep it safe the more magicians from all over would try and steal his staff. And so, he made the decision to destroy the staff. Only, no matter what he did it would just repair itself. Eventually, he separated its power into small crystal like stones but found that if put back together the staff would simply appear again, so he distributed the stones to far away places that even he did not know of. They remained hidden for centuries on end successfully up until one child somehow managed to get his hands on one. At around this time, the peacekeepers began to be hunted down by the world and removed from world history. After an internal scuffle, an independent group within the peacekeepers made their different ideals clear and abducted the stone from the poor boy by force. From then on they were known as the shadow hunters. After that more and more of the stones began appearing. All leading up to where you are now. If we¡¯re keeping count, it¡¯s 3 to 1 as far as I can tell with you lot in the lead.¡± Bella paused and waited to see if Casey had any questions before continuing, but it seemed like she had none. She was simply listening while staring off into the distance.


    ¡°Now, where does that put you in right now? Well, let me tell you about it. It is said that Armageddon is the place where the final battle between good and evil will be fought, but in order to reach that place this world must be put through hell.¡± Bella said to Casey. Casey lifted her head and questioningly twiddled her thumbs.


    ¡°Armageddon? You mean like in the bible?¡±


    ¡°Yes, however I believe this is a much different take on it. You see, the shadow hunters seek not only the battlefield of Mount Megiddo, they seek to destroy the seven seals that protect the scroll of god. Or so the legend goes. If even four are broken, grave things will occur and we will all surely die. The gateway to Armageddon will be opened and all will be set into motion. If we are forced into battle now, we will stand no chance and evil will prevail¡­.¡±


    As Bella relayed the dire news to Casey, she couldn¡¯t help but get a sick feeling at the very bottom of her stomach. It was indeed fear. She grew up with her parents often mentioning the word of God and even read the bible herself a couple times. She remember reading about the Apocalypse and being afraid but was always reassured by her mother that she would surely go to heaven. That thought was comforting, but this was entirely different. These fancy names stolen from the bible were cover ups. It was the same thing but different. How terrifying¡­.


    ¡°But wait, if this is following the bible, then that would mean that only the ¡°Lamb¡± could open the seals right? You can¡¯t just chose a Lamb out of nowhere, they have to be worthy of knowing what the contents of the scroll of god contains. I know we¡¯re not talking about the bible here and the circumstances are fundamentally different, but if that¡¯s true then all we have to do is keep the Lamb away from them!¡± Casey excitedly reported.


    ¡°Yes that is true, but just who would that be? Billions of people on earth and only one could be the Lamb. We don¡¯t know, but who knows if they do or even already have the Lamb in their possession?¡± Bella replied grimly.


    ¡°Then¡­.doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re too late?...¡± Casey said suddenly feeling scared.


    ¡°No, certain catastrophic events have to occur before the four horsemen can trample this world. Or at least that¡¯s how the story I know goes.¡±


    ¡°Really? And what would those be¡± Casey asked more or less knowing the response.


    ¡°Take a good look around kid, this is only the beginning.¡±


    And with that her worst fears were confirmed. If this was only the beginning, who knew just what was to come next¡­. When she was waiting to be informed on the situation, she wasn¡¯t expecting grave news like this¡­


    ¡°Then we can only fight back now, I can¡¯t just be sitting here.¡± Casey said getting ready to stand up. However, Bella raised her hand and reassured her to continue resting.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to do that right now, the battle is over for the time being. In fact, nothing grand will occur for a total of four long weeks. However, that also means that we cannot leave the battlefield, you lot are forced to stay here.¡±


    And that was that, that was pretty much everything that the ringlet curled girl named Bella had told her thus far. Such a simple conversation nearly lasted hours. Before she knew it the sun had risen and it did truly seem like the battles had ended. For now, at least.


    ¡°Well, I guess there¡¯s nothing else to go off of, but I want to ask, what makes you Axel¡¯s mentor? Why appear now all of a sudden?¡±


    To this, Bella remained silent. After a couple of moments of pondering, her pink cheeks turned a soft tinge of red as she turned to Casey smiling.


    ¡°Well Okay I¡¯ll tell you since you¡¯re such a good girl! It¡¯s because-.......¡±


    Though the wind muffled out the rest, Casey alone heard exactly what she had said and widened her eyes.


    ¡®There¡¯s no way!! You! You are?....Oh my gosh, out of all the things I¡¯ve heard today this definitely takes the cake by far¡­¡± Casey exclaimed holding her cheeks. Bella however covered her face and brightened up.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t make me blush you!! Just go get some rest, check in on your friend and relax, even if something does happen I will inform you¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Well, yeah I do wanna check in on everyone. Got it, I¡¯ll be leaving you then. I¡¯m sure you can take care of yourself¡± Casey said relinquishing her duty as watch person to her surprisingly quickly. After a quick wave bye, she turned heel and ran over to the large broken down steel gates. Bella uncovered her face and watched as that girl ran excitedly to see her friend.


    ¡°Oh, hold on just a sec¡± she suddenly said to stop the girl from running. Casey stopped the second she heard something and turned to face Bella with a pure expression.


    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s up?¡± She said.


    ¡°I said I had clairvoyance didn¡¯t I? Well, I can also tell what emotion most accurately describes your entire life. Not just up until now, I mean your life as a whole.¡±


    Hearing Bella say that left Casey momentarily shocked. Her life as a whole meant all of her years living even the ones she hadn¡¯t yet. If she could tell her that, then she¡¯d have an idea of how her life would go. If it were to be happy, she can rest at ease knowing that everything would eventually be fine. But¡­.what if it wasn¡¯t? What then?...


    ¡°How about it? Would you like me to tell you what it is?¡± Bella inevitably asked. Casey sat in thought for quite some time before eventually clenching her fists and coming to a conclusion.


    ¡°If you were to do that, and I didn¡¯t like the answer, I would lose the benefit of feeling hope for things to ever change. So, I¡¯d prefer not to know¡­..¡±


    Casey let loose a simple smile almost as if telling her ¡°I hope you understand¡±. Bella closed her eyes and chuckled, she should¡¯ve known that that would be her response.


    ¡°Yeah, I knew you wouldn¡¯t want to. Very well, you can go now.¡± Bella said crossing her arms. Casey nodded and waved goodbye again before running off once more. Bella watched her off, only this time she felt a sense of sympathy enter the depths of her being.


    ¡°Smart girl. Now I can¡¯t help but wonder what your reaction would¡¯ve been if I told you that your life was the very definition of a tragedy. Perhaps that was the reason I decided to help you, in the hopes that maybe I could help turn things around. But well, I don¡¯t have control over destiny, good luck kid ¡­¡± she said to herself in an empathetic tone. She then raised the palm of her hand and created a small ball of light which she began talking to.


    ¡°So how¡¯s he doing on your end?¡± She said. Moments later, she received a response.


    ¡°He¡¯s got a better look in his eyes, looks like I can finally step in.¡±


    Part 3


    Going back to just after Axel had broken free from captivation, our current setting takes us to exactly the point in time in which Axel first recognized one of his childhood friends, Cindy.


    Still completely bewildered, he tried his best to keep a calm and level head as he walked up to her. Cindy, who was also in shock, reached out for a hug as her eyes filled with tears. However, mere seconds after, Axel had completely ignored her gesture and grabbed on to her shoulders.


    ¡°My eyes aren¡¯t just playing games with me? Why do you look so strong? Why in the world is your hair blue? Why are you out here all by yourself? Was it you that saved us from that bad guy just now???¡± He frantically began asking as he inspected her body like a doll. At first, Cindy was at a loss for words and softly put her hands down. Watching Axel like that made her feel really nostalgic, so she took it upon herself to grab him in a tight embrace against his current will. Though, he didn¡¯t fight back.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long, you¡¯ve grown so much¡­¡± She said speaking into his shoulder.


    ¡°Y-yeah...I¡¯m finally taller than you!¡± He said into her hair.


    When they finally separated, Axel took a couple steps back and admired Cindy a little more. It was just incredible, he couldn¡¯t believe that he¡¯d find her here of all places! It was too much to take in and it made him really happy.


    {Axel! Watch out!}


    As soon as the voice in his head spoke, Axel felt his body react in an odd way. It moved completely on its own high up into the air using the wind around him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°What the-¡± he let out.


    A moment later, the ground beneath him sunk and was folded in half like a book. Somehow, the earth had distorted and attempted to kill them! What''s more, he could not see Cindy!! Had she gotten swallowed up?


    When Axel landed on the top of a building safely he quickly began searching for her body down below. However, Cindy herself magically appeared right next to him as soon as he began fearing the worst.


    ¡°There¡¯s an enemy nearby¡± She said with her brow furrowed.


    ¡°Huh? How¡¯d you get up here?¡± Axel began to ask confused.


    ¡°Shh! Look! He¡¯s right there!¡± Cindy yelled and pointed.


    Sure enough, when Axel turned to look, he saw a man dressed in black suddenly appear on the ground which was just turned inside out. He was large and bald and had many scars on his hands. From the looks of it, he was not pleased.


