Story

Transitional Void, 3 Years Ago (0/0/0)
Three years ago, a portal opened a rift between two worlds. It appeared simultaneously around the world and took us all in, bringing us to the Transitional Void.

Rachel "We need to hurry!" I hear someone shout from the chaos. I tried to look around, but my head was spinning and I could only make out that I was in a small tunnel surrounded by several bodies. I try to stand up but falter. Taking another chance to glance around, I see the bodies start to stir, as well as a few that have already begun to stand up. A flash of light rips through the tunnel and whatever sight I had vanishes in a blink. After managing to stand on knee, I take the opportunity to call out.

"What's going on," I manage to sputter. I hear a few groans before a voice calls out.

"Just get up! We need to get out of here as fast as possible." I nod to myself and manage to stand up, suddenly seeing a flash of colors dance across my eyes. I take it that it meant I wasn't blind, and manage to make out a few others attempting to stand up. Somebody bumps into me and a nearly tumble forward before being caught. I look up at him but can only make it his brown hair and the fact he looked older than I was.

"Thanks," I mutter, but he's already helping the others up.

"Does anybody know what's going on?" I hear someone call from the rear. I turn to see a shorter girl with light brown hair. As my vision finally clears I notice that she has light blue eyes and freckles dotting her face. Before I can answer the girl, I hear a voice from behind me.

"The name's JJ, what's yours chica?" I turn around a notice a boy around my age standing in front of me. He has a big grin on his face, and green eyes that appear to have a tint to them. He grins at me, but before I can reply the guy from before reappears.

"We can introduce ourselves later, we need to get to the end of this tunnel, and fast." He points to our right and we nod, moving to the pointed location as quickly as we can. A person at the front of our group stops and we nearly crash into her as we all stop. I squeeze my way through their shoulders and see a large relic on the wall in front of us, with curving designs all over it. I glance at the ground and notice three holes in front of us. The left was covered in jungle vines and leaves. The middle was surrounded by dirt and grass, and the right was a perfectly cut circle surrounded by a red material.

"Well," started JJ. "This is interesting."

"Quick! Take the middle one go!" A sudden vibration filled the tunnel, causing a few of us to grab a hold of one another for balance. A sudden roar echoed through the tunnel, followed by a massive tremor, causing some of the people to my right to trip and fall into the middle hole. A few others screamed as they jumped into the hole, and I could see JJ slip into the hole. I manage to grab him as I attempt to keep him from falling in. A few others surrounding me grab a hold of me and his shirt. However, I felt somebody slam into us from behind, toppling us over and into the pit. I scream as I fell into the hole, until a rush of light overtook me and I loose consciousness.

=Arbur, Present Day=

Castle of the Mistress, Calista (4/4/3)
The room in which she now sat was near pitch black, the only source of light was the dark tinted window on the side wall. She sat in the center on a chair, facing a blank stone-brick wall. To her right was a table and bookshelf filled with books that had titles no-one could pronounce. A presence suddenly appeared in the room and she smiled.

"It's been awhile Leatrice." She opened her eyes and gazed upon the figure. He was tall, with brown hair that partially drooped over his eyes. She glanced at his right hand, which morphed into the shape of a blade. Leatrice stood up gracefully and pushed the chair over to the side where it clanged against the table.

"Yes, yes it has Matt. You know, there were rumors that you died from the Eastern Kingdom, Rin swears she killed you herself."

"No such luck, and now I'm here to end you, and get this world back the way it should. You weren't meant to win that war, and now I've come to fix it." He smiles and tenses his back, bringing his shadow-bladed arm center, pointing directly at her. He lunges forward with startling speed as he stabs forth with his blade, only to hit complete air. She had moved with untold speed to the left, pushing his arm away as he swung. He skidded to a stop and turned around to face her.

"Nice try shadow boy."

