Chapter 1: A Place I Can Call Home

Cysti. It was Vaardenvalian for "Home". A small, simple word in comparison to other Elven ones. It was formed during the early years of the formation of the Vaardenvalian Kingdom, during the early wars with the underground Drow, or "Dark Elves". It was something the Vaardenvalian troops would say to remember what they were fighting for in the cruel, dark, cold tunnels. It was formed by the Elven word Cys meaning "Familiar" and Ti meaning "Place". Right now, for Earendur Surion, it was... a painful word.

Memories flooded the young half-Elven Prince's mind as he wept in his small pod. Memories of fire, a sea of darkness, of screaming, of metal clashing, of dark, sadistic laughter... of pain. His home... the home he's known for so long... was gone. Vaardenvale was gone. The pod hurdled through space, containing the loud wails of the brown-haired young man inside.

Then Surion heard it. The mechanized, female voice inside the pod announcing in that motherly tone that barely managed to console him "Approaching Forfanx Galaxy. Do you have a specific course you'd like to take?" Surion remembered hearing about this galaxy in class... it was home to the Humans. They called their planet... Earth. Humans... He was Half-Human. Maybe they'd be kind to him... Maybe they could be his home... He couldn't go back, couldn't face his brethren now. They never liked him to begin with, calling him a "Half-Breed Bastard" because of his father, the King, sleeping with a Human to form him. But perhaps these Humans weren't all that bad...

"E-Earth... Go to Earth..." Surion spoke, wiping tears away. His soft blanket beneath him felt warm and wet from his crying. The computer spoke once more "Very well." At this, the thrusters in the rear of the pod jetted forth and sent them on a course for the planet. He had a home still... A place he could call... Cysti.

Being Human
Earendur found himself under a new name, a new identity. He was now Aubren, a strange, old English name. Thanks to Illusionary Magic, he is able to assume the appearance of an ordery, mousey Human. No pointed ears, no sharp, piercing gaze, no air of elegance and importance, no heightened stature. Just... Aubren.

Arra

The glare of the mid-day sun had managed to snake it's way through the the half closed blinds, and right into Arra's blue eyes. She squinted awkwardly, doing the best she can to block of the blinding glare. She even turned her head a bit to the side, and eventually, she titled her head. It looks awkward, but it worked. She was free of the glare.

"Ms. Sans. What are you doing?" Mrs. Embry, the Biology 2 teacher asked loudly. Mrs. Embry was old, her grey hair tied up in a bun, and her face covered with wrinkles. She glared angrily at Arra.

"Sorry, there's just this huge glare, and it's right in my eyes." Arra replied harshly. Mrs. Embry sighed, used to Arra's disrespect, and faced the chalkboard again. The old teacher wrote down several more notes on the board, mostly about next week's test, but Arra didn't bother even reading it over. But it didn't matter, because after a few seconds of the chalk scrapping against the board, a loud shrill sound filled the air.

"Alright students, that's the bell, so I'll see you all tomorrow. Remember next Tuesday is your test, and please please please remember your projects!" Mrs. Embry yelled to the exiting class. Arra picked up her books, hurriedly stuffed the, in her big black backpack, and then was on her merry way. She left the awkward smelling biology room and entered the crowded halls, swarming with people. She sighed in anger. She hated people.

Matt

God...damn...it...

Matt Woods rested his head on the desk, trying to drown out the sounds of the teacher, the chalk, and, more annoyingly, the constant bickering of Uriel and Nyx, the angel and demon in his head. To any other person, they would think that he was crazy. Hell, he had even thought it for a time. However, when they actually materialized in front of him and interacted with the environment, he figured that he wasn't crazy. He actually had an angel and a demon alongside him. However, at the current moment, Matt had a horrendous headache, and the noise of them in his head just made it all the worse. He told them both to just shut up, but the lot of good that did. If anything, it just made them argue more, blaming the other for Matt's headache.

Eyes fluttering and brain threatening to doze off, Matt readjusted his head on the desk. That was, until the teacher called out Arra. He opened one of his eyes to see what had happened, but quickly closed it again. Mrs. Embry had gotten used to Matt and his antics, to the point of she not even bothering with him before. He skimmed through the class, never doing any homework but somehow managing to pass all of the tests with flying colors, even scoring higher than 100% with the bonus points.

Just as Matt fell into a sleep, he was jolted awake by the bell. It was a horrible, yet redeeming noise. A noise that screamed "Hey! Wake up! It's time to leave!". So, Matt yawned widely, gathered his book and his backpack, and followed Arra out of the classroom and into the crowded hallway. He saw the annoyed look on her face and grew one of his own. As much as he adored his friends, he hated the random people in the narrow halls. Matt intentionally bumped into Arra and gave her a slight grin.

"Hey kid, watch it!", Matt said in a playful tone.

Surion

Uriel spoke in her usual squeak of a voice "No! There's no logic to it! Matt has to study!" Her Demonic counterpart, Nyx, retorted "Says who? Society?" Before Uriel could lash back, she noticed Arra and waved "Hey, look! It's-" Nyx pushed her out of the way as they materialized on Matt's shoulder "Hey Arra!" Uriel clenched her teeth and huffed at Nyx childishly "You did that on purpose!" Nyx gave her a questioning look "Did what? Say hello to Arra?"

Surion kept to himself, keeping his gaze to the ground as he walked through the cold hallways. He felt like he was back at the Elven Magic Academy, surrounded by strangers. But these people didn't know him at all. They knew not of his heritage or his race. It was better that way.

In his careless walking, he accidentally bumped into a rather large student. Tall and muscular, he gave Earendur a hard glare and demanded offendedly "The hell was that for, punk?" Earendur stopped in his place, frozen while gripping the straps of his backpack that was slung over his shoulder heavily. His stare fell to the floor and he found he couldn't move, speak... even breath.

"I asked you a fucking question!" he demanded again, more loudly. By this time, every eye was on them. Some murmurs were hear in the crowd that was forming, a ring in this hallway. A fight was about to start and every soul in this section of the school was in hot anticipation for it. Humans were so thirsty for blood, whether it be by their own hands or for their eyes.

One of the kids in the crowd, wearing a green shirt with some punk rock band's name on it grabbed the larger boy's arm "Hey, Mark, chill man. He's-" This "Mark" fellow jerked his arm out of the boy's grip and followed up "I know what he is! He's a fucking retard who needs to watch where he's going!" Before Surion knew it, "Fight!" began being chanted by all the students. And when he turned around, Mark already had his fists up to send the Half-Elf into next week.

Timidly, Surion dropped his bookbag and took a stance with his arms at his sides. He was going to dodge, but not fight. He couldn't draw attention to himself. Upon taking his stance, Mark began a flurry of hard brawler punches. Each connected... with air. The crowd gasped at each swing but were even more impressed by how the young lad dodged each blow. He turned his head fast in time for Mark's arm to reach past him. When the taller kid tried a backhand swing, Surion ducked and it slammed against a kid's head, knocking him back and out cold.

Whereas the others rushed to the kid's side, Mark kept swinging. He smashed a water fountain with his wrist and only clenched his teeth, ready to smash Surion's skull. Surion, in the mean time, didn't understand what was going on. He disrespected this man in some way, but... why all this effort? Mark bellowed "Stand still and let me hit you, you little-"

Arra

{C}Arra looked back at Matt and his two little "problems" with a roll of her eyes. "'Ey bitch, watch where you're walkin'!" She playfully cursed at Matt with a smile. She didn't really mean the insult, she wouldn't do that to Matt. He was her best friend after all. But hey, what are best friends for besides cursing at? She looked up at Uriel and Nyx with a roll of her eyes. "And how are my two fave little 'problems' doing today~?" She asked teasingly as she walked beside Matt into the crowded hall full of people. Matt shared Arra's annoyence with the random people amassing in the hallway, but he didn't quite hate them like she did. But there was something odd about the formation of all the moving bodies. They were in a tight circle and chanting the word "Fight" over and over again. Arra's eyes lit up.

"Ohmigosh Matt! It's a fucking fight!" She exclaimed happily. If there was one thing Arra loved more than the word "fuck", it was fights. All kinds of fights, boxing matches, WWE wrestling matches, MMA fights... She craved the blood, the action, the adrenaline that was shared at the fight. It was a glorious feeling, watching two great fighters duke it out in a test of skills and strengths... She ran over to the group of people, totally forgetting about Matt. She shoved the people in front of her out of the way rudely, ignoring all the shouts of "Hey, watch it!" and of the like. She wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Once she was on the edge of the ring, able to see the fight in full glory, she understood who it was. It was Mark, the most hot-headed asshole in all of school. Arra found him amusing because he fit the "Jock School Bully" stereo-type perfectly. It was almost enough to make Arra crack a smirk whenever Mark was brought up. But the other guy... Who was he, exactly? Tall-ish(when compared to Arra), brown curly hair... He didn't look familiar. She leaned over to the stranger next to her. "Ey, who's the Shrimp?" she asked him. He just shrugged, confirming that he didn't know either. She did with the strange woman on her right as well, but she didn't know who the strange was either. "Well," she thought, "for a scrawny twig, he sure can move fast. I bet the punk-ass bitch hasn't even take a hit!"

Matt

Matt simply rolled his eyes at Arra's teasing words. She was a minx, that was for sure. However, his eyes scanned the crowd as Arra spoke to Uriel and Nyx. Something wasn't right...They were all gathering together. Either someone brought some good pot to the school, or there was a fight. The latter was reassured when the crowd began chanting, and Arra's exclaim. He followed her to the crowd of people and saw Mark, the local school bully, swinging wildly at a kid he had never seen before.

The new kid, Matt saw, was dodging every one of Mark's swings. But there was something...Different about him that Matt couldn't quite put his finger on. He just had a different aura than everyone else. During his training and development of his powers, Matt realized that he could somewhat read emotions of people, see their auras, things like that. But this guy...His aura was erratic. Nothing like he had ever seen on a human.

Mark, by this time, was getting royally pissed. Matt would've continued watching without saying a word, however, he saw one of Mark's goonies sneaking up behind the new kid. That spelled trouble. So, without thought, Matt took off his backpack and dropped it at Arra's feet, almost on them. He muttered a "Here, watch my shit." as he weaved his way through the crowd of people.