    ¡°Damn it, looks like you got away.¡± He said to himself.


    ¡°That guy talking to himself?¡± Axel asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s an earth type Shadow Hunter. Seen him around at the main joint a couple times. Rowdy guy, completely useless when it comes to basic math or english but a total genius when it comes to combat. I¡¯d be careful kid.¡± Ricardo the gerbil said from inside his sweater.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say. Well then, It¡¯s time I put my powers to the test!¡± Axel said bending low. He gathered the wind at his feet and threw himself up.


    ¡°This is the first time I use it now that I know what I¡¯m doing and I can¡¯t wait to see what dragon powers I¡¯ve got! Get ready you, cause it¡¯s go-!!!!¡±


    Shiiiiiiiink!!!!


    A large and powerful blast of cold Ice suddenly cut Axel off and completely covered the poor sap down below. The sheet of Ice was so large it completely changed the terrain. It almost looked like an ice age.


    ¡°H-huh?¡± He said at a loss for words. He hadn¡¯t done that, so then who did? He looked down over to where Cindy was and felt his jaw drop even lower. She was standing there with her hands outstretched and frost covering her cheeks. As she let out a breath of air, Axel could see the pure white smoke exit her mouth.


    He landed back down next to her and waited for her to notice him. When she did, she extended her thumb out and winked.


    ¡°I got him!¡±


    ¡°I-I see that but how on earth did you do that?¡± He asked without a change in expression.


    ¡°I think I can ask you the same thing, how¡¯d you even get up here?¡± She said.


    But, before either of them could respond to each other, the thick land of ice suddenly began to crack, More and more it did until finally the ground burst into millions of tiny ice shards. At the center of it all, the earth type shadow hunter from before.


    ¡°Phew, almost got me there. Now then, it¡¯s my-¡± He began to say but wasn¡¯t able to finish due to Cindy waving her hands and trapping him again with her ice powers.


    ¡°Damn this guy, that¡¯s not going to hold him for long. Looks like I gotta get up close and personal¡± She said tying up her hair and preparing to jump off the building. However, Axel grabbed her arm and did not let her go.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Hold on just a sec. It looks like we both somehow have powers, but it looks like you¡¯re a lot more experienced than me. Please, let my try something first.¡± He said to her.


    Down below, the ice once again cracked until it suddenly exploded due to the ground beneath it rising like needles and freeing the shadow hunter. He cracked his knuckles and sighed due to the sheer ignorance that blue haired girl had. He wiped the dust off his cloak and walked up toward level ground. The first thing he¡¯d do is find her and kill her.


    However, for some reason, the only one he could find was that boy from before.


    ¡°Ah? Just you kid? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. Where¡¯s the girl?¡± He said to him.


    ¡°She won¡¯t be joining us just yet, but in the meantime I¡¯ll be the one who takes you out¡± Axel said clenching his fists and raising his guard.


    ¡°You? Take me out?..haha¡­..now that was funny!¡± The hunter yelled as he threw his fist forward. At its command, the ground rumbled and exploded outward like a huge wave toward Axel.


    (Here it comes!!) He thought.


    The shadow hunter believed that defeat was imminent for that boy. There was no way he could take that on. He¡¯d have to be-


    BOOM!!!!


    The wind exploded and the large wave of ground was suddenly turned to rubble which flew back in the direction that it came from. The wind pressure was so powerful the shadow hunter had to kneel and bury his arms in the ground so as to keep himself from flying away. When the wind died down, he stared up in shock toward the boy who was now holding his right wrist. From the looks of it, his middle finger and thumb were broken somehow.


    ¡°I¡­..I knew it¡± Axel said to himself as he bit his lip in an effort to keep himself from crying. When another wave of earth came right for him, Axel felt a wave of ice lift him off his feet and into the air. While suspended there, he continued his train of thought.


    (Regardless of how much I now accept this power, I¡¯m still human! Using a power like super strength will still cause me damage if it exceeds the amount of strength my body can handle.)


    This is what he wanted to see. He wanted to see if super strength was now easier to use but as it turned out it wasn¡¯t. It was smart of him to go for a finger flick, if he had used his arm he would¡¯ve been in a lot more pain on top of losing it. It was lucky he destroyed that initial wave.


    As he landed back on top of the building where Cindy stood waiting for him, he began to ponder his next move while trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his finger. She looked at him with a concerned expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re hurt.¡± She whispered somewhat angrily.


    ¡°Forget about that, let¡¯s take care of this guy first.¡± He said gritting his teeth and shakily standing up. His legs were a bit wobbly since he landed pretty roughly. The shadow hunter down below was still staring up in awe and seemed to be a bit taken back by Axel¡¯s display of power.


    ¡°Oh I see! A couple of savants out here, eh? Now we¡¯re talking! Let¡¯s get this party started!¡±


    The earth shifted and the ground ruptured. Waves of ground and rubble completely destroyed the building below them and forced them to take to the skies.


    ¡°No!! My office and paperwork were in that building! That¡¯s important research in there!!¡± Ricardo squealed from Axel¡¯s sweater.


    ¡°Cindy¡± Axel called out to her but she was already on it.


    ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡± She said as she crossed her arms together and released a giant wave of ice. The sudden cold air was too much for even Axel as he was forced back by the wind. He carefully navigated his way down to safety and began monitoring Cindy.


    The Ice countered the earth and managed to cover it over entirely. As the Ice finally made its way toward the shadow hunter, the thick and dangerous black snow was forced to part ways with the ground. Up until now, the black snow had ever so lightly been falling from the heavens.


    The shadow hunter noticed that he was about to get cornered and began using the earth to push himself back. He successfully managed to evade every attack up until now and was ready to launch a counter attack.


    ¡°Alright girl, it looks like you¡¯re no pushover, time to get serio-¡± He said raising his sleeve before he was suddenly tackled by a large projectile. Rather, a small human being.


    Completely undiscovered by the shadow hunter, Axel was brought closer to the shadow hunter by Cindy and once his guard was lowered she launched Axel toward him. Axel braced himself and full on shouldered him directly in the stomach. The man didn¡¯t even make a sound. The second Axel made contact with him he was out. Axel flipped in the air and shut his eyes in pain.


    {Even I felt that} Sophia said in his head.


    (God damn it that was awful) He thought.


    Regardless of how painful it was to him, what mattered was taking out the enemy as quickly as they could. Axel opened one eye and watched as the shadow hunter went limp in the air and fell down. Axel followed suit but not as roughly. He slid on the ice with his feet and eventually landed on his bottom.


    ¡°Sorry man but I can¡¯t have you going all out here. We aren¡¯t here to mess around¡± Axel said to the unconscious shadow hunter.


    ¡°Great job Axel. I wasn¡¯t really sure what you were doing at first but I¡¯m glad I followed along.¡± Cindy said trying to help him up. Axel obliged and took her hand to get himself up.


    ¡°Yeah, I figured you¡¯d know what I was trying to do. It¡¯s good that you used your ice to get me to him quicker. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up to him if I just kept running. If I used my powers he would¡¯ve been able to sense me¡± he croaked as he stretched.


    As Axel dusted off his clothes and stretched his arms, Cindy got to wondering.


    ¡°Any savant with any power at all can be sensed even if you aren¡¯t using any energy. It takes a lot of training to hide one¡¯s Aura, why are you an exception to that?¡± She said. It was true that she was able to sense some power from him earlier, but after that she sensed absolutely nothing. In fact, if she hadn¡¯t seen him running she probably would¡¯ve swallowed him up with her ice on accident. There was no way that he had mastered such a skill to hide his presence, even she struggled with that. So then, what was going on?


    ¡°Well, It¡¯s probably as you guess, I¡¯m still just a human with no Aura, but a lot has happened in the past¡­...what? 2 months? And I was granted an ability. And with it, an Aura of my own which disappears if I stop using my ability. I¡¯m just glad the nieve black or whatever stopped falling or my skin would be on fire¡­¡±


    ¡°Granted an ability you say? What does that mean? I never heard of anyone just getting an ability out of nowhere.¡± Cindy said as she encased the shadow hunter in a thick sheet of ice. She made sure that he was sealed shut and prepared to haul him around. She was presumably taking him as a prisoner.


    ¡°Well, just prepare for Lucy to give you death threats and make you swear not to tell anyone anything¡­.Okay, get ready cause I¡¯ve got a lot to explain¡±


    ¡°No you don¡¯t, I do¡± They heard an uninvited voice say. Axel¡¯s hair stood on end as he thought he was about to engage in another fight. However, quite the opposite happened. A pair of legs suddenly appeared on Axel¡¯s shoulder and a weight was placed on his head. Someone¡¯s body warmth pressed up against his neck and made him shiver.


    {Ohhhh! So she¡¯s finally here!} Sophia excitedly said in his mind but Axel didn¡¯t listen.


    ¡°Who the heck are you?¡± Cindy asked him. No wait, she wasn¡¯t asking him, she was asking whoever was on his shoulders.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty smart girl. You seem to already know that I mean no harm¡± The girl on his head said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sense any Aura from you, but I do sense something else but it¡¯s not anything negative, so I wasn¡¯t afraid.¡± Cindy said with a slightly furrowed brow.


