Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello there everyone! Thank you all so much for sticking around for this relaunch!

I know the wait probably wasn't easy and I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to this. But now that I have a better idea and direction of where I want to take this story, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things!

I'm only going to start off with the opening and prologue for now and then in a week or two, the next chapter will come out.

I can't wait to see what you all think of this newer version!

Thoughts and comments are always appreciated btw. I love to know your thoughts on the chapters. 

That also reminds me since I didn't address this before, but I do see everyone's comments and I'm always so thankful for all of you who take the time to do so. I don't always reply because sometimes I'm busy or I end up getting so excited over them that I don't even know what to say. ;;

Either way, just know that I really love and appreciate all of you who take the time to read my stuff. I'm glad you've all been enjoying what I've put out so far.

Alright enough with the sappy stuff XD 

Let's begin this relaunch!  Hope you all enjoy!

Love ya guys! ^-^

-KittCat

Chapter Text

Wellston.

One of the most prosperous districts to live in.

It draws in everyone of all walks of life.

No matter who you were or where you came from, Wellston has something for everyone.

It holds so many things to keep you intrigued, so many new and interesting places to discover.

If you were to ask someone who lived there, they might say that it was the best place to make a life, even going so far as to say it was one of the safest areas to live in.

When given that answer, take it with a grain of salt. Because no place is ever truly safe.

No matter where you go, there will always be something.

Normally, it's nothing to be worried about.

But here at Wellston, some things are better kept hidden.

"̸̼͘H̴̟͒̚ŏ̶͖͘ͅw̸̭̐ ̷̭̲̾͝m̸̤̄ạ̸̥̐ṅ̵̞ý̵̦̄͜ ̵̛̗̙̉s̷̲̖͘̕u̷͔̓͋p̷̮̍͂͜ę̷̻̓̚ȓ̶̦̣͝h̸̙̐͆e̶͈͋r̸̡͠o̷̫̊e̷̺̪̾s̷͓͚͊̕ ̴̦̰̎h̸͓̽ȁ̵̤͚͆v̶̛͔͌ẹ̸̆̚ ̵̙͚̐̚t̶͎̗͠ǒ̴͙̪ ̶͎̃̿d̴̲̀͜ì̷̢̙e̶̹̿ ̷̮̾́b̸͙̐ȇ̵̡̢̚f̷̪̣͂ǒ̸̟r̵̻̽͗e̵͍̅ ̸̦̯̿̿t̸͙͎̒h̵̦̉͒ẽ̷̡s̶̕͜è̷̻ ̵̳̳̿̊p̷̢͍͋e̴̜̱͒o̵̗̎p̸̝͠l̸͈̂͠è̴͖̟ ̵̉̓ͅf̷̧̍̃ì̷̱̭n̷̪̾̅ả̸͓l̶̜͖̔͂l̴͖̇͋ỹ̷͔̗ ̶̢͌̍f̴̤̉̔į̵̭̕͠n̸̦̊͆d̸͉̐͊ ̶̈́̏ͅș̷̑ò̸͉̹̕m̷̝̳̈́̈́ȇ̸̘̈t̵͉̥̓h̴̦̽̐͜i̵̫͂n̴͎͗̓g̴͎̓͘͜?̷̹̈́"̵͎̪̑"̶̖͂̿ͅ

Because here in Wellston,   you're never safe.

"̶̼͑S̷̢͓̈́o̵̤͔̾m̸̲̄̆ę̷̫̓̊o̸̭̣͛͘n̴̞̩̈̕e̴̩͆ ̸̘̆d̵̙̋̊ỉ̶̱͘ë̶͇́́ḍ̸̔̉ ̴̝͛̈t̴͈̔̓o̴̫͝n̵̺̻̿̚i̸͂͐ͅg̵̥͌͜͠ḥ̸̩͗t̶̬̾̃!̸̲͓̃"̷̧́

Nobody  is.

"̵̢̘̏Ỉ̸̛͇ ̵̡̲̿c̴̱͆͗ȁ̵̜͇̑n̷̮̈͜'̶̺͒t̴̙̑͜͠ ̴̡̚͜b̷̭͚̉ḙ̸̻̄ ̴̪͉͋t̴̠̑͝r̴̈́ͅu̸̻͋s̵͓̹̓̏t̸͙̒ẽ̶̘̲̐d̷̗̔ ̵̮͕̈t̷̘͘o̴͇͗ ̸̞̔̇l̸̯͒ō̵̳͙͊o̸͚̲̿͘k̸͈̬̀ ̶̩̘͐o̴̪͗̏ů̵̥ͅť̸̻̍ ̶̬̊̈f̴̗̆͛o̴͚̊̏r̴̛͙ ̴̳̍ȏ̷͚͠t̵̠̐h̸͉̋͊e̶͎̕r̵̰̐s̴̟̋̒ ̶̦͘͜i̷̤̞͛̏f̴͓̞̒̚ ̴̫́̕İ̵̢'̶̖̭͊͒m̸̲̦͝ ̴͍̏n̶̠̅̐o̵̩̅t̴͇̓̎ ̸̭̚s̷͓̑t̵͈̤̆̏ř̶͚͈̽o̶̢̻̍̆n̵͍͛g̷̩͠ ̸̗̊̒ẹ̴͗ň̷͙̝o̸̫̕͜ů̵̩̗g̷̨͔̽h̸̜̒ ̶̩͒t̴̞̻̒õ̵̱̣ ̷͕͛͝ẗ̵̡͐ả̵̘̖k̶̠̬͝e̸̫̱͠ ̵̳͍̉̈́c̸̗͝ā̶̺r̸̜̮̉̋ẻ̷̫̼̑ ̴͔̓͊ő̸̮̣͂f̷̜̖̃̃ ̵̻͈̽m̴͕̒y̸̲̘͘s̷̢̫̄̈e̴̹̊̚l̷͈̍ͅf̷̮͑.̶̳̩̏̎"̶͕̹̏

There's always a shadow lurking somewhere just beyond you.

"̶̗̈́͗À̵͓̜l̷̫̟͑͒l̸͚̅̃ ̴̣̫̋l̷̜͐́a̴̡̹͝ť̷̳̪e̵̞͚̔ ̷͔́͛ḃ̶̬͝ͅl̵̼̀ó̸̳̒ȏ̵ͅm̸̡͋ê̷̫͚r̶̡̉s̷̤̓͘ ̴̩̗͐̾l̶̪͍͊ì̴̥͆k̸̼̖͂é̷̙ ̶̱̿̉ý̷̰̞o̵̝̬̓u̵̙̣̓ ̶͇͝a̸̫͈̎͘r̸̦͘ͅë̴̡͇ ̵͍̓̔d̶̆͜o̵̘͂o̷̤̣̓m̸͉̥͑e̴͉̫͛d̴̡͊́ ̷̭̀̚t̷͎͌̕o̴̟͊̿ ̵̯̒f̶̭͈͠͠a̸̐͜i̸̠͍̿l̷̗̃͊.̷̻̀"̴̖͛̂

An enemy around every corner.

"̵̹̀͝T̴͍̰͘ạ̶̈́́k̴̥̈́e̶͉̖͑ ̴͉̐̃ċ̶̦͇a̸̯͑r̸̻̀͝ẽ̵̫ ̸̡̲̚o̸͙͇͌͘f̶̥̲̃́ ̶̥̘͌͐y̷̦̦͋̂ȯ̸̪̣̕ů̶͎͍r̴̢̈s̶̫̲͐̊e̶̻͒͑l̷̻̂f̸̻̼̋,̶̀͐͜ ̶̛̳̉ạ̸̱͑l̷̫̇̓ŗ̶̠̕i̶̯͊g̴̟̀́ḧ̴͖́t̸̢͜͝?̵͎̐"̴̜̫͝

There's un seen writing on the walls, scrawled in red and carved by fire.

"̷̺̩̄̕Ẏ̴̦̜e̴̥͒̈t̵̩̝̕ ̶̙̅ŷ̵̰ȏ̸͇̍ȕ̷̝̉͜ ̴̙̠͠͝i̶̻̽̐͜ņ̵̪̊̕s̸̰̈̀i̵͙͔͝ş̶͙̅t̷͉̑̂ ̶̧̛o̵̙̐̈́n̴̨͔͘ ̴͓͗͠d̷̩͈̓ö̴͍̥́̃i̸͈͌͐n̷̛̹̕ḡ̸͈͊ ̸͍͖̊ṭ̵̾h̶͎̫̽i̶͇̮̅ś̴̹ ̵̡́͐ķ̷̲̚ǐ̸̯̞n̸̻̜͛ḍ̴͚͌ ̶̹̙͐͂o̶̮̣̎́f̷̙͊ ̷̨̠͆t̶̛͔̟h̸̻͑ȋ̴̳͙͐n̴̖͋g̴͈̋̈́.̷̟̀͐.̵̳̀.̸̧̘͂͗"̸̩̋

Truth? Trust? They don't exist here either.

"̸̳̳̋T̵̗̯͗h̵̰͔̉i̸̙̮͑͌s̷̗͉̓͝ ̶͔̫̂i̴̟͋͠s̴̹͎̽ ̷̪̜̋t̷̯̂ḧ̴̖́̓ę̷̫̓ ̸̦̦̋̕f̸̠̀į̴̏͑ŕ̷͇s̷̠͛t̴̘́ ̸̥̂ṯ̶̲̓i̶͎̤̿͠m̷͔̜̂̑e̴͓̭̔̈́ ̴̺͕̾̓î̵͍ǹ̸̰͌ ̶̭̓a̸̦̬̓͐w̸̢̼͘h̶͍̿ḯ̷̺̰́l̵̘̼̃e̷̢̱̚͝ ̵̫̄w̶̭̓͠h̵̞́̀ȩ̴̉̅ṟ̵̽ĕ̸͙͔ ̸̙̓̾Î̴͚'̶͕͗v̷͕̊̈e̷̳͖͊͒ ̵͖͌̂f̸̜̹͋è̷̥l̴̻̑̓t̴̘̃ ̴̖̻̎͝ć̶̲̉ȯ̵̡̺̓m̷͓̺̂ṕ̸̗͂ľ̸̼̐e̷̫͒t̶̫͍͐̕ê̵͉̑l̴̯̝̀y̴̧̞̍̿ ̸̮̫̀l̵̙̗͑̊ǒ̵͕̠̇s̶͎͝t̸̡̋.̸̣̾͗"̵͖̫̌͘

But no one will tell you that.

"̸͙̈́̽I̶̖̒̎'̸̞̚v̴̙̀̈́e̴̙̱͑̉ ̶͙͕̈́b̶̉ͅe̴̠̍̚e̸͎̍͆n̶̟̩̎ ̶̣̲͌͑w̷͙̐͝r̸̩̓ȃ̶̗͇ṗ̶̤̮̾p̶̥̯̈́͒e̴̻̩̿̀d̵̜͊̐ ̴͎̈́u̶̒͝ͅp̷̯̯̾ ̸̢̍̕ì̶̺͕ṅ̴͕̃ ̵͓̀ẗ̷̳̝́̆ẖ̷̇̐ỉ̸̹̤s̴̥͐ ̸̛̭̜l̴̤͙͛i̶̡̺̒ę̵̱̊ ̴̗̪̚͝f̸̳͋ó̸̬͎ṙ̵̝͍ ̸̢͉͆o̶̠͗̂ͅv̵̗̇e̸̳͂̚r̶͍̈́ ̴̱͑̉ả̴̪̜ ̶̺͝y̷̼͊̒è̶̮̙͘ă̶̤̓r̴͓̗̈̉.̵̩͐"̶̈́͗͜

Because they believe that here in Wellston, danger doesn't exist.

Oh how WRONG they were...

"̵̛̟͈̞̗̃̽͆Ṣ̴̜͇̓́̎e̸̱͍̜̊͒̃̀r̵̨͙̥̓̓̆̔a̶̛͙̞͉͛̏͌̕.̷̧͚̼͇̂͆̽̍.̷̛̘̓̅.̶͕̲̻̼̓̃̀͛͘ş̵̨͍͍̮̒̇̈́o̶̘̜̭̬̎̔͆͊̏m̵̧̛̭̻̥̤̅̑̎͠ê̷̡̻̒͠ơ̶̝̰̬̦͉̓̽ñ̶̡̩̖̫͆̂͝e̸͙̓̐̐̐̂.̷͖̌͗́̇͝.̶̦̘̥̩̟̊͌̓̓͠.̵͓̗͚́͒̐͜͝ḫ̸̞͕̜͊ȩ̴͙͚͕̰̈̈́̾͋l̷͎̿̓͝p̴͚̘̂̈́ ̴̛̝̗͖̲m̸̛̟̖͓̟̈͒̀e̶̛͓̋͌̿̚.̴̘͎̑́̂̈́̔.̷̢͓͖̘͛.̸͈̯̍͂"̶̛͇̼̩͑̕͝͝

Chapter Text

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The view overlooking the city of Wellston only highlighted its charm and appeal. It was calm, serene. Especially now with the change of seasons.

The trees were already beginning to shift, turning multiple shades of red, orange, yellow and brown. Leaves started falling off their respective branches, signaling that summer was at an end. The air became crisp and the days had begun to shorten, however this didn't stop everyone from mingling and walking about.

Children were bundled up in their coats as they jumped and played in the piles collecting on the ground. The satisfying crunch the decaying plant life made only furthered their excitement for the season while their breaths trailed behind them in wispy puffs. Their parents watched on and chatted on park benches as they sipped their steaming beverages, finding relief in the warmth they provided.

People began to leave their places of employment as the late afternoon signaled the end of their shifts, scrambling to leave as the weekend welcomed them with open arms.

Friday afternoons had become the peak of human evolution. No school, no work, and nothing to worry about until Sunday night rolled around. You could do anything you wanted on a Friday night and no teacher, coworker or manager could tell you otherwise.

The thriving area bustled with people who drove down winding roads and wandered in large herds along the sidewalks. Some even stopped inside shops and stores, enticed by what they had to offer.

A small group of adults dropped by a restaurant for some much needed alcohol and a quick bite to eat.

A duo of rowdy school kids walked into Kovoro mall to buy new clothes, their older ones not warm enough for the changing weather.

A short girl sat and waited at the bus stop, her towering and disinterested friend sitting next to her as they shivered. Both wanted to get back to their respective dwellings and escape the chilly weather.

A lone teen walked into Wobba Bobba to get his favorite drink, not caring about the weather a single bit and numb to its changes.

It was just another day in a small, but lively town, with people doing their own things and living their own lives.

None were the wiser about anything beyond the usual thrum of their everyday lives as everything continued on like normal.

Oh...if only they knew...

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A woman stared at the sinking ball of fire that painted the sky in a torrent of blazing hues. The already picturesque scene had become engulfed in flames, making the view a sight to behold.

Sunsets were always unique as no two were ever alike. Those in the fall were even more special as it was a dwindling reminder that scenes like these would become harder to witness; that the sun's warmth would disappear for longer amounts of time.

It was a reminder to enjoy what you have while you still can.

Normally, the woman would find a sort of tenderness in watching such a scene. She loved sunsets and would do whatever she could to have a few minutes to herself and bask in its fading heat.

But instead of the sun's light cascading down on her, all she could feel was the decaying breeze nipping at the back of her neck through the open window.

She sat with her legs crossed, one hand gripping the armrest of her chair while the other nearly strangled a glass cup as she stared impatiently at the door before her.

'Where is he?' was the only thing on her mind. She sighed as she took a sip of her drink.

The woman hated soda to drink on a regular basis, but when she was stressed, she would have some lemon-lime as the tangy, citrus beverage helped calm her down.

Most people would resort to fermented drinks like wine or beer to relax, but it didn't quite suit her needs. She didn't hate alcohol, but it didn't bring her the same comfort as her favorite childhood drink.

She stared down at the glass that rested in her fingers, its fizzy depths reflecting the bright colors streaking through the sky. Deep down though, all she could see was the lingering uncertainty in herself and in the choices she's made as emerald green peered back in a bubbling mockery of her reflection.

But whatever doubts she had, they didn't last for long.

Anxious from waiting, she got up and began pacing the room around the long glass desk at its center. She couldn't stand sitting around like this when there was still so much to do, especially now that the negotiations had finally concluded.

The woman was just about ready to leave and forget this whole endeavor when she heard the door handle click, opening to reveal an unamused and tired set of eyes staring back at her.

Against her better judgment, she scowled. Though in her defense, it couldn't be helped. They may be on the same side now, but that didn't make him any less irritating. She never liked his pretentious attitude and unfortunately for her, she now had to grin and bear it more often.