First, Matt took gaze at the goonie. This was the part that Matt loved the best: the time right before the fight. The time when adrenaline, mixed with spiritual essence, began coursing through his veins. Time seemed to slow for him as he delivered a swift, yet powerful kick to the goonie's face. He crumbled, and before Mark had time to blink, his face was being smashed into the wall right next to him. Matt not only heard but felt the breaking of Mark's nose, which was a satisfying sound. Before Mark hit the ground, Matt already had his hand extended to the new kid. "Yo, my name's Matt Woods."

Surion

...Was this how all Humans introduced themselves?! What the hell was wrong with everyone on this planet?! "H-Hello... I'm... Auby..." he greeted shyly, extending a shakey hand to exchange with the Human. This felt so personal... touching another's hand with his own to meet... It felt like kissing on a first date.

Mark was helped to his feet by his friends, but he bitterly shoved them aside as he turned, one hand covering his bleeding face, the other arching back to blast the life out of Matt's arrogant eyes. Before his fist could connect, however, a quick principal managed to react by grabbing the muscular student's wrist tightly, bringing it up with a stern glare at the student "Rider, Woods... in my office, now! Everyone else, back to class!" All the other students groaned in dissapointment and trudged off to their assigned classes, the other beaten student being helped to the nurse's office. Before Surion could react, the principal glared at him as well "You too! In my office, now!" ...Bollocks.

Arra

Arra sighed and slunked off, leaving the scene of the fight. She was more upset than anything else, partly because she wanted some action too, and also because Matt was probably going to be in In-School Suspension all day as well. She rolled her eyes at the thought of her petty anger. 'Now don't be selfish.' She thought as she walked to Mr. Littlefeild's room. Normally she'd have Matt with her this period too, but she had to bare Study Hall all by herself. She mentally hung her head as she walked the walk of lonesome shame, having to sit by herself was going to be beyond gay.

The classroom smelt like a strange mix of old ham, cheese, and coffee, and it made Arra sick to her stomach. But it was bearable, she guessed. The tables in the white walled room were round and wood, and she took her seat in the back of the room, alone. Other students were piling in the room as well, and she mentally groaned before laying her head on the table with frustration. This was going to be a long day without Matt...

Matt

After Matt was pulled into the principal's office and bitched at for what seemed like forever, he was finally let go. Just a day of in-school suspension and nothing more was the penalty for him. Hey, he could live with that. The new kid, from what Matt heard, got off a bit easier since he was new. Mark, however, seemed to get the worst of it, being given a week of out-of-school suspension. Matt knew that that would piss him off and cause him to most likely seek Matt out and try to beat the shit out of him, but oh well.

The day seemed to drag on and on, the second hand on clock on the wall inching slowly around the face. However, the day went by due to entertainment from Uriel and Nyx. They did have their moments in which Matt found them comical, especially since he was bored. As the final bell rung, Matt gathered himself and walked out the door, looking for Arra mainly. It took him no time to find her, since she was at their normal meeting place after school. He gave her a small grin as he took his backpack back from her. "Miss me?" He asked as he headed towards the doors of the school. There, he was greeted by the sight of the new kid, Auby. Matt thought about that for a second. Auby...What kind of name was that?

Without any hesitation, Matt walked up to Auby and patted him on the shoulder. "Huh. First day, and you manage to piss off the biggest asshole in this school. Nice going. But hey, wanna come with Arra and I? We usually chill at her house." Matt said in length. It was true, since Matt didn't have a home, he spent the majority of his time at Arra's house. He gave Arra a glance to make sure what he said was all right, and even if it wasn't okay, Matt would still invite him for the walk there. This guy seemed cool, and the fact that he had a different aura made Matt want to get to know him all the better.

Surion

Earendur jolted when he'd heard Matt's voice. Earlier today his heart sank when being given that long speech about equal treatment and how our actions will reflect upon others. He still felt a bit guilty about it. He turned to his saviour and the girl beside him and looked innocently bewildered. When Matt had finished talking, Earendur didn't know what to say. He stood there for a moment, eyes fumbling around for the right words. It took him months to learn the English language and after a year here on Earth, he still had a little bit of trouble now and then but was able to communicate with other Humans, for the most part.

"I, uhh... that... sounds... good." Pastarol! How could he be so awkward?! He held his books close to his chest in timid fright of these people. "Matt" appeared staunch and tall, with broad shoulders that looked invoking on the otherwise meek frame of the "Human", Auby. His friend, however... she was... invoking in a different way. Dark, tan skin that reminded him of the pots in the Merchant Squares of his world... Hair as black as a Raven... Blue eyes that held an icey yet alluring stare. A stare that striked just as much fear into Earendur as the one Matt gave. Caelaes, he needed to get a grip...

Arra

Arra scoffed loudly when Matt asked her if he missed her. With a laugh, she punched his shoulder lightly. “You stupid bitch! I was all alone, all day! Do you know how fucking awful lunch was without you to talk too?!” She yelled in what sounded like anger, but the smile on her face proved otherwise. She then turned to face the new kid…. What was his name, um, Alex, or something like that? He looked kind of scared of her and Matt, but other than that, he seemed…. Okay, she guessed. “Yeah, he can chill with us. He seems cool, but just because of those sweet-ass dodges you pulled earlier! But hey, just a word of advice. If you’re gonna hang with us….” She took a step towards him, and poked him in the chest to emphasize her words. “You need to grow some balls, bro. You look fucking terrified!” She said with a laugh. she stepped back, and looked at the two of them before starting the walk back to her home.

The streets around her apartment were crude, covered with graffiti, and shady people were crowded around in tight groups. Most of these strange people were Arra’s familiars, seeing as she lived in this area. They gave her and Matt curt nods, but they just stared at the new kid. (Arra had eventually remembered his name was “Auby”.) It was still a few more blocks until they reached her run-down place, so they had a few more minutes of walking.

“Hey! You little shits! We have some unfinished business!” A voice called out the trio. It was the unmistakable voice of Mark Rider.

Well, balls.



Matt



The walk to Arra's house was a long one, but Matt didn't mind. Just the more time to get to know Auby better, yet he didn't seem to talk much. This guy was intriguing, to say the least. Matt had a feeling that this guy would eventually open up, but it would probably take time. Staying silent the majority of the walk, Matt seemed to be lost in thought. In reality, Uriel and Nyx were both talking in his mind, mostly about Auby and how odd the guy was. All of that came to an abrupt stop when he heard a familiar voice.

Matt turned on his heel to meet Mark, but instead, was greeted by the sight of not only he, but a group of about a dozen of his buddies. Blinking a few times, Matt quickly thought of a strategy, then turned to Arra and Auby. Auby, he had a feeling, could probably hold his own in a fight, but Arra, as cocky as she was, would most likely get the shit beaten out of her. She may be able to take out a couple of guys, but a group of a dozen...That was gonna be tough. Matt knew that he could beat them all, so he decided to send Arra and Auby on their way. "Arra, take Auby home. I'll handle these cock suckers." Matt said as he walked towards the group, his blood beginning to flow more quickly.

Passing a trash can, Matt picked up the lid to it and flung it at the group. It hit one of the people in the head, easily knocking him out. They all rushed at him at once, so Matt took a defensive stance. As the first guy neared him, Matt delivered a strong roundhouse kick to his jaw. As his foot hit the ground, he ducked a punch from another of the assholes, and followed up with a powerful uppercut, which gave him enough momentum for a powerful kick to another's stomach. Matt knew he could keep this up, but if any of them pulled a knife or anything... He was probably fucked.

Surion

Mark clenched his teeth in rage, contorting his face. This only made the tape-like bandage he now had to wear on his nose hurt more. Quarterback of the Football team, whose face that would be representing their school for the next few games tarnished thanks to these fuckers! "I hope you're ready to die you motherfucker!" At this, he charged toward the center of the fray. Three of his boys were now on Matt, and with Mark's own strength, the bastard was going down-

Wham! One of Mark's buddies flew into him, knocking the wind out of him. The friend in question was coughing hard and grasping his chest for air. All heads turned to see Auby with his leg raised in a charging-kick motion, his stare fierce and intent. "Go away." he commanded sternly, his voice young but serious. Mark, however, wasn't convinced. He threw his friend off of him and got up, pulling his sleeves up to reveal his massive muscles in comparison to the scrawny kid "Come on, let's see what ya' got!" Earendur lowered his leg but kept his glare on Mark "I don't want to fight you." Mark gave a shakey shrug, shaking out of anger and hot anticipation for battle "Funny, because I want to fight you."

Charging once again, Mark soon found himself punching air. He could see out of the corner of his right eye Earendur had dodged via a simple sidestep. Before he could even plant his feet to the ground, Mark felt Earendur's knee slam into his stomach, close to his groin. He coughed up oxygen and crumpled to the ground, clutching his pained stomach in agony. Earendur simply stared down at him sternly, hoping he'd give up.

Arra

The rush of blood and adrenaline through Arra's veins immediately began to speed up her minds functions. It was almost strange, how fast and strong the rush had come on. She hadn't even begun to fight yet, but she felt like she'd just came out of the most epic fight ever. Not one to waste life's gifts, Arra steadied herself, taking a fighting stance, ready to defy Matt's orders. But she didn't disobey him because she wanted to be rebellious, she revolted him because she wanted to prove herself. Matt was always like her big brother, guiding her... looking down on her...

She didn't want to waste the gifts of this strong and sudden rush, but she almost had too. Matt had cleaned up Mark's 'pets', and Auby had taken care of Mark himself. She had to admit, for a scrawny little bitch, he could fight like no one she'd ever seen. It was amazing. He moved with such precision and grace... She shook her head to clear the thoughts clouding her mind. Stay focused! she reminded herself. She didn't need to digress anymore than she already had. But it was safe to say the fight was over. The rest of Mark's band began to flee hastily, leaving behind their leader and a few of their members. Mark groaned in pain, but he seemed like he would be okay. He coughed once, a small trickle of blood came from his mouth. Despite all odds, he had somehow managed to slowly stand up. he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, and he glared at the trio.

"This... isn't over." He said between labored breaths, before turning around and walking slowly in the direction his crew had fled. His 3 goonies slowly helped themselves up, and did the same.

Arra mentally cursed at herself, multiple times. How could she be so... useless? So unworthy to be called a human? She hadn't fought alongside her friends, as she should have. She was so.... weak. She was Matt's dependant, and now she also had a debt to Auby as well? '''God fucking damnit, Arra! Pull your shit together! Don't be such a weak little bitch! You carpet-munching skank, how can you just sit there and watch?!''' She intellectually cursed and kicked herself over and over again, not tolerating her own failure. But this was all unknown to her familiars, as her strong emotional mask just displayed a slightly smug look.