    ¡°Ah, good girl.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Cindy, who the heck is on me?¡± Axel frantically asked afraid to move. However, Cindy raised her shoulders and shook her head. Then, tapping on the ground with her foot, she made a wall of ice build up. Through that he was able to see his reflection and finally saw who was on him.


    She was a small girl with cream colored ringlet curled hair. It was let loose and had pink ends. Her eyes were crystal blue and her skin was pale and white. Her blue jeans went well with her black button up sweater. She rested both hands on his head as if he were a desk and laid her head there. She adjusted the black beanie she had on her head and waved to him through the reflection.


    ¡°Hi there¡± She said looking sleepy. However, Axel was not having it. He reached up and grabbed her sides. He pulled her over and brought her to his eye level. This resulted in him holding her upside down in front of his face so that their eyes could meet.


    ¡°Who in the world are you?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not someone you want to mess with that¡¯s for sure. Now put me down.¡± She said looking him dead in the eye. He wasn¡¯t about to back down from a staring contest, but the being inside him was non verbally warning him of her. And so, he literally let her go to fall head first. However, The girl kicked off his chest and landed on her feet next to Cindy. Axel coughed and held his chest as he angrily stared the girl down.


    ¡°My name is Bellatrix but you can just call me Bell. The one who¡¯s going to tell you what¡¯s really going down.¡±


    ¡°Bellatrix? What in the world are you talking about?Tell us what?¡± Axel barked.


    ¡°I was going to come here sooner, but I saw you were being pushed back by that shadow hunter so I decided to wait for a little bit and see what you could do. Now that you¡¯re done, I¡¯m here. I really don¡¯t want to waste too much time so I¡¯ll be blunt, I¡¯m going to be helping you master Omni and guide you in its ways.¡±


    As shocking as it was to hear for both Cindy and Ricardo, Axel and Sophia knew exactly what she was talking about.


    (Is this her? The one the angel was talking about?) Axel asked in his head.


    {Yes, It has to be. I can sense a strong pressure from the depths of her being, she is extremely wise)


    (You can sense that? Wow, but didn¡¯t the angel mention two beings that were supposed to be my mentor?)


    [An angel mentioned me? You wouldn¡¯t happen to be talking about the original Omni now would you? In any case, she was correct but my sister is somewhere else right now] Axel heard someone else in his head respond. Both Sophia and Axel remained silent in pure shock to the new voice inside his mind. However, they both knew exactly who it belonged to.


    ¡°That ought to be enough proof that I¡¯m the real deal here¡± The small girl said.


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve caught our attention. I believe you. I just have a couple questions¡± Axel said holding his arm behind his back. When he made a wrong movement, he felt a jolt of pain travel up his arm which made him flinch.


    ¡°Axel? Oh right! You¡¯re finger! Let me see it..¡± Cindy said running up to him. She grabbed his arm and inspected his completely damaged hand. After taking a few deep breaths, she pulled out some bandages from her blouse and began wrapping his hand. Meanwhile, Axel continued to keep his attention on Bellatrix and sat down.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got some time to kill, ask away kid¡±


    ¡°What ties do you have with Omni? You¡¯re so young, how can you be a master of anything yet?¡±


    ¡°Looks can be deceiving, despite how I look I¡¯m actually really old. I¡¯ve lived long enough to see the fall of so many empires. Lived long enough to make many many mistakes, one of them being the very power that has cursed you and many others.¡± She said solemnly.


    ¡°Hold on a second¡­.Are you saying that you¡­..created Omni?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I created Omni many many years ago with my sister. You see, I come from a time that was on the brink of destruction.¡± She said sitting down on the remains of the building from before. Suddenly intrigued, everyone quieted down and listened to what Bellatrix was about to say.


    ¡°I was a little girl too once upon a time. I dreamed, I played, I had a family, but the circumstances in which we found ourselves in were some that I will never forget. A war raged on between creatures other than humans. Their battlefield? Earth. Us poor and useless humans were slaughtered in the fray simply for being unfortunate enough to be caught in their rampage. I and my sister lived in hiding for so long. We barely ate, we barely bathed, it was awful. Yet, we held hope. There was one thing mankind still had in those days. That was the ability to wield magic. I remember being told that if one were to master magic, they could stand up and help put an end to the war. My sister and I heard that and worked our assess off almost everyday. We wanted to be strong, we wanted to fight, we wanted the power to fight anything and everything. From there came the inspiration for Omni, and just like an accident after one too many drinks, She was born.¡± She ended staring in to his eyes but not at him, at something deeper within him.


    ¡°This war, the angel spoke of humans not being able to go up against dragons and angels and so they created humanoid magic, is that related to this?¡± Axel asked.


    ¡°Yes it is. In fact, I was the one that created that too. I did everything I could to fight. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go as planned. Our fight, although extremely close, was lost. In the middle of that fight, on top of losing countless comrades, me and my sister were cursed to a state where we would cease to age. All that and we still failed. Well, I should say we temporarily won. However, like most things in life this peace won¡¯t last forever, as you¡¯ve already discovered.¡± She paused and sighed as she reminiscently looked up into the heavens. As she saw one dark cloud pass after the other, she continued her story.


    ¡°Omni passes on from one person to another. It wasn¡¯t until the first owner died that I found that out. Not only that, each time it passess on a new persona is created. It¡¯s really quite mesmerizing. If that wasn¡¯t enough, the damn thing chooses who it wants to wield its full power by association with ¡°Origin¡±. A safety precaution my sister created so that not just anybody could wield Omni. And well, here we are.¡± She said finally looking back down at him. Axel was able to follow what she was saying up until now, this time it was rather easy to understand.


    Then it hit him, where in all of that did the stones play a roll?


    ¡°Wait a minute, you mean Omni wasn¡¯t created to fight the shadow hunters and retrieve the stones? It was created for something else entirely??!¡± Axel blurted out as his heart rate increased.


    ¡°You got it kiddo. Glad you caught that. The peacekeepers that you know are also well outside of the loop. They still think that Omni goes by the name of Power Magnet. They still think that Omni was a miracle given to them to help fight the shadow hunters. They¡¯re wrong in that case. Omni can help, but that¡¯s not what it¡¯s meant for. It¡¯s meant for a much larger battle.¡±


    The words that Bellatrix now spoke were raw and heavy, simply too much for Axel to take in all at once. As Cindy carefully bandaged his hand, she watched his current reactions by eyeing him intently. It took him a couple seconds to calm down before looking up at the sky. Just what awaited him in the future?...


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about that kid. That battle is unlikely to happen in your lifetime. In the meantime, we know that the stones and god¡¯s scepter take precedence, so we will still train you to fight properly.¡± Bellatrix reassured him and crossed her small arms.


    ¡°Really?....I see. Then, let¡¯s just focus on what¡¯s going on right now. Would you happen to know anything about project Armageddon?¡± Axel asked.


    ¡°What? You heard about it already?¡±


    ¡°I only overheard the name and that four people are set to arrive who can completely destroy all of us.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you don¡¯t know much. Well, let me explain.¡± Bellatrix said crossing her legs. It took probably about seven minutes for her to fill Axel in. When she did, Axel mixed her words in his head and came to an understanding.


    ¡°So the key to all of this is the Lamb... We don¡¯t know what¡¯ll happen next, but if we do have some time before the next event occurs then I better get to work.¡±


    ¡°Hold on just a second there¡± Cindy suddenly said finishing up one last knot in his bandages. Making sure she tightened it up neatly, she looked up at Axel with somewhat angry eyes.


    ¡°Cindy? What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I just so happened to be informed of things now but I¡¯m still not understanding one thing, how in earth are you responsible for some mystical power like Omni?¡± Cindy demanded to know.


    ¡°This girl is important to you, right? Should she of have overheard our conversation just now or should I erase her memories?¡± Bellatrix offered raising her hand.


    ¡°I trust Cindy, and I like her a lot. She¡¯s an ally.¡± Axel said causing Cindy to slightly redden. Bellatrix nodded her head ¡°Okay¡±, and backed down.


    ¡°Well Cindy, I didn¡¯t exactly sign up for this. It just so happens that I was chosen by something called Origin to hold Omni. It happened maybe about 2 months ago? I forgot my keychain that grandpa gave me which he said would protect me and that one instance without it brought me Omni.¡± From there, Axel went on to recount the events that happened in Sonic City and what he learned. For her, since she was also close with his grandpa, hearing that he was associated with the peacekeepers was also a shocker to her. In fact, the whole forgotten friends ordeal paled in comparison. When Axel was done, she too mulled over his explanation for a bit before nodding her head and standing up.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s going on, huh? Okay! I¡¯ll help you!¡±


    ¡°Wait just a moment! I don¡¯t want you getting involved in this! I know you¡¯re strong but I don¡¯t want you getting hurt!¡± Axel argued. However, Cindy raised her hand in front of his face to stop him.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to stop right there. It¡¯s my turn to reveal something. I¡¯m not weak at all. In fact, I stand as the 2nd strongest savant on a global scale. I¡¯m known as the Queen of Ice, ¡°Frostbite!¡±. The strongest being that jerk Kyle as you know¡± Cindy said while proudly puffing out her chest.