Focusing back on her task, she ran her manicured fingers through her wavy locks as she eyed her guest. "Where have you been? You were supposed to be here almost 20 minutes ago." Though she wished he hadn't shown up at all.

Before her was a man; cold, calculated, and dressed with a purpose. He always looked down upon her, that ridiculing gaze reminding her far too much of her parents.

And just like them, he seemed entirely disinterested about what was happening, unfazed by his late appearance. "Sorry I wasn't as punctual as you wanted me to be. But some of us have better things to do besides meeting almost 2 hours after work ends." The man walked over and took an empty seat across from her. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Straight down to business it would seem.

Good. She hated waiting.

Without another word, she pulled out the papers that had been handed to her that morning. "Now that the deals have been finalized between our organizations, our superiors want us to enlist in our first joint project together."

Pale eyes flicked up to hers before he took the papers, eyeing over its contents. "A new research project? Why would they need us specifically to handle this?"

All she could do was shrug, though it was a thought also lingering in her mind. "Best guess is that since we're both division leaders, they want us to participate as a show of unity. They've been talking about something like this for a while now. Since they wrapped up the deal, I have a feeling this won't be the last one either."

The negotiations had been taking place for over a month now and during that time, there had been attempts to start up projects between members. Though, none had ever been put into motion. This came completely out of the blue, leaving both to wonder: why them? Why the leader of a research division and the leader of an intel collection agency?

The man raised an eyebrow. "Did they say what this project is?"

"Unfortunately, no. They're keeping us in the dark for now. I've been told they'll fill us in soon but that we should start getting a team together to handle this assignment. That and collaborating more together to help strengthen ties." It was a load of crap, but she couldn't exactly say otherwise.

Working together on a project like this was just asking for trouble. Neither of them had any idea what their superiors were thinking, but just because they were being forced into this situation didn't mean that either party would be willing to push aside their egos to cooperate.

He huffed, seeming none too pleased as he dropped the papers down. "Must be my lucky day then..."

She could practically feel a vein pop in her head. It was already hard enough to hide her disdain for this prick and he could never make it easier. "Well, it's not like working with you will be a picnic for me either, especially after all the sh*t you've done."

He narrowed his eyes, both knowing exactly what she meant.

"Oh yeah? Tell me, what exactly is it that I've done?"

They were both looking for a fight. They always did. They were like honey badgers; both trying to outsmart the other out while tearing at their throats. Ever since the day she found out about what had happened to her sister and that he was involved, the two had become bitter, nearly violent with each other.

Just like now.

The woman's voice was filled with rage as her palm slammed against the table while the other came to rest on her hip. "You act all high and mighty, yet you're so scared of a child that you put in a cease and desist order on her lab results from the hospital. Tell me, was it really that necessary?"

Despite her sharp words, he kept calm, knowing just what exactly would fan the flames to p*ss her off even more. "I highly doubt you'll see it like I do. Just know I only did what was in everyone's best interests."

Narrowing her eyes, she bit a remark."'Everyone's best interests?' Is that really the case? Or is it just in the  authorities  best interests to keep her silent?"

An irked air fluttered about his words. "If it means keeping the peace, then yes. We can't have someone like her running around, spreading all this nonsense."

It was still taking this whole situation too far. She finally boiled over. "You're punishing her as if she committed a grand felony! She's not a criminal! She's just a kid who made a dumb choice. Do you really feel no guilt for leaving her in this state?"

She didn't expect much empathy, but it didn't lessen her rage any less.

On the other hand, he wasn't in the mood for this. "You want me to be honest?"

Whether she would've answered him or not, he still went on. "Truth be told, I hardly feel any guilt over this. Unlike you, I actually take into account how others' actions will impact the well-being of everyone else. You, on the other hand, don't understand how dangerous your sister is." He slowly drummed his fingers against the glass, head tilting to the side. "Imagine what chaos she would rain down if left to her own devices. She could bring her entire school down and corrupt them all with her delusions. This is for everyone's safety whether you see that or not."

In a flash, the woman grabbed his collar. "You have the balls to talk about safety when she has nothing to defend herself with?! She'll have to go through hell because you won't let her receive aid!"

The cop scowled. On a business level, they were equals. But everywhere else, he still held rank over her. But he was nothing but a shark in her eyes; always trying to play her for a fool.

"Let go of me. Now." His demand only fell on deaf ears.

"She's a KID! A CHILD!" It was ridiculous these were grounds she couldn't seem to argue, "She doesn't deserve to be left defenseless and without any answers! You have  no  right to hide this kind of information from her all because she won't go to your stupid little classes!"

The man glared back at her, his ice cold gaze enough to make any regular elite tier tremble. In this case though, it did little to sway the seething woman before him. "It doesn't concern you."

This earned him a humorless laugh before she stared down at him. "That's the biggest joke I've ever heard! You know damn well that it concerns me!"

His eyes narrowed, completely unconvinced. "Oh really now? I didn't think that you wanted anything to do with your sister given that you  abandoned  her with your parents..."

Her grip loosened ever so slightly, eyes blown wide.

Taking the opportunity, he shoved her away, giving himself space from the furious god-tier. She stumbled back, almost tripping over her heels had she not caught herself on the edge of the table. Her hands trembled with rage from the man's words. "Shut up you piece of sh*t! You could never understand me or my situation. So don't pretend like you do!" She clenched her fists so hard her nails bit into her skin. "How do you even know about all of that anyways?!"

A huff that could barely count as a laugh slipped past his lips. "Oh believe me, I know more about you than you're willing to let on. Nothing is a secret around here. You can try to hide whatever it is that you want, but it's useless."

She desperately wanted to argue, but he kept going. "So long as you're working with us, anything and everything about your past is common knowledge."

And she hated that. She really did. The older man had a point however. There wasn't a damn thing she could hide. Not her sister, not her past; nothing. Part of her even believed that besides her sister getting too crafty for their tastes, they removed her ability just to shackle her down even further.

"What about you?" Her eyes danced over him in judgment. "Do you honestly think that others don't know about all the sh*t going on with the authorities? Did you really think we were blind to the situation you've all created for yourselves?"

Whatever doubts he had were unseen as the man narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter. I know what I do is for the greater good of everyone, not the select few." How absurd...he acted like he owned the moral high-ground, still able to hold his head up high. "Granted, I was shaken up over recent revelations but even then, I know it's for the best."

She briefly smirked. "Really now? Because last I checked, killing high tiers was something all of you were against."

He fixed his tie and brushed back his dull ruby locks that had been carelessly disheveled. "And we are. We'll always be against it. But these people running around and causing mayhem are destroying the reputation of high-tiers. They're undeserving of such influence." His face scrunched up in disgust. "They're trying to live out a self-righteous fantasy, all while getting others harmed in the process. They need to be dealt with before they cause damage that can't be repaired."

What bullsh*t. "You know, one day this will all blow back up in your faces. Do you honestly think other high tiers will side with you when they see how you're treating people like them?"

Keon regarded her with little care. "Contrary to what you think, we do care about everyone's safety. The whole reason we're doing this is to maintain order and prevent people from getting hurt. These high tiers are wild and uncontrollable. Also, I'd like to remind you that you're only here to help us in our bio-studies department. You don't have a say on anything we do outside of your field so you would be wise to keep your opinions to yourself."

Like hell she would. And if he thought otherwise, he had another thing coming. "But I do. If we're going to be equals from now on, I have a right to speak what's on my mind and you have an obligation to shut up and listen. That includes what you and your people do to others and especially someone I'm related to!"

"As I said; you can save it. I'm not interested in hearing you preach to me about morals when you  agreed  to stay and join us." It wasn't like she was going to leave the people she worked for when she had dedicated years worth of her life to them. "The entire damn reason why your sister is stuck like this to begin with is because of your own actions! You are just as much to blame for what happened as any of us or the other executives you were working under."

For a moment, she said nothing and all that could be seen was her body shuddering with rage. "My fault...? I'm not the one who's paranoid over a stupid book! You claim to want to help people yet so far, more people have  died  because of you! Call me out all you wish, but at least my organization was trying to bring about some kind of change!"

The cop stared at her. "Change? Heh, that's rich coming from you when you people have been hell-bent on attacking and disabling high tiers to use as your own personal puppets. What kind of change were you expecting to achieve by making everyone bow down to your every demand?"

Silence reigned over the room. The only audible noise in that moment was the clock perched over the doorway, its soft 'tick, tick, tick' practically echoing in the cavernous space.

It was only broken when the man spoke again. "Be p*ssed all you want. But you and your people were the ones who left her in that position to begin with, even before your company merged with us. Like it or not, you made a deal. It is  your  job and responsibility to pull through with your research regardless of your personal feelings on any matters. This includes what happens beyond your line of work."

No, it wasn't. Even though she agreed to this, she didn't agree to watch her loved ones suffer.

"...I may have joined you people because our leaders have similar interests, but I didn't sign up to watch my sister suffer."

She walked over to her seat and grabbed her bag.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to talk to Neil. I refuse to let any of you continue to use my work for your sick games."

The other only stared at her. She swore she could hear a faint amount of disbelief in his voice. "Would you really?"

"Oh, don't worry. You'll be the first to find out." She turned away from him and was about to head out the door, tired of his cocky attitude.

"Even if it meant risking your current partner's safety?"

Her eyes widened as she froze where she stood. "...what?"

He...he wasn't talking about who she thought he was, right?

"Y-you wouldn't..."

But the tremble in her voice betrayed too much of what she was feeling.

The red haired man only gave a small hum in acknowledgement. "You think the higher ups haven't been keeping an eye on  all  the researchers in the bio-studies department? You each have your own files."

His hand dipped into his trench coat, pulling out a folder. He flipped it open before tossing it down on the table, pictures sliding out and across the glass.

Immediately, she recognized the gentleman who accompanied her within these frozen moments.

"Why do you have this...?"

He crossed his arms. "Because, you weren't the only one who wanted to talk. The higher ups wanted me to have a word with you about your personal morals conflicting with your productivity. I was going to wait till tomorrow, but since you summoned me here and proceeded to lay into me over your sister's cease and desist order, I figured now would be as good a time as any."

He took a couple paces to the side as the woman cautiously stepped forward. Trembling fingers glided down the side of a lacquered snippet of her and her boyfriend sitting outside a bakery and sharing a piece of shortcake, looking all the more like two lovebirds.

It would've been sweet to cherish something like this had the memory not been captured at the hands of those wanting to kill him..

That smug *ss voice broke through her trance, setting every nerve she had ablaze. "He seems to make you quite happy. If I were you, I wouldn't want anything to happen to him-"

She pinned him to the table, a crawling crack climbing all the way to the opposite side. It was truly a miracle it hadn't shattered. With each passing second, those sharpened nails tightened around his throat, choking him as he struggled like a bug in her palms. He uselessly dug his nails into her wrists in an attempt to pry them free.

Radioactive green was all he saw while Leilah on the other hand watched him uselessly struggle, his face turning red from a lack of air. "Don't you  dare  touch him you sick bastard!" There was a second where the man's eyes seemed to go dark. Then they lit up once more as he grabbed the crown of her head, digging through the deepest recesses of her mind.

The woman may have been able to freeze time, but even she was not immune to the pure chaos of such a volatile mental ability. He didn't have anything going for him except a small ounce of speed, power, and the insight he managed to gain thanks to his stupid passive.

She may have been strong, but his ability finally caught her off guard as memories that would forever haunt her flashed through her mind.

Her hold on his throat loosened while he gasped and coughed, his complexion returning to its normal pale. He planted a foot against her ribs and kicked, throwing her back. He narrowed his eyes with rage as air flowed back into his lungs. "You damn b*tch...! Do you really want to fight me and face the consequences?! Would you really go against us and risk harm befalling your partner or even your sister?!"

She barely heard him as she sunk to the floor, clutching her now throbbing skull. Tears dripped down her pale face as the man finally peeled himself from his spot on the tinted glass with a groan. His back was surely bruised from the assault.

The woman trembled as she gasped for air, trying to calm the terrifying images that tumbled in her mind.

It was more unnerving than any false threat that could've been conjured because it was real. It was the reality of the sins she's committed. Knives glinting red under pale moonlight, unsuspecting people begging for her to stop her assault, snow white lab coats now drenched in growing pools of scarlet.

It was what she had done to others.

And what the others would be able to do should she fight them.

This is what awaited her partner should she step out of line. His fate would be sealed under the tip of a metal knife and her sister would face even more dire consequences than what was already awaiting her with the authorities.

Finally meeting his sight, she stood up. "Why would you drag him into this...?! He's just a school nurse! He doesn't need to get involved!" He only glared her down as he rose back up on unsteady feet.

"Because you know as well as I do that sometimes, dragging in civilians is the only way of getting anything done. After all, that's what you and Spectre did before, right?"

"We were trying to help them!"

He stared down at her, not believing her for a second. "'Help?' Don't think of yourself like some sort of god. You and everyone else at Spectre were selfish and entitled. Attacking high tiers without reason, disabling and drugging them all in the blind name of progress. You roped innocent people into a pyramid scheme just so you could keep your *sses afloat."

"Not everyone in Spectre is a greedy psychopath and not all of us support that twisted bastard and his followers!"

"But you knew that they were targeting innocent people, didn't you? And yet you stood by and did  nothing ."

The young woman bit down on her lip while he grabbed the file off the table and snapped it shut.

"You want to stand against us? Fine. Go ahead and see where that gets you. But know this: I warned you here and now. Unless you want to see your boyfriend's corpse at your feet alongside your sister's, don't even  think  about stepping out of line."

Her mind flashed back to those lab employee's and the dread she felt then clawed its way through her chest, leaving her shaking. But there was something else merged with it, something cold and consuming.

The cop only turned away from her as he started to head towards the door. "You may be a high tier, but even you have a  weak point ." She could only stare at his retreating form as he made his way to the door.

"I'll see you on Monday."

With that, the man fixed his trench coat and threw it open, only for it to slam shut as it bounced off the doorstop.

It was only then that a strange sense of numbness coated her being, as if she was being submerged in some sort of oil that now stuck to every inch of her.

Leaning against the wall behind her, she slowly slid down with a soft thud, heels clicking against the floor.

She didn't want to move from where she sat, mind now disconnected from the reality around her. She pulled her knees up to her chest, needing to avoid everything for the time being.

She didn't want to deal with anything right now as it was all too much to process...

How could she have let this happen?

The people she swore to protect were now in danger thanks to her mistakes.

She was in no position to challenge them. Her sister had become their target and she had no way of changing it. And to top it all off, her boyfriend was now on their watch list.

One small step out of line...and they would all be gone.

Staring down at her hands, she felt so damn useless. She had all this raw power at her fingertips and yet, she couldn't do a single thing to protect anyone. He was right...she really was powerless in this situation.

She shut her eyes, tilting her head back to stare upwards at the ceiling tiles. "Seraphina...please be careful...I don't know how to help you and things are only going to get worse...just please...please stay safe..."

The words were muttered in prayer, a plea to some form of other being that her sister would be spared of this madness.

She looked out the window as the sun proceeded to set, its sparking flame dipping below the horizon and leaving the world submerged in midnight.

Something was coming. She didn't know what it was exactly, but she knew that there would be no safe place left when it did.

She had never found a reason to be scared before. Her whole life, every challenge she faced never left her afraid.

Nervous? Maybe. But she was never scared. Not even when she ran away from home and ended up in the streets.

Right now though, she wondered if this is what it felt to be terrified.

Prologue: End. 

Chapter Text

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

The infernal screech of an alarm clock echoed throughout the dull grey room, its annoying melody alerting its slumbering owner of what time rested on its digital face.

However, the person in question could care less about what time it was since it was doing nothing but scolding her.

'It's 6:30! Time for school! Get up already!' it screamed.

Balling up a fist and summoning all her agitation into a single motion, she slammed it down on the snooze button, causing the unsuspecting device to tumble off its nightstand with one last pitiful *BEEP*.

Poor thing didn't even see it coming.

With a groan she sat up, sleep still clouding her vision. It was barely even morning, the sun just starting its usual crawl over the horizon. Rays began to appear between the parted curtains as that bright ball of fire arced through the sky. But it didn't bring her any warmth. Instead, it served as an ugly reminder of just what day it is.

She hated Mondays. She hated them with a burning passion that could rival even that of the sun.

If Monday were a person, she'd personally throw them out a window. Or hit them with a chair. One of those options. Maybe even both if she was feeling up to it.

It was the end of the weekend and now she had to walk back into hel– school.

Homework, quizzes, bullies, and an overall gloomy atmosphere awaited her. The homework and quizzes didn't really bother her all too much and she normally wouldn't care about such trivial things. But it was no longer an option to simply ignore them like she usually did. Not to mention, it was starting to get cold outside, making the early morning trudge across campus even more unbearable.