"What? How did you-, no human can dodge me with the lights out!" She chuckled as he swings his blade, however she easily ducks before slamming Matt against the wall with her fist. The impact creates several cracks in the wall, causing a few strands of light to pierce through the darkness. She moves towards him as he throws a punch, but she easily parries and grabs him by the throat, lifting him several feet off the floor. She smiles as she pushes him into the wall, further spreading the cracks. Suddenly, she chucks him to the other side of the room, smashing through the table and into the bookshelf. Three shadow balls fly through the air towards Leatrice. She frowns and cartwheels to the left, avoiding the projectiles with startling speed as they explode into the wall, leaving a gaping hole where she once stood. Light filled the room, illuminating the broken pieces of bookshelf, but Matt wasn't there. Suddenly Matt appears behind her as he kicks out her feet, only for her to flip onto her hand and correct her position. He lunges towards her in a flash, but Leatrice smashes her fist directly into Matt's stomach before he can even react, causing him to cough out blood. Two fangs suddenly appear as she slams him onto the stone wall.

"Figure it out yet shadow boy?" He coughs some blood onto her arm before responding.

"You're a Vampire, but.. how? I remember, you were the only normal one of us! You didn't have any powers, any abilities. When we fought in the War you only used proxies to fight against us! But now, look at you." He spits out some more blood and begins to cough.

"Yes, it's true. I guess this was my destiny all along, and now you can't stop me. You lost the war and now you'll lose your life too." Suddenly, he kicks her right in the chin, causing her to fall backwards in response. Matt drops to the floor before straightening himself. Leatrice lets out a soft growl as she back-flips over and stands up. He archs his shadow blade towards her as she extends her nails, completing the vampiric transformation.

"You don't know what you're doing, so just stop resisting and let's end this already!"

"Oh, we'll end this, right, now!" She lunges forward, and before Matt can react, gashes his left side, sending his blood splattering over the walls. His sword dissipates back to his hand as he falls to his knee, clutching his wound in searing pain. "Now really," she starts as she licks her nails. "Did you really think you stood a chance?" He coughs up more blood as he drags himself up, gushing blood from his wound. Leatrice spins around and slams the palm of her foot into his back, sending his crashing into the wall before he slumps down to the ground. She takes a step towards him, but a sudden ray of light hits her in the head, momentarily blinding her. When she recovers her eyesight, Matt has disappeared. The vampire sighs as she reverts back to her human form, right as the door to the room bursts open, revealing a girl wielding a long staff in her arms. She glances around the room, surveying the damage.

"Mistress, I saw an explosion break apart your wall from the courtyard and rushed here as soon as I could." She notices the blood on the floor dripping from Leatrice's hand. "Mistress, are you alright?" She nods in response as she turns to face the girl.

"Ever my dear, could you fix this room for me? I made an awful mess of the place if you hadn't noticed."

"Of course Mistress, was it him? The one who can control darkness and shadows?" She walks past the girl, but abruptly stops behind her.

"Of course, who else would be stupid enough to attack me? But Ever dear, I have an assignment for you. After you finish fixing this room, I'll need you to find and track him down for me." She nods without turning around, clasping the ends of her rod in her hands, shrinking it down until nothing was left.

"What do you wish me to do when I find him?" She walks to the center of the room and drops to her knees before drawing a circular mark on the floor.

"Why, kill him of course," she says as she closes the door. Ever pauses a second before pressing her hands on the circle, causing it to glow in a bright silver light. The floor fills with the light before passing onto the walls, covering the entire room -including the holes- in the light. When it finally fades away, the entire room is back to normal. She stands up and brushes some dust from her jeans.

"Guess I better get to work."

Tower Train, Central (4/5/3)
Ever "You're late." I stand in front of the train door, staring at a tall boy with a scar over his left eye. I look into his green eyes and he smiles.

"Been awhile Ella."

"It's Ever!" I scream, closing the train door while simultaneously drawing a marked circle on it. I hear a muffled voice as a press my palms to the circle, creating a ring of light that engulfs the train door, turning it into solid metal.

"How's working with the Mistress going for you?" Suddenly the metal sheet splits in half and slides open, revealing the freckled brown haired kid.