"Fuck yeah. You guys certainly taught those bitches a lesson... as much as I hate to admit that! But c'mon, leave me somethin' next time, will ya? I've missed out on action twice today!" She grumbled, slightly unhappy. Matt hasn't really given her the chance to prove herself as someone useful, and at the rate things were going, it looked like she never would get that chance. "So, you guys want some soda when we get back to my place?" She asked casually to the boys with a slight shrug. She looked at Auby. "Dude, you have got to teach me those sick moves of yours! Where does a bitch like you learn to fight like that? My god, you're like a fucking ninja, bro!" she laughed.

Matt

Auby had impressed Matt, that was for sure. Arra even tried to jump into the fray, however she was a bit late. Matt never thought that she was worthless, but he just wanted to keep her safe. Matt sensed power pouring off of her, as if she had unlocked something inside of her. She had a different aura about her, something powerful. He beemed with pride at her, and even gave Auby a smile of approval. Matt put his hands on Auby and Arra's shoulders and smiled. "Kickass. Let's get out of-".

Matt was cut short by a burning pain in his shoulder. He felt the pain before he heard the loud blasting noise, which echoed throughout the alleyway. He saw blood spray out from his shoulder and, in an instant, knew what happened. He ignored the incredible burning pain and literally threw Auby and Arra behind a nearby dumpster. He dove to cover with them, just in enough time to hear another explosive gunshot and see the ground in front of where he was standing explode in a small plume of dust.

Once behind cover, Matt looked at Arra and Auby, then to his shoulder. What the fuck was going on? Who the fuck was shooting at them?! Probably one of Mark's buddies, one of the crazier ones. Matt closed his eyes for a moment, his right arm glowing slightly at the shoulder. He had two shots...Plenty. "You two, stay here. Be right back." Matt said as several more gunshots slammed into the dumpster. He heard a clicking sound, then a sliding sound. This was his chance!

Matt rolloed out of the cover, landing on his stomach. He then was able to see the assailant, which looked to be a high schooler. Matt didn't recognize him, but it didn't matter. He put his right arm forward, palm facing the person. The light at his shoulder grew brighter, and swirled down his arm, ending at his hand. Matt grinned, and breathed out a "Baddaboom!" as a ball of energy left his hand and flew at the guy. It was a flash, really, as fast as the energy ball, which Matt named Mana Cannon, hit the guy. It was a stun shot, not enough to kill him. He stood and looked at Arra and Auby. "We should go now..."

Surion

Mark's friend, Tod, was always a bit edgey... But he had brought a fucking gun?! They all had, by now, run as far away as possible. They didn't want to be around when shit hit the fan. Tod, in the meantime, had just been blasted by a blue and white ball of light that hit him with the force of a truck. It burned and sent a jolt through his bones, numbing him. His gun scattered across the ground along with his magazine of bullets.

Earendur could still hear ringing from the bullets hitting the metal of the dumpster. When all had ended, his eyes beamed wide at Matt. Not only because he had just displayed power over Magic, but because his shoulder was covered in red. "A-Are you alright?!" he asked loudly, this being the first assertive thing he's said to them thus far that he can remember. How did this Human know Magic?! He thought it was just downplayed in the public and displayed as theatrical and nothing more! He thought he sensed something... different... about these two. His mother was going to kill him.

Arra

That sound. That horrible sound. The sound of a gun firing.

All that power, all the unbound strength that Arra had unlocked in herself, was just gone. All swallowed up by the ravenous emotion known as fear. Her mind slowed, and for a brief moment, she wasn't exactly sure what was happening. Matt had picked her and Auby up, and he threw them into cover. And Matt was getting shot at. Other than that, she didn't know much else. Wait a second--

Matt was getting shot at!

Those words rang in her mind, and every muscle in her body tensed, ready to help. But she knew she had to stay behind cover, no matter how much she wanted to help. Matt could take care of himself, with his 'funky voodoo powers'. She knew what her job was, and it was to protect the new kid. And besides, she may have wanted to help, but she didn't have a death wish! There was no way she could defend herself or even strike back, if she was fired upon. All she had was her fists, and those were nothing in a gun-fight.

A flash of light shot from Matt's hand, and Arra knew that he had won the fight. No mere human could stand up to Matt's 'voodoo' powers. She hadn't felt them first hand, but she knew from watching him fight that those blasts of light hit you with about the same force as a charging buffalo. But what worried her was all the blood. And the fact that he still had the bullet inside of him. That could be problematic too. Arra stood up and walked over to him quickly, and looked at his bleeding shoulder.

"I have the medical kit at my place, bro. We need to patch you up." She said. Matt and Arra had gotten themselves pretty banged up quite a few times before, so a couple months ago, they put their money together to buy a first-aid kit. It was quite the useful purchase. "Think you can make the short walk?" She asked.

Matt

The pain was bearable, yet persistent. It was a burning, piercing pain that caused Matt to grit his teeth and break out into a sweat, but he hid it with a shaky smile. It was bleeding on both sides, so Matt hoped that meant that the bullet went straight through and didn't catch on a bone. Nothing felt broken, so he was good in that department. But it was such an odd feeling. There was a goddamn hole in his goddamn shoulder from a goddamn bullet shot by a goddamn lunatic. Goddamn!

Matt heard Arra's suggestion and nodded to it, starting to walk towards the direction of her house. He put the strap of his backpack over his injured shoulder to conceal the wound. He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention to himself. Last thing he needed was the cops on his case. Fuckers, all of them. They were all corrupt and paid off to just look the other way from the shit that needed attention, and focused on stupid shit.

As soon as he put the strap on his shoulder, pain shot all through his body, causing him to grunt in pain. "Mother...Fucking...GODDAMN SON OF A FUCKING WHORE-ASSED BITCH MONKEY!!!" Matt screamed involuntarily. He had a bit of a potty mouth, especially when he got hurt. He grit his teeth harder and took a few steps forward, looking over his shoulder at the duo. "Let's... Fucking... Go..."

Surion

Matt's sudden series of swearing scared the thaelaer out of him. When they reached it, Arra's house was... a little better than he expected, given the neighborhood they were in. Sitting in a chair in her living room, he waited whilst Arra tended to Matt's wounds. He pondered on where her parents were but didn't inquire anything of it. He merely kept to himself and examined his surroundings with natural Elven curiosity. He felt... sorrow... in this place. This only invigorated Earendur's curiosity.

Arra

Matt sat on Arra's toilet while she attended to his wounds. His bloody shirt was on the floor, and Arra was cleaning off the blood that caked the front of his shoulder with an alcoholic wipe, obtained for the Medical kit.

"You're a lucky bitch, Matt. The bullet went through clean, so you should be fine after we put some pressure bandages on you. I'm gad you don't have led in you- I'd hate to have to go into that gory mess with a pair of tweezers just to pull it out!" She laughed, trying to break the serious mood between them. Matt never did handle being hurt well. He winced as she ran over the bullet hole, cleaning the still oozing wound. The red trickle was think and heavy, and Arra was having trouble stopping the bleeding without the gauze. She took a white rag and handed it to Matt. "Here, hold his onto your wound bro." She instructed. As he did what she commanded, Arra opened up the box containing all the medicine and supplies. She pulled out a roll of blue spongy and coarse fabric. She unrolled a section of it, and began to wrap it around her patient's shoulder, making sure both wounds were covered by the bandage.

"Well, there you go." She said before getting up and walking back into her living room and flopping down on to her couch.

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Matt

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Wincing as Arra medicated and cleaned his shoulder, Matt sat on the porcelain god and tried to keep his composure. He knew that Arra knew that he hated pain, however, he didn't want to show it and appear weak. He was a P-I-M-P. He needed to act as such. As Arra said he was lucky, Matt only scoffed. "Pft, lucky? Yeah, right. Apparently, lucky is a fuckin' bullet in the fuckin' shoulder. Wanna be lucky, bitch?" Matt said playfully, lightly punching Arra in the shoulder. Matt knew that Uriel could probably finish healing up his shoulder later that night, but he let Arra fix him up anyway.

As Arra left, Matt put on his blood-stained shirt carefully and followed her out of the bathroom. He saw Auby sitting in the living room, alone and looking curious as ever. This motherfucker was weird, and Matt was about to get to the bottom of it. So, he pulled up a table and sat on it directly in front of Auby and leaned in close, mere inches from his face. His glare was a serious one, however, he was more curious than anything else. His normally dark brown eyes changed to a mint green color, which it normally did when he became overly curious. To anyone else, it would look menacing, like a hawk observing a small rodent before swooping down and devouring it.

"So, Auby, you know that I'm not normal. You saw me kick the shit out of all those guys and use my 'special' talent. I'm not normal. But neither are you, are you? No...You're different. So tell me...Who the fuck are you?" Matt asked. As he spoke, he caused a sphere of energy, roughly the size of a tennis ball, to form in his hand. It appeared to be like a light bulb in his hand, which he rolled between his hands playfully. However, all the while, he kept his piercing and terrifying gaze set on Auby, made even more menacing by the fact that he was on a couple of inches away from his face. As he asked the last question, he shattered the energy sphere in his hand. His gaze never left Auby's as he waited for an answer to his question.

Surion

Earendur's breathing became heavy as he tried to lean back in his chair, blushing heavily from the small distance between their faces. "I... uhh..." Did this Human really have so much Magical talent?! Moreso, he seemed to be able to sense people's auras, otherwise he wouldn't have known anything was out of the ordinary with Surion. He breathed a heavy sigh "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." That was probably a lie. Still, better not to take chances.

Trouble in Paradise
Tamuríl Telrúnya, a trained Drow assassin and leader of the Mysol Molaes Squad, as they called themselves, was staring out of the viewport of her ship while remembering the news of the supposed "King Earendur Surion" getting lost during the evacuation of Vaardenvale. Our only King is a half-bred bastard who isn't even responsible enough to make an effort to save his own people! Rumour had it that the coward had fled to the homeworld of the Humans... Earth. Unsurprising: When one race goes down, turn to the other for support. Well... the Mysol Molaes Squad were going to do a little investigating of their own to confirm their people's suspicions...

Staring out of the viewport, Tamuríl found Earth to look very similar to how Vaardenvale looked before it was destroyed... No wonder Earendur fled here... Turning to her subordinates, she gave the order to drop down to the surface of the planet to find their King and, if not, at least rustle some jimmies. At this, they entered the drop pods and were rocketed out of the main ship toward the planet. Pastarol only knew where they would land...