There were days where she wished she didn't have to go, or at least just sleep in and show up late like she used to do. But unfortunately, her roommate wouldn't allow it.

She looked up as she heard the familiar knock on her bedroom door, said roommate lightly rapping her knuckles against the painted wood.

A light and airy voice, muffled by the wood, called out to her from the other side. "Seraphina? Are you up yet? I made some orange juice for breakfast if you want some!"

The girl sighed at the presence of the blue haired healer as she rose from her bed, her short magenta hair sticking out in all directions. "I'm up Elaine! I'll be out there in a few minutes."

Once the footsteps subsided, Seraphina started her usual routine as she grabbed her uniform, her extensions draped lazily on the table. She was thankful she made sure to brush them out nightly, less they become one large mess of a bird's nest.

It took her a while to get moving, but once she was ready and freshened up, she walked out to the kitchen where her roommate was holding a glass of orange juice and a croissant.

Hopping onto one of the empty bar stools near the counter, she watched her roommate whose hair was comically twisted in a singular, large curler tucked in the curve of her neck.

Upon seeing her, Elaine held the food and drink up slightly, making a silent offer.

Seraphina nodded. "Yeah, I'll have some."

Smiling, the healer slid over the glass and plate as she got her own breakfast from the toaster.

Digging into the flaking pastry, Seraphina savored its buttery taste. The orange juice was just as good too. Its sweet and citrusy flavor was like a smack in the face by liquid sunlight. It was a much more welcoming wake up call than a certain device she refused to name.

She had to hand it to her: Elaine could really work some magic in the kitchen.

"Thanks for breakfast, Elaine." While they weren't close by any means, the least she could do was give her a thank you.

The Elite tier nodded, happy that someone enjoyed what she made. "No problem! I have to finish getting ready, but if you want to wait, can we walk to class together?" Sera pondered it for a moment. It's not like she had anything better to do and walking alone wasn't exactly advised right now. "Sure." Elaine smiled before rushing off to finish getting ready for the day as she continued to eat.

While Sera hated early mornings, she loved breakfast. It was a small comfort that she liked to indulge in often.

For it was mornings like these that held fond memories...

She remembered the feeling of rushing to the cafe first thing on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to see what the cafeteria had to offer. Almost always at her heels was a familiar raven haired boy, locks gelled flat to his scalp. They'd made it a habit to race there together in friendly matches -that she mostly won- to work up their appetite. Sometimes, there were mouthwatering options to pick from like chocolate filled croissants and waffles speckled with blueberries.

Other times there were some...less delectable food items. The school's scrambled eggs were a choking hazard with the amount of pepper used to season them. John had to chug down several cups of water before he could even begin to stop coughing. He swore never to try them again, but did so anyway about a month later. The results were the same much to her amusement and his disappointment.

When they weren't rushing to the cafe, Sera would take her time walking into school only to meet up with John before class or during 3rd period. Sometimes it was on the roof, but most of the time it was in the infirmary.

Or if they both felt like it, they would ditch class during 7th period and head out early to Woaba Boba where John would talk about his latest endeavors, dealing with bullies, and living on the edge.

Moments like these are what made waking up worth it.

But...those moments were nothing more than distant memories at this point.

Sera frowned as she took another bite of her croissant.

They were now worlds apart, divided by his unseeing rage. They did almost everything together. Now, she was nothing to him.

The last thing she wanted was to ditch John, and she refused to back away without a fight. But it was hard. It hurt to watch him burn every bridge and shove everyone away.

Especially when it was her.

Sera couldn't help but wonder if what they had was anything real to John these past two years.

It was a cruel thing to think, but her mind kept drawing the same conclusion. As much as she didn't want to trust the dark voice whispering somewhere in the back of her mind, it was hard to ignore the glimpsing truths.

But with any human being, an act could only go so far. And John's actions had proven to be just as loud as his words.

Right now though, she didn't know what to do with John. She didn't want to add fuel to the fire or deal with his unpredictable temper again. It was tiring to handle alone and she didn't know how much longer she could go on like this.

He had become as unpredictable as his place in the hierarchy. One minute, he could be doing absolutely nothing. The next, he could lash out at you in a hellish fury.

With John so unhinged, it was a safety risk. She didn't want to know if he had it in him to hurt her...

So for the time being, it was best to step back and think things through. She had already spoken with Claire and although it wasn't enough to tie everything together, progress was progress. Of course, there were still many missing pieces...

But even if she found them, would they be enough?

What then?

What would she do once she had the answers she was searching for?

Then again, she really didn't know what she was expecting to find but at this point, anything would do.

She had no leverage over him anymore and if she had any hope of getting through to him, she needed the full story.

Keon seemed like the only missing piece in John's story as far as she could tell. But even if she got what she was looking for, what could she possibly do? After all, John now viewed her as a lowly cripple. Her words meant nothing to him. If he wouldn't listen to her, how would she ever get through to him?

In all of her life, she had never felt so worthless.

With a sigh, she pushed her thoughts away for now. It didn't help to dwell on this so early in the morning anyways.

'I can solve this another time. Right now, I have more important matters to attend to.'

While she couldn't do anything about John, she could do something about her ability. So far, Terrance was her only lead in getting answers about what happened when she was attacked and the time he stalked her and John at the mall.

Part of her really wondered if he had anything to do with all of this, or if they were just going on a wild goose chase. But the facts all seemed to line up: Terrence who could turn invisible was enrolled at a well ranked school filled with high tiers. She had been stalked by an invisible entity after receiving a bugged bear and was later attacked by a group of strangers who seemed to have it out for her.

While it wasn't an easy string of logic to follow, it was a good place to get started.

First on the agenda was finding Arlo to see what he found about Terrence, if anything.

Sera finished her breakfast and gulped down the rest of her orange juice before placing her plate and cup in the sink. She tucked her phone safely in her pocket and grabbed a thin sweater to wear over her uniform. Picking up her bag, she walked out the door and joined Elaine, who surprisingly wasn't wearing a jacket, but rather a thin scarf.

"Elaine? Aren't you forgetting something?"

The girl in question tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Sera gestured to her unpractical attire. "It's probably cold outside. Don't you want a sweater or something?" Elaine shook her head. "I'll be fine. It's not that cold."

Sera raised an eyebrow but just brushed it off. The blue haired girl often worked in strange and un-coordinated ways. Sera found that it was best not to question it.

Locking the door behind them, the two set off down the hall.

.

.

.

Making their way down the stairs to the floor below, they spotted Wellston's Queen emerging from her own dorm room just down the hallway, making eye-contact with the two. She was uncharacteristically wide awake and ready to go for this hour. It was interesting to say the least.

Shutting the door, she turned to them as they headed her way. She juggled her keys in one hand and carried a small bag of board games in the other. "Morning!" She greeted in an upbeat tone. Once she pocketed her keys, she jogged over the rest of the way with a bright smile on her face. Seraphina waved slightly while Elaine gave a pleasant smile. "Good morning, Remi! You seem pretty awake considering the hour."

Remi energetically nodded as she fixed her scarf around her neck above a thin hoodie. "Yup! Last night, the boys and I came up with a plan! We're going to have a game competition at the Safe House after school today." She spoke enthusiastically, "We figured it would give everyone a chance to get to know each other more and have some fun."

Seraphina had no clue how one could be so lively in the morning, especially Remi...it almost felt like she had an infinite amount of energy.

"I'm really excited for it! If all goes well, we could make it a weekly thing with prizes and stuff."

Elaine perked up. While she wouldn't be the first to admit it, she had a competitive streak of her own. "Ooh! What games do you have?"

Opening up the bag, Remi let her look inside. "There's already a few board games we had stocked up in the room but we found Twist, Connect 8, and Scrab Tiles."

Upon hearing the last one, Seraphina raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure bringing that game is a wise choice...?" She and Elaine glanced at each other with uncertainty, "...Remember what happened between Blyke and Isen when they played it in the cafeteria last year?"

Remi raised an eyebrow and looked up in thought.

.

.

.

Remi was making a b-line straight for the dessert section in the cafeteria, her stride filled with purpose. It was almost the end of lunch and there was just enough time to grab a slice of Wellston's famous triple chocolate cake.

Luckily, she made it in time and now happily held a plate with the delicious treat.

As she walked over to grab a fork to take with her, she saw two heads of hair: one orange and black, the other a bright cherry red. The two boys sat together at a table against the wall, hovering over a board of sorts. Each seemed to be deep in thought. Their lunch trays were stacked and discarded on a table behind them as they focused solely on what Remi could only assume was a game.

For a moment she debated on whether or not to leave them be, but eventually her curiosity got the best of her and the pink-haired girl decided to head over and see what they were up to.

As she neared them, the volume of their conversation increased and their movements became more exaggerated.

Upon closer inspection, she could see a grid with letters and words filling the boxes. Remi realized what they were playing: Scrab Tiles; an innocent game that tested how well one could spell to give month-long bragging rights. The bigger the word, the better. But looking at the two, she wouldn't necessarily call it a 'friendly match.'

Blyke's face was turning red and the smug smirk Isen wore was a telltale sign that Blyke was losing. Badly.

She wasn't all that surprised. After all, Isen was undefeatable at Scrab-Tiles among the three of them.

"Isen, I can't go!" Blyke complained, "You locked the board for me!"

Isen gave a light, unsympathetic sigh. Looking down on the red head he shrugged. "All you need is an L." His eyebrows wiggled teasingly, "If you can't figure it out, then I win~"

Before she came any closer, Blyke slammed his fist on the table in frustration. He was done with Isen's shenanigans. "Does it look like I have an L in any of my remaining letters?!" He shouted.

Isen simply rested his head in his open palm, sporting a wry smile. "I mean... maybe?"

Blyke sprung to his feet and this time, slammed both of his hands down on the table, harder than before. The tiles trembled on the board. "WHAT PART OF  YUUNAVA  MAKES YOU THINK I HAVE AN L?!"

At his outburst, Isen shot an annoyed look and argued back. "Maybe it's a  silent L ! And it's not my fault you can't spell!"

Remi stared on in stunned silence as they continued to argue, beginning to throw insults before it escalated.

Isen knocked over a chair.

Blyke flipped the board.

Isen started chucking tiles at him.

Pretty soon, they were rough housing and fighting on the floor like the idiots they were.

Blyke managed to wack Isen with the game board as Isen smacked the red-head with the entire bag of remaining tiles. "YOU'RE SUCH A PAIN IN THE *SS ISEN!"

"AT LEAST I'M LITERATE UNLIKE  SOMEONE  AROUND HERE!"

"SAY THAT AGAIN, SH*T HEAD!"

All everyone in the cafeteria could do was watch as the two grappled, backing away from the feuding elite-tiers in all their idiotic glory.

The Queen of Wellston just shook her head in disappointment before leaving the warzone with her slice of chocolate cake.

She would later find out that it took the nightmarish strength of Darren to separate them before dragging them to the infirmary by their ankles. Needless to say, Scrab Tiles was now blacklisted in their little friend group, less they face the wrath of the terrifying school nurse again.

.

.

.

Remi averted her eyes as she laughed with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Nah, I think we'll be fine." She rubbed the back of her head and returned her attention to the two, "I'm sure people won't get upset over a game like that..." Her smile faltered, "... hopefully..." The two couldn't help but glance at one another again, but said nothing more as the three walked outside together.

.

.

.

The chilly morning air greeted the three girls as they stepped out of the dorms. A paper thin layer of frost covered the ground, leaving all the changing leaves and grass covered in frozen dew. The courtyard was shrouded in shadows as the sun had yet to rise high enough to thaw out the plant life.

Sera yawned slightly and shook her shoulders out as the morning air brushed her face. She didn't enjoy the cold, but at least she could tolerate it for now.

Remi however inhaled and exhaled, enjoying the fresh feeling that invigorated her. She loved mornings like these and looked forward to the quiet walk through campus.

Elaine on the other hand bounced on the balls of her feet as she rubbed her arms, her nose and ears already turning red from the numbing air. "C-c-cold!"

Seraphina watched as her breath plumed in front of her in faint, foggy puffs. "Eh, it's not too bad. You can run upstairs and grab something really fast if you want to." She shrugged. But the under dressed girl only shook her head, determined to face the cold weather head on. "I-I'm g-good! L-let's just g-get g-g-going..." Elaine shuddered. With a short nod, Remi pulled out her phone and looked at the time. "Yeah, we probably should. It's already 7:00 and I'd rather get ahead of the morning rush hour." She pocketed her phone, "Besides, I have to meet up with the others to finish getting the Safe House ready."

With that, the trio started their morning trek across campus.

Elaine and Remi chatted as Seraphina's gaze drifted, watching the sun rise above the horizon, warming the school campus.

If only it could warm the chill in her heart...

.

.

.

Despite the shocking change from summer to fall, students stumbled down winding sidewalks, their obligations of attending class outweighing their need for sleep.

It was while watching this scene from the golden bathed rooftop that Arlo wandered down memory lane. He'd spent many days up here at the break of dawn, his duties as king forcing him to adjust his schedule to match with the workload it required. Yet he always spared himself a few minutes on the roof, basking in the warmth of the early morning light. It was a time where he could feel relaxed, free of everyone and everything beneath him.

He felt nostalgic, remembering the times Rei would take him here and sit against the fence as Arlo stood, listening to him speak his own words of wisdom.

"Don't overwork yourself too much. You can't watch out for anyone if you can't take care of yourself."

No matter how frustratingly carefree he could be at times, he couldn't find it in himself to hold anything against Rei.

This would probably be the last time he'd ever get to experience such freedom in Wellston. Arlo no longer had any right or reason to call the roof his own. This was the last opportunity he'd ever get to loom over everyone walking through the gates or watch the sky change colors.

He was going to miss this, but it couldn't be helped.

His title was in the hands of another now. And that other just so happened to be the biggest headache he's ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

He quietly ground his teeth together, strangling the cup in his hand with a vice grip.

John was officially King and had Wellston at his mercy. Even Cecile, who was reinstated as the head of the press. Not to mention, Zeke and his cronies now used their 'gracious king' as an excuse to lurk the halls like the vermin they were, claiming to simply be 'handling the students acting out of line'.

At least, that's what he's heard along the grapevine. Nowadays, he wasn't all that involved with school politics. Still, having to deal with the high tier kiss up and everyone following Zeke had become yet another problem on the Safe House's ever growing list of issues.

None of this would've happened if it weren't for John who insisted on making everyone's lives as miserable as his.

Arlo was just glad he no longer had to follow orders like a lap dog. John only had as much use as the cripple he pretended to be and was only as wise as his mouth. He couldn't get a single thing done on his own and had little to no reasoning for how he went about things. John ruled with emotion and impulse.

Though Arlo could admit, he was partially to blame for how this all turned out.

He sighed to himself as he took another swig of caffeine.

Sometimes, he wondered what would've happened if he really had just left John alone. Would things have been different? Or would John still have eventually crumbled and wreaked havoc on everyone around him? It was hard to say and he couldn't find it in himself to care now.

Part of him was just relieved to have the burden of being a royal off his shoulders. With a powerful title comes the responsibility that goes with it. He often sacrificed time, energy, and even a bit of sanity to maintain order.

Being king for most of middle school and now almost three years in high school was nothing short of a miracle. Arlo had relished in keeping such a title and improving enough to keep up with all who challenged him.

Now though? He didn't find a thrill in it anymore.

It felt surreal...

Crreeaak~

Arlo nearly choked on another sip of his drink when he heard the door to the roof open.

He was half expecting a certain madman to come walking through, ready to toss him off. However, his alarm faded when he saw it was just Isen.

The orange haired teen looked up, slightly surprised at the blonde being on the roof at this hour. The whole time he'd been searching for Arlo, he kept fretting over how to approach the topic of John. But no matter which angle he looked at it, he couldn't figure out what to say. So giving a nervous smile, he'd start small.

"Arlo? Uh...sorry, didn't expect to see you here."

Arlo took notice of his disheveled appearance and sighed. What was Isen doing up here? Unless it was to talk to him about menial tasks he used to assign, he rarely conversed with the ex-reporter.

...Though these days, he found himself frequently talking with others he normally wouldn't have gone out of his way for...

"Care to explain what's brought you here this time?" Arlo spoke with a tinge of annoyance.

Isen rubbed the side of his neck. Well, he might as well spit it out.

"Oh, I-...well, I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff..." He backtracked upon seeing Arlo's stone-faced expression. So cramming his words, he proceeded to ramble, "but I see that you're obviously very busy and-"

"Isen."

He took that as his que to shut up.