"It's Ever, and just fine, thank you very much," I pout as he steps on the train. "Why did you have to be the one they send JJ?" He shrugs in response as we move through the carts and to our seats. JJ and I sit down and look around at the people sitting at the tables around us. I hear the train bell ring and feel the train start to move. I lean back in my sit and close my eyes. The train ride from Central to the town of Crestbound took about 8 hours, and I wasn't really in the mood for another long, boring train ride. I spent 7 hours on a train last night and stayed overnight at Myriad before taking a 10 hour ride into Central this morning. I propped up my feet next to JJ and put a newspaper over my head so I wouldn't be bothered. I rest to the droning sound of the train grinding along the tracks, eventually managing to fall asleep.

"Get up." I wake with a jolt to the sound of a gun cocking and see three men waving guns at my face. I glance over to JJ's seat but he's not there.

Great, I think to myself. Turning back to the armed men, I see one of them pull out a walkie-talkie and press a button.

"We have the Alchemist sir, but the metal one isn't here. Permission to search the other carts?" The device crackles to life for a few seconds before dying down. "Yes sir. I understand sir." He holsters the device before walking towards the back door. I quickly stick my hand into my pocket and pull out a piece of chalk. I wait for the guards to do something about it, but luckily they don't notice the movement. I manage to finish the marked circle just as the third guard opens the back door, allowing several more armed men to pour into the the train cart.

“She hasn’t moved sir.” The one in charge nods his head in reply. I turn and look back at the table, and notice a message engraved in the metal top.

‘Looks like rebel soldiers of some sort, but I don’t know who their faction leader is. I’m on top of the train, but we should wait to see who’s commanding them.’ I nod after reading it before realizing that he couldn’t see it.

‘’Okay, up to me for now I guess.’’ I look around at each of the rebels and I see them securing the cart, covering the windows and both of the entrances. Suddenly I hear the sound of gunfire a couple carts behind us. The men ready their weapons as a rebel bursts through the back door.

“It’s okay sir, we ran into a Train Marshall and were taken by surprise, but we managed to take him out and restrain the remaining passengers without anarchy.” The rebel salutes the officer before returning to his post. As I’m about to activate the alchemy circle, the officers walkie-talkie buzzes, causing all the rebels to stand at attention. A gust of air breezes its way through the train cart.

“Good job securing the Alchemist.” The officer salutes in response as I turn to see a tall boy with grey hair standing by the doorway. He turned to look at me and I notice that his eyes were also grey, and the only other distinguishable feature on him was a bracelet on his left hand. He stares at me for half a second before twisting his right arm back, drawing in air form the cart. I immediately press my palms onto the circle, activating it, before a gust of wind curves through the train cart and slams me into the back wall from where I was sitting. Suddenly the room starts to glow as the tables transformed into metal hands, launching themselves at the nearest rebel troop, grabbing them before they have a chance to react. I hit the ground with my hands and look up as the glow fades away, revealing that the majority of Rebels were now caught in my attack. I hear several popping sounds from a gun being discharged, but they clang harmlessly off JJ, who has fallen through the roof, landing square in front of me. He is completely metallic, and before anybody could react, he slams his foot into the floor, causing the metal hands to release the unconscious soldiers and collapse back into the framework. It's then that I see the boy standing at the far end of the cart completely untouched by my attack. He touches his left hand to the metallic wall where the door used to be.

"Not getting away that easily, Josh." I shake off my collision with the wall and stand up.

"So that's his name." I clap my hands together and pull them apart, summoning my staff to my aid. I look at JJ as he continues to stare at us both with a perfectly still face. "Ready to finish this guy?" He nods in response as I slam my staff into the floor, summoning a marked circle around the bottom, instantly forcing the sides of the train car to slam out and towards the grey haired boy. Without a pause, Josh seamlessly passes through my attack before it could close on him and rushes towards me. Before I can react, JJ slams into him from the side, both of them crashing into the side, narrowly avoiding breaking through. In a second I can feel the air inside the room gather towards them both, before a massive burst of air blasts JJ backwards before he's slowed to a halt halfway to the wall.

"If you havn't noticed, I'm a little heavy for your attacks to do any significant damage. Surrender before I'm forced to kick your ass!" Suddenly I feel all the air in the room move towards him, and I drop to my knee in order to avoid flying forwards. I see JJ lunge towards him, but Josh pushes his arm towards him, sending out a massive gale of compressed air which slams into my ally with such a force that he's sent flying backwards into the wall. He sends another sudden burst of air at JJ, causing him to burst through the wall and outside the train.