Arra

Arra sighed and sat up, and then walked behind the chair the Auby was sittting in. She listened to the conversation intently, before looking at Matt with a smirk. “Matt, you’re shitty at this. You need to make the bitches… Putty in your hands. Allow me to use my ‘dark powers’ for a second…” She said before reaching down and laying her hands and Auby’s shoulders tenderly. She was a horrible person for using her sensuality like this, especially because she didn’t really like this new kid too much. He was… very new and innocent. A total pussy pushover.

“Now tell me, Handsome, who are you?” She whispered sweetly in his ear. “If you’re gonna hang with us, we need to know about you~” she cooed as sweetly as she could, trying to break him. She was well practiced in this verse, seeing as she had used it on Matt plenty of times to get things that she needed. It was an awful dirty trick, but it’s not like there was a rulebook to play by. This is a world at constant war. Everything was like a game… So Arra played to win. If she needed information, she got it out of someone… Even if it took a few dirty tricks.

_____________________________

Matt

_____________________________

Watching Auby's reaction to what Matt did, he smiled wryly. Whatever worked, worked. He was juuuust about to crack when Arra stepped in and decided to go all whorish. Wench. He sat back on the table and rolled his eyes as she molested him, however, he was continuing to watch Auby with his hawk-like interest. Heartless thunder cunt, Matt thought to himself.

As she worked her witchy ways, Matt reached into a spare pocket in his camo pants and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He opened the pack up and pulled out one of the last cigarettes in it, lit it, and took a long drag. He rarely smoked, this pack having lasted him about a month and a half. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed an occasional cigarette. He blew the smoke upwards, through his nose, above Auby and Arra as he waited for Auby to spill his guts.

However, he was tired of waiting. It was pissing him off. He snapped his fingers, instantly making Uriel and Nyx appear on opposite sides of his shoulders. They seemed surprised to appear so suddenly, yet Matt kept his focus on Auby the entire time. If this guy had any special talents at all, he could see the duo whereas normal people could not. They allowed Arra to see them, but no one else. As soon as Auby noticed the duo, Matt leaned forward with a stern look, the cigarette perched between his fingers, small smoke trails rising. "Who the FUCK are you?" Matt demanded.

Surion

Surion looked back and forth between them, blushing heatedly from Arra's manipulations and equally nervous due to Matt's interrogation. Not to mention the fact that the Human had a pair of pixies resting on his shoulders. He was… unique. Gifted, compared to other Earthlings. When he finally found the courage to speak up, he looked up at Matt “I… am Human.” His breathing became heavy after saying this and he was sweating. What was going on? Why was he having so much trouble dealing with his identity, even now? Why couldn’t he just… move on?

Arra

Auby's nervousness wasn't hidden at all. This guys was a horrid lair, and Arra knew that he would break soon. But she did have to hand it to Matt though, his intimidation tactics were outstanding! Calling out his 'Insanity Buddies' was also a good call- she could almost feel the new kid's fear upon understanding that he was found out. Why else would Matt summon them, if he thought that Auby couldn't see them? '''My manipulation tactics.... Are they working? In the least? Compared to-''' Arra began the thought but she dare not finish it. Fear clawed at her insides for only a second, before she swallowed it back down.

Did I just doubt myself?

With a mental sigh, she regained herself quickly, too fast for anyone to notice her slight mental breakage. Her mind was back at the situation at hand, not her own ego.

"C'mon Handsome, we know there's more to your story than that. You're fucking horrible at keeping secrets, and your fear is written all over your face. Just spill the damned beans, and we won't have to do this the hard way." She said, cooing half-heartedly. Sure, using tactics like this were wrong, but Arra didn't care. There were no written rules to this game, no laws on what is right and wrong, so why bother with moral code? "So, I'm gonna ask you one last time, bitch. Who are you?" She asked him. Now all she had to do was wait on the pressure to finally make that little runt break.

_________________________

Matt

_________________________

''Fuck this fucking shit. ''Matt thought to himself. He had had enough of these goddamn games. He took one last drag of the cigarette before gripping Auby by the scruff of his shirt and lifting him high into the air, jerking him from his seat in a flash. Matt's muscles flexed, easily showing his biceps through his shirt. He grit his teeth and slammed Auby onto the floor. Matt put his knee on Auby's chest and shot his left arm outward, energy spiraling down from his shoulder to the palm of his hand. He pointed the hand at Auby's face.

"I'm about three seconds from sending you straight to Hell!" Matt screamed. "You WILL tell us who you are!!! ONE!" As Matt began counting, the energy at the palm of his hand grew brighter. It crackled with energy that arced between his fingers. Matt knew that he wouldn't kill Auby, but he HAD to get the information out of this motherfucker.

"TWO!!!" As the word left Matt's mouth, the energy materialized into a sphere in his palm, the crackling energy growing in power. Matt telepathically felt Nyx begin to be turned on by this display of power from the otherwise passive Matt, and he felt Uriel have a mix of shock, fright, and slight anger. Nyx would probably beg him to continue on, getting her thrills from this, but Matt simply waited for Auby to react.

Wind began shifting through the room from the growing sphere of energy, blowing back loose parts of Matt's clothing, and even knocking over a lamp. He had never felt such power before...Was this related to Auby's presence? Matt enjoyed the feeling of the raw spiritual power, yet he knew that he needed to keep himself in check, so he decided to remain focused on the task at hand. "THREE!!!" Matt screamed, yet waited a few extra seconds for Auby to react. By now, Matt was sure the guy was shitting himself.

Surion

No. As all this was happening, Earendur felt a great pain in his chest. Whether it was from this Human pinning him down or his power jumpstarting was not sure to him. He cried out, eyes glowing a bright blue “I… AM… HUMAN!” At this, a flash of light enveloped the room. Earendur himself didn’t know what was happening. He felt his spell slipping, though… and as the bright light died down, as did his camouflage. He felt exposed, naked. In his own skin! His short, sharp ears revealed and his hair no longer curled and messy but more straight and even. His eyes widened and quickly he re-cast the spell, a white light running up his body like a scanner to redraw his personal appearance in front of them to fit what he wanted; the Human Auby.

He panted exhaustedly at the excursion, falling down on his hands and knees in front of them. Eventually, his panting became broken, choked… Sobs could be heard as small tear droplets fall to the carpet, darkening small spots where they land. He felt embarrassed, ashamed, cowardly. He hated these two Humans for forcing him out of his shell like this. Gripping the carpet, he said out of clenched teeth “I… am Human…”

Arra

Arra’s mind was reeling at what she just saw. She didn’t exactly comprehend it, and she had to play the scene over in her head a few times to fully digest what had just transpired. The light, Auby looking all strange for a minute, and then him crying while looking normal again. She still didn’t really understand what happened, but something inside of her, some deeply hidden maternal instict, surfaced within her.

She sat down next to the sobbing stranger, and looked at him carefully, maintaining silence. She dare not say anything, she couldn’t. She had to control herself from doing what her mind was screaming at her to do. She couldn’t let her instincts win; she couldn’t consol and comfort him. Not in front of Matt. Speaking of whom, Arra was certainly shocked at the amount of power he openly displayed, without one of them being in danger. She looked around her house briefly, taking note of the slightly disturbed contents. She noticed the broken lamp, one of her mother’s favorites.

“Damnit Matt, clean that shit up. This is why we can’t have nice things!” She said sternly to him, passing him a quick glance. She returned her attention to the shaken outsider, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. “If that’s the worse that happens to you while you’re here, then you’re off to a good start.” She said, her voice emotionless. Her insides churned in both good ways and bad. She honestly enjoyed having contact, and consoling a person. Made Arra feel good on the inside- the warm and fuzzies, and all that good junk. But she also hated the fact that she had a desire to help this broken man. She wasn’t some good person, who goes around, acting like a therapist and helping people deal with shit. That just wasn’t her… Well, that wasn’t the persona that she wanted everyone to see. She was a B.A.M.F, and she needed to grow up and act like it, not have all these pussy “feels”. God damn, she needed to grow a spine…

____________________

Matt

___________________

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Were the words Matt yelled as the bright flash of light blinded him for a moment. The energy ball in his hand involuntarily shot out, luckily through an open window, doing no harm to anyone. Matt didn't care about that, though...What he cared about was what he saw as he regained his vision. Auby...Transformed. He saw it only temporarily, but he still saw it. Pointy ears...Different hair...Taller...This motherfucker was a goddamn elf! What next, Santa Claus?

However, he quickly turned back to his normal self. Matt blinked a few times as Auby began crying. Crying...Goddamn, Matt felt like a prick. He rubbed the back of his neck and got off of Auby's chest as Arra coddled him. She told him to clean up the mess, which he did just to have a moment to think. What the fuck was that? Is Auby his real name? And is he really a goddamn elf? Matt picked up the broken lamp and thoughtlessly threw it out of the open window, then sat on the couch, his hands shaking.

"An elf...You're a motherfucking, goddamn elf...But you look like a human...But I know what I saw." Matt said, moreso to himself. He thought the same thought in his head, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. Uriel and Nyx seemed to be in shock, as they were speechless, something that NEVER happened. Matt looked over at Auby and Arra, then down to his own hands, then specifically to Auby. "Hey, I didn't mean to hurt'cha. I wasn't gonna kill you, promise. You're cool in my book, Aubster."

Surion

A flash of power. A few Agents felt it in their area. They turned their heads toward the source of the burst and, when it had dissipated, turned on their communications earpieces, alerting higher authority “We’ve felt a Magical disturbance in this sector. Yes… right away, sir.” At this, they nodded to each and spread apart.

Earendur merely sniffled, wiping one of his eyes dry with the back of his hand “You can’t… tell anyone…” he said hoarsely. He still couldn’t believe it was his first day at this school and he was already discovered. Not that it was his fault. His disguise wasn’t meant to elude Mages. Speaking of which… if there was one like him here on Earth… wouldn’t that mean there would be… more?

Arra

Arra sighed when Matt threw the lamp out the window. “Are you shitting me? Damnit Matt, don’t you know how to properly clean shit?” She said, slightly agitated. She shook her head. “It’s nothing to get mad over, but the principal still remains.” She said, passing a quick glare at him. This was the very reason why she was constantly cleaning up after Matt’s lazy ass! Whether it be making his food, doing his laundry, or folding his blankets, Matt’s presence made sure that there was always something for Arra to do.