Arlo rolled his eyes before turning back to the fence. "Sit down."

Isen stiffed and his eyes widened at the unexpected offer. "Uh- oh, um," He glanced around anxiously despite there being nothing around. "Sure..."

Eventually taking a seat beside Arlo, the taller of the two watched the sky through the fence, whereas Isen was still hung up on the very idea he wasn't kicked back down the stairs already.

With a mental shiver, he shook those thoughts away and turned his attention to the view down below. There was a moment of silence, before Isen decided to face the music. So clearing his throat, the orange haired teen cautiously spoke. "...Didn't think you would be up here after everything..." He trailed off, sneaking a glance to the blonde.

At Arlo's expression, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for the guy.

Arlo shrugged dismissively and took another quiet sip. "After today, I won't be. I just wanted to visit one last time."

Isen only nodded, keeping his many questions at bay.

An uncomfortable silence eventually loomed over them. Arlo wasn't one to wait so he cut to the chase. "...What was it that you wanted to see me about?"

Isen opened his mouth to say he didn't need a real reason, but stopped after a second.

Instead, he sighed and rested his head on the fence. Arlo looked at him, impatiently waiting for him to speak.

Finally, Isen voiced his thoughts. "This whole situation feels so stupid..."

Arlo raised an eyebrow, expecting him to elaborate, but Isen said nothing else, leaving Arlo to inwardly sigh and fill the silence himself. "Do you assume that I'm a mind reader?"

But despite the quip, Isen's face continued to hold a sympathetic, if not somber expression. One that, despite being a pessimist, he rarely showed.

"I just mean, what if this whole situation could have been avoided if we actually tried to make a difference?" He frowned, "What if things had been different?" At the question, Arlo nearly rolled his eyes as set his coffee down on the ledge. He wasn't sure where this was coming from, but it seemed useless to worry about it now.

"Even if we avoided John or had done anything differently, there would've been no guarantee that he wouldn't eventually snap." He said with certainty. "Just accept it; there's nothing we can do."

He didn't want to continue lingering on this.

Isen gazed down. "Arlo, aren't you bothered by this?" His brow furrowed, "Cecile is Jack, you and Blyke are off the roster, and this school is falling apart by the hour."

So much for rubbing salt in his wounds.

But as unwanted as it was, this was their new reality. Arlo couldn't do anything even if he wanted to. "Isen, what exactly do you suppose we should do? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not king anymore. It's not my responsibility to worry about this." He crossed his arms, closing himself off. "John has beaten me twice now and unless you have some grand idea to get him to abdicate, then there's nothing we can do."

His stern gaze turned to Isen as the slightly shorter teen stood up. "You may not be king anymore Arlo, but the students still look up to you for guidance." He spoke in a downcast tone, dropping his gaze, "Not just as King, but as a high tier in general."

Isen's shoe scuffed against the pavement, adding, "...They sure as hell can't look up to someone like him."

Though they both knew there were plenty of others who already followed in the Joker's footsteps. "I know there isn't much we can do, but that doesn't mean there's nothing. There's still some things we could try." He looked up with a firm expression to Arlo who actually rolled his eyes this time.

"Like what exactly? Do you want me to get beaten to a pulp for the third time now?" His eyes sharpened, "Do you suppose we send a crippled Seraphina to go talk to him when he refuses to even have a reasonable conversation? Or do you think sitting down and having a friendly little chat with him will get him to change his mind?"

Isen said nothing in response.

Arlo rubbed his forehead slightly, feeling a headache starting to bloom in his temple. "John is the strongest among us and those who have the power, stand at the top. Whether we like it or not, he is the King, Isen. We can't change the fact that he's more powerful than us." He didn't want to deal with this anymore. He was just ready to throw in the towel and be done with it. "I can't do anything. It's out of my hands."

Isen leaned his head back against the wire fencing as he lost himself in thought. He knew Arlo was right, but deep down, he really wished he wasn't.

"Then...what can we do?"

A small 'tsk!' escaped the blonde, his anger coming outright. "How should I know?" He suddenly remarked. "I don't have the answer to everything!" Isen tensed at his sudden outburst, moving back a bit. Arlo sighed and looked away.

What was he supposed to say? He was just one person, yet everyone acted like he was some omniscient being; as if he could snap his fingers and solve every little problem that came their merry way.

But he couldn't. And he wasn't someone who had earned the right to be followed.

"Why do you blindly rely on me? I've led us up to this point now, haven't I? There's no reason for you to come to me with all your problems anymore."

Isen stared, unable to make heads or tails of this sincere response.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but Isen could easily say that Arlo was miles ahead of John in terms of personal development. It was true that he wasn't perfect. Arlo tended to push people into molds they could never fill. It was his way or no way and Isen hated that.

But, as of now, he would take that over John's wrath any day. Because for as much of a pain as Arlo was, he'd been a King worth following.

They were pulled from their own thoughts by the sound of a ringtone. Isen jumped a little before pulling out his phone, cutting their conversation short. Even from this angle, Arlo could see 'Pink Lightning Bolt' plastered on Isen's screen.

"Ah, it's Remi." He quickly picked up with a 'Whatup?' before Remi's voice poured over the line. "Mhm...ok. Arlo's here with me. Do you want him down there too? Ok. Yeah, we'll meet you there." He looked up at the person in question as he hung up.

"Remi wants us to meet up with her to help finish setting up the safe house for the day. Apparently it's going to be rather busy."

Arlo nodded and grabbed his coffee cup, though he was only half listening. If he was honest with himself, he didn't really care all too much about this club. But, he'd rather help Remi where he could help keep an eye on her than see her arms randomly burnt to a crisp again.

"Let's get going then. I don't want to overstay our welcome here."

Isen quickly nodded before speed-walking to the door. The two of them soon left and briskly set out downstairs to the second floor.

Taking one last look at the scenery behind him, Arlo finally stepped off the roof.

He'd made many fond memories up here. But now, it was time to say goodbye to that part of his life.

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While being at school early could be torturous for some, it did hold a few perks. Fewer students meant no clogged up hallways and no clogged hallways meant all the space to walk as you please. You also didn't have to deal with fights or all the yelling and screaming over the most random of things.

And when you have hundreds upon hundreds of students packed into one building like a can of sardines, finding space for yourself becomes one hell of a challenge.

That's where school clubs come in. They were places to enjoy your talent, a place to unwind before or after a chaotic day. Though clubs varied greatly at Wellston. There was anything from sports to books, to even video games. There was almost always something for someone.

Arlo and Isen passed by classrooms that were already bustling with activity. People in the drama club were rehearsing for a play as they belted out lines from Spearshake.

The art club students were quietly focusing on their canvases while getting lost in the music from their headphones. As the two passed by, Isen could hear a student gasp before yelling out a concoction of slurs as the sound of something spilling all over the floor was heard. "What the hell?! It looks like a murder happened here!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that some *sshole stored the red paint away without a lid?! Can someone grab me a towel?! Or better yet, another uniform?!" Isen cringed at what the scene must've looked like.

Even though the music club had begun to wrap up as they were passing by, Arlo could see a student with neon salmon hair with bright yellow tips, rocking out on an electric guitar. She was putting her heart and soul into whatever song she was playing. He could hear the other students singing along to the lyrics and cheering as she continued playing. The ex-king would admit that it would've been a good performance...until he saw the girl step on her aux cord and disconnect it. The speakers popped as the sound cut out before she reached the last chorus. The class groaned in disappointment as the girl facepalmed herself.

Soon, they came across room 224. Upon arriving, they found Remi already setting up board games and stuff of similar nature.

Remi looked up, beaming. "Hey, just in time! I need some help moving the laptop tower over to the socket." She pointed to the corner where it stood tall and proud.

Isen's eyebrows went up as he saw the pristine set of laptops sitting towards the corner of the room. "Woah, a laptop tower? When the hell did we get one of those?!" Last he checked, they only had that charging shelf sitting on the bookcase on the back.

Remi shrugged. "Dunno. Keene said they had an extra charging tower and since there's going to be an influx of students over the next few weeks, he said we could have it."

Isen shook his head in disbelief. "Either he has a lot of faith in us, or he really doesn't care about these laptops..." He scratched his head a little confused. "Well, let's just hope they don't get too wrecked. I don't have the cash to pay for that kind of damage..."

Remi stared blankly. "Isen, we go to a school where at least one wall gets blown up every day. I'm pretty sure they can afford a few $400 laptops. Not only that, I'm not the one who has a hoarding obsession with pens and goes out to buy a new one almost every week."

Isen was about to come back with an argument, but found that he had none. Instead, he only sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Fiiiine...but if they break and they ask us to pay, don't expect me to chip in!" Remi rolled her eyes, but chuckled nonetheless.

Arlo and Isen carefully rolled the laptop stand over to the wall and plugged it in. Isen checked that they were all charging before standing up. "Alright, we're all set." Remi smiled. "Thanks Ise-" She stopped midway as she heard the door slam open, revealing a very tired and grumpy looking red-head.

"B-Blyke?" He looked like a mess. His tie hung loosely around his neck, bags weighed under his eyes, and half his hair was sticking up on one side. If they didn't know any better, they would've thought he had just risen from his grave instead of his bed. "Sorry I'm late...I overslept."

Remi waved her hands slightly. "It's okay! There wasn't much left to do anyways. We're just setting up the laptops and games and tidying up a bit..."

Blyke nodded, unaware of his appearance, "Do we need any more chairs or things like that?"

She shook her head. "We're almost set, but we could use some chalk for the boards..." Remi faltered at his miserable expression. "... but, we can get that later." She cleared her throat and changed subjects, "Anyways, I was planning on stopping by the cafe to grab breakfast or something. Do you want anything?"

Blyke covered his mouth and yawned. "Yeah...I'll take a large coffee, extra espresso please."

A dramatic gasp came next to Remi. Isen pointed. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Blyke?!"

Blyke looked at the three of them in confusion. "What're you talking about...?"

Remi answered, raising her eyebrows when she realized Isen had a point. "Uh...it's just...we've never seen you drink coffee before. Usually you have tea or juice first thing in the morning."

Blyke only stared, dead on his feet. "I need caffeine. I'm not going to stay awake without it."

Fair point.

Remi addressed everyone remaining. "Anything you guys want?"

Isen ticked off two fingers, "I'll take a milk and a bagel." Whereas Arlo waved it off. "I'm fine." He turned towards the door instead. "I'm going to class." Remi watched Arlo disappear around the doorway and nodded. "Alright." She exited shortly after to grab everything before the cafeteria started filling up. "Be right back!"

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Just around the corner behind a row of lockers, a pair of eyes locked onto the pink-haired girl walking out of room 224. His gaze followed her every step as he kept out of sight and out of range from her passive.

'Deep breath in.'

'Deep breath out.' He told himself.

His patience would pay off in the end...He now had the chance to prove himself and he couldn't afford to screw this up.

But, he couldn't deny there was a certain thrill that came from this. And against his better judgment, he wanted even more of that feeling.

For now though, he would allow himself to fade into the background; out of sight and out of mind.

Patience. That's all he needed.

One step at a time...

Chapter One: End. 

Chapter Text

A/N: Hello everyone! We're back with another chapter! You'll notice that things are going to start switching up a bit more now.

As usual, I hope you all enjoy! Make sure to like and leave a comment!

Love ya guys! ^-^

-KittCat

Lunch had rolled around and the school day was in full swing. Students sprinted to the cafe to get first picks, even starting all out brawls over the triple chocolate cake. No one held back as several groups of raging mid tiers pummeled each other into the floors. Only a few were victorious. The others either walked away in silent anger, or were dragged away to Darren's office.

Poor souls. They would be missed.

As this was going on however, others had more important things to attend to.

Namely a certain senior press member, her steps confident and light as she made her way down to the press room. While there wasn't a smile plastered across her face, she was eager to get started today, for it just so happened to be the deadline for the newspaper articles.

She had spent almost all night proofreading the format for the upcoming paper and while exhausted, she wouldn't let a lack of sleep affect her productivity.

Not to mention, she had all the eyes of Wellston's student body on her once again.

"Look, it's Cecile."

"Isn't she back on the press again?"

"Must be. I haven't seen Isen there all week. I heard Juni and that Otis kid chatting about how they could post some real stories now. Whatever that means."

"She's also Jack now too!"

Cecile had forgotten what it was like to be part of the royal lineup. Already, just on her way here, she had been asked several questions and tasks that were reserved for the position. And like she always did, she answered flawlessly.

It truly was a pity that she wasn't made Jack after Seraphina abdicated. Had she been, she doubts that any of this chaos would've happened to begin with. All this talk about the Safe House and students neglecting the hierarchy; none of it would've ever been a problem for her to handle.

However, her title had been handed away to someone an entire tier below her. Needless to say, it left her feeling more than a bit irritated with the ex-King and current Queen.

At the thought, her frown deepened ever so slightly.

Neither of them were fit to lead.

All they ever did was neglect social order or lie to keep their precious titles. This hierarchy that Arlo cared so much about...he only followed it when it benefited him. And Remi could care less about any form of rank or social norm.

"Do you think John bribed her to become Jack?"

"Eh, who knows? I'm just glad I don't have to deal with Isen as the press leader anymore. That guy was annoying."

"Yeah but...I'm not sure how I feel about Arlo no longer being King."

She sighed. At least there was one off the throne.

Thankfully, with her and John around, Remi would be outvoted. Never was that gullible girl interested in any of the school's duties, especially since starting her dumb little Safe House. At least with her catering to the mid tier masses, Cecile was free to get back to her passion.

Reaching the press room, she fixed her ear cuff before opening the door. Upon entering, a hush of awe washed over the previously buzzing room as students all turned to look in her direction.

Cecile smiled. This was how it should be.

Relishing in the spotlight, she strode in right past their gawking eyes to the desk sitting in the back of the room, not sparing any individual an ounce of her attention.

Not only was she Jack, but she also had her press freedom back. Isen was no longer head of the school newspaper, Arlo was off the throne and best of all, she had a hundred stories to look over, ready for release.

For her, life couldn't get much better right now. She had a boost in her step and every student in the room knew the reason behind it.

...but, this isn't exactly what she wanted.

As bountiful as this alliance had been, there were constraints in leading the press now. John held rank over her both as King of Wellston and as a god tier, so his word was law. He'd made it abundantly clear that whatever was published in the paper, he'd be the first to know. He'd have the final say over the entire press. Soon, she would have to publish the announcements he had given to her on Friday.

Arlo had been the same way after the whole Seraphina incident involving her powers, even kicking her off the press team entirely. But John wasn't nearly as easy to face or challenge.

Cecile often sighed to herself, wondering why she always seemed to get caught up with people who liked to boss her around.

But then she would recall that she lived in a dog eat dog world.

It was rather ironic, but also natural given how she did the same. After all, you don't earn loyalty and devotion through kind acts. Control and power were what gave you followers who would heed your beck and call.

The similarities between then and now weren't too far off and sometimes, Cecile thought of it as simply trading one set of chains for another. How tight they were wound was what made all the difference.

It was times like these that she was reminded of Isen's words: '"The moment he takes the throne, he'll lead Wellston straight into the ground. Even he himself knows it! That's why he enrolled as a cripple to begin with! So Cecile, unless you're dissatisfied with how things are going now, then don't mess with him!"'

Isen had always seemed like a coward, but perhaps he'd been onto something back then.

Whatever. That was neither here nor there. While she was rather annoyed with John's treatment, she could at least reap the benefits of her returned title.

Cecile rounded the main desk and sat down in her seat as she looked over at the other students in attendance. She tapped a finger against the wooden surface while eyeing the crowd.

Though classes were already in motion, the school press was open for business in intervals throughout the day. Contrary to popular belief, the school was not as tight on academics as others were. At least, for the high rankers that was the case. For others, they could be absent from class every so often. As long as students handed in their work on time, their teachers could care less if they ended up in the infirmary, were ditching, or were taking care of an extracurricular.

Of course, if they were skipping class, Cecile made sure they weren't just here to laze around while everyone else pulled their weight.

When it came to the press, Cecile made sure that those involved had their priorities in line. Quality articles didn't just appear out of thin air. It took just as much commitment as a real job; there was no time to slack.

It was an unspoken rule; if you cared enough to join the press, you'll care enough to get your work in on time. After all; time, effort, and sacrifice were what built this club from the ground up.

She refocused on the quiet class, waiting for her announcements.

Clutching pens and papers, once everyone settled into their seats or hovered by the walls. Cecile stood and surveyed their watchful gazes, violet eyes scanning the familiar crowd.