"You underestimate the power of air," he says before turning towards me with the same blank expression he's had the entire fight.

"At least I know you aren't a mute." He flicks his hand, compressing an air ball into it. I tense up and move directly center. When he launches his air ball at me, I duck down at the last second, causing it to slam into the front door and blow it open. I jump backwards through it, landing in between the carts. I see him preparing another attack and I slam my staff onto the padding, causing it to glow with silver light before disintegrating away, splitting the train in two. He launches his attack at me, and this time I'm not able to dodge it, causing me to be sent spiraling back and slamming into the a nearby table. I roll over groaning and prepare to continue fighting, but Josh hasn't moved from his spot. I moan and hoist myself up by my staff as the back end of the train continues to slow down and slowly moves out of sight.

"Well, you seemed to handle yourself pretty well." I turn around to his voice and see JJ leaning against the now open door.

"You bastard! How the hell did you get back here and why didn't you help me!" He grins as he waves his hand to the side.

"Do you really think it'd be that easy to get rid of me?" I frown as he continues. "Now really, after I was blasted outside of the train, I managed to use my chains to hook onto the train cart behind that one and hoist myself to the top. Now for your other question, by the time I managed to get back up, the train had already been split and I decided it was better to get to the front half." He moves over to a chair and takes a seat. "You might as well rest, we still have 6 hours to go."

Hazelle's Meadow, Outside Crestbound (4/5/3)
Two girls stand in a meadow that's encompassed by a surrounding forest, a few yards away from a strange wooden structure that resembled a cottage. The one on the right had long blonde hair that stretched down her white blouse to her mid-waist. The one on the left stood in stark contrast, wearing an entirely black outfit, with curly black hair complementing the ensemble. A smell of flowers filled the area as the two speak to each other.

"I've healed his wounds, but he'll still require more time to fully recover." The black hair girl sighs as she looks away from the other girl, pausing for a second before looking back.

"When will he be ready to leave?" She shrugs in response.

"You know you can't stay here. My policy of care and aid only extends to the healing. I can't risk somebody following you and I'd prefer not having the Grand Four knowing my exact location." The black haired girl follows the other as they approach the wooden cottage. She glances at the ground and sees a sunflower grow from the ground, which is promptly picked up by the blonde haired girl. "You know, black's not really your color." The other girl glares at her in response before they walk into the building.

"Don't worry Hazelle, we'll be out of here before you know it." Hazelle smiles gratefully and bows her head before turning to the wall, which pulls away to reveal a backroom. The other girl walks through the threshold and sees Matt with a bandage wrapped diagonally around his torso and his face in his hands. "Get the hell up, we're leaving." He lifts his head up in response and looks at her.

"Never thought I'd see you in black," he says while half-smiling at her. She looks down and grits her teeth.

"Yeah.. well, certain things I suffer for. Now get your ass off the couch before I pull it off there myself. I ain't helping you just so you can slouch off." She pauses for a second. "I didn't betray them for that." Matt's face turns blank as he attempts to stand, only for a shot of pain to flash across his face.

"Like I said, he needs a little more time to rest before he can move." She clenches her fists before smashing her right hand into the nearby wall.

"Damn it! How long until he's stable enough to leave?" Hazelle frowns.

"Considering who he is, I'd give him an hour. That's the least of your problems though."

"What now?"

"A little birdy told me that two Arbur Adjutant are headed in this direction as we speak." The black haired girl turns and snaps at their hostess.

"You need to help me with this! I can't hold off both of them for an hour without your help!" Hazelle frowns and shakes her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm already risking my neutrality in this conflict by allowing you both to stay here. There's nothing I can do."

"Of course there's something you can do! Get off your lazy ass and do something, you have no idea how important our cause is! The fate of the-" Before she can continue, Matt cuts her off.

"Mione, go wait outside and prepare to fight." She growls as she begrudgingly leaves the room. He turns and addresses the blond haired girl. "Sorry about her, she's not in the best position here and I feel bad about the pain I've caused her already, but she's right. Our escaping here is important enough for you to put up with the risk. There has to be someway you can help without getting directly involved, especially considering your power over all of nature." He waits in silence for her reply. She bites her lip before leaning against the wood wall.