She looked back at Auby, and patted his shoulder. “You’re secret’s safe with us, bro. I mean, you see what I live with-” She nodded toward her mooch of a friend. “- So it’s not like secrets are anything new or big. You’re cool, bro.” She said before getting up and stretching with a yawn. “Fuck you bitches, I need a god damn shower.” She said before walking into her room, and closing the door behind her, only to re-emerge with pajama pants and a t-shirt in her hand. “Matt, you’re on baby sitter duty, I won’t be long.” While it was rude to shower while guests where present, Arra didn’t really care. If there was one thing she needed every day, it was a damn shower. It helped her process the day’s information, and after what had all happened in just today, she kinda needed it.

She had a headache and was really confused. What was Auby, exactly? Matt said something about an elf, but she wasn’t exactly sure on that definition. Matt was the person connected to the magical realm, not her. To her, Auby was still Auby, even if he looked a little different. But, why did he try to hide what he looked like? It made no difference to her what he looked like. She sighed mentally. There was a lot of questions that needed answered, at the risk of her sounding stupid. Perhaps she’d get Auby alone and ask him all these questions… She closed the bathroom door behind her, and looked at the bloody mess on the tiled floor. “Well damn, forgot about that mess. I’ll get it later.”

_______________________

Matt

_______________________

Still in disbelief, Matt sat on the couch, dumbfounded. All of his life, he was taught that magical creatures, like elves, were myth. But now? Matt knew what he saw. Auby was an elf. He heard Arra's scolding words, which he only rebuttled with a middle finger. However, he continued to just think. What the fuck was going on? If elves existed, did other magical creatures exist, like vampires and werewolves? And the biggest question rang in Matt's mind: Did Santa exist?

Matt shook his head and simply stared at Auby as Arra left to take a shower. A shower sounded so nice at the moment, but he decided that he could wait. Uriel and Nyx had sat on his shoulder, whispering back and forth as to the existance of Auby. He shooed them away and leaned forward on the couch, continuing to fix his gaze on Auby. "So...You're an elf? Can you do magic and stuff?" Matt asked.

In truth, Matt had a million questions. Where'd Auby come from? Why was he at their school? How did he change his appearance? What did he want? Did he make cookies, like the Keebler Elves? Did he know Santa Claus? The last two questions were just for fun, but that didn't change the fact that Auby still intrigued him. But something wasn't right. Something was disturbing the forces around them. Matt felt weird auras everywhere, much like Auby's, except they felt more malevolent. He mentally prepared himself for anything and everything, yet he continued waiting on Auby's answer.

Surion

Why was this Human still pestering him about this? Earendur nodded solemnly and limply held up a hand, opening it and creating a small sphere of blue energy in the center. The sphere elongated into an oval shape and then twisted around like a double helix. The two ends coiled around each other like bright serpents made of light. Smiling at the small, dancing snakes, Earendur closed his eyes and began singing a light, soft melody in Vaardenvalian. The small snakes of light bloated and contorted into small feminine-appearing pixies, dancing in ballet-like movements with each other as he sang.

His words seemed to glide into the restroom Arra was in as she was showering, the water spiraling around her body in rhythmic dances; around her neck and shoulders, her armpits and stomach, down her legs. The water seemed to flow like small rivers around and on her. Even the water in the toilet bounced about like the ocean’s waves. Earendur felt at peace… until a loud bang caused him to jolt forward, halting his singing. At this, the two energy-pixies faded away into small clouds of blue in his hand and the water that had previously been dancing around Arra splashed down on her normally once again.

The banging was caused by pods… familiar ones to Earendur, who landed on this planet in one. These ones were dark and made with Drow metals. They crashed into the school building, conveniently enough, as Earendur could hear from the distance. The bang was followed by screams and the sound of Plasma fire… Oh no.

Arra

The water was nice, warm, and comforting to Arra. The pressure of the nozzle helped with her headache, and she didn’t want to leave this warm paradise. She knew she had to eventually, but for now, she just enjoyed the relaxation as the water rained roughly down on her head and shoulders. Her mind was being slowly cleared, and she took this time to think about the day’s events.

''So this kid, Auby, is new at our school. I’ve only known him for a matter of hours, yet her already knows about Matt’s powers. But he’s also some kind of “elf”?'' She was still fuzzy on that meaning, seeing as elves varied greatly in pop-culture. ‘I do like his pointy ears though, very cute.’ She thought to herself, thinking about when he looked different. She also thought about the white light that changed him back… That had to be some form of magic. She sighed softly. ‘''Matt now has a magic buddy, I guess. I’m still not sure, but that had to be some kind of magic. Jesus, I feel so left out.''’ She stopped her thoughts in it’s tracks. ‘''But there’s nothing I can do about not being magically gifted, so what ‘cha gonna do? And besides, I do a lot of things better than Matt can. Like invent and treat wounds.''’ She thought smugly to herself. She closed her eyes and reveled in the water for a few seconds more, but suddenly, something felt… wrong. She opened her eyes and looked down, only to see the water twirling about her naked body.

“SKREEEEE!” Arra yelled reactivity in fright, not bothering to care about diction. She jumped, and fell out of the shower, dragging the curtain down with her, and water getting everywhere. Her heart was in her throat, unable to shout out in fear and confusion. ''What the hell?! Why was the water doing all that funky shit?!'' The strange formations of water stopped, and it dropped to the floor of the shower with a splash. Water began to flow normally once more.

“JESUS DICKING CHRIST!” Arra yelled. “NO MORE FUCKING VOODOO SHIT!” She was wet, naked, and slightly sore from the fall, and not in a good mood. She hadn’t even had a chance to wash herself! She sighed to herself, and slowly stood up, her sore sides protesting. She turned off the water, and then dried off with a bath towel from the cabinet underneath the sink. Her body was shaking, and her heart was racing. Was that magic as well? It had to have been… The engery distortion that the dancing water gave off was the same distortion that happened around Matt when he used magic… If it wasn’t magic, what was it? She shook her head, and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She slowly and tenderly got dressed, being careful not to agitate her left side of her ribs, which was already visibly bruising. “That’s gonna look nasty tomorrow morning…” She murmured. The pink cotton t-shirt felt nice on her cold skin, as well as the black sweatpants. She loved her pajamas, they felt so nice and warm on her body… They had a effect akin to a baby blanket, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep, all wrapped up in her warm blankets and soft ‘jammies…

___________________

Matt

____________________

"Well, goddamn! That's pretty cool." Matt said as he watched Auby twirl the energy between his hand. However, after watching the show for a few seconds, he heard a scream from the restroom. He instantly shot up, then heard Arra screaming something about 'voodoo shit'. Heh...Matt was beginning to like Auby more and more as the time went on.

Matt stretched and walked to the kitchen, since he was already up. Auby seemed to be startled by something, but Matt simply shrugged it off as he searched through the kitchen's cabinets for some food. "Yo, you hungry?" Matt yelled to the living room. He took a few steps back and looked into the cabinets, thinking about what he wanted. Nothing sounded good, yet he continued staring as if some huge meal would magically show up, already cooked for him. He sighed lightly and leaned against the counter, waiting for Auby's answer.

_______________________

???

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A wind howled through the trees causing the leaves to rustle and some to fall off. A single leaf slowly flittered toward the ground and, before it touched, was snatched by a hand. The person slowly held the leaf up and examined it, then let it go as it fluttered through the breeze. The being slowly walked towards the increasing heat of an unnatural fire. Screaming could be heard like music, which the person compared it to in his mind. The hand that had grabbed the leaf went to the other hand and interlaced the fingers. The person walked towards the screaming and fire, knowing full well what it was, yet uncaring. As his previously dark face was illuminated by the flames, it revealed a face belonging to someone of youth. Dark rings of glass covered both of his eyes as he scanned the flames, then spotted the ones who had caused it. The man crossed his arms and said no words, knowing his mission, and that these beings were here to cause interference with it.

Tamuríl

The blackish metal of the pods vented out steam with a loud hiss as the large doors on each end lowered down onto the ground. Broken glass, stone, and dust was everywhere from where the pods had broken through the ceiling of the school cafeteria, one of them even flattening a lunch table beneath it. The pods birthed several armoured squads of charcoal-skinned warriors with snow-white hair and blue or red eyes. Immediately upon stepping out of the pods, they opened what appeared to be umbrellas that sprung out of their backs. From a Human standpoint, this would look very silly, but to Drow this was an, albeit primitive due to lack of proper funding, way of shielding from the harmful sun’s rays. Being a subterranean race of Elves, Drow weren’t accustomed to sunlight and burned immediately upon contact with it. For this reason, they’ve deployed many methods to protect themselves while still being able to properly function.

Tamuríl exited her pod last, turning to her bulkier compatriot, Kr'athin Kyorl, to give orders. Kr’athin was a patriotic Drow, at heart, and never uses his Vaardenvalian name for anything but legality issues. He might be hot-tempered but he is reliable and hard working. His name translated to his function… “Ready Guard”. Well, roughly. His family served as enslaved guards to noble houses in Drow society for a long time, and he isn’t the first to hold his first name. Despite his low status, he keeps pride in his skill and job. Also keeping with Drow tradition: a female leads this task force while the males serve. Drow society was matriarchal, and men were looked upon as second-class citizens, generally. Still, Tamuríl looked upon her soldiers with fondness and pride, not as if they were mere numbers. They had dinner together, briefed on missions together, even bunked together. No one went out of bounds and relationships were kept, if not professional, friendly.

She conferred “Kr’athin, vel'xunduss nindol rek'larst whol Zsatri'har. Ka jaluss qua’lae, ply’uss mina. Ka felah degahr shinule, Usstan sevir ol ulu dosst vernutar.” Kr’athin nodded and turned towards the Drow soldiers standing at attention before them, beginning a series of barked orders at them. Tamuríl ordered him to have the men make a perimeter and capture humans for interrogation, notably in their native Drow tongue, a pleasing thing to those who felt close to their ethnic roots and a familiarity between them that put her and her underlings at ease with each other. The mission itself was a long shot, but the Drow team received confirming evidence of a Vaardenvalian escape pod landing on Earth with the exact same description code marked on it as the one designated for Earendur. The pod has long since been reclaimed. By what? Tamuríl did not know, but would like to find out along with other things… Her red eyes scanned the area until finding a hooded figure marching his way over to her team. Her shoulder-mounted “Chath-palar” cannon aimed at him and she called out “Ilkalik! Xuat doer jala veirs!”, ordering him to halt and not come any closer.