"Alright, everyone!" No one could afford to miss what she had to say, for she wouldn't repeat it again. "As you've all probably heard, today is submission day. That means this week's entries are due. If you have any that you want to submit, they have to be on my desk before the final bell rings."

It was quiet enough that one could hear a pin drop.

Cecile leaned her hand against the desktop and continued, "For those of you in charge of the interview columns, I need to see your reports by the time this period ends." The room temperature seemed to drop a moment later, "They better not have any grammatical or spelling errors."

Faces paled as she gave a small, satisfied smirk. "Now, if you have any questions, ask. Otherwise, that will be all."

While Cecile was no sadist, she couldn't deny there was a certain buzz about watching all the underclassmen squirm as they fearfully rushed to find and correct any mistakes they missed.

Pencils and pens scratched on paper as others raced over to the dusty printer in the back of the room, trying to get whatever copies they needed. She watched two members argue over who got to use the aging equipment, only to panic when they found out it was out of ink.

As that was going on, Cecile sat back and read through the latest entries already handed in. While some topics caught her eye, others did little to impress her.

'Safe House game night? No. John would have my head for that. Kovoro mall sale? Too unoriginal. It's already going to be covered in the local paper. Concert Night with Music club? ...not a terrible one. Could be a useful side story... Ex-Royals in disarray?'

Taking a closer look, Cecile's initial frown faded before turning into a cunning smirk. She was always a sucker for gossip. While she valued her ability to put out the objective truth, she couldn't resist a catchy story. So long as nothing in said story was technically false, it was all fair game.

As time passed, she began tapping her pen against her lips while an all too familiar problem of different students submitting the same story came to her attention. Cecile had just finished reading over the third version about how a senior had snuck into the teachers lounge to heat up a hot pocket and almost blew up the microwave. She wouldn't call it the story of the year, but its random humor would receive positive feedback.

Unfortunately, with multiple submissions meant she had to choose only one and break the news to the others that theirs wasn't chosen. She could only see their reactions now.

Outside of the press room, students acted like wild animals. They held their dignity in front of her now, but come the end of the period, fights would break out and they would beat each other senseless outside the door.

In times of desperation, they might even beg or bribe her for their version of the story to go through. Those types were pathetic to Cecile. But in the end, she would only choose the version that stuck with their audiences the most. As long as the right story made it through and there wasn't much flack, it wasn't her problem.

It's just how things worked in the press.

She continued to stack the corrected submissions as students handed in even more stories, periodically asking for her opinion or any advice she may have. Once she was done with the first batch, she began sorting them into various piles.

There was one for the sports section, the club section, the general school changes etc.

Then there was the discard pile with stories that were either too out there for the paper, had countless mistakes, or weren't all that interesting to begin with. Just like the one she was staring at.

She almost facepalmed herself as her eyes roamed over the pages of the anonymous submission. ''The Average Day of school faculty members?!' Everyone already knows what they do for a living. Not to mention it's full of spelling errors and it runs on for entire paragraphs about each member of staff.' She quickly stacked it among the other discarded stories. No wonder the writer was anonymous.

Unfortunately, that pile was almost tipping over from how many papers there were. Most of them earned their place there due to the many errors she had found on them. Looks like she would have to get on the other writers over grammar and spell checking at the next meeting.

Overall though, she hardly minded it. This is what she loved to do and she was glad to have her calling back.

Even as the bell rang and students raced over to her with barely contained fear in their eyes, she knew she was right where she wanted to be.

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Eventually, she took a break and sat back from where she was slumped over her work, looking up from the various mountains of papers she had finally sorted through. Her desk had become its own city of sorts with piles upon piles towering high over where she sat, leaving almost no part of the wooden surface showing.

As she looked around her pillars of writing, she noticed she was the only person left in the silent room. Everyone else had departed for a class of some sort and the second wave of students would be coming soon, meaning she would have to be ready for another round of work.

Huh. She must've been more engrossed in her work than she originally thought.

Whatever.

She sighed and stood with a yawn, stretching her arms high above her head where she felt her joints creak and pop.

'I haven't felt this stiff in a while...I really need to start taking breaks.'

Well, students wouldn't be in for another 15 minutes.

Cecile sighed. Might as well stretch her legs and grab some lunch.

Looking for her phone among the piles of papers, she quietly grumbled to herself over the lack of organization. If Isen were still here, she would just order him to take care of it for her.

Oh well.

Her fingers finally brushed the dark purple case of her phone when a strange feeling crawled down the back of her spine.

It wasn't necessarily a chill but it felt close, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She tensed at the sudden unease it left her with.

She looked around as that sensation made her skin prickle.

Nothing was out of the ordinary...

Towards the back of the room though, a window over the back shelf was open. She was sure it was closed before...no one really opened it when the other windows were easier to reach.

Though every once in awhile, she would find someone had left it open.

Sighing to herself, which was becoming a habit as of late, she walked over and shut it, flipping the latch down tightly. 'How many times have I told those guys to stop leaving this open? This place gets drafty enough as it is.'

But even after it closed, that sensation didn't leave her. In fact, it felt like it was getting even colder in the room.

Creeaak~ click!

The hinges of the door squeaked for just a moment, followed by the sound of it being shut.

Cecile whipped her head to face the noise, eyebrows knit together. But she was the only one in the room.

Did someone try coming in?

She was about to disregard it when she heard the sound of footsteps sound along the side of the room with a soft

Tap

Tap

Tap

What the-? Who was it?

...Was it Terrence?

He always had this nasty habit of trying to sneak his papers in at the last minute.

And like hell she was going to let him submit yet another late paper under her nose like this.

She rolled her eyes. "Terrence, I know you're there. Quit sneaking around. I'm not taking any late papers."

Silence.

She shifted her weight onto one leg and crossed her arms. "Look, I don't have time for your games. Come on out already." Suddenly, a small gust passed by her face, causing a pile of papers to flop off the desk.

Cecile swore under her breath and went to pick up the fallen sheets. That little sh*t! "Are you kidding me?!" She exasperated in an irritated tone, "Do you know how long it took me to sort through all of this?!"

Her eyes faintly glowed. She didn't have time for his shenanigans. Quite frankly, she was sick and tired of it.

"Terrence, I swear, I'll tie you to the flag pole out front if you don't show yourself."

But there was nothing.

Cecile thought she heard a faint chuckle as another stack of papers tumbled off the desk.

And that was the last straw. "That's it!" Vines slithered around her hands, coiling about her like serpents. "I'm not taking your next goddamn paper!"

Still, nothing.

She looked around, back and forth. There weren't any steps as she tried to catch some form of noise or faint movement.

'Where is that invisible *sshole?'

That's when she saw it: a shadow.

Though, it wasn't expected. The corner of the room was shrouded in a dark mist, the very back almost pitch black.

Cecile swore something was moving, watching her even. She doesn't recall if this was something Terence could do with his ability...

The shadow loomed in the corner as it seemed to pulse. As if it was alive.

Cecile faltered.

Was it even Terrence? Or could it be another student playing a trick on her?

So what though? Regardless, they weren't welcomed here.

Her vines lashed outwards, reaching towards the corner of the room.

But instead of making contact with anything solid to wrap around, her eyes widened as they entwined around each other. The shadow had shifted just to the right of her attack.

'Quit moving around!'

With a sneer, the vines shot forward again and stabbed right into the plastered wall behind the shadow, the sharpened points leaving cracks. Yet there wasn't a sign of movement.

Cecile felt her eyebrow twitch, more than a little bit confused. The shadow hadn't shifted this time, still lurking ominously.

She took a step forward, goosebumps forming on her skin. This...didn't seem like something Terrence could pull off. "Hey, reveal yourself right no-!" But before she could finish, it suddenly zipped right past her, practically phasing through her with unexpected force.

With a gasp Cecile reeled, stepping backwards when her feet caught onto something. As she began to tip over, she reached out in surprise- eyes darting wildly to find something to wrap her vines around, only for nothing to save her fall. She expected the floor to cushion it, but not before the hard edge of the table connected with the side of her head.

*WHACK!*

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With a gasp, she jolted awake, eyes stinging at the bright lights overhead.

'Ugh...what the-?'

The first thing she noticed was that she was at her desk, slumped over atop a stack of papers. She lifted herself up, head aching something fierce.

Subconsciously, her eyes whipped to the corner of the room.

It was only then a faint snippet of memory flashed across her mind; the open window, that shadow, the falling, and-

Her eyes focused completely on the area where she knew had seen something.

It was gone now. All that remained was the dreary printer perched on the shelf.

She hesitated, then activated her ability. She was searching for something- anything she could find out of place.

But there was nothing. Nothing except the various papers scattered on the floor from when she was laying on the piles now tipped over on the desk.

There wasn't...anything...

It almost felt like a dream, and part of her wanted to be convinced her mind fabricated something ridiculous.

She rubbed her head and winced. There was a lump on her forehead. That definitely felt real alright...but what about everything else?

That all felt real too.

If so, who would do this? Who was dumb enough to pull such a stupid stunt? Especially going as far as to place her back in her seat after she fell?

Who-...?

She sighed to herself. No...

Maybe...maybe she really did just fall asleep...

She hadn't been getting enough rest lately and the stress was getting to her.

But try as she might, she still couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling now settled in her bones.

After looking around the room once again, she headed towards the door.

She couldn't place her finger on a motive. There was no reason for anyone to go to such lengths.

'I need some coffee...'

For now she'd put it aside.

Quickly she made her way out of the press room, leaning against the door the second it shut.

It was just her luck that a familiar face showed up. "Cecile!"

Otis.

While he wasn't annoying, Cecile didn't like him following her around like a lost puppy all the time. He was always vying for her attention among the countless others around her.

But at least his company was...tolerable...for the moment.

"What the-...? What happened to your head?" His expression had shifted from calm joy to concern in a matter of seconds as he caught onto the sight of her head.

Cecile gently touched the area but said nothing.

A moment passed before his bold yellow eyes narrowed after peeking left and right.

"Was it...John?" He spoke his name like it was a curse.

She shook her head. "No, it wasn't John. I haven't seen him at all this morning." The accusation made complete sense from Otis' perspective, but he was wrong.

Though of course, the truth to him would make even less sense than if she were to pin it on the raging tyrant. But she didn't want to say anything outlandish right now. She still had a reputation to uphold and the last thing she needed was to give anyone a reason to panic over something that may not have even happened.

She could only imagine how the students would react to hearing that the now Jack had been bested by a measly shadow. Students would mock her behind her back. So she wanted to keep this slice of information to herself for now.

"I tripped over some fallen papers and hit my head against the edge of the table." That would surely suffice. She wasn't clumsy, but he wouldn't question it given the circumstances as of late.

It seemed to convince Otis who relented, and only shrugged his shoulders. She was grateful he was so simple-minded...

"Must've been a pretty nasty fall then."

Cecile dismissed his concern. "It was nothing."

She didn't want to chat idly though. That uneasy feeling from before had returned, gnawing away at her.

Something about this whole thing didn't feel right. Was it really Terrence? Was it just in her head?

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask a couple of questions...

"...Question: but have you seen Terrence at all today?"

As expected, Otis raised an eyebrow. "Terrence? Uh, I actually had Trig with him a few minutes ago."

"Did he leave the room?"

He shook his head. "Nope. He was sitting in front of me the whole time. Why? Was he supposed to come meet you?"

She bit her lip a little. Maybe it really had been in her head after all...at least, that's what she hoped.

"It's nothing to be concerned about. Anyways, I forgot some papers back in the room." Now that she thought about it, she should probably head down to the docs after this. She didn't want anyone else asking questions.

However, Otis couldn't help but be concerned. "Cecile? You okay? You seem zoned out..."

"Yeah, I just need a cup of coffee." She had been tired lately and with all the papers she had been looking through, she was starting to lose her senses.

Was she...?

Otis nodded. "I can bring you some while you head down to docs?"

But Cecile wasn't entirely listening to him. That feeling...it still lingered in the back of her mind and it bothered her.

She was still a bit distracted even as she answered him. "Sure, let me take care of those papers really quick."

She was in and out in record time. All the while, her gaze flicked around that room as if she was still being watched. Her hands were quick and precise as she gathered the papers off the floor and stacked them back on the desk. They weren't organized properly like she wished, but she'd fix them later.

Right now, she just wanted to step away from the press room; away from all the noise.

Less than a minute later he followed her down the hall, chatting away about how people could be so careless with their possessions these days. As they left, Cecile took one last look around, that uneasy feeling still weighing on her mind.

Within the deafening silence of the press room, the sound of footsteps echoed along the floor.

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

Sharp claws rifled through the discarded papers once more, having failed to find anything the first time.

'The kid said he'd leave that paper with the girl. It has to be here somewhere...aha!'

Plucking the poorly written article out of the mess that was made, scarlet eyes scanned over its contents. It wasn't the article catching their interest, but rather the photo and description.

'There it is...' They filed it away for safekeeping.

And just as quickly as they appeared, they left.

The room was once again submerged in silence.

Chapter 2: End.

Chapter Text

Pattering against the windows, leaves blew in the cold gusts of autumn picking up over campus. While comfortably sheltered from the wind and beside a heating vent, a lean and blonde man turned a red apple over in his hand and leaned back in an office chair, enjoying the change in weather.

But just across from him was someone consistently pessimistic. Someone increasingly hard to ignore…

“So, how’s your day been so far?” With a free hand, the man tilted the black framed glasses sitting above his nose downard, raising a brow at the white-coated nurse.

Gloomy silence filled the school nurse's office.

Then without a word, the other downed the contents of his coffee cup before slamming it down on the desk with such force, Keene flinched; his lunch nearly falling out of hand as he choked."Wh-*cough! cough!* Hey! *cough!*"

Readjusting his glasses, he quickly shivered it off. "What's your deal man??" He eventually calmed down as Darren sighed. "I'm getting real tired of all this bullsh*t." A few seconds passed before Keene deadpanned at him. "When are you not tired of the bullsh*t?" He fixed his glasses, glaring at the man. "And for the love of all things sane, why didn't you just say so instead of almost making me choke to death?!"

Darren rolled his eyes and practically scoffed. "Oh please, you wouldn't have died."

Keene shook his head. "I would have because knowing you, you would just laugh until you had to do the Heimlich maneuver. And by that point, I'd be dead."

Darren sighed as he looked over a few papers, most likely more injury cases from the first half of the day. "Dramatic much?" he grumbled and Keene could only chuckle to himself at the irony. "Well, fun fact; I actually enrolled here as a theater teacher originally."

A curious brow was the only answer he received. “You’re kidding. There’s no way.”

The groundskeeper smirked as he took another bite of his apple. "Yup. I originally applied for it, but Vaughn already found a potential candidate. However, he saw my skill set and said he'd hire me for a separate position if I was interested."

Darren rolled his eyes. "Yet even after taking the position as head of security, you still can’t keep your nose out of all the drama going on here." Keene only grumbled to himself but didn’t take it to heart.

For Darren however, his mind had wandered off to their current circumstances yet again, his thoughts now lingering on the headmaster and his absurd ways.

He would never say this out loud, but Darren always thought Vaughn was a little off his rocker. It was hard to trust him with how many poor choices he's been making lately.

Ever since this whole Joker situation took off, Darren has been having to work overtime for well over a week now. He thought the amount of students he received before was bad, but now there was hardly an hour that went by where there wasn’t a student laying in one of the cots waiting for a tonic to kick in.

"...speaking of the headmaster Keene, why is Vaughn letting this continue?” He eyed the head of security, hoping he’d get some form of answer. “We're all getting a little agitated from the excessive violence." referring to the school staff, "Krista had two students attend class with bloody noses last Thursday and Preston had to prevent a kid from collapsing down the stairs due to a concussion. There’s still masked students running rampant, even with the Safe House up and running and Vaughn hasn’t done anything to reel them in.”

Keene only raised an eyebrow, partially adding to Darren’s annoyance. “…well…I don't know. At least not entirely."

Darren's brow twitched.

"...I have a small hunch, but I don't want to say anything unless I'm sure." Keene contemplated, "For now though, I’d just give it time. There’s no point in worrying about it right now."

Darren leaned back in his seat and rubbed his face, scratching at his unshaven chin. "Keene, I want to trust him, but with how shady he is and with so many students coming in here, it's hard not to question his motives. If you have any clue as to what his line of reasoning may be, I’m all ears."

Keene let the words digest for a moment before leaning back in his seat as well. "Darren, believe me, I'm just as worried about all of this as well. I know he seems like a shady guy, but he probably knows more about the situation than we do."

Darren could hear the uncertainty in Keenes words and wasn't convinced.

It was hard to believe given just how hectic this situation was. Darren could care less about whatever insight Vaughn had over this. Right now, he needed the man to do his job and get this school in order.