    ¡°What???!!?? You¡¯re Frostbite?? The one Katie was talking about??? So that¡¯s why Casey made her keep quiet about her identity, I knew who you were all along just didn¡¯t realize it...wow¡­¡± Axel ruffled his hair for a moment and all of a sudden felt embarrassed. After all, she was stronger than him.


    ¡°So, now you¡¯ll let me fight, right?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, we need your strength..¡±


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get this show on the road then!¡± Cindy excitedly said as she walked past him dragging the shadow hunter behind her. Axel watched her go and followed her at a much slower pace.


    {What¡¯s on your mind now?} Sophia asked after not talking for some time.


    (It¡¯s just crazy how almost everyone I know is now involved in this supernatural mess. Who would¡¯ve thought, you know?}


    Although he couldn¡¯t see her, he was sure the girl in his mind was agreeing with him.


    {I get where you¡¯re coming from, but it¡¯s better to think that they¡¯re on your side, right?}


    (You¡¯re definitely right about that)


    ¡°Axel boy, what are you planning on doing right now?¡± Bellatrix said from behind him.


    ¡°Well, Ella wanted me to meet up with Andrew but he can take care of himself right now. What I want to do is find my little sister. She last called me extremely scared and wanted me to come find her. That was yesterday, I¡¯ve delayed myself long enough but I know that both she and my grandma are alive. I would¡¯ve known it if something major had happened to them. I just gotta find them.¡± Axel said suddenly seeming more confident.


    ¡°That so? Very well then, I¡¯m going to reunite with my sister for a bit then and bring her back here. You take care of that and we¡¯ll see each other soon.¡± Bellatrix said slowly rising into the air.


    ¡°Huh? Hey wait, how can you still use magic? I thought that was extinct and forbidden.¡±


    ¡°Hm? I would think that Ella of yours told you that much right? The elders that knew magic during the time of it¡¯s erasure could still use it but could not pass any of their knowledge down. Since me and my sister were alive before that curse was even placed, we can still freely use magic. Well, to a certain extent at least. Mana isn¡¯t as rich in the air as it used to be. In any case, that¡¯s why.¡± Bellatrix said resting in the air.


    ¡°Really? Okay cool, then I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    ¡°Oh wait, just a moment. About super strength. I have two things I would like you to know. One, it¡¯s not called super strength, It¡¯s called ¡°All Out¡± so keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°All out? Dude that sounds awesome.¡± Ricardo squealed in his ear.


    ¡°Shut up¡± Axel said swiping him away.


    ¡°And the other is that you should try and not use it anymore. At least not until I get you to work up your body strength more. You already saw what it can do. Although it is extremely useful it is still extremely dangerous for you in the long run. Keep breaking your body like that and eventually you won¡¯t be able to use your arms or legs no matter how much you heal them.¡±Bellatrix warned.


    ¡°Seriously? It¡¯s that bad? Okay I got it, I¡¯ll try not to use it anymore¡± He said to her.


    ¡°I somehow get the feeling you don¡¯t understand how serious I am. Let¡¯s put it this way, back in Sonic City you had two instances in which you used All Out with everything you had, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, once when I first used Omni to blow away a falling building and another when I tried to save my friend Maria from some flying droids.¡± Axel recalled.


    ¡°Okay so, if I had to guess, I¡¯d say you used up to 75% of All Out¡¯s true potential¡± Bellatrix informed him.


    ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY? Only 75? And it caused that much damage?? What about the time I threw a ball up in the air while training with Andrew? You must¡¯ve been monitoring me then right?¡± Axel exclaimed.


    ¡°Actually my sister was, but she guessed that must¡¯ve been about 50%. In any case, the point I¡¯m getting to is that you could risk blowing your limbs off if you try to use 100% so don¡¯t. Though, I¡¯m pretty sure you can¡¯t even if you tried since All Out and the human body in general has a limit depending on how much your body can handle.¡±


    ¡°Why is this power so freakishly strong? Just who made this??¡± Axed frantically asked now afraid of All Out.


    ¡°Well, Let¡¯s just say that millions sacrificed their life for it.¡± Bellatrix responded.


    Soon after, she stretched out her legs and began to fade away.


    ¡°Any other questions kid before I leave?¡±


    ¡°Well, uh, would you happen to be going to Savant Island?¡±


    ¡°Yep¡±


    ¡°Well then, can you make sure my friend Casey and the others are okay?¡± Axel earnestly asked.


    ¡°Coincidentally, that¡¯s who my sister is with. She¡¯s fine but I will tell her that you are okay as well.¡± Bellatrix said as the last of her body faded away.


    ¡°Really? Great! Thanks!¡± He said to her before she left. Turning around and looking for Cindy, he began to feel really motivated somehow.


    ¡°Okay, next stop, Stacey!¡±


    Part 4


    ¡°How much longer?¡± Asked a very impatient person who just could not stop cracking his knuckles. He was tall, about 6 feet, and had very large shoulders. His body was muscularly rounded out and in tip top shape. His pure black hair danced in the wind as he looked over at the man who was standing next to him.


    ¡°Relax you oath, the sun has to go down before you can go out to play. But you know what you¡¯re supposed to do, right?¡± The man dressed in a black robe said.


    ¡°Ryan, do you think I¡¯m some idiot? I secure the area surrounding this junkyard and kill whoever is trying to escape, right? I know exactly what the fuck to do. Only problem is I have to kill a bunch of ants. There¡¯s no real fun in killing a bunch of insects.¡± The aggressive man said.


    Ryan the 6th adjusted his one and only arm in his robe and shook his head in disgust.


    ¡°You¡¯re an awful piece of shit you know that? Even worse than I am. I know you¡¯re strong but don¡¯t forget that there are peacekeepers around here too. Those guys are tough¡±


    ¡°Does it look like I care? In fact, I hope that they come for me so I can get a real thrill out of this mission! Regardless, they won¡¯t stand a chance against me and my mutation.¡± The man said as he flexed his arm. The sound of his fingers rubbing against his palm intensified as many veins began popping out of his arm. Then, grabbing onto a steel light post, he watched as it squished under his intense grip and eventually broke apart. The remains of the light post fell around them and clattered loudly. However, the fall itself wasn¡¯t loud since the ground was cushioned by the black snow.


    Ryan took a look at the large psycho behind him and scowled. Vlad, the ¡°Dark Bones¡±. A special project who is the first ever to successfully incorporate a super human ability to his body without being a superhuman prior. It allows him to enhance his body¡¯s strength many times over. The ace in the hole in this operation one could say. The reason he wasn¡¯t being sent to the front lines right now was because the probability that people may try to escape during the night was high, and in order for their plan to succeed the humans still alive had to stay here.


    (I don¡¯t know why they¡¯d intrust that job with this fool. He¡¯s not supposed to kill them all just scare them away. This idiots going to go on a slaughter fest, I know that.)


    As Ryan grit his teeth and clenched his fist, he began thinking about the intel he currently had. The magnet boy was indeed said to be in the city and was captured at one point. However, just as was predicted, he managed to escape and hasn¡¯t been spotted since. An entire team of peacekeepers were also around and holding back the shadow hunters but following the short cease fire they have also presumably gone into hiding for the time being. Also, their leader Ella seems to be on Savant Island. On Savant Island, the initial slaughter was slightly successful but the students there are indeed strong. The casualties among his own were greater than theirs. Which wasn¡¯t all too surprising since they sent a bunch of grunts there. The only one capable of doing anything was Kevin the 3rd. The first night was a tough battle and the appearance of a ¡°Flame Queen¡± greatly tipped the scales in their favor. However, the outcome of the battle didn¡¯t truly matter. What mattered was getting enough forces in the island so that phase 2 could commence, and so it has. Both battlefields are now mostly silent but the battle still rages on.


    In a sense, it was like a game of hide and seek. If two warriors from opposing sides were to run into each other they¡¯d have to fight to the death in order to survive. A cruel game of survival practically. That was phase 2. In that time, two things had to happen. Those were to keep as much humans within city grounds as possible and locate the ¡°Lamb¡±. That is why Vlad was stationed outside city grounds. Most would definitely try to run but with him there that would be impossible.


    (Come to think of it¡­)


    If the peacekeepers were here and were still trying to rescue people, it was definitely possible that they¡¯d try to guide people outside of the town. Perhaps that was why they put Vlad in charge of those areas. Of course, the area was rather large so they also put someone else in charge of border patrol. An earth type shadow hunter who was supposed to be making his way to the north side of the battlefield. To his knowledge, that was around Delray beach. Everything beyond that could be considered a ¡°Safe zone¡± to the opposite party. Luckily, Miami was mostly surrounded by a large plain of wildlife so not many people were needed to scout that large area. In fact, Vlad was perfect for that job. Among his superhuman capabilities were his heightened senses. On a scale of 1-10 his senses were perhaps a 20. And, if completely still and focused, his senses would double. A true killing machine.