"Well, I may be able to stall them for a bit, at least to give you some time."

"Besides," Matt grins. "You owe me."

Ever

"So," I start as JJ and I walk through the forest outlying the town of Crestbound. "What makes you think that he came here anyways?" He chuckles, followed by a quick snort as we move around a large oak tree.

"Have you ever heard about Hazelle the Healer?" I nod my head in response.

"Of course, she briefly worked for the Grand Four as the resident healer before abruptly vanishing one day, presumably she ran away. Is that where the Shadow is going?"

"That's where I assume he went at least; Leatrice managed to deal him a pretty solid wound, one not recoverable from our healing factor."

"Makes sense, but how do you even know where Hazelle is?" He laughs and shrugs at my question.

"I have my sources Alchemist." I take his hint and we walk in silence for a few minutes, passing around several larger trees before taking a right.

"So, who was that guy?" JJ turns and looks at me quizzically. "You know, the one from the train that attacked us."

"Oh, him. His name is Josh, and if you couldn't gather from our little meeting, he controls air." I give him an annoyed look.

"I know that, I was there. I'm talking about his position, what he does, and stuff like that."

"Oh, right sorry. He's one of the main leaders on the rebel side, and currently leads all rebel military operations throughout Arbur. Since Matt's still alive, I assume he's still working for him. Back during The War, he was known as the Fury of the East due to his formidable fighting skills. In fact, he put up such a fight against Rin and her forces that it wasn't until our western forces finally defeated Matt and his army that we were able to take him down." A shiver runs down my back and I stop dead in my tracks.

"If he really is how you say he is, then what was he doing attacking us on the train earlier? He sounds like somebody who'd rather be fighting against the Grand Four rather than an Adjutant, don't you think?" He nods grimly.

"I don't know why he came after us, but he must have his reasons. This is why it's so important for us to take down Matt, we can't have the most powerful rebel taking orders from the most cunning rebel. Who knows what damage they could do to our peaceful kingdoms?" I nod in agreement and pick up the pace. We reach a small clearing when I suddenly hear the sound of wolf howls pierce the air. JJ immediately turns to Metal as I clap my hands together and conjure my staff.

"That doesn't sound too good," I say to him as I grip my staff and tense my body. Another howl occurs to my rear and I immediately flip around in order to face the beasts. Suddenly, several large brown wolves step into the clearing. I turn to face the closest one, and I realize that the wolf is nearly my height.

"Not good at all," I hear JJ respond as he prepares to fight. The wolf in front of my snaps as it propels itself towards me. I drop to my knees as it soars over me before I slam my staff into its rib cage, sending it spiraling into a nearby tree. I quickly glance over at my ally and see him wrestling with one of the wolves. Another snarl reminds me of the other wolves in front of me and I turn to face them. One of them jumps at me while the other rushes to its right. I plant my staff into the ground, summoning a marked circle which immediately activates, causing a stone hand to breach above the ground, grabbing a hold of one of the wolves mid-flight. The other skids to a halt and let's loose a bark, to which two more wolves appear from the bushes. I'm startled by a sudden slam from behind and I turn to see that JJ has managed to slam the wolf he was wrestling to the ground, leaving a small hole in the ground. As I turn around back towards my wolves, I register a sudden sharp pain in my left shoulder and I realize that I was just bit by one of them. I let out a cry but manage to whack it in the head with my staff before taking a step back.

"A little help over here JJ?" I hear another crash and then a whimper before I get a reply.

"Right," he says as he reaches my side. I lean against my staff for support as he takes on the three remaining beasts. He immediately slams the closest wolf's head into the ground with his hand and flips over into a second wolf. The last remaining wolf lunges towards JJ while he is distracted, and I jab my staff into the ground as it lights up, causing the ground by him to propel upwards, smashing into the remaining wolf, rendering it unconscious. Both JJ and I quickly survey our surroundings in order to ascertain if there are any more, but other than the sounds of retreating -and wounded- wolves, there's silence. I wince in pain as I remember my wound.

"You okay Ever?" I dab it with my right hand and see blood.

"No, not really, but what can we do about it?"