Surion

Earendur ignored Matt’s question and quickly dove through the broken already-window in the room, landing on the concrete below but not suffering any injury. He began sprinting in the direction of the blast he heard, intent on not letting his new home be threatened because of his own past. These people were Elvish, that was for sure. Perhaps they were looking for him? That could only mean… He gulped nervously and tried to shake the thought from his head as he continued onward, hurriedly darting around couples, over cars, and past bicyclers.

Arra

Arra sighed and exited the misty bathroom, not bothering to clean up the mess until later. She was tired and confused, and until she was alone at her garage, it seemed as if she was going to get no breaks from the confusion. She could taste the words of anger on her tongue as she entered the living room. I will fucking murder both of you guys if you do that damn shit again! She thought bitterly. Her soft pajamas brushed against her skin comfortingly, and she looked at Matt and Auby, with a glare and her hair was still dripping wet. It was only a matter of seconds before Auby shot up, and jumped out her broken window.

What in the hell?!

"I.... Ah... um..." Arra stuttered, trying to find words, but being unable too. What could drive this man to jump out a 4-story window? Did I do something wrong? She asked herself mentally. Suddenly, fear and anxiety swept over her. He has to be dead- why did he kill himself?! Her mind screamed. She rushed over the window and looked down, only to see the figure of her new friend sprinting away at a high-speed.

"My mind is so full of fuck..." She whispered to herself. She looked at Matt, a mixture of worry and confusion on her face. "What... Just... Happened?" She asked, her voice dripping with anxiety. "What is going on in here!? I don't fucking understand anything!" She said, becoming more distressed with each word. Her mind was racing, trying to gather details but it couldn't seem to grasp anything. She felt disoriented and confused, it was like the world was playing in fast-forward, and she couldn't pick up anything from her quickly changing environments. Arra's anxiety did not approve of all this sudden change, and it was flaring, big time. It made her feel almost lost in this world, as if she couldn't get a handle on anything anymore. It almost felt as if she was drowning in nothing but confusion and emotion.

________________

Matt

_______________

"Dafuq..." Matt managed to get out before Auby jumped out the window. They were on the 4th floor...Did he just kill himself? Matt rushed to the window at the same time Arra, only to see Auby running away quickly. Why the fuck did he just do that? Was he retarded? Or just shamed by the fact that he was found out? Either way, Matt had to catch him. He backed up into the kitchen, then took off full force for the window. On the way, Matt grabbed Arra and jumped out the window with her in his arms.

Knowing full well that if the fall didn't kill him, Arra probably would, Matt braced himself. There were a few seconds of free-falling, which gave Matt ample time to move the spiritual energy coursing through his body to his feet and legs. He hoped it would work, at least. He also felt something tugging on both of his arms, presumably Uriel and Nyx trying to slow his descent as well. He hit the ground with an audible thud, and followed after Auby. He could only barely see the little fucker moving, yet he kept track of him. Matt looked at Arra in his arms, then tightened his grip on her as he propelled himself faster, dodging in and out of alleyways, jumping over trashcans and hobos, and narrowly missing a few cars. "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!!!" Matt yelled to Auby, however, he wasn't sure if his command was heard.

____________________

???

___________________

The hooded man simply looked at the forces. There were several squads, yet they were nothing. As the leader yelled out her order, the man obeyed. He analyzed her words, then decided to speak his own. "You're impeding my mission. You must die." The man's words were gruff and harsh, yet had an innocent tone to them. He raised his right hand and pointed it at the troops, palm facing them. The hand twisted and reshaped itself to form what appeared to be a minigun with several small black openings. The minigun hand slowly began spinning, which quickly became more and more rapid, until finally energy shards began flying out of the ends of the tubes towards the group.

The man's HUD in the black eye coverings instantly targeted each individual, and the shards found their way to them. Soldiers fell left and right, nearly too fast for the human eye to see or the human brain to comprehend. Yet these creatures were not human. They smelled too tampered, their mana too focused. Useless. The man strafed to the right to find cover, walking, as the flashes of light lit up his face. His hand continued spinning, releasing hundreds of energy shards a second, mowing down the forces like they were nothing. As he found the cover, he eased the fire, his hand smoking and turning back into a normal, gloved hand, as if nothing had ever happened to it. "Worthless. All of them. And I bet they taste like shit, too." The man muttered to himself as the hand began shaping into a long, black, singular tube.

Surion

Surion kept sprinting at a fast pace toward the school. He heard Matt shouting behind him as well as the sound of shoes hitting pavement as rapidly as his own. He turned his head and yelled “Pyl's thylyrn ti!” In English, this translated to “Don’t follow me!” He couldn’t help but blurt this in Vaardenvalian. It was his native tongue and he sometimes found himself speaking it out of habit. He didn’t want to endanger his new friends with this. Besides, he didn’t know the situation yet but he should handle it himself. He was getting closer. He rounded a corner and began hearing sounds akin to gunfire in the area. Panic began filling the streets as people rushed into shops and homes. Sirens blared throughout the town as well as Police cars, Ambulances, and Fire trucks sped their way to the crash site to determine the damage.

Tamuríl

Tamuríl watched on in horror as her men were struck down by this newcomer. “Humans… don’t have this kind of weaponry…” she thought to herself. It’s like his… hand itself seemed to transform into that weapon! Was this Magic?! Either way, she cried out a warrior’s roar and fired several shots of light blue energy at the man’s cover, incinerating the rock from which he lay behind. It was now a smoldering black as she eased her fire, her Chath-palar needing to cool down for a few seconds before firing another volley. Kr’athin, in the meantime, unsheathed his jagged, black, Zweihänder-like weapon from the back of his armour, the weapon being concealed apart from the handle within a chamber on his spinal area, within the armour itself. He took a stance, holding the weapon with both hands to make a swinging motion and called out challenging cries in Drow.

Arra

A small grunt escaped Arra's form as Matt's arm clocked into her bruised side and dragged her down with him. Down, as in mother fucking free falling out her window!

"MMAAAAAATTTTT!" She cried as they fell, the winds of descent whipping through her black hair. Matt was... eccentric, to say the least, and Arra's developed a tolerance to his antics, but this was not okay, but any means at all! Her heart was racing, and fear filled her veins. The ground was coming towards the duo at amazing speeds, and Arra cried out in fear, and closed her eyes, bracing for impact.

The force of the landing jolted Arra's frame a bit, but nothing she couldn't quickly recover from. She opened her eyes to see that Matt was alive- without shattered kneecaps! Relief filled her mind at understanding that they were okay after falling 4 stories. Matt had came through for her this time- and it let her keep her own life. Matt, you are a bro. She thought gratefully, but she didn't let her gratitude shine through her anger as Matt started to run after Auby at top speed.

"Jesus Christ! Matt god damnit, what were you thinking?! A little heads up would've been nice before you made me jump out of a 4 story window!" She swore heatedly. While she grateful that Matt didn't let her die, she was mad that she was flung out her house, in pajamas, and into the great unknown. She rested her head against Matt's chest as he ran, not bothering to watch the race ahead of her. She had faith in Matt to guide them, and she knew that crashing into something at this speed would certainly kill her, if not both of them. She just mentally prepared herself for anything that she might encounter once they caught up to Auby. What was the crazy fuck up too, anyway?

_____________________

Matt

_____________________

Slowly catching up to Auby, Matt continued sprinting as fast as he could. His lungs burned and his legs began to cramp, but he needed to catch up to him, especially since there were sirens heard in the area to which they were travelling. Matt concluded that they were headed towards the school, and the billowing cloud of smoke didn't make him feel any better. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was somewhat happy for the fact that the school was hopefully gone. No more school! Woot! But, on the other hand, people could be hurt...

Hearing Arra's words, Matt spoke between breaths. "We need to keep Auby safe. If he's new to this world, I wanna keep him safe. Now...I'm sorry for this." He knew what he had to do. As he neared Auby, Matt crouched low and jumped high into the air, his spiritual energy acting as a spring. He jumped at an angle, hit a nearby building wall, and propelled himself forward. He landed on the ground right next to Auby, and as he landed, he kicked his leg out in a sweeping motion, tripping Auby. "Slow...The fuck...Down..." Matt panted, his chest burning more and more.

______________________

???

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As each shot of the energy blasts hit the rock, rubble fell on the man's head. His face showed no emotion as it did so. He held out his left hand and clenched it, then eased it back open. When it opened, a soft, red light shown from his palm and hit the ground, materializing a creature, small and frail looking. It stood at a mere 4 feet tall, it's right arm equipped with a minigun, like the man's. The man nodded to the creature. "Grimli, go make yourself useful." The creature nodded and ran out of the cover and fired upon the remaining forces, energy shards spraying wildly.

As Grimli focused fire, the man swept around and looked above where the one who had fired the shots was standing. There was a floor that had not collapsed above her. He leveled his arm, which was now a cylindrical tube, and fired a small energy blast. It hit the floor, which caused it to begin collapsing. As soon as the shot left the tube, the man exited cover and decided to engage the forces alongside Grimli.

One of the soldiers who was foolish enough to challenge the man head on came rushing him. The man's arm transformed into it's original shape, whilst the other arm sprang a long, black, ceramic blade from the top of his wrist. The man's knee met the soldier's stomach, and as the soldier doubled over in pain, the man forced his elbow onto the soldier's spine. As the soldier crumbled, the man finished it off with a quick and precise jab to the back of it's neck with his blade. Once the soldier was dead, the man looked to the biggest of the forces and issued a challenging whistle. "Bring it on, big boy." The man said mockingly.

Surion

Sod, sod, sod… How did Matt move that quickly? Earendur fell to the ground from Matt tripping him, hitting the pavement though not hard enough to only get scraped by it on his arms. He turned back at him “Go away! This isn’t your fight!” he commanded. Strange seeing such a meek and quiet fellow taking on such a tone all of a sudden, even from a self-observation. He stood up and brushed himself off and turned, facing the way of the school once again. Just a small block away…

Tamuríl

Tamuríl bellowed in fury as she fired a well-aimed shot at the falling debris, splitting it in half and knocking dust all on her head. She then followed it with a clean shot toward the goblin-looking creature next to this stranger. The blue ball of light collided with the imp hard, splattering its now-liquid body across a smoldering wall. She turned as one of the last of her men fell, too late, to the stranger’s hands. Kr’athin barked back at her “Zexen’uma rath! Nindol uss zhah usst!” He was telling her to stay back and not interfere, that he would engage the stranger… alone. Raising his sword, Kr’athin charged toward this cloaked figure and made a hard chopping movement down upon him, bringing all of his strength in a smiting attack to avenge his fallen comrades.