    (I suppose thinking calmly does help one see things better. Now I have confidence in Vlad¡¯s skill) Ryan thought to himself as he crossed his arms and began walking. Once he saw movement from Ryan, Vlad shifted his eyes toward him and followed.


    ¡°Hey, what the hell are we doing in the meantime?¡± Vlad grunted sounding bored.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m basically in charge of escorting you to some place called Trail Glades but in the meantime we aren¡¯t supposed to do anything but hang around town and wait.¡± Ryan replied.


    ¡°What the hell? Are you serious? That sounds fucking boring. How about we just search for some stragglers?¡± Vlad maliciously said cupping his fist.


    ¡°You can do that if you can handle the boss¡¯s punishment.¡± Ryan said shifting his shoulder that had no arm. Vlad saw that and merely clicked his tongue and looked away. Ryan smirked and took pride in the fact that he had managed to quiet down Vlad.


    (Now then, the dark sun has risen behind the clouds. It¡¯s time to just watch the battle unfold from the sidelines until nightfall¡­)


    Part 5


    ¡°Soooo, Cindy? What¡¯s with the blue hair?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a little complicated. It has to do with my ability though.¡± Cindy replied to Axel¡¯s sudden question. Currently, they were walking among the disaster torn city hoping to come across any sign of Stacey, Axel¡¯s sister. However, they had come across nothing just yet. As far as the shadow hunter from before went, Cindy buried him in a case of ice where he wouldn¡¯t be able to move. She kept him prisoner somewhere underground.


    ¡°Your ability, huh?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. You see, most young high category savants have trouble keeping their skills in check. This is especially true for those who have a category 7 type of skill, like myself. So, when I was young I had a bit of a rough encounter with my powers and they went haywire. Apparently the sudden burst of energy was so great that it completely changed the pigments in my hair to a dark blue. It¡¯s been a while since then and the color has softened. That¡¯s why I have a cute baby blue top while the bottom of my hair is dark blue. I think one day I¡¯ll have brown hair again so long as I don¡¯t mess up again.¡±


    ¡°Really? How¡¯d you find out about your powers?¡± Axel asked.


    ¡°Well, Skills don¡¯t manifest until you¡¯re about two years old. For some late bloomers, 6 years old. I was one of those late bloomers and was pretty afraid at first. My parents weren¡¯t savants nor did they know they existed but one was just born into to them so they were also pretty spooked. Until we knew more about it they told me to keep it quiet and not tell a soul. I was close to telling you sometimes but I managed to keep it hidden up until the government finally came and informed my parents of my status. From there on I was place under the care of the Miami savant island where my skill would be ¡°properly looked after and cultivated¡± according to them.¡± Cindy recalled as she looked up at the dark sky.


    ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s crazy. What about Casey and Kyle? How¡¯d you find out about them?¡±


    ¡°Well, Kyle was already here when I came. That was the reason he had suddenly moved away during the time when we took those defense classes. Casey wasn¡¯t a huge shocker to me. We knew she had some weird heat type of power remember? She got here pretty late into the game with a skill that ranked pretty low but I was happy to see her here nonetheless. I used to think that it was so crazy that us friends were there! Well, except you but here you are now!¡± Cindy said letting loose a big smile.


    ¡°Yeah, though the circumstances around it aren¡¯t exactly good.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but well what can we do about it now? What about your group of friends? Lucy and them, how do you feel about that? I for one don¡¯t recall them being around much when we were kids.¡± Cindy told Axel as she brushed her hair with her hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s still a mystery, and I don¡¯t know what to believe at the moment so I just put it on the side for now. Besides, it isn¡¯t relevant in this situation.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    As both of them continued to walk side by side with each other, a sudden silence fell between them which caused a sense of awkwardness to rise in the depths of Axel¡¯s stomach. There was just so much to catch up on¡­


    ¡°Your sister, she¡¯s a savant too right?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, I only recently found about it too¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh man, our lives are so out of whack. Haha¡± She laughed teasingly.


    ¡°Hey wait! Do you hear that?¡¯ She suddenly whispered frantically. Axel immediately stopped walking and listened to his surroundings closely. It was then that he was able to hear it, it was the echoes of voices bouncing off the walls some ways away. They couldn¡¯t tell what was going on but it sounded frantic. Scratching his head and turning to Cindy, he raised his hand and pointed toward where the noise was coming from.


    ¡°You wanna go check it out?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Sure do!¡± She responded.


    The trip itself wasn¡¯t very long. It probably took them about 10 minutes before they managed to spot a huge herd of people seemingly trying to get to somewhere. Most were frantically talking to one another while others shot looks toward every corner afraid of coming across any unwanted visitors. Then, he spotted them. At the front of the pack were two figures that he happened to know very well. One was a small teenage girl with night colored hair and the other was an old woman with silver colored hair.


    ¡°Stacey?! Grandma!¡± He yelled bursting forward. Stacey turned around and spotted Axel running toward them.


    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± She yelled as tears began to flow out of her eyes. As both met and collided in a hug, Cindy and the herd watched as the two had an emotional reunion. Axel¡¯s grandmother also slowly made her way to him.


    ¡°Axel mijo! I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay!¡± She said somewhat weakly. Just from the sound of her he could tell that her voice was hoarse. It made his heart quiver.


    ¡°Grandma! What¡¯s going on here? Where are you all going?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Far away from here. When the battle first started I used a special app that I created to call you. Even if you had no service that call managed to go through and I knew you were on your way. In the meantime, I fought as hard as I could and managed to hold back a couple guys from getting to us. That¡¯s when grandma and I decided to leave the city and picked up lost people along the way, and now that you¡¯re here you can help, right?¡± Stacey asked cheerfully.


    ¡°Hold on, does¡­..does grandma know about savants and our powers?¡± Axel whispered to Stacey.


    ¡°Yes she¡¯s known for a while now. You don¡¯t have to worry about that she doesn¡¯t have any questions. All she knows is that savants exist and that we are one of them.¡± Stacey replied earnestly.


    ¡°Perfect, that saves us some time.¡± Axel replied. Just then, a thought popped in his mind. Rather, a thought of the being within him.


    {If your grandfather was apart of the peacekeepers at one point, don¡¯t you think your grandmother would know about that too?} She said raising a good point.


    (You took the words right out of my mouth. I¡¯m pretty sure she does. It doesn¡¯t matter, saves me from having to explain anything to her.) Axel thought back.


    ¡°Hiya¡± Cindy said to Stacey appearing from behind Axel.


    ¡°Huh? Hey¡­...don¡¯t I know you from somewhere?¡± Stacey asked as she raised one eyebrow and held her chin. Cindy smiled and let a fresh tinge of pink fill her cheeks.


    ¡°Why of course! It¡¯s me! Cindy!¡± she happily said to her.


    ¡°What??! No way! Oh my gosh how are you!?¡± Stacey began saying as she warmly embraced Cindy.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good thanks! You¡¯ve grown so much!¡±


    The two began to talk quite much as Axel watched from the sidelines. Eventually, his grandma also joined in on the reunion which caused the chatter to skyrocket. Regardless, it was really heartwarming to see considering that Cindy was a major part of his life when he was young and was very close to most of his family. He was happy to see them together again.


    When Axel felt multiple eyes press against his back, he straightened his spine as a chill ran down it. The people from before, the herd that Stacey was currently guiding, did they suspect him? No, it had to be something else. Rather, Stacey did mention fighting and holding back some men. Did that mean¡­..were these people present for that? If so, the existence of people with superpowers resisting the ¡°peacekeepers¡± (shadow hunters) must¡¯ve came as a shock to most of them. It made sense that they would be wary of them.


    Axel didn¡¯t turn back and kept his back to the crowd, he was too afraid to look any of them in the eye for some reason..


    They knew about Stacey¡¯s powers. Just how would that work out later on? Would they actually be able to keep it hidden? Man, who was to say really¡­


    ¡°Ricardo¡± Axel called out in a tone that only he could hear. His collar from his sweater began to move and shift as a small animal poked its head out to meet Axel.


    ¡°You call? I was taking a nap.¡±


    ¡°If you were in the shoes of the people here, what would you think of Stacey who showed up with a super power not to kill you but to save you. What would you do?¡± Axel asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a stupid question. I¡¯d thank my lucky stars of course! This brat just saved my ass! No way am I ratting her out just so she could get killed.¡± Ricardo immediately replied confidently.


    ¡°It already happened once kid, and here I am on your side thanking the Lord I finally escaped that hell hole. These guys here are scared is all, just show em¡¯ that you¡¯re on their side and all will be okay.¡±


    ¡°Right, I think you¡¯re right, thanks Ricardo.¡± Axel gratefully said to the small animal.


    ¡°No problem kid. Now if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ve got some sleeping to do¡± Ricardo said diving head first into Axel¡¯s sweater. Axel felt his warmth shimmy down his collar and settle near his waist.