"You're right, if we find the healer she'll heal you no problem." I try to smile as I nod my head, but it comes out as a weak grin. Luckily, I'm able to walk fine and match his pace.

"You sure we're headed in the right direction?"

"Positive. We should reach the meadow in a few moments, so just hold on tight." We continue walking forward, and sure enough I notice a clearing a few yards up. "I'll go first just in case, follow behind me." I agree and he heads out into the clearing, where I follow shortly behind. The first thing I notice as I enter the clearing are two girls of roughly the same height halfway through the clearing.

"And here I thought the wolves may have actually killed you," says the black one to the right, but something in her voice sounds off, but before I can ponder on it more, the other girl takes a step forward.

"My name is Hazelle, and welcome to my home. I see that you're wounded, can I help?" JJ takes a step forward and stretches his hand out to the side with his palm open. I recognize it as an Arbur combat designation for permittance. I'm half surprised that she knew what it means, but she hurries over past JJ and and reaches me in a few seconds. He doesn't even turn to look at me, and continues to stare at the girl in the center. I take the time to get a better look at her, and I notice her stunning hazel eyes and tan complexion. On any other day I may have complemented her on her appearance, but the fact that she stood between us and our goal erased that feeling.

"Come on JJ, just leave. I don't want to fight you, and you have a chance to walk away from this without a fight." A sudden soothing sensation fills me and I notice that Hazelle has completely healed my wound. I silently thank her before turning back to the main event.

"No such chance Mione, you know we need to reach Matt. Don't do this to yourself, we all know that you aren't a rebel, just help us with this task and come back to Central. I can get all your charges pardoned and you can rejoin your friends!" I can see her tense up with emotion, and for a moment I think that she may actually take the deal.

"Sorry JJ," she says through gritted teeth. "You don't know the truth! You don't know why I had to betray my friends, you don't know anything!" I can see several electrical sparks arch down her right arm and onto her hand, slowly causing a build up of electrical energy. She extends her arm as her hand bursts into electricity.

"Then it looks like I'll have to take you down too." They both rush at each other as Mione punches at him with her electric fist. JJ ducks down and easily dodges, however she switches directions with a spark of electricity emanating from her and punches him square in the face so fast that I don't even see it happen. He's sent tumbling backwards several yards before he manages to skid to a stop. He spits some blood up before wiping his mouth. "That actually hurt a little." Suddenly, a bolt of lighting archs form the sky, blasting him square in the body. He lights up for a second with electricity, before it fades away, leaving him completely unharmed.

"Damn you JJ, I don't want to do this!" He grins wildly.

"Too bad, and something you should have learned from school, metal is an excellent conductor of electricity, and all I have to do is use the ground as a grounding source and your attacks have no effect on me."

"Smart," I whisper under my breath as I see Mione suddenly appear behind JJ, a wave of electricity repelling off of her. She grabs him by the neck and uses her other hand to twist around his arm, forcing him to ground in a lock. He twists to the side, simultaneously kicking out her feet before hopping up, causing her to loose balance and fall to the ground. She attempts to hop onto her feet, but JJ punches her back to the ground, slamming her into it with such force that it leaves an indent. He moves his foot out to push her down, but she suddenly appears several yards away on her feet before he is able, the same wave of electricity dispelling off her. I smile as I notice that she's clutching her stomach with one hand and breathing heavily. She launches a bolt of electricity at him, causing him to barrel roll to the ride, narrowly avoiding her attack. He quickly utilizes his momentum and launches himself at her. Before he can make contact, a small black orb hits him in his side, causing a small explosion that propels him a few feet to the ground. I turn to see the source of the projectile and trace it back to the far side of the meadow. The figure is panting heavily with his arm outstretched. I quickly move towards him, but a bolt of lighting strikes the ground in front of me and I'm startle backwards into Hazelle, causing us to both nearly topple over in reaction.

"Give up Matt, you're fighting a loosing battle and you have no place to go." As I prepare to attack, he suddenly rushes at full speed towards Mione, reaching her before either JJ or I have time to react. As we start towards the two, they disappear in a flash of electricity before reappearing at the far side of the meadow. I run towards them before JJ halts in front of me. The two rebels abruptly melt away into a tree's shadow, leaving an empty space where they used to be.