Arra

A spark of rage illuminated Arra’s heart for a brief second. With a scowl, she squirmed out of Matt’s well-built arms, and she stood on the warm asphalt underneath the trio. “Wait just a goddamned second before you run off again!” Arra commanded, her voice harsh and fierce. She didn’t get truly cross with someone very often, but when she did, it wasn’t a pretty sight. Her heart was still hammering inside her chest, and her mind still couldn’t quite get a grip on things, and that was part of the reason why she was angry. She didn’t understand a thing about this entire situation!

“Let me get this straight. You’re an Elf of some sort. You can do basic magic. You just jumped out of my broken window, and you’re fine, and now you’re just running off without any explanation! I don’t now if you know this or not, but friends don’t act like this, god damnit! They tell each other before they jump out windows and run off without a trace or warning! I was thrown out a fucking window so Matt could follow your ass! And where the hell where you going? Could you at least tell people ‘goodbye‘ like a fucking normal person?!” Arra ranted. Anger burned behind her eyes, but it wasn’t as hateful as she came off to be. Outside of Matt, Arra had no real friends. As cocky and arrogant as she pretended to be, she actually longed for companionship. And having Auby in the picture was really nice… She cared about him. If there’s a defining trait that made up Arra, it would be how caring she was. Not that she’d let anyone know it, of course. She appeared weak enough as it is, without people seeing her for the protective person that she truly was. Transforming her worry into anger was the only way she knew how to keep her emotional mask up. ''Why can’t I just not give a fuck about my friends? Worrying about them all the time will get me found out for sure…''

__________________

Matt

__________________

Doubling over, trying to catch his breath, Matt simply let Arra do the talking. He was getting out of shape, especially the running aspect of his physique. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and let it out, straightening his body and looking between Arra and Auby. Matt crossed his arms and nodded to what Arra was saying, as a father would do when a mother was scolding the child. She was ripping into his ass...And he was secretly loving it. Matt knew that Arra didn't have many friends, and when she scolded someone like this, it meant that she cared about the person. She scolded Matt like this in the past, which made his feel warm and fuzzy inside instead of sad, like it should. So, he simply kept his mouth shut until Arra was done scolding. Just about the time that she got done talking, Uriel and Nyx caught up to them, panting heavily. "The fuck are you doing, shithead?!" Nyx yelled at Auby, speaking between breaths. "You could've hurt yourself, you know! Please don't do that again!" Uriel pleaded at the same time Nyx spoke.

___________________

???

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The man watched as Grimli was splattered. Worthless. A small red orb of light appeard from the bloody mess and went back the man's hand. A moment after that, his right hand went up and caught the massive weapon that the warrior was swinging upon him, stopping it instantly. The man simply looked upon the warrior and moved the weapon to the left, then down despite the warrior's strength. This caused his chest to be unprotected, which the man took advantage of. The hand not holding the massive blade slammed into the warrior's chest and began pulsing. The warrior cried in pain as the hand continued pulsing, seeming to pull something out of the warrior. After a few seconds of this, the warrior stopped struggling.

As soon as the warrior stopped struggling, the man's hand began pulsing once more. After a few pulses, the man removed his hand and simply stood there. "You know what to do. Find me when it's done." The man growled to the warrior. The warrior slowly turned to face Tamuril, revealing it's face to her. The warrior's face became twisted and distorted and when it spoke, it's voice seemed to be two in one. It spoke in the language of the Drow, knowing every word precisely. "Tamuril. It's me, Kr'athin. The offender has agreed to leave in peace. We can return home now." As the warrior spoke, it moved towards Tamuril slowly. As he did so, The man transformed his right into an odd-looking apparatus, which he aimed at the top of a building. It shot out a hook which gripped the building and pulled the man upwards. He took one last look over his shoulder once atop the building and ran off, leaving "Kr'athin" and Tamuril to their business.

Surion

Earendur was stunned and bit his lip, looking around nervously as Arra scolded him. Gulping before proceeding, he mentally prayed they’d understand “I am… a noble. From another planet. Something bad happened and now our planet is gone. Instead of trying to find a new planet for my people like I was supposed to, I came here. I know… I’m a coward and a useless excuse for a person but I just didn’t know what to do… I still don’t. I’m not a leader. I don’t… inspire courage or anything… But now there might be people here who are enemies or… simply people who want me to assume the role I’m supposed to… I don’t know. All I know is this: I have to take responsibility for my own problems, and you guys aren’t involved. I can’t guarantee your safety if you try to involve yourself in Vaardenvalian Politics…”

At this, he breathed a sigh. Even so much as speaking the name of his people drove a pain in his chest like a sword wound… He didn’t mention the sounds of explosions and gunfire for obvious reasons. He mentally implored them not to go with him. Vaardenvalians protect their nobles with their lives, especially the royal house of Surion. A Human so much as knowing Earendur could likely have sentenced their deaths if the government thought them potentially hazardous. But Earendur wouldn’t let that happen, no matter what the Council said. If he is to be King, then he will try his best to act like a King, even if it meant standing up to the Council.

Tamuríl

Tamuríl trembled at the sight of her former comrade now looking and sounding like some sort of sick bastardization of what was once her friend. “Kr-Kr’athin? Vel’bol uriu nindel fa’la zatoast xunor ulu dos?” she spoke shakily, brandishing her twin swords and asking what the figure did to him. She didn’t like the idea of it, but she would put Kr’athin down if she had to. It had to be done, to honour his memory and preserve his own honour. But she swore… she swore on everything she held dear, this cloaked figure would pay… No one, not even the Council, could stop her from killing him…

Arra

A groan escaped Arra. "Politics? Man... I hate politics." she said. "But so you're a noble alien? Das cool, and I'm happy for you. And pppffft, you're not a coward! You faced those assholes back there with some brass balls! You're not some worthless excuse for a person and all that shit- and if you keep lying to yourself about that I'm gonna personally castrate you. And people want you to be a leader? Well fuck them! Auby, you have to understand that it doesn't matter what people think about you." Arra's speech was awkward and long-winded, but she didn't care. She just didn't honestly care what Matt or Auby had to say- she actually said what was on her mind, without having to change any of it to fit to her emotional mask. It was... a relaxing feeling. She was happy, for that brief moment, because for those few moments, she didn't have to hide behind anything. She had said what she needed to say, un-edited and un-filtered. A lot of people take that feeling for granted... It's a feeling Arra hasn't felt in years.

But enough reveling in happiness, get back to yourself before you do something stupid, she thought, immediately drawing back under her mask again. She couldn't belive that she'd done that, leaving her mask behind like that. It made her feel really weak, all of the sudden. She kicked herself mentally. Why would you leave yourself so open like that!? She cursed at herself. Don't let it happen again! She commanded herself.

_______________________

Matt

_______________________

"Hey, enough of this pansy-ass bullshit. There's cops everywhere, and I'm holding. So, either I ditch this shit, and it's some good shit, and head towards whatever the fuck Roadrunner here was going for, or we bail and head back to Arra's." Matt said as he heard sirens. It was true, he was holding. It was only a joint, but he still didn't feel like getting busted. If anything, he could quickly swallow it, but he still didn't want to take that chance. It was really, REALLY good shit.

Then, a thought occured to him. "Arra...Your door's locked...And you live on the fourth floor...Please tell me you have a key." Matt said as he sighed heavily. So, unless she had a key, they would either have to scale the wall or hope that Auby could jump high enough to get into the window. Or Uriel or Nyx could fly up there, but it took quite a bit of effort for them to manipulate physical objects. Even the simple act of unlocking a door was like working a rubik's cube for them.

__________________________

???

__________________________

The man leapt from building to building, leaving behind Kr'athin and Tamuril, further distancing himself from them. Unbeknownst to him, in an alley below him, there were three people he was looking for. An elven king, a spiritually enhanced man, and a seemingly average woman. He crouched low and leapt high into the air, over the alleyway, and landed on the building with a thud. He spun on his heel and leaned against a huge metal air unit, pressing a button on his glasses at the same time. This brought up an image on his left HUD, giving him the ability to see through Kr'athin's eyes.

Speaking in the language of the Drow, Kr'athin retorted to Tamuril's question. "He made me...Better. No fear, no doubt, no pain! He has shown me what eternity looks like, he has allowed me to taste of the waters of forever!" As he spoke, Kr'athin continued moving closer to her. He watched both of the blades that she drew and grinned widely. "And now...I will show you the same." He said as he took the giant weapon and swung it towards her, quicker than Kr'athin ever could when he was actually Kr'athin.

Kr'athin swung the blade with one hand and reached out with his free hand, grabbing Tamuril's chath-palar. Using his pure strength, he crushed it and ripped it off of her shoulder in a split second. After that, he didn't care what happened to this body. His wide grinned twisted into something sadistic and malicious. "This thing killed me once, bitch. I won't let it do it again. Or hurt my master." After speaking, Kr'athin's face twisted and churned, revealing who he truly was: Grimli.

Surion

Earendur rubbed his arm nervously “I have to go…” He couldn’t let anyone get hurt over his mistake. He looked over his shoulder, eager to be over at the school to ensure no one has been hurt and help anyone who has been. Dread and worry swept across him. It made his chest hurt and his throat dry. Besides, what did Matt mean when he said “handling”? Earendur felt comforted a little, though, by Arra’s words. Why did she care, though? They just met! “T-Thank you, though…” he managed to say though it didn’t properly express his feelings over the matter. He noted how beautiful Arra looked when she was passionate about something. She reminded him of Arien Calmcacil, the Vaardenvalian slave woman who rebelled in against a tyrannical rule by foreign dictators and managed to, albeit dying in the process, overthrow them.

Tamuríl

Tamuríl reacted quickly by guarding “Kr’athin’s” assault with both of her blades. Her Chath-palar was now gone, but she didn’t need it to fight this monster. With a sweeping kick, she made the creature lose its balance and fall onto its back. She took this opportunity to kick the sword away from its grasp. Such an honourable weapon didn’t deserve to be in the hands of such a wicked, vile thing… She poised one of her blades at the monsters’ throat and demanded in Drow “Release him this instant!” What was happening?! How did all of her men die?! How did… Kr’athin… Her best friend, who stood by her side since her days at the Academy… All because of… that stupid, cowardly Prince and her foolish desire to seek some answers! If she had just stayed away, they’d all be still alive!