    Axel tried to calm down, but that didn¡¯t stop his mind from racing. The way things were now, it was wrong. It was all wrong, something had to be done. The existence and difference between shadow hunters and peacekeepers had to be made public. But that was the thing, just how would one go about that?


    (Well, I guess that¡¯s something I¡¯ll have to think about later. For now, we¡¯ve got to focus on leading these people out of here¡­)


    As Axel thought this, he shook his head and joined Stacey where she was in the middle of talking with Cindy.


    __________


    ¡°Do you think Ken will be alright, Jasmine?¡± A small child asked her big sister who walked next  to her.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine Melina, he¡¯s just being stupid is all. Right now, we have to worry about getting back to our home¡± The older sister, Jasmine said.


    Currently, they were hiding underneath a torn down building taking cover from the black snow that was falling from the sky. Incidentally, it had stopped falling long ago but they were both afraid of getting burned by it anyways. Jasmine was scared to death, but she didn¡¯t want her younger sister Melina to know that.


    Their circumstances were complicated. See, the only reason they were in Miami in the first place was to host the annual anti-superhuman conference. Jasmine, her sister and brother belonged to a somewhat prestigious family who founded the anti superhuman society. It was they that firmly believed that superhumans such as the peacekeepers did not belong in this world. It was because of their hard work that most of them were wiped out. And now, in their parent¡¯s absence, that job was passed onto Jasmine, the oldest in the family.


    All was going smoothly until the peacekeepers suddenly launched their attack. The siblings managed to escape the initial slaughter and went into hiding until things calmed down. Unfortunately, their ride disappeared and most of their followers were gone. She suspected that they either fled or were killed. Whatever the case, she and her siblings were still stuck in this mess. It didn¡¯t get any better by her getting into an argument with her brother either. Her brother, Ken, began wanting to retreat to an airport where they could catch a plane, but Jasmine knew that wasn¡¯t going to happen as things stood. So, she argued that they retreat to the small lodge that their parents had bought out here sometime ago. It was outside of the city and well into the woods. It was completely safe and seemed extremely logical to go there. However, her brother was far too stubborn and refused to go with them. And so, he took off on his own without them.


    She was of course worried about him, but she was sure that Ken would return once he saw that leaving by plane wouldn¡¯t be possible. She¡¯d love to wait for him but getting Melina out of there was extremely important. Melina was very young. She was only thirteen years old and possessed an extremely kind heart. She had shoulder length brown hair and pure chocolate brown eyes. She was rather short and had a sweet voice. Her brown hair matched Jasmine¡¯s own and even Ken¡¯s. It was something that ran in the family. Jasmine herself was pretty old. Twenty one to be exact. Her hair was long and her eyes were just as brown. She had no hourglass figure but she still rocked whatever outfit she tried on. At least that was what she had been told by her maids back home¡­.


    ¡°Jasmine, the sun is finally starting to go down, are we going to go home yet?¡± Melina asked nervously.


    ¡°Yeah, We sure will. We just need to get to Trail Glades. Once we get past there we¡¯re home free! You can sleep in your room again!¡± She joyfully told Melina in an attempt to keep her calm. An effort which worked out great as Melina seemed to visibly relax.


    It was crazy, one wouldn¡¯t notice how incredibly slow the day went by until you sat around and did nothing at all. The wait was extremely agonizing for them, but at least it came later rather than never.


    Jasmine stood up and watched as the sun began to set in the distance. It wasn¡¯t long now, once they got to their lodge in the woods they¡¯d finally be able to call for help which for some reason was currently absent. No matter the cost, she¡¯d get away from these awful and poor excuses for human beings.


    Nightfall had come, the time to move was now.


    ___________


    ¡°Delray beach? You plan to go all the way over there?¡± Axel exclaimed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s either that or we cross the mountains but that¡¯s even more dangerous.¡± Stacey replied.


    For the most part of the day, Axel and the herd had done their best to avoid the dark snow and help out anyone who was in need of it. Once the sun had gone down, they found an empty building and basically set up camp there. Most places were vacant so grabbing supplies wasn¡¯t all too hard. Axel still left some money in the register just in case though¡­


    Food, water, light, they had all of that for the most part. Now people were just resting. It was only Cindy, Stacey, and himself who were talking in a different room. Everyone else had gone to get some long needed rest. It was during this rest time in which Stacey had revealed her wishes to travel toward Delray beach where they would more than likely be able to find some help or safety.


    ¡°I guess crossing the mountains is dangerous, especially with all these people here. But Delray is pretty far, do you plan to get there by walking??¡±


    ¡°Actually no, someone in our little group here happens to own two Tesla Model X¡¯s. We plan to go in that.¡± Stacey excitedly said.


    ¡°Tesla¡¯s? I see! The cars that make little to no noise, right? That¡¯s a great Idea!¡± Axel agreed.


    ¡°Yup! Everyone here just so happens to fit too. Well, not if we seat normally. We¡¯ll have to be a little uncomfortable and fit as many people as possible but it¡¯s a small price to pay really.¡±


    As Axel and Stacey both agreed on the plan, Cindy shut her eyes and began to doze off. Leaning on the wall behind her, she did just that. Axel and Stacey quieted down and watched as she fell asleep for a moment lost in their thoughts.


    ¡°Okay so, where are the cars?¡± Axel whispered.


    ¡°Some place called Trail Glades, it¡¯s pretty close so you don¡¯t have to worry about it being far or anything.¡± Stacey replied quietly.


    ¡°Trail Glades, huh? Sounds easy enough.¡±


    Axel wasn¡¯t really looking forward to the trip. His anxiety would be through the roof most of the way there he was sure. Regardless, the safety of the people took precedence. Just a little over an hour later, Axel and Stacey decided to get a move on and move forward with their plans. They woke up the people in their group and told them to get ready to go. In the meantime, Axel, Ricardo,Stacey and the man who owned the two escape vehicles made their way to where they were located. Axel¡¯s grandma and Cindy stayed behind. Cindy was still sleeping as she was still tired but his grandma was awake. He was confident that if anything happened Cindy would be able to defend everyone. She was really strong after all.


    ¡°You know, I haven''t slept at all.¡± Axel said to Stacey.


    ¡°Seriously? How come?¡± She asked back as she walked down the dark sidewalk making sure to avoid the dark snow.


    ¡°Well, I was knocked out at one point but rather than my body resting I was nearly killed  You can imagine how much stress I was in. Then we spent all day here just scouting for a place to hide. It¡¯s probably the adrenaline that¡¯s kept me going this long. To be honest, as soon as I start calming down I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m going to pass out.¡±


    ¡°I can agree with you there pal. I haven¡¯t slept either trying to get my wife and kids to sleep. I¡¯m just glad they¡¯re okay¡± The man with them said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say? Well, let¡¯s just hope this all works out so we can both get some rest, eh?¡± Axel said as he droopily smiled. His face visibly seemed to fall out of exhaustion. Stacey took note and felt bad for worrying him. He must¡¯ve gone through a lot trying to find her. Physically and emotionally¡­


    ¡°Oh hey, look! That¡¯s the place right there!¡± The man suddenly loudly whispered to them. Axel and Stacey raised their heads and looked up ahead. They were able to see a parking lot of sorts belonging to a shooting range. Within there, they spotted two black vans with the Tesla symbol on the front of each car.


    ¡°Ah! You¡¯re right! They¡¯re the only cars in the lot!¡± Stacey exclaimed.


    ¡°Well, I work here. I actually have a regular old car and took that one to get to my family once the chaos started happenin¡¯. Glad I left these two here after all cause the other one was trashed! Please wait here! The keys are inside, be back in a Jiffy!¡± The man excitedly said running for the front door of the building.


    ¡°Sure thing¡± Axel told him as he left.


    ¡°He¡¯s a good guy. Most people probably would¡¯ve just used these bad boys for their own family but this man¡¯s willing to bring a whole group to safety with these.¡± Stacey voiced to Axel. Axel shook his head and agreed. It was indeed a noble act. With that silent nod, silence washed over them both.


    It was rather dark outside. Ominously dark. The clouds were still heavy with the black snow but the moonlight still seeped through in some parts. It was windy as well, a rather odd wind. As he looked around the deserted lot, he noticed the field behind the building. It was wide and open and he even saw a huge line of mountains. The outline of the clouds from the sky on the ground slowly passing by was visible for him to see even from there. In the parts where there were no clouds were rays of powerful moonlight. As random rays of light sometimes shone down on some areas of the mountain, he was able to momentarily see what was up there. From boulders to shrubs, it was your typical mountain range. Yet, something seemed off. He couldn¡¯t place his finger on it but something told him that he absolutely had to avoid that place at all costs.


    ¡°Hey? This is Trail Glades, right?¡± He quietly addressed his sister not taking his eyes off the mountain..


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡± she confirmed not long after


    ¡°No¡­.reason..¡± He slowly uttered.


    Again and again the light of the moon lit up different places but he hadn¡¯t spotted anything just yet. Then, like a thief in the night, it came without warning. A figure drenched in black stood all the way at the top of the mountain only visible for a split second while the light shone past him. It wasn¡¯t long, but in that split second Axel was able to see the figure release a wicked smile as it itself seemed to spot him. Axels innards somersaulted as the icy grip of fear tugged at his heart. Then, when the mountain was dark once more, he lost sight of it.