"JJ, you let Shadow and the lightning girl get away!" He scoffs.

"Matt's too weak to have gone any substantial distance with his shadow travel, especially with another person with him. At most, they may be two, maybe three miles from here." I move past him, but he doesn't follow. I turn to face him, but he in turn looks at Hazelle, who stands in the spot I had just left her. My face reddens as I realize that I had forgotten about her. "What are you going to do Hazelle?"

"Same old same old, I'll have to move to a different spot because of you all, but I'll be fine." I look between the two of them.

"Shouldn't we take her with us, we should take her to Central." His answer surprises me.

"Why?"

"She's a fugitive!" He walks over to her as he replies.

"Everyone has their reasons, and we shouldn't interfere with free will. She can do as she likes, and besides, she helped you. Repay that debt." I snarl before realizing that he's probably right, and my face softens.

"Thank you." I tilt my head down in a semi-nod before turning away from them both.

"We better get going then. Good luck Hazelle." She nods, and suddenly the meadow springs to life. Tree's miraculously sprout from the ground and grow at a tremendous rate. I turn towards the wooden structure at the end of the clearing and I see it unfolding, revealing a vast system of roots that retreat into the ground. I quickly turn back to look at her, but I only see forest once I turn. JJ places his hand on my shoulder. "We still have a job to do, so let's do it."

Tower Train Station, Central (4/6/3)
Ever

There's nothing more boring that sitting in your room bouncing a ball off the wall while you wait for JJ to knock on your door. I bounce the ball again before catching it and setting it down. I'd been in my room for around an hour waiting for JJ. He was waiting at the [[Central

Strata Prison, Underneath Mirage (4/6/3)
A 17 year old boy is sitting against a room made out of completely refined metal, a chain around his right arm. He has his other arm rested on his knees with his head bent over. He appears to be asleep when a girl with sharp blue eyes enters the room.

"And what does the great Leatrice need for me this time?" Inquired the boy without lifting his head.

"Shut it," she starts, pausing and waiting several moments. He slowly tilts his head up and looks at her.

"I don't know about you, but I don't have all day."

"Funny, aren't you?"

"I try just for you." Silence follows for a few moments.

"Where is the Rebels's hideout? We know you have one, you Rebels don't just disappear into thin air." He shrugs in response.

"If you hadn't noticed, I've spent the last three months locked up in here, it's not as if I know the comings and goings of my allies." She hisses silently before approaching the chained boy. She leans in close to his ear and extends her fangs.

"Don't be a smart ass, boy." Suddenly, her voice turns to a slight whisper. "Where's the base dear?" The boy grits his teeth together, letting a slight hiss come out of his mouth. He abruptly starts seizing, banging his head against the wall in a fit.

"Aagh!" He bangs his head again. "Fel... Felicity." His convulsions stop and his body relaxes. She leans away from him with a smile on her face before standing up and turning towards the door.

"Now was that so hard? You wouldn't convulse so much if you didn't resist my questions." He grits his teeth in response.

"It wasn't the suggestion, it was your breath. Take a breath mint, please."

"Watch your tongue boy, we can kill you anytime we want, you're helpless in this room." He laughs as his muscles momentarily tense.

"You need me for information, if you didn't, I'd be dead already." She frowns angrily before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Told you he'd talk, with a little forced effort of course." Leatrice turns and sees a girl wearing a long ice-blue dress. She's twirling her curly brown hair as she waited for the vampire to finish.

"Of course. I suggest we combine our forces to attack Felicity." The ice-blue dressed girl nods in response.

"Rin's Adjutant and Ever are heading to Central now, correct? I'll send mine to meet them and they shall lead the attack."

"Agreed, I'll send some soldiers as well to back them and secure the area, we have no idea how many rebels survived the war, and how many are even located there."

"Ironic, the so called 'Most Beautiful Town in Aeyr' is actually a rebel held city. I see you've been busy taking care of things."

"And what about that rebel attack on this very town last month? Are you telling me you don't have a rebel problem yourself?" She waves her hand as she leans off the wall and the two proceed to walk through the hall.