Silence lapsed in the room for a moment. However, Keene decided to break it as Vaughns words from before weighed on his mind. “Listen…I don’t know where exactly Vaughn is going with this, but from what he’s told me, he wanted John to start up this whole mess…”

Darren stared at him, his mind trying to make sense of just what exactly he was told. “What?" He stared at Keene with a deepening frown, "You’re joking…”

He placed his mug down. “What the hell does he mean by that??”

Keene's tight lips loosened, trying to approach the topic carefully “...he said that he wanted the school to tear John down so he could see the flaws of the hierarchy and fix it himself. Only problem is, John’s not behaving how Vaughn predicted so he’s trying to figure out what to do next…”

There had been many, many things that Darren heard throughout his life that made him question the sanity of some people.

But this? This took the cake!

He thought a vein was going to pop in his forehead as he tilted his head, eye twitching. “Hah…" He wasn't joking. "So-...so, you’re telling me…he placed the whole school's well-being…in the hands of an emotionally unstable teenager…?”

He didn’t even wait for Keene as he stood up from his seat and turned on his heels to storm into the back storage room and shut the door. Keene grimaced as he heard the muffled shouts of various profanities.

Yeah, it didn’t sound the greatest when he put it that way. He knew Darren probably wouldn’t take it well, but he didn’t just want to keep leaving him in the dark.

Eventually after a few minutes, the school nurse came back out, throwing the door open and making a B-line to the door.

“Wait, where are you going?!”

“I am going to talk to that bastard because I have had it!”

Keene quickly dropped his apple and rushed over, grabbing the man's arm. “Wait! You can’t talk to him about this!”

“I don’t care! It was one thing letting students beat each other senselessly, but he’s banking the entire safety of this school on one teen who obviously can’t handle that kind of responsibility!”

Still, Keene didn’t budge. “Darren, please! If you go to Vaughn about this now, I don’t know how he’ll react! Nobody else is supposed to know about this besides me!” If Darren went to Vaughn like this, there was bound to be a fight of sorts. And if Darren got canned for saying something out of line, this school really would be doomed.

Thankfully though, Darren sighed, not looking the least bit thrilled. “Fine.” He ended up storming back over to his seat. The groundskeeper on the other hand, mentally heaved a sigh of relief. That could’ve gone far worse. He walked over to where he had dropped his apple and, deciding it was a lost cause, chucked it in the trash bin.

Darren only tapped his fingers against the table. “I don’t get this Keene. What the hell has gotten into him? He’s gone off the rails at this point.”

At the rate things were going, the school would be in shambles within the month. And the last thing Darren wanted was to see more kids end up in the hospital because Vaughn wanted to play this little game of ‘crown the king.’

“We have to get the authorities involved.”

If Keene didn’t know any better, he swore Darren was trying to give him a heart attack. “WHAT?!”

He turned his tired gaze to him. “He’s out of control at this point. While I know it’s not ideal, the authorities would at least be able to help mitigate the violence for now.”

Waving his hands, Keene walked over. “Darren, we can not, under ANY circumstances, let the authorities in here with the way things are! You’ve seen everything that’s been happening lately! They aren’t going to be kind to John or any of the other students who have taken part in this whole situation!”

It wasn’t that Keene didn’t want the help, but if what Vaughn told him was true, having the authorities in their walls would be the worst decision in the history of this school.

“Then what are we supposed to do?! Let the students continue to suffer?! Let John continue this rampage of his without anyone to stop him?! This is our job, Keene! It’s our job to keep these students in line and Vaughn has been preventing us from doing it!”

Damn it, how was he supposed to explain this to Darren where he’d understand just how severe this situation really is?

He bit his lip, looking away. “Look…there’s something you need to know about the authorities…there’s the possibility that they…they aren’t as trustworthy as they seem.”

The tired man only raised an eyebrow. He was already sick of hearing this, but he couldn't help himself from asking, “The hell are you talking about now?”

Keene gathered his thoughts facing the angry man and gestured, asking for a little patience. "Darren, think about it; EMBER is composed of highly powerful and dangerous people. They've been around for over a year now and the authorities have made little to no progress. But here’s the thing: why would they find a reason to get rid of an organization that's actually helping them?"

He saw the gears begin to turn. “Why do you think the authorities would rather blame vigilantes rather than focus on finding out who’s killing all these people?”

The man's eyes widened just slightly. "Don't tell me...do you honestly think they're...?" Keene fixed his glasses once more. "Well I hate to say it but…I can't say for sure. Though one thing is certain: if even I am having a bad feeling that these two groups are connected, Vaughn is most likely thinking the same thing."

Darren looked down slightly as the groundskeeper went on. Keene did have the guts, he'd give him that.

"The authorities don't have a genuine reason for protecting vigilantes. They’re only viewed as a nuisance. But with EMBER killing them off like flies, their 'superhero' problem is being solved."

Honestly, it still all sounded ludicrous. The authorities were just trying to protect them. While superheroes were a problem in society, they were still high tiers and their deaths were disturbing to hear about. Even if EMBER was technically helping them, why would the authorities aid the same people who were just making their jobs more difficult in the long run?

Why change the narrative?

Darren sighed. “The authorities are trying to protect us from EMBER. They have no reason to be helping the same people who are making their lives a living nightmare..."

Keene wanted to argue, but he couldn’t when Darren was in a mood like this. Darren was stubborn. It wasn’t worth the headache for now…

So, he decided to change subjects.

“Agree to disagree," Keene cleared his throat, "…how have things been with your girlfriend? You haven't said anything about her lately."

Darren sighed but Keene didn't miss the faint shift in the grouchy man's mood. "Things have been good. We had coffee last weekend after she got off work."

"Sounds nice. At least she's not giving you the cold shoulder after your last date." Darren narrowed his eyes. "She wasn't giving me the cold shoulder. She was just busy with work. Besides, at least I have a-."

It was just then that an unfamiliar presence washed over him. The back of his head tingled in a familiar way; just like it did whenever someone stepped foot onto school grounds. But this wasn’t normal.

Something was off…

Darren raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright Keene?" While Keene nodded, the school nurse noticed the off look in his eyes, the sheen of sweat that had started to collect at his brow. "Yeah…hey, I think we have a visitor. Let me go see what they want."

“Should I go tell Vaughn?” Darren watched as Keene headed to the door, not once looking back.

“It’s fine. I’ll be quick.”

.

.

.

Keene stepped out into the brisk weather as he exited the main entrance. The wind whipped at his face and he swore to himself as his bangs blocked his vision.

But it wasn’t the wind that was sending a chill down his back.

A presence had stepped through his field earlier and then just as quickly, vanished. He didn’t know if they had stepped in and out of the area, but he didn’t know how to feel about this.

Upon approaching, the only thing he saw was a man standing there, fidgeting nervously as he waited for the groundskeeper to speak with him.

Keene’s suspicions climbed even higher.

The man jumped slightly as the groundskeeper waved to him. "Can I help you sir?"

The man nodded. "Y-Yeah...I was told to deliver this to headmaster Vaughn." Keene eyed the man. Vaughn hadn't warned him of anyone delivering the mail which was already another flag for him. Even then, it was never delivered directly to the gate.

Keene crossed his arms, sizing the man up. "We have a mailbox by the gate if you need to drop anything off."

The man only shrunk down more before he started pulling out an orange packet marked 'URGENT' and showed it to the groundskeeper.

"I-It was marked as an urgent delivery. I would've left it there had I not been told to deliver this immediately...I'm sorry. I was just told to get this here as quickly as possible..."

Keene looked at the man before sighing. While he didn't trust him, the mailman wasn't that much of a threat. At most, he appeared to be a low tier. No use in going out of his way to hurt the man over doing his job.

Keene nodded. "It's alright. But I have to take proper security measures. I'm sure you can understand that a random man showing up at the gates without an appointment can seem a little suspicious, right?" The man only nodded slightly as Keene held out his hand for the packet. "I can take it to Vaughn if I may."

The man only mumbled a small 'sure' and handed the packet over to Keene.

Muttering to himself as he turned his back to the man, he took a look at the contents of the packet, eyes widening in alarm.

“What the-?!”

For a brief second, Keene felt like he couldn’t move his body as the world seemed to freeze.

But just as quickly as that sensation washed over him, it vanished.

He turned around, only to find that the man from earlier was gone.

If Keene wasn’t already on edge, this definitely heightened that feeling. And what he saw on the packet made him even more concerned than before as he turned and ran back into the school.

.

.

.

Sitting at his desk, Vaughn sipped at a cup of black coffee while looking out the window. He got lost staring at the scenery surrounding the school.

Running it was no small task and his days were understandably packed. He enjoyed whatever small moments he could get to himself such as this.

Upon hearing a knock at his door, he placed the small cup down on to the dark mahogany. "Come in."

He wasn't surprised to see the groundskeeper walk in. He was however curious as to why he looked so worn out. The man wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Sir, this just came in for you!" Vaughn raised an eyebrow as he took the envelope. Upon seeing the sender's address, he grit his teeth slightly and tore the package open.

He skimmed over the packet before his eyes widened a little. He set it down before looking at the groundskeeper, trying to make sense of this mess.

Eventually, Keene broke the silence. "…what are we going to do? They’ll want to investigate what’s going on and if they do-..." Stopping mid sentence, the groundskeeper shuddered slightly, unable to speak any longer.

Vaughn only sighed. "Keene, I want you to keep all students on school grounds until they have finished their visit. I don't want anyone leaving the campus after 6:00 pm and they should all be in their dorms by 8:00 pm." He momentarily closed his eyes while quietly calming himself, "They shouldn't be here for another few days, but I don't want to risk the safety of anyone here on campus." Vaughn stood up and rounded the other side of the desk, leaning his palm against it.

"Let the teachers know to keep an eye on the students and if they see anyone," His stare was firm as his voice resonated, "and I mean anyone out after dark, send them straight here for questioning."

Meanwhile, Keene merely listened to the resolve in the headmaster’s voice. It was times like this that reaffirmed the belief that Vaughn knew much more than he, or anyone else did.

"I want no visitors on school grounds for the rest of the week. If anyone tries to come on campus, keep them out and tell them to contact me to reschedule any prior appointments."

Keene raised an eyebrow. "How bad is the situation if you’re implementing these measures…?”

Vaughn grabbed the packet and flipped to the page he had left off on before handing it to the other. "See for yourself."

Keene's heart practically stopped the second he caught sight of the words printed on those pages. "What...?! But-but how? We made sure to keep all of this away from the public! How could they have found out?!"

The headmaster looked down. "It's as we suspected…we have a spy somewhere in the school."

He paled, eyes going wide. It had always been a faint thought, a rumor to them. But now, it was very much a real possibility. Because how else would they know about all of this?

"I-I'll go start warning the teachers and getting an announcement ready..." Vaughn nodded as the other man rushed out of the room to complete his work.

Vaughn sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing his face. He stared at the warrant that rested on the desk next to him. Despite everything he told Keon and the others from the bureau, those stubborn bastards still decided to push their luck. But Vaughn didn’t care. He wasn't letting them anywhere near the school, let alone any of the kids for that matter.

'...you can try all you want, but you're not laying a finger on these kids. You're not getting through these gates.'

Vaughn peaked up as he heard another knock on the door. He placed his glasses back on as he told the person to come in before getting back to work. As much as he wanted to talk, he needed to sort this out.

He only heard the door open as the person walked over to his desk. He didn't bother looking up as he sorted through his papers.

"I apologize, but I'm very busy at this moment. Whatever it is that you want, please make it quick-"

"Sorry to bother you headmaster, but this is quite an important matter that I need to discuss with you."

.

.

.

Students wandered around like zombies as the day was starting to draw to a close. Meanwhile, those who were skipping snuck around the hallways trying to avoid any teachers from sending them to the library to actually make them do some form of work.

During free periods, students used their time sparingly by lining up at the school gates or outside of club rooms.

One teacher gave a tired huff as they made their way down to the courtyard to stop students who were hiding in giant leaf piles and pranking the unfortunate souls who passed by them.

For most teens who were actually dedicated to their studies though, they were still trapped in their classrooms until the final bell rang.

And among those more academically inclined was Wellston’s fiery ex-Jack...

All Blyke could do was roll his eyes as he heard yet another set of footsteps scurry through the quiet hallways, excited to have the day be done with.

How he wished he could join them...

He could only narrow his eyes in disapproval as he watched the clock slowly tick. The lonely, blank face mounted on the wall practically teased him as each arm swung around in a lethargic, rhythmic fashion.

Why couldn't the damned thing move any faster? Sitting at his desk in the back of the room, the clock in question loomed over him from behind.

Meanwhile, the teacher was currently grading quizzes and things of similar nature. She would occasionally look up but as long as everyone was reading, she didn't care. Students however were either craned over their books like vultures or in obscure positions.

One was currently reading his book while sitting on his desk, feet kicked up on the back of another student's chair.

Another was sitting backwards in her seat while leaning over the back of her chair.

And to her left, another merely had the book draped over their head, most likely snoring away.

Oh the perks of an English class with Mrs. Fralk.

Too bad Blyke couldn't find them.

He wanted nothing more than to blast his textbook out of existence. Once the year is over and done with, he’d have the privilege to do so. For now though, he had to read through chapters 53 and 58… and write a two page essay before class was over

In his humble opinion, his time spent living was being wasted by this textbook. English was just words and learning how to put them in coherent sentences! No one needs an entire 700 page textbook to figure that out! Yet somehow, they still had one.

Why? Blyke would never know.

Normally, he didn't mind writing and actually found it rather enjoyable. The problem was, he was exhausted. He couldn't even get through two pages of the textbook without almost falling asleep.

All the coffee in the world wouldn't be able to keep him awake. He'd already gone through several cups and yet he still fell asleep 3 classes in. He had wanted to get another from the school cafe but Remi had to practically drag him away, saying she was trying to prevent him from overdosing on caffeine, as if such a thing existed…

Usually, he wouldn't mind falling asleep in class. It wouldn't be the first time and it wasn't like there was much to do anyways. But it was the 5th time he almost fell asleep during class today.

He had already gotten scolded by his Trigonometry teacher for dozing off and falling right off his chair, causing a round of snickers and chuckles to fall upon the room. Blyke admits the scene would have been comical if it had happened to anyone but him.

Why was he falling asleep in class you may ask?

Oh that's right...

Because he was STILL rooming with Isen!

He had been forced to sleep on the floor for what seemed like years now. Though in reality, it's only been a couple of weeks…

But Blyke couldn't take any more snoring or late night 'newspaper fits'. Always 'Arlo this' and 'No I don't want to write that.'

Isen may have been his best friend, but damn was he annoying!

It was like rooming with a snoring pug: it never shuts up.

Blyke thought it would be fine, that rooming with Isen would be a piece of cake, despite some of his 'nightly escapades.'

He thought it would be just like a regular sleepover and that it would be easy. Now he realized why absolutely no one wanted to room with Isen and he realized it too late.

Blyke didn't hate Isen. He just hated that Isen couldn't shut up even in his sleep.

And it wasn’t like either of them could do anything to fix it.

Blyke had tried everything from putting on earmuffs, listening to music, counting sheep, reading on his phone, and even stuffing his head under a pile of pillows.

Even after going out for 'training,' he would still wake up in the middle of the night to Isen grumbling away.

No matter what, Isen's snoring could still be heard no matter how deep asleep he was.

At this point, Blyke was getting desperate. He needed his old bed back, his old room back! He was half-tempted to ask Keene to switch him and Isen into his old dorm room.

At least then Blyke and Isen would have a set of walls separating them. He wouldn't be stuck right next to a sound machine and finally be able to get some sleep.

Gritting his teeth at the thought, Blyke fixed his posture. This whole thing was stupid! Why was he the one losing sleep when he was the one who unfairly got kicked out of his dorm?! Why was he allowed to get his *ss beaten, kicked from his own room that he’s had since the beginning of the year, and be forced to stay somewhere else?!

It was bullsh*t!

You know what? He was going to ask Keene!

He couldn't keep losing sleep over this dumb situation that John had put them in!

He ground his teeth harder at the name. Even thinking about the bastard left an awful taste in his mouth.

It was common knowledge John was nothing but a tyrant and a hypocrite. He only cared about himself and what he stood to gain...

On that note if Blyke wasn't so much weaker than him, he would gladly attempt to return the favor and humiliate John in front of the entire school, no questions asked-

“Phew…”

He took a deep breath to himself, quietly counting down in his head.

No. He wasn’t going to resort to that. He’d be no better than John at that point.

He may have been sleep-deprived, but he knew better than that.