    As if given permission, Axel finally inhaled deeply and grabbed his chest. His heart was pounding against his ribcage practically begging to be released.


    {You saw that didn¡¯t you?} Sophia anxiously told him.


    (Who could miss it?!) Axel replied.


    ¡°Axel? Are you okay? Why are you sweating like that?¡± Stacey ran up to him sounding worried. She patted his back and tried to soothe him, which worked for the most part.


    ¡°We- we gotta leave now¡± He said through rapid breaths. It wasn¡¯t like danger was imminent but he felt like he was near the jaws of death standing there.


    ¡°Yo! I got the keys. Everything alright?¡± The man said returning from the store. Axel hadn¡¯t even heard him coming.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, this place just gives me the heebie jeebies is all. Let¡¯s go now¡± Axel said catching his breath.


    ¡°Right, well, you drive that one then¡± He said tossing him a pair of keys. Well, it was actually a strange looking miniature version of the model X car.


    ¡°Okay but, how do I turn it on or open it?¡± He asked confused.


    ¡°Just walk up to it. It¡¯ll open right up. Then just sit in the driver side and press the brake, it¡¯ll be good to go.¡± The man confidently said walking up to his own. Axel watched him do it and followed his movements. It took awhile but he managed to do it. Stacey rode with him and guided him as well. Driving wasn¡¯t a problem as his mother had taught him how to before she left for san diego. Before leaving he made sure to tell the man to drive slow and be cautious of their surroundings, if anything happened Stacey and Axel would take care of it. Though, he was fairly certain nothing would go wrong if they took the same path they took to come here. Confirming with him once more, he let him go first. He watched him make a turn out of the lot and slowly drive off. The lights were rather bright but the street lights would give them some cover. As for the burning snow, it seemed to not react to the wheels and material of the car strangely enough.


    ¡°This car really makes no noise! It¡¯s so high tech!¡± Stacey cheerfully exclaimed looking around the vehicle. Though she was right, Axel just couldn¡¯t concentrate on that right now. The bad feeling just wasn¡¯t leaving his stomach. For right now, he just wanted to get out of there.


    ¡°Axel! Look! There¡¯s people walking there!¡± Stacey informed him. Axel quickly reacted and looked outside her window. Sure enough, two girls could be seen walking away from them some ways away. Unfortunately, they were on the other side of a very large building. They seemed normal but in a hurry.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we call them back?¡± Stacey asked as Axel drove on.


    ¡°Mmmmm, yeah let¡¯s ask if they wanna come with us¡± He said slowing down to a stop. ¡°Okay so, go see if you can catch up to them and ask. If anything happens fire off a shot and I¡¯ll come running. Got it?¡± He instructed Stacey to do who nodded and hopped out of the car. He watched as she ran in the direction of the women. She turned a corner and suddenly he was unable to see her. Axel anxiously waited for her and grew impatient every second that passed by. He would¡¯ve gone himself but the way things were it wouldn¡¯t surprise him if somebody tried to steal the car while he was out. Stacey was strong though, so there wasn''t much to worry about. Back when one of the shadow hunters came for him, she blasted him away from Axel with a pretty strong attack. It was pretty amazing.


    After a couple moments of being lost in thought, he spotted Stacey running back to him singlehanded.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He asked as she got back in the car.


    ¡°They said they were heading to a cabin of theirs in the woods. From there help would come for them. So I just wished them luck and came back¡±


    ¡°The woods? Going through the mountains?.... Well, I guess there¡¯s nothing we can do then.¡± Axel figured. But, he just couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of dread he had. The image of the figure on the mountain flashed in his mind once more and caused him to sweat uncomfortably.


    ¡°Axel? Are you okay?¡± Stacey asked again.


    ¡°You feel like turning back, don¡¯t ya kid? That¡¯s what the look on your face is saying.¡± Ricardo suddenly said from the inside of his sweater. Axel bit his lip and gripped the steering wheel tighter.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore the fact that a gerbil just talked and speak to you directly. Do you want to go back for those women?¡± Stacey firmly asked Axel. Axel furrowed his brow nervously as he struggled to keep his shaking feet at bay. Something... something was definitely drawing him back the more he got away. Yet at the same time, he wanted to run...What was right? Were those women really okay?He took a look at Stacey and tried to search for an answer. Then, closing his eyes and breathing calmly, he shook his head.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s keep going.¡± He said beginning to drive once more. Stacey and Ricardo didn¡¯t say a word and let him do his thing.


    Meanwhile, Axel fought back the feeling of fear mixed with regret he was having. All the while the being inside him watched on without a word. This had to be the right thing, Axel was sure of it. No matter what happened, everything would turn out alright eventually..


    Taking one last look back, Axel made amends with his feelings and pressed onward. The goal now was the journey to Delray beach..


    Part 6


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot farther than I thought..¡± Melina said gloomly.


    ¡°Just hang in there, okay? We¡¯re gonna have to walk for a while but it¡¯ll all be worth it once we get there¡± Jasmine assured her little sister who was walking close behind her. After the sun had gone down, Jasmine and Melina began their journey to their vacation home located outside of Miami in a very thick set of woods. It took most of the evening but eventually they made it to the edge of the mountain range they had to cross. Trail Glades the place was called. For the most part, everything was going pretty smoothly. They had encountered next to no one on their way there so that was good. However, they had been approached by a small young girl who wanted to know if they wished to go with them toward Delray beach. Apparently help would be there. To Melina, the choice seemed safe and obvious especially since they were going by car rather than feet. Unfortunately, Jasmine didn¡¯t really trust strangers all that much and thanked her for the offer anyway.


    On a side note, the girl happened to have rather beautiful hair. It was a strange shade which lit up in the night. A dark purplish color which almost appeared to be black. She was rather envious, her own brown hair was simply too common.


    Nonetheless, now was no time to be jealous. The mountain towered high above them from up close. Jasmine sighed as she grumpily began her hike up.


    ¡°Jasmine, do you know where we¡¯re going?¡± Melina skeptically asked.


    ¡°I sure do. From this shooting range here it¡¯s exactly straight ahead. I made sure to double and even triple check. We just have a lot of climbing and walking to do¡± Jasmine confidently replied.


    ¡°Okay¡­.¡± Melina said as she watched her steps climbing up. Jasmine could tell that her sister was exhausted both physically and emotionally and began to feel bad. So, she attempted to lighten up her mood.


    ¡°Hey? Do you remember when Ken accidentally lit his hair on fire?¡± She asked Melina chuckling. Melina immediately lit up and widened her eyes.


    ¡°Oh my gosh yeah! It was so funny how he ran around the house begging for help!haha¡± Melina laughed.


    (That¡¯s right kiddo, Laugh it off and relax) Jasmine thought.


    Melina and Jasmine were very close. No matter what went wrong or what went right, they were together for it. They weren¡¯t entirely normal, they were always surrounded by very important people doing very important things. The anti-superhuman movement, also code named PhanT.A.S.M. (phantasm). A society that help turned the world against the peacekeepers and favored for their eradication. It didn¡¯t happen immediately but after a lot of hard work, phantasm succeeded and their plans were set in motion. Soon, most peacekeepers were laid to rest. All thanks to the Phan family. Her family to be more specific. Hence the name ¡°phan¡±tasm.


    The business was passed down from family to family all finally leading up to her¡¯s. Her parents were great people, they envisioned a world with peace without any superhumans ruining it. Naturally, their ideals passed down onto her and she grew up with that drilled into her skull. The same went for her younger brother. Unfortunately, her parents were killed by some maniac with superhuman abilities. A ¡°peacekeeper¡±.


    The details were given to her siblings in near gruesome details. Despite them being so young, it was to fuel their hatred for superhumans, and it succeeded. From what they were told, her parents were captured by a superhuman while they walked to their car from the grocery store. They were then taken to an abandoned hut in an unmarked location where they were brutally tortured. Their limbs were ripped off one by one and bandaged to prevent bleeding. Their fingers were torn apart and their corpses seemed to have been treated like ragdolls. What came first wasn¡¯t clear, and the perpetrators were never found.


    It wasn¡¯t like it had mattered at the time, she was just filled with grief beyond compare. She sobbed for days on end not knowing what to do. Naturally, she recovered one day but she never forgot her hatred and anger. She worked hard and eventually took over for Phantasm as its leader. All the while taking responsibility for her siblings. It was a tough journey, but the trip had to be made.


    Superhumans are like cancer, they are unwanted. That is certain. This problem going on now was a testament to that. If superhumans didn¡¯t exist, this never would¡¯ve happened, it was as simple as that. It didn¡¯t matter what anyone had to say, her stand on this was firm. As long as her sister and brother were okay, all was good.


    As she kept walking and talking with Melina, Jasmine noticed that they had made it pretty far out. They were now on the other side of the mountain getting ready to hike down.