"Yeah yeah, we'll take care of it. They can't keep fighting forever."

Castle of Glass, Celestora (4/6/3)
"So, things are finally picking up I see." A young woman nods in response to the statement, turning to face out the side of the castle and out onto the beach. The other figure walks forwards, coming adjacent to her. They peer out and see a multitude of people playing on the beaches before them, families, children, men, woman all gathered together in peace and fun.

"We should hope that the war doesn't come down this far south, I would hate to see any of these people put in danger over any of our actions." The boy next to her nodded, bringing his hand to rest over his neck, touching a softly-glowing amulet.

"So far no disturbances." He pauses for a few moments. "We've been lucky."

"That we have." The girl smiles as she turns back away from the window. The boy follows her instantaneously as they proceed through the room and down into the hallways. A sound of cleaning echoes from somewhere in the castle, and the sound of crashing waves vibrates throughout as well. They pass a room filled with stacks upon stacks of books, past another with an empty desk with some markings on it, finally coming to a stop at a stairwell. They gracefully proceed up the stairs, passing several floors before coming to the roof door. The boy proceeds to open it and they walk out, stopping just a few feet short of a giant rectangular pool-base. The girl steps out onto the surface and glides across the water, leaving small ripples from every step. The boy proceeds to the middle of the side and stops.

"Retaw no klaw," he whispers before stepping onto the surface of the pool, his amulet giving off a faint glow before dying down. They nod to each other as they both take sparring poses. "Noissimsnart tnatsni." Both figures disappear in a flash before reappearing in the center, blasting away the water in a radius around them. They bash their wrists together before jumping backwards.

"Nice job, countering my speed with your teleportation spell, you're learning." He smiles greatfully at the compliment before continuing.

"Retaw fo evaw!" He slams his palm onto the surface of the pool, spewing forth a giant wave that rapidly approached his combatant. She braced her body before punching her fist in the direction towards the wave, causing it to blast away in a circle. "Erif fo htaerb!" A flaring blast of fire surges past the wave of water and towards his mentor. She slams her hand down in response, causing a massive upwards surge of water to build up before slamming into the flames, extinguishing them immediately. Continuing, she arcs her arm in a diagonal fashion, causing a thin blade of water to race towards him. The boy dodges to the right in a cartwheel. However, a blast of water in front of him interrupts his movement, sending him spiraling backwards and into the wall, landing on his feet. He grins as the glass cracks beneath his feet before launching himself off in a build-up of moment. She dashes forward in a flicker, blasting water away from where she stood as she moves towards him, both closing the distance. "Htgnerts fo egrus!" His amulet's crystal blazes violet as the two reach the center. He punches at her face, but she flickers her body to the right before bringing down her fist onto the side of his face, sending him sprawling into the water. In a flash, the water erupts from below, sending the boy flying upwards. She twists around swiftly before smashing him in the gut with her foot, sending him crashing backwards into a giant build-up of water. She lowers her hands down and takes a breath, causing all the water to recede back into the pool before coming to a still. The girl walks over and picks the boy up with one hand by the collar and straightens him up. He smiles back at her.

"Two minutes, good job." He bows towards her as she smiles in return. "You know I told you not to treat me any differently than just as a friend would treat another."

"I know mi-lady, just habits." She shrugs as she touches his forehead, sending the water to the pool, drying him off.

"You're definitely getting better at fighting since we started these brawls," she says as she reaches up to ruffle his hair.

"You know I don't like it when you treat me like I'm younger than you Emma, we're the same age." She laughs as she reaches her hand down to his amulet, but it's too hot for her to touch it.

"You're taller than me too." They both pause for a moment. "I just want you to be ready for fights and battles where I might not be there to help out." He nods respectfully before straightening his hair.

"Yeah. Hopefully that won't happen though. Who knows, maybe one of the sides will resolve the conflict without having to bother us." Emma agrees with a grin as they start towards the stairs, leaving the sparring-stage behind them.

"Can never be too careful though, so get back to your spell studies for now."

"Yes ma'am." With that, he trots off down the stairs, leaving her at the top.

"If I learned anything," she whispers to herself. "War will consume us all." She gazes one last time over at the beach before heading down into the castle.