Though he couldn't help but be p*ssed at how he’d brutalized and embarrassed all the royals. Especially Remi. Blyke closed his eyes briefly at the memory.

He had no reason to beat her to such an extent, especially after everything she's done to make an attempt at helping him.

The only thing on John's mind that day was revenge and it brewed something even more dangerous than the Joker.

Did he even bother to think how his actions would impact others? Apparently not as by the time the ex-royals returned, dozens of fake Jokers had taken up his mask in a hellbent attempt to seek their own vengeance.

John had turned the entire school upside-down over...what?

Because he was getting beat up? Because he didn't like the way things were being run??

Opening his eyes and glaring at the surface of his desk, Blyke furrowed his brow.

If John hated the system so much, why didn't he just do something about it himself then?! He wasn't a cripple! He wasn't powerless! He had the power to fight back, as he so easily demonstrated to the whole school. He was a high tier and the strongest of them all.

Yet he played everyone for fools.

Blyke rubbed the back of his neck and sighed as a headache came on.

It was whatever now. Despite how much he wanted things to go back to some form of peace, he had to accept the cards he's been dealt.

He could be angry another time when he didn't have as much work to do. He already had homework for other classes so the quicker he got this done, the better.

He pushed through the next 10 pages when he peaked up at the clock.

The red-haired teen silently cheered when the bell rang, signaling that school was over for the day.

He practically jumped out of his desk and sprinted for the door, ignoring Mrs. Fralk's reminder to finish their homework for tomorrow.

.

.

.

The Safe House had received a huge turn out ever since they opened. Throughout the day, dozens of students would flock to the welcoming room and do whatever it was they wanted.

Brimming with something close to madness, the second he stepped in the room, sheer chaos was ensuing.

Students were either standing around in circles, watching other kids hunched over game boards like hawks or sitting around at desks.

In one corner of the room, there were several kids in a game of Twist, a tall girl with short purple hair pulled back into a ponytail standing in the corner as other kids asked her to spin the dial for them.

The noise in the room made him feel like he was about to go deaf.

Remi then rushed over to him, beaming and out of breath. “Ah, Blyke! You’re here!”

He scratched his head as he looked around the room. “Uh, yeah…Sorry, but I can’t stay long. I just wanted to check in and see how everything was going.”

Without missing a beat, she took a quick peek over her shoulder. “It’s great! Everyone’s having a blast with game day! I think we should start making this into a weekly thing!”

Blyke wanted more than ever to rub his eyes, but he refrained from doing so.

Shortly after, a shout rang out over the other voices. “YOU CHEATING *SSHOLE! THAT’S NOT A REAL WORD!”

“IS TOO!”

No one even had to check what game they were playing. And judging by Isen’s panicked words as he rushed over to the area, he also knew what game it was about.

Remi watched as Isen tried to defuse the situation. “...maybe not that one though…”

Blyke could only nod in agreement before fixing his grip on his bag. “Well, I’ll see you later Rem.”

Said girl waved to him as he headed out, leaving just her and Isen to watch over the Safe House for the rest of the day.

Remi’s smile slowly softened as she turned to organize books.

She was glad she had friends like Blyke, Arlo, Isen, Seraphina, and Elaine. Despite everything she's put them through, they still stuck by her side and looked out for her.

With a sigh Remi watched over the club members contentedly. She was happy she managed to bring something like this together. Even though the circumstances weren't favorable, she knew her brother would be happy with her efforts on bringing change to the school.

So far, things were starting to look up.

There was a lot of turmoil that they still needed to fix in the school. They had a long way to go before things could return to a somewhat calm state.

But for now, this was a start.

Chapter 3: End.

Chapter Text

Afternoon clubs usually lasted longer than those in the morning as you had more time to finish your things without the prospect of classes afterwards. It was a perfect compromise for those who hated rushing in the mornings, but still wanted to have a club on their record.

It was also the time for teachers, whether they liked it or not, to catch up on their work and anything that needed their immediate attention.

As for students, it was always first come, first serve when it came to who they would help. It didn’t matter the rank, for in school, the teachers had the ultimate say in who they would help. Of course, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t stop students from fighting over who would get in line over the other.

Blyke knew he was no exception as he quickly raced through the halls towards Keene's office. He was a man on a mission now and his mission? Get to Keene's office and get his room back from his psychopathic roommate.

One thing about the school's grounds keeper that was relatively common knowledge: Keene was always busy.

He was like a ghost half the time. One second, he was there, the next he was somewhere else. Trying to get his attention was always a hassle.

Keene usually had a bunch of students outside his door after hours, all asking about anything and everything. Sometimes it was small and mundane, other times it took up a whole hour.

And Blyke? Blyke did not have such time to waste.

He darted through the sky-blue halls like a crimson blur. He bumped into a few people, but he didn't really care. All that mattered was convincing Keene to give him his room back and with it, his sanity.

.

.

.

Blyke huffed as he stopped in front of Keene's office. Surprisingly, no one was lined up outside yet.

He scrambled over and flung it open with newfound energy, the handle almost putting a hole in the wall. "Mr. Keene, I-!" Blyke stopped mid-sentence. For the man wasn't in his office.

A brow rose at the realization.

‘Odd...normally Keene is almost always in here.’ He contemplated waiting a bit, shrugged, and did just that. He plopped down into the extra chair by the desk and pulled out his phone, playing a few rounds of Solitaire.

Round after round went by until his mind had turned to mush.

‘Sheesh, where is he?’

Blyke eventually wandered about the room, stretching his legs and trying to keep himself occupied to some degree.

Eventually looking up at the digital clock sitting on Keene's desk, Blyke frowned. Originally class got out at 3:25 pm and he had spent about ten minutes at the safe house. It was now 3:45 and there was still no sign of Keene.

Furrowing his brow, he rolled his eyes and was just about to give up when a squeak sounded behind him as the door to the office opened. He turned, expecting to face Keene, only to be met with a familiar blonde-haired acquaintance.

“Blyke? What are you doing here so late?"

Subconsciously, Blyke had straightened up in the presence of the former king. “I'm uh, just waiting for Keene to get back. I have to talk with him about something."

Arlo only raised an eyebrow. "Well, can it wait until I talk with him first?" Shaking his head, Blyke rubbed at his eyes. "If I don't do this now, I might never sleep again."

Putting the pieces together, Arlo sighed. "Let me guess: Isen?" He had heard numerous complaints discussed with Remi the past week. To which Remi had then vented said complaints with him.

Blyke nodded, dropping himself back down in his previous seat. "Yup. I've been losing sleep ever since I moved in with him. I was hoping Keene could switch us to my old dorm, so I at least have some peace."

Arlo also nodded in understanding, having heard how obnoxious Isen can be in his nightly hours. Blyke peered down at the stapled papers resting in Arlo's left hand. "What are those for?"

Arlo looked at said parchment before speaking. "I have to talk with Keene. I want to use him as a reference for job recommendations.”

This time, it was Blykes turn to raise an eyebrow. "A job? Didn't think you would be interested in getting one yet."

The tall blonde leaned back against the door frame and crossed his arms. "I may be helping Remi with the safe house, but I’ve acquired a lot of spare time. It's not like I have much else to do now that I'm officially off the roster."

Once again, Blyke found himself becoming enraged at the situation they’ve found themselves in, his voice barely above a restrained whisper. "You shouldn't be though..."

The former king peered over at him. Arlo knew the ex-Jack was angry about this and he was as well.

But, as he already explained to Isen, there wasn't anything they could do about it.

"We can be as angry as we want about this whole disaster, but it's not going to change anything. Right now, we need to just move on and focus on other things."

Blyke quickly snapped his head over. "So that’s it then?! We’re supposed to just ‘move on’ while a madman allows this place to fall to pieces?!” He ran his fingers through his hair. “All this time, John's lied to everyone about who he is! He’s lied about having any power to do anything and then got upset when things went to hell! If he was so miserable here, he could've come clean and fixed this sh*t himself!” He waved his arms about as he spoke. “Instead, now he's abusing his power as King to get his way and things have gotten even worse! How are we supposed to just sit here and not do anything about it?!"

Arlo only stared towards the floor. He had a point.

However...

"Whether he had the ability to fix things himself, it was ultimately his choice to leave the hierarchy. He knew he wasn't fit for the position and yet, I still shoved him into this role." Arlo peered down at his open palm, vaguely remembering what happened out in the field that fateful day. "If I had just minded my own business and left John alone, we wouldn't be in this mess. He may be out of control, but I was the one who created this."

Blyke stared sadly at the former king of Wellston before looking down towards his lap. He didn't see it the same way. To him, Arlo was only trying to do what was best for everyone involved. Even if he decided to leave them all out of these choices…

Besides, how was he supposed to know that a supposed cripple would turn out to be a god tier?

No one could have figured that out!

Yet here they were with Arlo still beating himself up over this.

Blyke looked back to the other teen with a stern expression. "You didn't know this would happen, Arlo. Sure you can be hard-set sometimes, but we can't blame you for trying your best. We may be powerful, but we're still human.”

If it were anyone else, Arlo may have agreed. But this was him they were talking about. He had made a selfish choice and was now suffering the consequences for it. “It won’t absolve me of any blame though." He frowned, "I may not have known, but that doesn’t mean my actions were excusable.”

Huffing, Blyke threw his hands in the air. “That doesn’t mean all of this was your fault or your burden to bear. You’re not the only one who made mistakes.”

“And even then," he pressed further, "that didn’t mean you had to deal with this on your own. I wished you had told me and Remi about this. We could’ve helped you figure something, anything, out."

All the blonde could do was give a dry chuckle. "Do you honestly think I wanted either one of you to suffer for my mistakes? Blyke, there's a reason I didn't tell you guys about John. He was already unreasonable and by that point, getting either of you involved would’ve escalated things quicker."

What a load of bullsh*t!

Blyke stood up, chair screeching as he stared at Arlo. “Except, we suffered even more by not knowing!" Arlo reeled at the explosive response.

"Whether you like it or not-" Blyke glared, clenching his hands to the point his knuckles turned white, "-we are a team." A moment passed as he thought, "Or at least we were a team. You may have been King but as your Jack and Queen, we also have a responsibility to help you lead and deal with issues that happen in the school! This isn’t a one man job!"

It wasn't like Arlo intended any harm, Blyke knew he was just trying to do what he thought was best. But would it have killed Arlo to pull his head out of his own *ss and realize he had others who could help him?!

Quite frankly, he was sick of it all. The lack of sleep, the poor excuses, the dumb drama-

He grit his teeth, addressing Asslo. "We may not always see eye to eye, but I have always been honest with you when it comes to my opinions. Unlike Cecile, I don't go behind your back! Remi and I have always been on your side! But you kept us in the dark while everyone around us was getting hurt! After all this time of working together between running the school and managing turf wars, I thought you could at least somewhat trust us; trust me to a degree!" Out of frustration, he turned his cheek. "...Just what were you thinking, Arlo? Did you think we were too immature or something?! Did you think we were so bad as royals that we wouldn’t be able to help you manage something like this?! Just what the hell was going on?!"

His patience was slowly slipping away, anger boiling in his veins. It was petty to be squabbling like this when there were more important things to worry about, but for f*cks sake…he was so tired of it all. He just wanted some damn honesty right now and he didn’t care if he was being rash.

After a brief stare down, Arlo finally gave into his own frustration, “You know what? Yes." He glared, "I did think you two were immature. Both of you are rash and stubborn. Trying to get you guys to stop and think is nearly impossible." Blyke's patience grew ever thinner as Arlo continued, "You want to talk about making stupid choices? Need I remind you that part of the reason all four of us got sent to the hospital was because you, Remi, and Isen thought it would be a brilliant idea to gang up on John to try and reveal him to the school?! And even well before that, you three thought it would be a great idea to go looking for EMBER, to go out on the streets in hopes that you’d find Rei’s killer! And what happened after all of that?!”

He paused, waiting for a response and continuing on when he didn’t get one. “Remi nearly died and you all p*ssed off John even worse than before! If that doesn’t show just how impulsive you all are, then I don’t know what will!”

He nearly went on, but Arlo knew that he wasn’t any better. He’d already made those mistakes and was paying the price for it. He too had been rash and uncompromising with his actions. He too had acted on impulse. But he couldn’t let that continue. He needed to make sure that if there was anything that came out of this whole situation, it was that these two would not end up following in his path to failure.

Blyke narrowed his eyes, opening and closing his mouth a few times like a confused fish before sitting down, defeated.

Because what was he supposed to say to that?

Arlo…Arlo was right.

His anger finally began to subside into a bone deep exhaustion, unable to turn a blind eye to his own hypocrisy.

How could Arlo trust them if this is what they’ve shown him?

It was true... They were brash and stubborn and they were only now realizing just how much they’ve been slacking when it came to the wellbeing of those in the school.

And lashing out against each other would do nothing to solve it, no matter how much he wanted to punch Arlo in the face. Even if it would amount to nothing but a bruised hand.

As for Arlo, there was a half truth to what Blyke said. He should have put more faith in them. He remembered how distraught Remi was about finding out he was injured, how she wanted to protect and help him and for him to be honest with her. He remembered how even though Blyke could get ahead of himself, he still pushed through and did everything he could to fulfill his duties, doing whatever he was told with no questions and little push back.

Arlo shifted his eyes to the other in question.

He had taken them both for granted. He wasn't alone yet he acted like he was. They all had their flaws, but that didn’t excuse him from neglecting to include them as Wellston’s ruling royals.

The blonde could only sigh to himself as he stared at the gray carpet of Keenes office.

Both boys sat and stood in silence, before Arlo spoke once again.

"I'm sorry. You had a valid point."

Blyke avertedly nodded in solemn agreement. “I’m sorry too. I…shouldn’t have lashed out like that. I hadn’t realized we’d become such liabilities…”

“Right now, it’s too late to change anything that’s happened. But the best we can hope for is that you two will do better than I did. I don’t want you guys to make the same mistakes I’ve made." He confessed, “Otherwise… we know how horribly things could turn out.”

‘Pure chaos.’ Blyke thought.

He rubbed his hands over his face with a huff. "Well... I guess we’re already going in a better direction." Arlo agreed silently, crossing his arms as Blyke continued, "We’re starting from scratch and earning back the students' faith in us, however small that may be…" His tone grew quieter as he fought off a yawn and failed. "Even though it still won’t help with our current predicament...”

That seemed to be the root of their issues, didn’t it? But what could they do about it?

Arlo sighed and stepped forward, placing a hand on Blyke's shoulder and slightly shaking Blyke out of a daze. "Unfortunately... I don’t think there’s much we can do. John is…uncontrollable." Arlos eyes flattened, "He’s outside of what we can handle. The best we can do is just focus on what’s in front of us.”

Blyke nodded as the room fell into silence again.

He closed his eyes, feeling the fatigue settle further into his bones.

…Where the hell was Keene?

Letting go, Arlo turned and walked to seat himself across from Blyke. Both were too tired to interact further as they let another moment pass in silence.

After a while, Blyke checked his phone, realizing it was past 4 PM.

As much as he wanted to get this issue resolved with Keene, he still had homework to do. So, with his plans of reclaiming his dorm foiled, he stood up and grabbed his bag.

"Well, as much as I wanna stay, I better get going. I can't wait all day.” He scrubbed at the dark circles lining his eyes. "Anyway, good luck on your job-"

* CRASH! *

“-application…”

The sudden crash resounded through the hallway, leaving the rest of his words to peter out alongside the remnants of its echoes. Both boys simultaneously turned to each other.

"What was that?"

Arlo's eyebrows drew together as he hastily got up and turned to look out the door.

"I don't know..." Blyke replied, his guard raised ever higher.

Both walked to the door, drawn over by the eerie silence now filling the room and stepped out into the hallway…only to be immediately hit with the smell of thick smoke. Coughing once, Blyke pulled the collar of his jacket over his nose. “What the fu-?!”

Suddenly another crash violently shook the floor, the two stumbling slightly into the wall.

Assessing the situation quickly, Arlos eyes followed the dark gray smoke billowing down the hallway from the staircase behind him.

Not only was there smoke, but a roaring sound. One he could only guess was fire.

Eyes widening and gut clenching at the sight, his instincts kicked in.

Taking the initiative, Arlo yelled over the chaos, “FIRE! PULL THE ALARM!”

They both ran in different directions for any fire alarm they could get their hands on. Arlo reached his first.

Without delay, he yanked down on the red handle, prepared for the ear-piercing alarm to ring…

Only for nothing.

Again, he pulled the handle, but there was no alarm.

It was then Arlo realized just how much more dire their situation had become. “SH*T!!!” He exclaimed over the worsening smoke as Blyke wildly looked around for any flame retardant.