Arra

Matt had a point about the key, but Arra shrugged it off. "You act like I had time to lock my door before we left, Matt. Because somebody had to jump out a window!" She said with a smirk on her face, letting him know that her anger was nothing but playful jabs in the ribs. "But it's up to you guys whether if we go to Auby's... thingy, or back to my place. But I don't know about you fuckers, but I'm gonna be heading back home soon. I'm getting tired of going commando while in public. Makes me feel like a whore." She announced curtly, with her arms crossed over her chest, for obvious reasons. In all truth, Arra wanted to be as far away from Auby as possible, after showing such blunt emotion. She hated herself for doing such things, she shouldn've known better.Maybe I can hide my shame under my pillows when I get home...

________________

Matt

________________

Arra was right, but didn't she lock it when they got there? Matt couldn't remember, but they'd deal with it when the time came. He sighed and pulled the joint out of his pocket, then flicked into a trash bin. "Such a waste..." Matt said. "Aight, let's fuckin' get to it." He walked towards the school, seeing and smelling the smoke. The fuck happened? Arson? Electrical? Matt didn't think so. They'd find out soon enough, though. As he took a step forward, he looked over his shoulder at the duo. "Let's go."

________________

???

________________

Grimli was in trouble, yet he had a plan. "P-please don't kill me!" Grimli pleaded. In truth, Grimli was staring deeply into Tamuril's eyes, preparing an illusionary spell. It would tap into her memory and make her think that it was that day's morning. She would think it was all a dream. All Grimli had to do was maintain eye contact, which he did. While she was in this trance, Grimli slid his finger over Kra'thin's gauntlet, which unlocked it. He pressed several buttons in rapid succession, knowing everything from Kra'thin's memory. He took the gauntlet and tossing it to the ground. It began beeping, counting down to the self-destruct. Grimli stood and ran towards an alley, breaking eye contact. As he ran, he mumbled. "There won't be any bodies for you to mourn over..."

Surion

Earendur smiled in reassurance and nodded. He was happy to have friends like them backing him up, even though he doubted they could do much against a force sent here to reclaim him. As they ran down toward the wreckage of the school building, he could plainly see bodies. Fresh ones. They were… of Drow? And a female on, adorning elite Dubo Skikudis armour. Nearby was a… a beeping device. A satchel detonator?! Quickly, he lunged forward and sprinted his way past the bodies, past the bomb, and toward the dreary Drow, picking her up and backing out of the school just before the wide, blue explosion. Nearby, police cars and ambulances were nearing the scene, forming a perimeter around the area. But by the time they arrived, the group was long gone. Surion knew of the Drow and their weakness to sunlight, so he shielded her body by facing the sun with his back.

Tamuríl

When Tamuríl came to, her vision was foggy and so was her mind. She groaned and held her head in slight pain. What… happened? She couldn’t remember anything since this morning… She looked up and saw a familiar face… The one of the Vaardenvalian prince who escaped the planet’s destruction “Senger… Earendur?” she asked, confused and wondering where she was, where her men were, and why she was with Earendur Surion and… and… a group of… Rivvin? They were on Har’dro? How could this be? She fell asleep on her ship!

Arra

What... the... A beeping noise, followed by a blue flash? Auby trying to be a hero to save that lady? That... gray-skinned lady? Who was she? Was there a bomb? Arra felt quite helpless at the moment, her mind still racing to get a hold of what exactly was happening. Her anxiety, not liking this lack of structure, was flaring heavily. Her breaths were slightly ragged as her chest seemed to tighten in agony. Her heart felt like it was about to explode out of her chest... ''Oh no. An attack cannot be happening. Not now!''

''‘Look at you, you weak bitch. What will Matt and Auby think of you? When they see you for what you truly are?’ ''Thoughts like this seeped into Arra’s mind, like a poison. She couldn’t stop these thoughts, and shame clawed at her mind. But she could feel something stronger, welling up inside her- anger. At herself, for being so weak. For not understanding what was happening. This is one of of those moments where Arra’s willpower truly shined... Using the power, feeding off that anger, she managed to control herself. To suppress her anxiety attack. While it was still happening within her, to everyone else, she’d just appear as normal. Perfect. She could still feel the fear inside of her chest, and if she didn’t beat it back with her internal anger, the fear would swell and rise once more. And thus, Arra’s mind was a constant battle. But as long as the other’s didn’t see her weakness, then it was all worth it.

Despite her internal conflict, the others would be ignorant to anything but normal, slightly agitated and confused Arra. She wouldn’t have it an other way either, but if she was going to pull off her charade successfully, she had to act normal as well, not just look it.

“I’m so confused!”She blurted out. “What the fuck is happening here?! Who the fuck is she?” Arra motioned to the strange, oddly colored woman. “Was that a bomb we just saw? Do you know her? Why save her?” All these question just flung themselves out of Ara’s mouth. There where many questions on her mind, and she needed answers. She mentally sighed. ''‘This is going to be the longest day of my life... Not to mention the strangest.’''

__________________________ Matt

___________________________

Matt watched as Auby ran towards the flaming wreckage that was once their school, grab a figure, and run back out just before a huge, blue flash, followed by an explosion. It took Matt a few seconds to realize what happened, but not before he deflected a trash can hurdling towards he and Arra. It would've creamed both of them, but Matt was able to react fast enough to put his hands up and fire a blast of energy at it. Afterwords, he realized that he had done so. Wasn't he out of shots for the day? Didn't he use up his last one on the window at Arra's? He didn't question it, only let it happen. Whatever. It only meant he was getting better.

As Auby brought the figure to them, Matt saw that it was a lady. She had feminine features, breasts, that sort of thing, but also something...Else. She was gray and had elf ears, like Auby. At first Matt thought it was from the ashes of the explosion, but soon realized that she was just plain gray. She also wore odd armor, and looked like she had an umbrella on her back. She seemed confused, but other than that, okay. Just then, Matt thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like a huge figure running into an adjacent alley. Maybe the person who bombed the school? "Hey guys, wait here with her. I'll be right back." Matt said as he started off towards the alley.

He was confident enough in his own abilities that he could take on any normal person, so Matt decided to go at it alone. He raced toward the alley and had just enough time to see the huge figure, shrouded in shadows, climbing a ladder onto a roof. Matt stopped running and crept towards the ladder, then slowly began climbing it, beginning to hear voices as he climbed. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but they were definitely talking. Two different voices, one an odd, deep voice, and the other, a cool, calm, cold voice. He stopped just before reaching the roof, keeping concealed, yet listening at the same time.

___________________________________

???

____________________________________

Grimli had completed his mission. Maybe he wasn't so worthless after all. The man looked at the wreckage of the school, taking note of the small figure grabbing the Drow woman and running off. The man zoomed in with his HUD on his glasses, observing carefully and taking a snapshot of the figure's face. He saved the image just as Grimli walked behind him. "Master, I've done as you've asked. No bodies to be found." Grimli said as he bowed to the man. The man simply stood there, his long, black bandana strap blowing in the wind. "Very good. You've done well, Grimli. Now, we wait. We wait for our opportunity to show itself. I know that 'He' is right under our noses. We've just got to find 'Him'." The man said, his voice remaining as cold as an ice cube. Grimli nodded and looked over the wreckage as well, adjusting to his new body. The man watched as the police arrived and began sorting through the mess, looking for any clues. Of course, they wouldn't find any.

Surion

Earendur answered her questions as she asked them, as well as Arra’s. He translated for Tamuríl as best he could. He knew Drow speak, but not complex words. As it turned out, her ship wasn’t answering her hails. Earendur didn’t know how she got here or who she brought with her, though she seemed to have been suffering some sort of memory loss. She was now brought up-to-speed on where she was, at least, as well as somewhat who Arra and Matt were: a Human female and a Human Male, the latter of which was Magically-gifted. Tentatively, Tamuríl decided to trust them. Apart from a small headache, she seemed relatively fine. They needed to get her indoors, away from the sun and away from the public, where they could sort everything out.

As Earendur helped her stand, a small leaf fluttered up from the concrete nearby and past the building tops, park trees, the wreckage of the school and police cars… and into the black, leather-made gloves of a Mercenary named Shaw. He fumbled with the leaf for a bit, examining it before staring up into the sky, then back down at the leaf, mumbling to himself inquisitively “What the fuck are you…?” He was speaking, of course, about the Drow and the Magical flaring signals picked up in the town. His wrist Com signaled before a dark, commanding voice spoke “The ship has been taken care of. The crew are all dead.” Shaw replied into it “Orders?” The voice commanded “Return to base. We’ll handle it from here.”

Akihiro

A man in a black business suit with short-cut hair was sobbing loudly and crying for mercy. Pitiful. How did such a weakling be allowed on his security team? A tall, muscular but handsome figure with shoulder-length, spikey white hair and slitted, blue eyes with a predatory hunger shining through them stared down at his current prey in disgust. The door to his luxury room opened with another suit-wearing man entering… without permission, a daring move. He wore sunglasses to hide the fear in his eyes as well but was carrying something… some papers tucked away in a curious little file with a CLASSIFIED stamp on it. Was this man… C.I.A.?

He spoke aloud “He has a job for you.” The white-haired fiend replied in a youthful but dominant voice. Suave, yet deadly… “He? What makes you think I care what He wants?” The agent set the file down on the glass table between the white-haired figure and the poor fool across from him. His slitted, deep blue eyes set their sights on it, pale hands reaching down and flipping it open. Immediately he recognized a face and name, glaring back at the agent “Where-?!” He replied sternly but cautiously as the man he was dealing with was easily “excitable”… “A small town in the Midwest, U.S. That’s where he’s heading anyway.” The white-haired figure called by the Japanese name Akihiro stared down at the file intently and asked “What do you want in return…?”

The agent replied once more “To retrieve, dead-or-alive, a young man. Short, lithe… With messy brown hair and hazel eyes. He appears to be a mere teenager but he is much more than that. Agreed?” Akihiro smirked, revealing a grin lined with predatory canines capable of ripping bones to bits. He reached across the table and grabbed the poor man’s neck, lifting him up as he stood from his couch. He brought the man closer as he spoke, rearing his free hand back “That boy shall know pain like it never existed before…” At this, the agent turned his head but could still see the shadows from the light in the room. Akihiro’s hand, as shown from the shadows, reformed into what appeared to be an axe as the man pleaded in vain for his life. A loud crack was heard as he brought the axe down upon him, blood spattering onto the carpet and an equally-bloodied head dropping onto the table with a thud. He breathed a sigh of relief, not unlike the one a person emits when relieving themselves after gulping down gallons of fluid. He turned his head to face the agent, still wearing his smirk “What’s the name of my prey, may I ask?”

The agent merely replied “Surion.”