    ¡°Phew, we¡¯ve come a long way, right? But at least after this the walk is straightforward! Not much ups and downs!¡± She said to Melina not turning around. However, she didn¡¯t hear her respond. She thought she was admiring the view but something about the sudden silence threw her off. She quickly turned around to see what was wrong and found Melina frozen in her tracks.


    ¡°Melina?¡± Jasmine called out to her confused. Melina appeared not able to respond. Her eyes were wide and her pupils dilated. Her skin went white with fear and her lips trembled as she slowly raised her hand to point in the direction of a thick set of trees. It was dark, extremely dark and she could not make anything out. It wasn¡¯t until she focused closely that she saw it, and when she did she completely froze.


    ¡°Well Well Well¡± It said.


    A very large shadow in the darkness suddenly took a step forward into the light. The clouds parted in the sky and allowed the moon to shine brightly. The man who was wearing a black robe over his entire body smiled as he walked ever so slowly toward them. Raising his arms on either side of him and pulling down his hood to reveal his black hair, he suddenly stopped to bow.


    ¡°Oh, how rude of me. Please, allow me to introduce myself. I¡¯m..¡± The air thickened and suddenly filled her lungs to the point where she felt like she was drowning. A sense of fear the likes of which she had never felt before swallowed her whole and left her completely immobile. Was this¡­..bloodthirst?


    ¡°Your ticket off this world¡±


    The moment she heard those words, her legs suddenly pounced onto Melina and threw her out of the way. A moment later, the earth beneath her erupted. Smoke and dirt flew up and caused them to cough. She wasn¡¯t sure what had happened, but she knew that she narrowly avoided something deadly.


    ¡°W-w-w-what¡¯s a superhuman doing here??!!¡± Melina cried out from under her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but we have to run right now!!¡± Jasmine said pulling her up. She immediately took off in a sprint pulling her sister behind her and did not look back.


    It was funny, in those moments all she could think about was how she should¡¯ve said yes to the girl that had offered her a ride.


    ¡°Damn, didn¡¯t think I¡¯d miss. Oh well, wouldn¡¯t be fun if you died so easily.¡± The man said as he cracked his knuckles.


    Jasmine continued running down the hill as fast as she could but ended up tripping and brought down Melina as well as a result. They painfully tumbled down the hill at an alarming rate. Jasmine tried to flip up but ended up foolishly rolling her ankle. A sharp pain jolted up her leg and she just knew that it was goner. Thankfully though, she came to a stop not long after. Melina also came to a stop by colliding with her. She caught her in her arms and held her tight. She was torn up and bleeding in some parts but otherwise okay.


    ¡°Melina? Are you okay? Can you stand?¡± She asked her. Melina slowly opened her eyes and nodded. Jasmine smiled and sighed in relief.


    ¡°Good, I need you to get up and run as fast as you can back to where that girl from earlier was, can you do that?¡± Jasmine asked her softly.


    ¡°What? What about you? Let¡¯s both run!!¡± She began to argue.


    ¡°No can do. I busted up my ankle and I can¡¯t move it. I¡¯d only hold you back. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be okay and I¡¯ll hold him back.¡± She said lying on the last part. She knew full well if she stayed she¡¯d die but there was no way she could tell her that.


    ¡°No! No! I won¡¯t leave you!¡± Melina said to Jasmine holding her tighter. Jasmine felt bad, but she knew this wasn''t going to be easy.


    ¡°Aww, how chivalrous of you¡± The man said appearing from the shrubs. He was getting closer to them with every step. Jasmine gave Melina one last kiss on the head and hugged her before throwing her way from herself. Melina got up on her legs and stopped herself from falling. With tears in her eyes, she gawked at Jasmine with horror.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay! Just run!!¡± Jasmine ordered as she suddenly began to feel the helplessness fill her. Melina nearly broke down crying but mustered the courage to turn heel and run. Seeing her do so at last put Jasmine at ease. She sighed and closed her tearfilled eyes. It was odd, despite knowing she was going to die, she felt glad that maybe Melina would get to live.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let that runt run for now as a show of respect, but only think of it as a head start. I¡¯ll catch up to her later.¡± The man grunted sounding bored watching the girl run past him.


    As the man neared her, Jasmine thought of her brother and how lucky he had been not to be there.


    (Ken, you¡¯re a massive idiot, but I hope you know I love you. Please take care of Melina while I¡¯m gone. Please, do what I failed to do and rid this world of its cancer. Please, live on and take care of yourselves..) She silently thought as she looked up at the glistening stars. How odd, the clouds had parted after a full day of no clear skies just in time so she could see the milky way one last time. She was envious of the stars, they could look down on them all they wanted and never be involved with their affairs¡­. They would continue existing while she would cease to¡­


    How¡­


    Unfair¡­


    Closing her eyes one last time, she said her prayers and called out for her parents. Oh how she missed them, and soon she would see them¡­.


    ¡°Get down!!!!¡± A voice suddenly yelled. Jasmine asnapped her eyes open and watched as a boy jumped out from the trees and got in between her and the man. Spinning once in the air, he extended his arm and slapped the space in front of the man.


    SWISH


    The air all focused into one spot and completely blew the man away. Or so it seemed as the dirt covered most of their view. Regardless, the blast was powerful. It was like an air cannon had shot directly at him.


    The boy landed on the ground and quickly spun on the spot. He ran over to her and picked her up by her waist.


    ¡°We gotta go!¡± He said as he began lifting off from the ground. Somehow, he was able to carry her high up into the air and away from the man. No regular human could do that. That meant¡­


    (A superhuman??!) she thought,


    ¡°So you finally came¡± the man said.


    The wind which was once holding the man back was shot back toward the boy and Jasmine causing them to tumble in the air.


    ¡°He blew that blast back?!¡± The boy yelled as he started to fall. Jasmine watched the ground get nearer and nearer and braced for the pain of the fall but instead was met with a slide made of ice that broke her fall. She peacefully slid down to a stop on the ground and looked around. She saw the boy splash directly into a river below and gasped.


    Axel struggled to keep his thoughts at bay as he got on his knees and surfaced from the water. His clothes were now drenched and his hair hung heavily on his head.


    (Damn it, this guy¡¯s tough. He blew back my wind attack with a simple swipe of his hand. That was basically Ella¡¯s attack at full power..Regular attacks clearly aren¡¯t going to work, I¡¯ve got to use it!!) He said clenching his fist.


    ¡°Now we¡¯ve got a real challenger!¡± He heard the shadow hunter cry out from above. Just as he thought, he was quickly coming to attack, but Axel was ready for that. He watched as the shadow hunter brought down his fist and dove at him. Axel backflipped at the last second and felt the fist fly past him and right into the ground.


    (Bingo!) He thought as he saw the man stuck there. He landed on his left leg and bent low.


    (That took a lot of strength and resistance! He clearly has a power up type skill like mine, which means I gotta fight fire with fire!) He thought as he felt his right leg heat up with power. It began to spark and glow as he desperately concentrated to control it. He kicked the man directly in the face with his powered up leg and felt the right amount of power connect. He had done it but the man didn¡¯t even flinch!


    ¡°That all you got? Come on! That can¡¯t be it!!¡± He said freeing his arm from the ground. He swiped at Axel but Axel jumped back toward the woman he had saved earlier.


    ¡°Wow you¡¯re pretty light on your feet kid¡± The man laughed.


    (If full power is 100 then that was at least 10 percent...that should¡¯ve been strong enough to knock out even the toughest of opponents. Yet this guy didn¡¯t even budge¡­) Axel thought as he wiped the water away from his face. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t go all out. If he did he¡¯d permanently damage his arms. But that wasn¡¯t the only thing, he was afraid this guy would be able to tank or dodge even his most powerful attack¡­ What if he shot and failed? No, the risk was too high..


    He was definitely scared, there was no doubt about that, but he wasn¡¯t shaking like usual. What was different this time around? Was it because of Sophia at his side? Or because he had successfully held back this shadow hunter on his own?


    No, it had to be something more than that,. Perhaps it was because he couldn¡¯t afford to be scared. If he were, how would the people he was protecting feel? This was his first real fight. It was time to get serious. Feeling seriously tired, he began to speak without taking his eyes off the threat.


    ¡°Are you okay? Can you move?¡± He asked the woman behind him. She gawked at him extremely confused and didn¡¯t utter a word. Understandable given the situation.


    ¡°Jasmine!¡± She heard someone yell to her. It was Melina who slid down a part of the mountain to get to her.


    ¡°Melina?? I thought I told you to run?!¡± She yelled at her.


    ¡°I did! But I found this man who helped me! He¡¯s going to stop that bad guy!¡± Melina declared running to her side while holding a gerbil who punched out its tiny paws.


    ¡°He sure is! Teach him a lesson kid!¡± It yelled.


    ¡°Stop him?¡± Jasmine softly uttered completely taken back. As Melina reunited with Jasmine and helped her on her feet, she saw the boy look back at them and smile a reassuring smile. He then turned back to the man and clenched both his fists. Getting into a fighting position, his body began to glow and emit sparks of lightning. Then, he confidently declared,


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m going to save you!¡±