He raced over to Blyke, pushing his shoulder. “Knock on the doors, get the students out, NOW!”

Blyke however faltered. The smoke was blocking the main hallway. “But what if-?!”

Arlo grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a small shake. “Blyke, do whatever you need to! I don’t care if you have to blow a hole in the side of this building, just get everyone out!”

Neither stalled any longer as both he and Arlo raced down the hall, swinging open doors and calling out in a rush to confused students and teachers who quickly turned to terror as they noticed the smell of soot in the air.

As the smoke worsened students booked it in the other direction, yelling and screaming all the way. Other teachers continued this terrified telephone line of gathering students from their clubs and ushering them out the emergency doors. They didn't care what drills they had been taught. Right now, this was the real deal.

Some braver or more foolish students depending on how you looked at it, tried to use their powers to contain the smoke, one even daring to try and charge in with a fire extinguisher only to nearly get burnt to a crisp. Blyke quickly dragged the fourth year back and patted out the flames now charring his sleeve.

“This is no time to be playing hero! You're not equipped for this! Get the hell out of here!” He shoved the guy down the hall and thankfully, the other had enough common sense to listen this time.

Meanwhile, Arlo corralled the others who had been lost or wanted to help, telling them to get back outside where it was safe and to grab any other student they could find.

Blyke raced back over to Arlo as they met back up at the junction of the hallway. He was now on the phone with Remi, her voice now shrill over the line.

“Remi! Get the Safe House members out now! The alarms aren’t working and the third floor is being engulfed in smoke! Grab Isen and evacuate whoever you can find!”

She yelled back in affirmation before she hung up and Blyke pocketed his phone.

Arlo flinched as something in the floor above them shattered, the smoke getting thicker and the crackling of flames getting closer.

Blyke grabbed Arlo’s shoulder and started tugging him away. “Arlo! Come on, we gotta get out of-!”

But before he could finish, a figure emerged from the smoke, hacking and wheezing as he tumbled down the staircase and fell to his knees.

“KEENE!”

Both teens ran over, pulling the groundskeeper to his feet from where he had collapsed. The man had a head wound that was now bleeding profusely and there were burn marks along the edges of his clothes. Arlo shrugged off his blazer and held it to the gash along the man's head.

Keene however tried pushing him away. “Boys-! *Cough, cough* You all need to get out of here!”

They threw his arms around their shoulders as Blyke tried to get some sort of answer. “Keene, what the f*ck is going on?!”

“I- *cough* I don’t know…! *Cough, cough* Hallway was engulfed in flames…! Pulled the alarm but it didn’t work…! Tried to get out but I got struck over the head…!”

He broke into another coughing fit as both teens supported more of his weight.

Blyke swore under his breath. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

* CRASH! *

The next crash wasn't accompanied by silence, but with a wail of pain.

Blyke felt his heart go cold at the sheer agony within that scream coming from the fire. He could easily guess that only a person in a world of pain could ever make such a sound.

A sound that seemed to ring with death.

His eyes widened a bit.

That person very well could be dying.

The same thought was on Arlo's mind as he too gazed in the direction of the scream.

They didn't know when the fire department would show up and by that point, whoever was still in there would be burnt alive.

Arlo immediately looked to Blyke and shrugged off the groundskeeper's arm. “Take Keene and get outside!”

“Wh-?! Arlo, WAIT!” But before the redhead could say much else, Arlo had already activated his barrier and started sprinting up the stairwell into the thickening smoke.

.

.

.

Just a few steps into the smoke and Arlo was left in complete darkness. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and activated the light, using it to light up the burning hallway. Even from the inside of his barrier, he could faintly feel the heat coming from the flames behind him.

It was like stepping into a hazy nightmare as his beam reflected against the dust clouding the air. Arlo felt disoriented and on edge. Something he hadn’t felt since…

He shook his head. Right now, he had to focus.

“Hello?!” He ran through the side of the floor that didn’t have flames at the end of the corridor. “Is there anyone still up here?!” He flashed his light into each classroom. He was grateful that most of the afterschool clubs took place on the first three floors. But he’d be damned if he didn’t do a thorough check for any wayward students. Or more importantly, find the source of that scream.

As he rushed around, Arlo couldn’t help the hairs that started standing up on the back of his neck. He felt like something was here, watching him. The smoke hindered his visibility, even with the flashlight from his phone.

Something fell to the ground just behind him.

Whipping around, he shined the light with him, looking around for some sort of movement. All he found was a chair now tipped over into the hallway.

"Hello?! Is anyone up here?!" Arlo called out into the darkness only to once again receive no answer.

He continued to rush through the hall, looking in classroom after classroom. It was creepy and the almost deafening silence besides the faint crackling of flames echoing in the distance added to it. His stern but shallow breaths were the only sound of life around him.

Sweat trickled down the back of his neck from the heat now filling up the hallway and Arlo hissed when he accidently brushed up against a door jam, the metal hot to the touch.

He was about to turn back when he heard another yell, fainter this time, come from back down the other side of the hallway where the fire had spread from.

And it just so happens to be in the direction of the headmaster's office.

He went ghostly pale, realizing what this could mean. But Arlo hoped he was wrong. He really, really hoped he was wrong, and that Vaughn wasn't trapped in there.

The scream had become louder the closer Arlo got and quickly, he realized that there was indeed someone trapped in the flames.

He ran over, his barrier protecting him from the cruel heat, even as he jumped over a part of the collapsed ceiling and dipped under a piece of charred wall that had toppled over. He had to shield his face from how bright the fire burned, leaving spots scattered throughout his vision. And he noticed that most of it was indeed coming straight from the headmaster's office.

Just outside the door, Arlo caught sight of a figure crumpled to the floor, a leg pinned down by a chunk of bricks.

"H-Headmaster!" The man was weakly trying to crawl along the floor, trying to avoid inhaling all the smoke but with little success. Arlo took in the scene with rising panic when his eyes caught sight of the trail of blood following him from the office door.

Arlo immediately allowed his barrier to phase the headmaster into his air bubble, kneeling down to grab a hold of the debris and try shifting it off of him. The bricks burned at his fingers but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

The man he was trying to rescue however, only cried out as the rubble was cleared off of him.

By the time Arlo was done, Vaughn had become nearly silent. Arlo swung his arm over his shoulders and supported his weight the best he could.

“Headmaster! Headmaster Vaughn!” He shook the man slightly, but he was almost completely unresponsive.

Arlo visibly flinched when he saw the shard of glass impaling the headmaster's hand. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only injury he was sporting.

He had harsh burns covering his body, mostly his arms, back, and legs. His head was covered in blood as well as his shoulder. His leg was bent at an odd angle from where the debris had covered it and Arlo didn’t have to be a medic to know that it was broken. His clothes and hair were singed and his glasses that were usually sitting neatly on the bridge of his nose were crooked, the glass of one of the lenses sporting a spiderweb crack across it.

He thought he'd never see Vaughn in such a state, but this was real.

He once again tried to get the man's attention, but he only coughed, his breaths strained and short as red dripped past his lips.

Arlo swore under his breath, fixing his hold on the man. Quickly, he looked behind him at the blazing room, the flames growing more ravenous by the minute. He grit his teeth and turned to leave. But something shifted slowly -intently- within those scorching depths. His mind noted it odd, but it was the last thing he could spare his thoughts on right now.

But that feeling from before washed over him once again. Whether it was from the headmaster, the school, or the darkness clouding around him, he didn't know. But one thing was for sure- he had to get the hell out of here. Suddenly the doorway caved in, the beams giving out and almost completely blocking the office from view.

Jumping, he shielded Vaughn from the falling pieces as the ground shook again, almost throwing him off balance. A sharp, crawling noise echoed throughout the space, enough to send a shudder all the way down his spine. He looked up with eyes going wide. The ceiling was starting to crack, dust beginning to float down and swirl among the smoke.

Tightening his grip on Vaughn, Arlo rushed out of the burning hallway and out of the building. He made it down the stairs and towards the emergency exit staircase. Just as he shut the door, the rest of the ceiling collapsed and flooded the rest of the third floor in a violent wave of fire and dust.

And Arlo was thankful he wasn’t in there when it did as he made his descent with the headmaster unconscious.

.

.

.

Arlo practically had to kick open the door before lugging Vaughn across the lawn of the school.

Just outside, Blyke was among the large crowd that had gathered at the wall and outside on the sidewalk.

He sat with Keene who was still holding the blazer to his head.

“HEY! I NEED SOME HELP!”

Students and teachers alike looked over as Arlo had to practically drag Vaughn over.

One of the older teachers, Mr. Halis, ran over faster than Arlo had ever seen the old man move before. “What the hell-?!”

Arlo dropped his barrier as Darren also came racing over, wincing and coughing as the faint smell of smoke flooded his nostrils. “Get him some medical help! He was right next to the fire when I found him.”

He passed the injured man off to the two adults as Blyke and Holden came rushing over to him. “Arlo! Are you ok?!” Holden, ever the worry-wart he was, was looking over him, trying to find some sort of injury on him. Blyke on the other hand, looked between him and where they were dragging off the headmaster. “What the hell happened to Vaughn?! How the hell did he-?!”

“I don’t know Blyke. He was like that when I found him. And I’m fine. I’m just a little worn out.” He huffed, tired from holding his barrier up and sore from dragging a person through a burning building. Blyke handed him a bottle of water he had gotten from another student which Arlo thanked him for and sipped on.

With a sigh of relief, Holden placed a hand on Arlo’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get away from this fire.”

The chilly, late autumn breeze combed through their hair and left goosebumps along their arms as they walked away. It was a drastic change compared to where they had been just a few minutes prior.

Arlo looked up, eyes wide as he and the others took in the view before them once they were a safe distance away.

Wellston Private High School was burning.

The large and once picturesque building had become something pulled out of a pyromaniac's daydream.

The school had smoke billowing up and out of several 4th floor windows, the flames licking at the metal window frames and shattering the glass from the intense heat.

Walik hall was practically smothered in smoke by now and anything the students and teachers left in their classrooms or lockers was either burnt or covered in soot and debris. They could just now hear the sprinkler system running from here, but even that wasn't enough to quench these hungry flames.

Students from the East wing gathered around outside in small groups, the teachers keeping them back and away from danger. Some mumbled to one another while others were comforting each other or gossiping about what may have happened.

At that moment, Arlo didn't care about their words or thoughts. What he was worried about was the unconscious man who was being tended to by staff and by their resident school nurse.

He couldn't help but think again, in all his years at Wellston, he had never, ever, seen the headmaster in such a state. Hell, he'd never even seen a scratch on him before until now!

Vaughn had yet to wake up, still completely out of it. He would only cough slightly before his eyes drifted back close, causing the staff surrounding him to grow even more concerned as they mumbled in hushed tones away from students. None of them dared to even touch the glass still embedded in his hand and they didn't know what to do besides stem the flow of blood coming from his shoulder and his head. Meanwhile, Doc worked fervently with what he had to stabilize his wounds while another teacher went off to get some students who knew how to heal.

Mrs. Novak, a 3rd year chemistry teacher, had already seen her co-worker lying bleeding and unconscious in the grass and had rushed off to find a student to borrow a phone from to call for help, her cellphone being left inside among the bustling chaos.

Blyke took off his jacket and sat down, finding the added layers uncomfortable in the heat while Arlo and Holden turned back to Keene, who remained where he sat. At least he seemed a little more aware than before. Holden offered the man a fresh water bottle while Arlo sat down beside Blyke to rest his legs.

Taking a peak at him, Arlo saw that the redhead was trembling slightly as he watched those surrounding Vaughn. He was visibly shaken up and he had every right to be.

Their own headmaster, the man who was supposed to protect them from intruders and help keep students calm during these situations, was now lying helpless on the ground after being pulled out of the flames.

It was a scary sight, even for Arlo. But he had to keep calm for everyone involved.

"He's strong." Arlo spoke to Blyke, "He'll be ok. He just needs to get to the hospital and they can take care of him from there." The redhead took a deep breath to steady himself before nodding. "Ok...ok."

Arlo nodded in agreement. He rubbed his face before he looked up and spotted a familiar blue haired girl. "Elaine!" Arlo waved his arm to get her attention. The girl in question looked at him before jogging over. “Arlo! Are you alright?!”

Why was everyone asking if he was alright? He wasn’t the one laying out cold on the school lawn.

“I’m fine Elaine. But Vaughn…” He narrowed his eyes. “He’s not doing well. Right now the teachers are looking for healers. Can you go over and see if they could use some help?" Elaine bit her lip, green eyes flicking over to where the teachers were. "I'll…I’ll see what I can do. But I don’t know how much I’d be able to help..." Arlo nodded. "Just do what you can Elaine."

She took a steady breath as she marched over, talking with the teachers before activating her ability and kneeling next to Vaughns prone form.

As Elaine healed him, Blyke dropped his head in his hands. “God, I hope Remi, Isen and the others are alright.”

“They’ll be fine. They’re more capable than you think.” But even Arlo couldn’t help but be worried.

.

.

.

Meanwhile on the other side of the school, the second group of students rushed out into the back courtyard behind the lunchroom and past the gates.

Seraphina, Remi and Isen had been the last ones left in the Safe House and were now helping some of the teachers lead the other students from the school's west wing.

The edge of Isen’s jacket was burnt from where he had strayed too close to a wild flame, but thankfully he wasn’t injured.

Remi had taken off her jacket and ripped it into pieces for them to use to cover their noses and mouths as they went in and out of the building.

Some students were panicking, having narrowly avoided getting burnt to a crisp. Luckily Isen used his tracking to guide any students who had gotten lost in the fray out into the fresh air of the courtyard.

Compared to the East wing, the West wing had taken up a lot more damage, the flames having started to drift to the other side of the school and set fire to multiple classrooms on lower floors. It had been close, but they managed to get everyone out in time.

Remi panted as she jogged over to the school's back gate where Seraphina and Isen were holding open the gates for others to rush through onto the lawn. She pulled down her makeshift mask with a tired huff. "Is there anyone else left Isen?!" He activated his ability again and scanned the building, critically looking back and forth for anyone else he could’ve missed. Fortunately, he found no one else inside. "No. The West wing is clear. I can't see far enough to say the same thing about the East wing."

Seraphina wiped the sweat off her brow. "It's fine. We did everything we could.” Some students were injured but they were lucky it wasn’t any worse.

Remi looked back to the building. “What about everyone’s things? I don’t remember if we managed to close the door to the Safe House all the way.”

A loud noise was heard in the distance as something else fell within the building. Seraphina shook her head. “Forget about it for now Remi. There’s no use going back in to check.”

The three turned their attention as the teachers called out to the flocking students, trying to herd them together like frightened sheep.

They waved their arms as they motioned to follow them, wanting them to head to the main entrance as the back courtyard wasn't safe to stay at.

Everyone readily followed them as they heard a loud *BANG!*

One of the ceiling beams had collapsed and had smashed clean through a window and its supporting wall, bricks crumbling down and breaking against the pavement below them. Remi quickly pulled her two friends away as they narrowly avoided getting pelted with glass and stone. The crowd behind them shrieked with fright before the teachers ushered them along with more urgency than before.

The building was becoming more and more unstable by the second.

Isen grabbed Remi's arm and continued pulling her along, not wanting to stay a second longer. Remi stopped him when she saw Seraphina remain un-moving, staring at the burning building before her as the flames fanned out into the open.

Her expression remained set in a strange combination of shock and somber. The flames flickered across her face as she stood there, lost in thought as she stared into the fire's raging depths.

She may not have enjoyed school or having to deal with all the tedious trials that came with it. In fact, she hated having to deal with it all.

But she couldn’t deny the pang of despair rippling through her.

This had been one of the only places Seraphina had left where she could still remain somewhat herself and have some amount of freedom. Despite the bullies, the gossip, and everything else, this was still a place that gave her some form of choice.

And yet, the fire taunted her as even they took away something else of hers. She had already split apart from her family. She had already lost her best friend. And now, one of the only places where she could still express who she is was now engulfed in flames.

It wasn’t fair.

None of this was fair…

"Seraphina...!"

"Seraphina!"

"Please! We have to go!"

Remi's voice reached her ears and a hand grasped her shoulder as she turned her head.

Isen and Remi were bathed in a toasted glow, the rising flames dancing in their eyes as they stared at her in concern and a newfound urgency of their own.

Seraphina only nodded as she quickly gathered herself, knowing they couldn't stay any longer. She felt the heat grow against her skin as the flames continued to rise, threatening to take them into its searing embrace.

All Sera could do was look back one last time and watch as the flames grew, eventually backing away and running with the others as the school became a burning sun in the center of Wellston.

Chapter 4: end.